{"id":573,"date":"2010-08-06T06:10:54","date_gmt":"2010-08-06T06:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omeoflittlefaith\/2010\/08\/rob-stennett.html"},"modified":"2010-08-06T06:10:54","modified_gmt":"2010-08-06T06:10:54","slug":"rob-stennett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omeoflittlefaith\/2010\/08\/rob-stennett.html","title":{"rendered":"Rob Stennett on the Genesis of Doubt"},"content":{"rendered":"

I first ran into Rob Stennett<\/b> around the time his first novel, The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher,<\/a><\/i> released in 2008. He was doing research on the End Times for his satirical rapture novel, 2009’s The End Is Now<\/i><\/a>, and ended up with a copy of Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse<\/i><\/a>. We share both a sense of humor and suspicion of end-of-the-world movements. <\/p>\n

\"robstennett.jpg\"<\/span>Anyway, both of Rob’s books are excellent — religious and funny in the best kinds of ways — and he and I have kept in touch since. I’m looking forward to his next book<\/a>, which releases in the spring. It’s a supernatural thriller about a man-made haunted house, and because religious people are involved, you can bet there’s some sweet demon action in it. <\/p>\n

I have no idea what that last sentence means, but already I regret writing it.<\/p>\n

I’m pumped that Rob was willing to contribute today’s “Voices of Doubt” entry. Enough of me…<\/p>\n

—————-<\/p>\n

It’s not that I don’t have doubts about God.<\/b> I wonder the same things we
\nall do: Is God really out there? If God can heal people from cancer why
\nnot make it obsolete as a VHS tape? Why is there suffering at all? And
\nwhat were you thinking when you created the Kardashians? Or BP Oil, for
\nthat matter?<\/p>\n

But I was raised as a good Pentecostal Christian,
\nso I feel guilty about doubt. I was taught faith moves mountains. Doubt
\nturns you into Bill Maher.<\/p>\n

Still, today I’ll try to give a
\nbroader reason for my guilt — the book of Genesis. So many stories in the
\nfirst book of Bible seem to have a clear-cut moral: Have faith in God
\nand you will be rewarded. Doubt and your life will unravel in Biblical
\nproportions.<\/p>\n

Let me show point to two stories in particular that highlight this idea:<\/p>\n

1. Adam and Eve: <\/b>Most
\nof you know this story. And if you don’t — if you’re on a religious blog
\nand don’t know the story of the first couple — then what a crazy place
\nthe Internet is! For that one person, here’s a recap: Adam and Eve are
\nin the garden where Satan himself appears (in the form of talking snake,
\nwhich always make me think: Were there other talking animals in the
\ngarden? Talking pumas? Speaking otters? Insightful velociraptors?). God
\nsays not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, or they
\nwill die. The snake says, “You won’t die, you’ll be like God.” He’s half
\nright. They don’t die but they’re kicked out of their cushy existence
\nof walking around naked, naming talking animals, and eating succulent
\nfruit.<\/p>\n

2. Abraham and Isaac:<\/b> God tells Abraham to
\nsacrifice his son. Literally sacrifice<\/i>. Stab your son to death, and then
\nburn him on a pile of wood. Abraham ties his son to the altar. In
\nGenesis 19, we’re given no dialogue at this moment. No internal
\nmonologues as to what Abraham is thinking. Father Abraham just ties his
\nson up and raises his knife until an angel of God says, “Abraham stop!”
\nHe reveals a ram for them to sacrifice and says he’s so proud that
\nAbraham’s decedents will be like stars in the sky. As an added bonus, a
\nsong will be named after you that children at Bible Camp will sing
\ntirelessly until the end of time. <\/p>\n

These two stories are the Ying and Yang of doubt to me.<\/p>\n

Adam
\nand Eve doubt the command of God and all of human history is changed.
\nThey get a lot of flack for this, but really I might have done the same
\nthing. I empathize with Adam and Eve because they could not take God’s
\nword at face value. They had to test things out for themselves.<\/p>\n

Abraham
\nhas faith, but he seems to follow God with a robotic obedience. I think
\nmaybe if I could have seen Abraham wrestle — if I could have seen him ask
\nGod, “Is there any other way?” — then I could latch onto some humanity in
\nthis story. But we never see Abraham doubt. He is celebrated for this
\nin the Bible and in Sunday morning sermons.<\/p>\n

So shouldn’t I be
\nlike Abraham? Shouldn’t I have faith, no matter what I’m facing? Maybe I
\nshould. But I don’t. I still doubt sometimes. And when these stories
\nmake me feel guilty about that doubt, I realize two things:<\/p>\n

1. I should wrestle with these stories.<\/b> So
\nmany others have. There have been lots of interpretations about what to
\nmake of Adam and Eve. For me, I’ve always wondered why was it “the tree
\nof knowledge” that got them in trouble. Does knowledge push us away
\nfrom God (like Jason discusses so insightfully in O Me of Little Faith<\/i><\/a>)?<\/p>\n

And
\nthe Abraham and Isaac story makes me wonder how could God test Abraham
\nlike that? How could he ask him to kill his own son? Some think this is a
\npicture of the sacrifice of Christ in New Testament. Congrats, Abe and
\nIsaac: You’re an object lesson. Others, like the author of Hebrews,
\nthink if Abraham had killed Isaac, God would have raised him from the
\ndead. No one knows for sure. But if a book of the Bible wrestles with
\nthis story, maybe I can too.<\/p>\n

2. Both found God.<\/b> Adam
\nand Eve were kicked out of the garden, but they weren’t separated from
\nGod. He still interacted with them. Abraham had his own dust-ups. And
\nmaybe this is also the point. Faith can make things go more smoothly.
\nDoubt can make the journey really difficult, but it can also grow us
\ncloser to God.<\/p>\n

These aren’t my definitive answers. But I
\ncan say I’ve wrestled with these stories (and many others) for years.
\nSo, I’d love to hear your thoughts.<\/p>\n

What do you make of these stories?<\/p>\n

What Bible stories (passages) cause you to doubt?  <\/p>\n

And how do you reconcile those doubts?<\/i><\/p>\n

—————-<\/p>\n

Thank you, Rob.<\/b> Follow Rob Stennett on Twitter<\/a> and check out The Almost True Blog<\/i> at robstennett.blogspot.com<\/a>. Read more about his books here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Previous posts in the “Voices of Doubt” series…<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2022 Adam Ellis on Hoping That It’s True<\/a>
\u2022 Nicole Wick on Breaking Up with God<\/a>
\u2022 Anna Broadway on Doubt and Marriage<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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