Recently, the Sunday School class that I periodically attend had an interesting discussion about the passage at the end of Matthew’s gospel in which, after the resurrection, Christ’s disciples met him on top of a mountain. The passage says that they worshiped him, but some doubted. That is an interesting contrast: worship or doubt. Apparently the middle ground wasn’t an option. We wondered what, exactly, the doubt was about. Christ was standing before them in bodily form, so his resurrection apparently wasn’t the issue. So what was?
As we talked, we came to a consensus that there were things even more difficult to believe than that a recently crucified man was alive. These things became central to Christian doctrine—that Jesus was the Christ, the messiah who had been prophesied; that the deliverance he provided came not by his being a political or religious leader, but by sacrificing himself for the sins of the world; that going forward his followers would transform the world by loving as he loved. When it comes to being a disciple of Christ (and in this same section of Matthew Christ instructs his followers to go out and train others to be his disciples), it’s these latter beliefs that matter as much or more than the belief that Jesus was resurrected.
Another point came up about doubt: to become believers, the disciples had to first be doubters. That is, they had to doubt much of what they previously thought to be true. They had to doubt their prior ideas about what the messiah would be like, about what godliness consisted of, and about how to live as a person of faith. Perhaps doubt is essential to faith formation. Those who cling fervently to what they have been taught waste away intellectually. Unable to doubt, their ideas become hard and shriveled, incapable of putting forth new shoots. Peter Rollins, author of How (Not) to Speak of God, says that it is easy to get people to believe. The problem between Catholics and Protestants in his home city of Belfast, Northern Ireland come from belief. He is trying to get the people of Belfast to give up the certainties that lead them to condemn others. That is, he’s trying to get them to doubt.
The movie Doubt (2008), starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Amy Adams, is a meditation on doubt, certainty, and their effects. Hoffman plays Father Flynn, a progressive priest in a Catholic school in 1964, the era of Vatican II. Streep is Sister Aloysius, the school’s traditionalist principal, and Adams is Sister James, a young nun and teacher. During the church service that opens the film, Father Flynn preaches that crises of faith can enter a believer’s life, but the person shouldn’t feel alone because even firm believers have doubt from time to time. Sister Aloysius has no such doubts, and Father Flynn’s sermon makes her suspect that he doubts because he has done wrong. She starts watching him vigilantly, and prompts Sister James to do likewise. Though Sister Aloysius has no doubts about doctrine, she has plenty of doubts about people; she suspects nearly everyone of lying, misbehaving, or having impure motives. Despite following Sister Aloysius’ instructions to report any untoward behavior exhibited by Father Flynn, Sister James isn’t suspicious as much as she is gullible, influenced by whatever information she has received most recently.
Sister Aloysius’ suspicions soon focus on Father Flynn’s relationship with Donald, the only African-American student in the school. Father Flynn seems protective of Donald, but Sister Aloysius suspects that his interest is sexual. Pursuing her suspicions produces enough evidence to convince her she is right (though the viewer isn’t given enough information to be able to judge). Nonetheless, her efforts lead to negative consequences (and perhaps some positive ones as well—the movie offers few certainties) for everyone involved. 
The film suggests that absolute certainty in matters of belief makes one suspicious and intolerant of those who don’t have similar views, whereas doubt produces a more charitable view of others. Sister Aloysius is not uncaring—for example, she protects an elderly nun who is going blind—but her conviction that she is defender of the bodies, minds, and souls of every pupil at the school causes her to be severe in her discipline and mistrustful of everyone in a position to influence the children. In a sudden about-face at the very end of the film, Sister Aloysius confesses to Sister James that she is struggling with doubt, though the reasons for and nature of her doubt are unclear. She’s anguished by this turn of events, but perhaps her newfound doubt is in fact a blessing that will lead to greater compassion towards others and a more genuine faith.
Life Assays 
June 28, 2011 at 3:52 am
Cast in metal kind of faith is about laziness of the mind and spirit , I think. A Holy Book tells you something or a Guru or a Priest and you just blindly believe it and apply it to your life without persevering to look into yourself deeply and then to decide wheter it really aligns itself with what your own experience of the deepest part of your own consciousness tells you . The sad part is when those beliefs make you rigid and intolerant instead of empathetic and compassionate as in the case of Sister Aloysius. I’ve seen that film..Meryl Streep as always excels in her acting. While reading this, i remembered reading a few years ago about Mother Teresa’s letters expressing her doubts. I remember thinking..now that’s what makes her a really great person…that she did what she did, here in India , tending for the poor and the abandoned, not because she was aiming for a place in Heaven , but because she felt that love and compassion should be the guiding motivations of our lives. Came across this link. Thought you would be interested.
http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/catholic-dir/55979-mother-teresas-letters-reveal-isolation-doubts.html
June 28, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Thank you so much for your comment. What you wrote about accepting what one is taught without ever questioning it or looking inside to see what your experience tells you reminds me of psychologist James Fowler’s stages of faith. He says that most people don’t progress beyond what he calls Synthetic Conventional Faith. That stage is characterized by conformity to one’s social group and lack of critical reflection on what one has been taught. In contrast, a minority of people move past this stage to Intuitive-Reflective Faith, characterized by struggle and uncertainty but also by taking personal responsibility for one’s beliefs.
I appreciate the link. I knew that Mother Teresa’s letters had revealed her struggles with doubt, but it’s nice to learn more about the unusual combination of doubt and certainty that she experienced.