Category: Theology

To believe something means to accept a claim as true. To disbelieve something means to reject a claim as false. But to doubt means to question whether a claim is true or false.

Belief is a decision to accept a claim. Disbelief is a decision to reject a claim as false. But doubt means to suspend judgement about the claim until further evidence clarifies the matter

Similar But Not the Same

Doubt and disbelief can look similar. They both refuse to accept the claim. But they are not the same. Doubt is indecision, disbelief is a decision. Douby is inaction, disbelief is action. It rejects the claim as false and then acts as if the claim is false. Doubt does not act on the truth or falseness of the claim

Know Them by Their Fruit

This is why Jesus told us to judge people by their fruit. By fruit he is talking about their daily conduct, both in words and deeds. These will indicate what a person really believes.

We can also use the same method to understand our own beliefs. No one has deceived us so often as ourselves. Examine yourself, what do your words and actions truly say about what you really believe.

1 I was small among my brethren, and youngest in my father’s house: I tended my father’s sheep. 2 My hands formed a musical instrument, and my fingers tuned a psaltery. 3 And who shall tell my Lord? the Lord himself, he himself hears. 4 He sent forth his angel, and took me from my father’s sheep, and he anointed me with the oil of his anointing. 5 My brothers were handsome and tall; but the Lord did not take pleasure in them. 6 I went forth to meet the Philistine; and he cursed me by his idols. 7 But I drew his own sword, and beheaded him, and removed reproach from the children of Israel.

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Note: Brenton Septuagint Translation. This Psalm appears in the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible. You will find it in Eastern Orthodox Bibles. It was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Alisa Childers in her book Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, makes a fundamental error about Progressive Christianity. It is that Progressive Christianity is one thing.

As I say in “A Progressive Christian Declaration”:

“Progressive Christianity is not a unified group, but a movement that seeks to be honest with the evidence of science, history, and modern scholarship.”

But the response to this evidence is varied, ranging from conservative adjustments to a radical abandoning of core Christian doctrines. So to paint Progressive Christianity with a broad brush as another gospel is unfair.

Unlike the pastor she uses as a representative of Progressive Christianity, I am not an agnostic. I believe in the Virgin birth of Christ. I believe in the resurrection of Christ. I believe in the atonement. And I believe the Bible is given by the inspiration of God and contains all things needed for our salvation.

That is not another gospel, that is the essential doctrines handed down by the historical church. Alisa Childers picture of Progressive Christianity is a caricature, because it is “a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect” (Oxford English Dictionary).

So to say that Progressive Christians believe this, or deny that, or the like, is simply incorrect. Rather, they should say that some Progressive Christians believe this, or deny that. Because not all do. In fact, there is a growing group of Progressive Christians who believe that the Nicene Creed should form the foundational understanding of what Christianity is.

Every so often somebody will ask me about which translation of the Bible do I recommend. Although there are exceptions to this, I usually recommend one of two translations. It depends on what they are going to be using the Bible for.

Read or Study?

There are two basic uses of the Bible. The first use is to read the Bible. The second use is to study the Bible. And there is, in my opinion, a best translation for each of these practices.

New International Version

For reading the Bible, I recommend the New International Version (2011). I think it is in modern English, it is fairly accurate, and it is easy for most people to read. It is currently the best-selling Bible translation.

New Revised Standard Version

For studying the Bible, I recommend the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (2021). That is because I think this is the most accurate and scholarly translation. But admittedly, the translation uses more difficult words and requires a larger vocabulary. Therefore, it requires a little more work.

So there you have it. If you’re looking to read the Bible, get the NIV. If you’re looking to study the Bible, get the NRSVue.

Lent 2025 begins today, Wednesday, March 5, it ends Saturday, April 19. This is Psalm 51:1-17, it is an appropriate prayer to pray every day during Lent.