Thank you for the article. I appreciate the way you tell us to discuss our doubts. But how does this all square with James 1:5-8? James seems to indicate that we should not have doubts. Or at least we should resolve doubts before we go to the Lord in prayer (unless our prayer is about our doubts).
Also, the reference in the first sentence of the fifth paragraph should be to Lk 7:18-23 instead of Mt 7:18-23.
Good question, Tom. The word in question is diakrino, which appears over 40 times in both the Septuagint and the writings of Josephus, and yet never ended up being translated by the English word "doubt." The word can mean a lot of things, actually, including to judge, distinguish, dispute, etc. In Mt 16:3 it's translated as "interpret," and in Acts 10:20 it's rendered by the verb "to hesitate." Looking at both the ancient Syriac and Latin translations of Jas 1:6, the preferred translation appears to be "let him ask in faith without hesitation." Now, if the word does indicate some form of "doubt" I would argue that it chiefly refers to a lack of trust related to the way Jesus answers prayer –– not whether Jesus exists in the first place. When it comes to the latter, Jesus was happy to provide "many convincing proofs" (Jn 20:24-28, Acts 1:3, etc.) in order to assure his followers that he really was Israel's promised Messiah.
Thank you very much for the thorough explanation in your reply. Your thoughtful and thorough analysis is probably the main reason I am attracted to your substack.
Thank you for the article. I appreciate the way you tell us to discuss our doubts. But how does this all square with James 1:5-8? James seems to indicate that we should not have doubts. Or at least we should resolve doubts before we go to the Lord in prayer (unless our prayer is about our doubts).
Also, the reference in the first sentence of the fifth paragraph should be to Lk 7:18-23 instead of Mt 7:18-23.
Good question, Tom. The word in question is diakrino, which appears over 40 times in both the Septuagint and the writings of Josephus, and yet never ended up being translated by the English word "doubt." The word can mean a lot of things, actually, including to judge, distinguish, dispute, etc. In Mt 16:3 it's translated as "interpret," and in Acts 10:20 it's rendered by the verb "to hesitate." Looking at both the ancient Syriac and Latin translations of Jas 1:6, the preferred translation appears to be "let him ask in faith without hesitation." Now, if the word does indicate some form of "doubt" I would argue that it chiefly refers to a lack of trust related to the way Jesus answers prayer –– not whether Jesus exists in the first place. When it comes to the latter, Jesus was happy to provide "many convincing proofs" (Jn 20:24-28, Acts 1:3, etc.) in order to assure his followers that he really was Israel's promised Messiah.
Thank you very much for the thorough explanation in your reply. Your thoughtful and thorough analysis is probably the main reason I am attracted to your substack.