Could Your Questions Be the Beginning of a More Honest Faith?

What if that persistent question is asking us to examine our faith, not abandon it? Bring the belief into the light and give the reasons an honest hearing.

By Pastor Chris Cahill · 2 minute read · Reflection

We can repeat an answer perfectly and still carry a question it never reached. That does not automatically make us rebels or experts. It gives us something to examine honestly: what we believe, what we have experienced, and why the answer no longer seems enough.

Mark 9 gives us a father who brings belief and unbelief into the same appeal to Jesus. That prayer can accompany us when our own words feel divided.

Separate the passage from the package

A teaching may have reached you alongside family expectations, political loyalties, or a particular church culture. Those memories deserve a hearing. We can take time to separate what we were taught from the way we were treated.

Put the teaching beside the passage. Read both carefully. Scripture, somebody’s interpretation, and a community’s habits are not automatically interchangeable. Invite a trusted companion to help you sort them without hurrying you toward an approved conclusion.

An unsettling question still needs evidence

Challenging an old assumption can feel like fresh air. Enjoy the breathing room, but still check the claim. Relief cannot do the work of evidence, and fear of changing our minds cannot settle an argument either.

Read arguments in their strongest form. Check quotations in context. Let people explain their own traditions. Reconstructing Christ’s preface invites readers to examine the narratives they inherited; the invitation also applies to the narratives we acquire while questioning.

Make room for the person doing the asking

Ask both “What is true?” and “What happened to me?” They deserve their own attention. We should not use somebody’s pain to dismiss their reasoning, or use a tidy argument to wave away their pain.

In Mark 9:24, a father brings belief and unbelief into the same appeal to Jesus. You can bring that same honesty into your own prayer. An honest beginning can be small: one question, one careful reading, one conversation with someone willing to listen.

Write down one question. Read one passage in context. Talk with someone willing to listen. Bring your heart as well as your argument, and give the next person room to do the same.

Faith, hope, and love in action through Christ and kindness.