Questioning versus Doubting

Religion is always a contentious issue, mostly, I think, because even after thousands of years of having them, we're still not exactly sure what they're for. Religion is treated like the whatchamacallit on the tool-bench in the garage: You're not sure what it's supposed to do, but after all these years you don't want to get rid of it just in case you figure out what it's for later.

Hm... reading that over, it seems harsher than I intended it. Mind you, I'm speaking of religion, not of God. A longing to know the Mind of God, to do His Will, is often a great asset to a person, even if there isn't a god after all (best thing about religion: Selective Capitalization). Too often, though, I feel like dogmatic adherence to a religious doctrine is detrimental to its own goals.

Taken too far, religious doctrine is used not as an answer to a question, but as an excuse not to even ask the question at all. For instance, the question of how a just God could allow suffering is an extremely complicated one, yet if I brought it up at church, I'd get fifty blank stares and one "the Lord works in mysterious ways."

When I'm trying to teach someone physics ('trying' being the operative word there...), I have to be careful to make sure they understand the methods that brought about the answer, not just the right formula to plug numbers into. And that's hard, because at some level I know nine out of ten of them are just going to memorize the formulas, pass the class, and never look at it ever again. But if I just say "the path of the projectile is a parabola:"

Y(x)= (-4.9/V_x^2)x^2 + (V_y/V_x) x + Y_0

they might get one question right, and even all the ones that are basically identical to it right, but if they can't they won't even know where to start. In the same way, if you're only depending on the answers your religion taught you, you might be able to parrot back the answers you know, but if its not something you already know you're never going to be able to figure it out.

There's a phrase you hear a lot at church (or my church, anyway): "questioning one's faith." It's always said somewhat regretfully, usually after a short pause, as below:

A: I heard Tom was down at the Temple of Bacchus the other night.
B: /sigh/ Yes. He's been... questioning his faith.

In this case, the question is whether Tom might have more fun at a drunken orgy than at Sunday worship service. My point is, euphemisms like that give the impression that it's somehow immoral to ask questions about matters of faith, when in reality a well-guided doubt is crucial in establishing lasting beliefs.

The truth is, we are lucky (blessed, if you prefer) to have a natural curiosity. The idea of questions being discouraged in order to preserve someone's idea of what's proper is foolishness, for without asking new questions (or even old questions, just to double-check) there's no way to make any progress.

Whether asking these questions results in people leading better lives is a somewhat different question. Presumably, if they ask them and are ostracized by their peers, shunned, banished, excommunicated...

I can imagine situations where a person would be better off just keeping their mouth shut. I can even imagine certain situations, and certain questions, where they'd be better off keeping their mind shut, situations where one will end up happier, more productive, wiser, or any other method you care to measure success by, if they had simply never thought to question it.

But it is much harder for me to imagine a society that will not be better off if it treats such questioning with respect and patience.

Next Time(philosophy): Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Cthulhu, & the Large Hadron Collider
Next Time (40k): The Blood Angels, aka "Space Marines Painted Red!"
Next Time (CopStuff): Hostage Negotiations(!), Aug. 13