Know Doubt: Embracing Uncertainty in Your Faith

Written by John Ortberg

Narrated by John Ortberg

In this refreshingly candid look at what it takes to live a life of faith, John Ortberg takes an honest look at the misgivings and uncertainties that often shake our beliefs as we navigate through the highs and lows of life.

Reflecting on his own bouts with doubt and uncertainty, Ortberg shares with readers his discovery that, rather than being a contradiction in terms, doubt and faith may be very much a part of each other. He challenges readers to consider how doubt can motivate us to study and learn, how questioning expands our understanding, and how uncertainty can lead to trust. These challenges point us toward the relief of being totally honest.

The right kind of doubt can be a gift—an action-generating truth that actually allows us to deepen our faith and intimacy with God. Written to challenge, comfort, and inspire readers, Know Doubtreveals uncertainty as a cause for celebration.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Nov 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9780310343462

John Ortberg

John Ortberg is teaching pastor of Menlo Church and author of many books, including God Is Closer Than You Think.

Reviews for Know Doubt

[tcarter_77 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this book very helpful. Written with humour, honesty, and wit; this book engages and wrestles with the deep questions of life. It doesn't pretend to have all the answers to these questions but does unashamedly assert that the most satisfying way of living with them is found in following Jesus. With an author who is not afraid to tell stories against himself there is a humility and wisdom to this book that I found liberating. Ortberg argues that faith and doubt are not necessarily opposed, but that doubt, rightfully understood, can allow faith space to grow. Having said that, he also acknowledges that doubt can go bad, and shows how it can lead to unhealthy scepticism and cynicism. Further, he argues that faith can also go bad if it is understood to require dogmatism and certainty. I am frustrated in writing this, because I feel that I am not doing the book good service. Go and read it, he writes about it better than I can!

[dk_phoenix_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

From page 23: "Perhaps great believers and great doubters are more like each other than either group is like the great mass of relatively disinterested middle-grounders. Bother are preoccupied with understanding the nature of the universe. Both agree that this is, after all, the great question."Indeed. I'm glad Ortberg took the time to write a book like this, because faith & doubt do co-exist, and few people realize or recognize that both have a place. Ortberg's book discusses what roles faith & doubt play in his life, in our lives, in the world around us... and explains why we need to listen to doubters and discuss things intelligently, not just argue with them.I like the way Ortberg phrases it at the beginning of the book, which to me, set up the discussion to follow: "I must have truth. Therefore I doubt. If I did not doubt, I'd be just another one of those suckers that P.T. Barnum was so grateful get born once a minute; I'd fall for every carnival sideshow delusion that comes along. And I scorn delusion. I must have hope. Therefore I believe. If I did not believe, I would cave into despair. And I dread despair."