
On a cloudy California day, the atheist Sam Harris sat down with the Christian pastor Rick Warren to hash out Life's Biggest Question—Is God real? A NEWSWEEK exclusive.
I don't know about you, but I often have my doubts about God. In my most vulnerable and sincere moments, I can only pray "Lord, have mercy on me a sinner", and "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief." This Newsweek article doesn't wipe away all doubt. In college, I read "Evidence That Demands a Verdict", and that didn't do the trick either. I don't think anything will. But I still find myself wishing for something phenomenal to jolt my faith. Longing for some "proof" of God. Hoping that maybe he will give me some spectacular gift or sign. Into all this wishful thinking, God reminded again this morning. It was like Christianity 101.
I was reminded this morning that even if I did have faultless faith, and could move mountains, if I could speak in the tongues of angels, could prophesy, and could understand the mysteries of God; if I gave away all I had, and spent all my time with the homeless; if I died a martyr for the faith; if I saw and felt the power of God moving mightily through me, so much so that my faith never faltered, and yet I DIDN'T HAVE LOVE, then I would be NOTHING (1 Cor. 13.1-3).
I was reminded also that there will be on that Day many who come to Jesus and say "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" And we all know what he will say: "Depart from me, I never knew you." Surely these prophets, exorsists and miracle workers believed the right stuff, right? I mean, how else would God work through them? Something was missing. Must have been love.
So I wonder, shouldn't the litmus test for faith not be measured in terms of doubt, but in terms of Love. I mean, if people are going to know we are Christians by our love, and if the evidence of our love for Christ is our joyful obedience to God, and if obeying God means a supernatural love for our enemies, then isn't Faith = Love a better example of biblical arithmetic than Faith = not doubting?
Anyway, so here I am again... Weak and wobbling in my faith, humbly depending on God to sustain me, and praying for the life-giving stream of his love to overflow in me. I can't say all my doubts are washed away. I don't live in Eden. But I'll let God have the last word:
"What can be known about God is plain to [everyone], because he has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly percieved, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Rom 1.19, 20).




