Madeline Albright on Faith

Former Secretary of State to President Clinton, Madeline Albright, is worried these days. In a recent article on CNN.com, "Bush's faith worries Albright," she expresses her concern for President Bush's religious belief's and how they guide his presidency. The ex-Madame Secretary was quoted as saying, "The absolute truth is what makes Bush so worrying to some of us." apparently, Ms. Albright was more comfortable with Presidents Carter and Clinton, both of which she worked for, who she says "were men of faith, but did not make their religious views part of American policy."

So, Ms. Albright is concerned with President Bush's faith, and the fact that it is rooted in "absolute truth" is especially troubling for the distressed, one-time Secretary of State. I guess if "absolute truth" frightens you, then she must have felt more comfortable with a man, who when he's in a pinch, can distort the definition of "is" – anyone remember that?

Ms. Albright goes on in the article to define "faith" from the perspective of her own "very confused religious background." Her legacy of a mixture of Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, and late-discovered Jewish ancestry makes her "wary of any religion which claims a monopoly on truth." She now claims to be an Episcopalian with an Catholic background who still prays to Mary. And she sums up her faith this way: "I know I believe in God but I have doubts, and doubt is part of faith."

Thus my impetus for posting today. Is doubt a part of faith?

No! Doubt is the opposite of faith. How sad it is that Ms. Albright counts her doubt in God as evidence of having "faith." Faith does not produce "doubt," it produces hope. Faith is the human response to having confidence in an object which leads to reliance on the object. If I doubt that my car will get me from point A to point B, then you can hardly say that I have faith in my car. Actually, you would say that I have the opposite of faith in it. Likewise, if I have doubts about Christ, I'll never rely on Him.

Hope is the positive expectation that springs from relying on (having faith in) who Christ is and what He has promised. For the person with true christian faith, even the trials and struggles of this life only serve to strengthen our faith, not cast doubt on it. It's through our struggles that God's faithfulness is proven over and over. His faithfulness in our suffering, produces hope, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost (Ro. 5:3-5).

Faith which does not lead to hope, even in the hard times of life, is not the work of God. True faith, is a work that God does in the heart, mind, and life of His children (Jn. 6:29, Eph. 2:8, 2 Thess. 1:11). To say that doubting God is a part of the work that God is doing, is to undermine God's wisdom and ability to do His pleasure.

One last thought:
While doubt is the opposite of faith, and does not spring forth from faith; that is not to say that those with true faith never experience doubt. Quite the contrary! Satan loves to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of God's children concerning the character of God and his perfect ability to perform His promises. Every time Satan whispers doubt in our ears, The Holy Spirit cries from our heart, "Abba, Father!" (Ro. 8:15, Ga. 4:6).

This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith (1 Jn. 5:4).