Doubt in Search of Understanding

Abstract

This article argues for a reappraisal of the nature of doubt. Doubt is itself an ambiguous phenomenon: it may signify unbelief but it may also be an expression of faith. Two major theological approaches to doubt are considered, as evidenced in the works of Newman and Tillich. Neither one is adequate to the ambiguity of doubt. The second part of the article explores the significance of doubt as a factor in the Australian religious context, drawing on contemporary Australian literature to illustrate the ambiguity, and possible significance for theology, of that doubt.