I don't see why a belief cannot be genuinely challenged but without being discarded even temporarily.
I can play Devil's Advocate and try and adopt a theistic perspective without actually becoming a believer even for a second.... so I don't see why a believer has to become an atheist in order to honestly be skeptical.
In fact, they wouldn't need to be skeptical and scrutinize their belief if they already lost it and were atheist. So surely the only time a theist can question his belief is when he is still a theist, otherwise he wouldn't even hold the said belief in God in order to scrutinize it (whether momentarily or permanently)?
EvF
I can play Devil's Advocate and try and adopt a theistic perspective without actually becoming a believer even for a second.... so I don't see why a believer has to become an atheist in order to honestly be skeptical.
In fact, they wouldn't need to be skeptical and scrutinize their belief if they already lost it and were atheist. So surely the only time a theist can question his belief is when he is still a theist, otherwise he wouldn't even hold the said belief in God in order to scrutinize it (whether momentarily or permanently)?
EvF