Quote:Actually, you aren't even supposed to think about questioning it!
That depends on with whom you speak.
At the Catholic school I attended I was taught only a fool never doubts or questions their faith.
There is an experience in Christian (and other religions) called 'the dark night of the soul' which describes the agony of doubt many believers endure. Many do not recover and become atheist or agnostic.
Quote:Dark night of the soul is a metaphor used to describe a phase in a person's spiritual life, marked by a sense of loneliness and desolation. It is referenced by spiritual traditions throughout the world, but in particular by Christianity.
Quote:Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French Carmelite, underwent similar experience. Centering on doubts about the afterlife, she reportedly told her fellow nuns, "If you only knew what darkness I am plunged into."[1]
While this crisis is presumed to be temporary in nature, it may be extended. The "dark night" of Saint Paul of the Cross in the 18th century lasted 45 years, from which he ultimately recovered. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, according to letters released in 2007, "may be the most extensive such case on record", lasting from 1948 almost up until her death in 1997, with only brief interludes of relief between.[2] Franciscan Friar Father Benedict Groeschel, a friend of Mother Teresa for a large part of her life, claims that "the darkness left" towards the end of her life.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_night_of_the_soul
