Mother Teresa

Did you see this article about Mother Teresa earlier this week? She was such a respected woman, known for her faith in God, yet she had serious doubts about God and didn't seem to feel his presence for a long time. Some people are saying this is a sign that this whole religion thing is a sham, that this proves that even the people with the strongest faith don't have good reasons for believing in God. Others are saying this makes her even more of a saint because of how she suffered.

Is the latter group saying it's admirable to ignore the lack of evidence for God's existence and just pretend he's real? I'm sure they would say no, but I can see why some people would understand it that way. I think there are reasons to believe God exists, but those reasons aren't obvious enough to eliminate all doubt. Keeping the faith will often mean wrestling with doubt, but that doesn't mean we have to go against our own rationality to keep believing.

I wish Mother Teresa didn't have to keep this struggle so private, and I wish I didn't have to either. Yes, I admit general things like, "I experience some doubt" or "I went through my most serious time of doubt two years ago," but I tend not to say anything when I'm at the height of my doubts.