doubt a virtue?

I find this post by Dan Phillps at Pyromaniacs interesting at several levels.

Phillips opted to recycle one of the demotivating posters created by Phil Johnson. I discussed this specific one months ago. The poster references an article that I think said nothing related to the implication by TeamPyro. The implication seems to be that Emergents see doubt as a virtue even above faith. However I found the article to be about an individual's struggle in search of truth and faith. He wrote honestly about this difficult process and shared that there was value simply in the journey. His personal struggle helped him form the necessary hard questions.

Asking the right question is more important than finding the right answer to the wrong question. Challenging existing paradigms can strengthen a current position through real understanding rather than dependance on tradition. Conversely, to question to identify and jettison unhealthy traditions dressed up as true religion to later find real truth is good. Etc..

And isn't it often true that lessons learned the hard way are the most valuable or become the most deeply embraced?

Phillips takes a look Jesus' words to His disciples as recorded in Luke, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?" I like it. To Phillips' point, why are you doubting is not a question Jesus was asking to gather information. He was saying that by now it should be impossible that you disbelieve (again and again) - stop it.

So I like Phillips' point. If you know Jesus, if you have experienced His saving grace at all, then stop doubting in His ability to sustain you. He is our Rock and our Fortress - forever faithful.

What I dislike is Phillips' implication that it is wrong to go through a "dark night of the soul" or to question things such as "does knowing Jesus really require me to vote Republican and sit in a red-brick building listening to someone in a suit lecture every Sunday morning?"

Doubting is healthy. If we never doubt, we will never seek truth. But once we find Him, the Truth, we should never doubt Him. And we should never hold doubt as more valuable than finding the answer. But to imply that searching and questioning is wrong or to mislead others to think that a group such as emergents value doubt over faith - well, that's a lie.