Skepticism

Skepticism is not evil. Questioning is not unhealthy. 

Qualifying is good, and clarifying is helpful. 

It annoys me when I see Christians, specifically, who are afraid or unwilling or too brainwashed into submission to "authority" to question, test, and vet what their leaders say, do, and write. If the Apostle Paul himself appeared in our church, would we question whether what he said was true and vet it thoroughly through reason and the scriptures? If not, we would be unworthy of the accolades he gave the Bereans- Paul preached to them, and they went home and vetted what he said.

Acts 17:10-11 says: Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

 Far from being censured for this, they are recorded in scripture as being "fair minded", (that's the KJV talking) or noble. They were commended because they listened readily to the teaching, and then compared it to their scriptures to vet it for accuracy. Questioning, probing, and testing are healthy, right, and compatible with both faith and trust. (If you're skeptical of that last statement- bravo! Question away, look it up, and push back in the comment section at your leisure.)

Nowhere in scripture are we told to follow any one preacher, doctrine, or idea blindly. Truth should only be strengthened by questioning and criticism. If an idea or position doesn't hold up to questions we would be wise to view it with suspicion. If we truly believe that God is the author of ultimate Truth, the closer we are to truth the closer we are to Truth. A healthy skepticism seeks truth, knowledge, and values these things more than comfort or conformity. I think it actually demonstrates a lack of faith when we view our beliefs as too weak to hold up to questioning, doubts, or skepticism.