but the confidence that there is probably something more (or less) than meets the eye, be it a hypothesis, doubting a hatchet got in a stump by itself, whathaveyou.

as for judaism being the 'only' religion that encourages questioning, i think one thing some christians haven't seemed to glean from scriptures is the repeated encouragement to 'question teachers', 'taste' statements to see if they're true, etc. god is not the god of 'gullible people only'. like when we're kids in school and we know the answer, and try to lift our arm up out of its socket to be called on, only to be passed over to ask someone else. the enthusiastic kid, then silent, is thought of as not knowing/caring cuz he wasn't called on. i don't 'doubt' that might be how god feels sometimes when we say, gee, i wonder, and he's wishing we'd just ask him. but that's another thread, and probably another forum.

HOORAY FOR DOUBT, acknowledging a possibility is half the battle of finding the truth at last!