A Few Ramblings on the Nature of Faith

                I haven't yet watched the debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye, but I hope to be able to do so soon. This morning, though, I felt compelled to write a note about my own understanding on what faith is and when we ought to have faith. I remember years ago watching a documentary on PBS telling why creationism was dumb. They interviewed a kid who had been raised in a Christian family and went to college, where he was taught about evolution and came to question his faith. Then the interview shifted to his parents, who basically said, "Faith isn't supposed to make sense! It's not based on logic or reasoning; you're just supposed to believe it." Let me tell you: according to that logic, faith really would be pretty dumb. So would creationism. If evidence pointed out that something was not true, and you believed it anyway, that would be pretty dumb of you.
Yet many Christians go through their lives thinking that they have to believe something dumb. They think that logic is a bad thing, because it leads you away from God. In our world, it doesn't really matter if something is true--just believe what you want. You can slap a "reality" label on a TV show, even if it's something as ridiculous as moonshiners pretending to be scared that someone would find out that they are involved in making alcohol illegally (which, by the way, is not illegal, and if you were scared of people finding out why broadcast it on TV?!)

                You know who's not afraid of evidence? God. God made the evidence. God made the world and all the scientific principles connected to it. God invented logic and reason. He's the Logos. If something is true, it will point to God. If it's not true, we shouldn't pretend that it is. It's not respectful to God to pretend that things are true when they're really not. So where does that leave faith? First of all, let's define faith. There are basically two definitions of faith. The first is "being convinced that something is true, or having confidence in someone." The second is "a strong belief in god or religious doctrines, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof." Let me tell you, the kind of faith that the Bible talks about has everything to do with the first definition and nothing to do with the second. I don't even know what "apprehension" they're talking about, but this isn't a vocabulary lesson. The Bible talks about faith as being convinced that something is true. That doesn't mean you have to throw out proof. It doesn't mean that you believe things blindly, things that make no sense, that you have no reason for what you believe. That would just be dumb. That kind of faith was never expected of believers in the Bible, and God doesn't expect it now, either. The Bible also talks about having confidence in God because you know who He is--being sure that God will carry something out, because you trust His character. I'll talk about that kind of faith later. For now, let me ask you why you believe what you believe? Do you have a reason for it? You should have a reason for what you believe. You should be open to reason--able to listen to the other side of a matter, and discerning--being able to figure out what is true and what is not true. The Bible never says to throw your brains out the door. Truth is never something to be afraid of. Just to be clear, I do believe in creationism. But I don't believe it in spite of all the overwhelming evidence pointing toward evolution. I believe it because there is no evidence pointing out that evolution could ever be true on a large scale. I know that within a species, animals and plants can experience slight changes over time, which is one form of evolution. But to say that it explains the origins of the world, that every plant and every animal is descended from the same organism, defies logic.

                One homeschool method that I researched for a while turned me off with its principle that you should teach your child "the way of faith, rather than the way of reason." Reason, it says, can be faulty and lead your child astray. Many, many Christians believe this way. Let me tell you something shocking: faith can lead your child astray! It absolutely can. If you teach your child things that are not true, and try to teach him to have faith in them even if they don't make sense, your child might believe those things and be led astray. I've studied other religions. I know how parents indoctrinate their children away from truth, because they believe false things themselves. How do we witness to people who are indoctrinated into another faith? It is very difficult, because those people are not always open to reason. You can encourage them to look at the sources for what they believe, and various reasons that their religion could not be correct, but they do not want to look at logic. If their religion says that Native Americans are descended from Jews, but DNA studies have shown that this is not true, they ignore the DNA studies because it challenges their faith. There is nothing you can say to convince them not to believe in what they believe, because their belief is not founded on anything reasonable in the first place. If you can point out inconsistencies in their holy book, they ignore them because they have swallowed the book blindly, never challenging its claims.

                This is not the kind of religion I follow. Many people who are in "my camp;" that is, those who believe the same doctrine that I do--do follow religion in this way. They follow what they have always been taught, rather than challenging what they have been taught to see if it is really true. They hold to a blind faith, trust that is not connected to any reasonable idea, and they have never looked into the reasonableness of their own faith. It has somewhat disgusted my husband and me to find how prevalent these beliefs are in our kind of churches. Even in our own college, an English teacher said this horrible statement: "George Washington was the first president of the United States. That is a fact. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That is faith." Not only did she say this, but she had the audacity to infer that you should go ahead and believe Jesus rose from the dead anyway, even if you don't think it is a fact! Here is where I stand: Either Jesus did rise from the dead, and that would be a fact, or he did not rise from the dead, and that would be a fact. You can't say, "It is not a fact that Jesus rose from the dead, but you should believe it anyway!" That is just dumb. Believe the facts, people. Reject what is not a fact, or at least be honest enough to say, "I'm not sure if that's true or not." I do believe Jesus rose from the dead. I believe it's a fact. If I didn't believe it was a fact, it would be a lie to say that I believe it. Should you question your faith? Absolutely! It is foolish not to. It is foolish to believe in something just because you were raised that way. It is foolish to try to believe something is true if your common sense or your sense of logic tells you that it is impossible. And truly, I believe it does not do God justice. How do I raise my children? I raise them to think critically and logically. I raise them to question and find answers. I teach them why I believe what I believe, and trust that they will follow me in the things I have shown them that are true. I actually tried one day to tell Paul about the tooth fairy, and I must have done it wrong because he laughed and said, "Yeah, right!" I may have played that game wrong, but I am proud that I am raising my son to be a critical thinker, to think for himself no matter what Mom and Dad say.

                Many people are surprised when they hear that no one "led" my husband to Christ. He didn't become a Christian because someone witnessed to him. He went to church a few times as a kid, and his dad told him the Bible would be a good thing to read, although his dad did not at that time understand the gospel. But when my husband was 12 years old, he decided to search out answers for himself. Despite going to public school, he could tell from nature that there was a God. He figured that God would probably do something to him after he died, and he wanted to find out if that would be heaven or hell, and what he could do about it. It was a perfectly logical thing for him to begin to research. He started reading the Bible on his own. He also researched other religions, but none of them made sense. He picked up books like "More Than a Carpenter" from the grocery store, which helped to answer some questions that he had. He trusted in Jesus as his Savior from sin, and a few years later began attending church. My husband is a logical, reasonable guy. If Christianity was not true, he wouldn't believe it. He doesn't let other people decide for him what he believes. He doesn't have family ties forcing him to hold to the old-time religion. He believes the Bible because it makes sense. And I have to say that his faith is stronger than anyone's I have ever met. A lot of people are unsure whether or not they could die for their religion. I can say confidently that yes, my husband would die for what he believes. He has already made his life a living sacrifice for God. He is absolutely, thoroughly convinced of the truth of God's Word. His faith is strong, but it isn't strong despite proof. It is strong because of the proof--because my husband has researched it from all angles and been convinced that this is true.

                People in Bible times did not live by blind faith, choosing to believe in something unreasonable despite evidence showing them that it could not be true. They believed in God because they heard His voice. Because they witnessed His miracles. Because they read His words. Why did Abraham believe in God? Because he heard His voice. Why did Moses believe in God? Because he heard God's voice and saw God perform miracles. Why did Paul believe that Jesus was God? Because Jesus appeared to him. Was it a blind faith, a "just believe because your parents told you so" faith? No; he actually heard Jesus' voice and saw a divine light. Why did the disciples believe? Because they saw miracles, and heard Jesus' words--which were powerful, convincing words that the Bible says made people "marvel." Even those who didn't end up believing in Him sort of dropped their jaws as He spoke. These people had faith because of what they saw and heard. So where does the "blindness" of faith come in--the "believe in things you can't see" part? Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. There is an element of faith that involves trusting in what we can't see. But the way I understand it, having hope in a future that we can't see is only possible when we have trust in a God that has revealed Himself to us first--through the Bible, through creation, through our consciences. I have seen God at work--in the world, in my personal life, throughout history, in the Bible (which when examined critically and logically, holds up against any other holy book in the world.) Therefore, I trust Him for my future. I trust Him now, when our monthly salary is not guaranteed. I trust Him to protect my husband in Africa as long as He wants my husband to continue living and serving Him--although my husband has faced dangerous diseases, a plane that was running out of gas during the trip, terrorists attacking the country he was visiting (especially attacking Westerners there), crazy taxi driving with several near-collisions and at least two actual collisions. I do have faith in God for the things I can't see. Why? Because I know God. I know He's faithful. It's reasonable to believe in Him.

                One person that I have a lot of faith in is my husband. This isn't blind, stupid faith--faith with no reason behind it. I have faith in Bill because I know him. I've lived with him for over 10 years. We started the marriage with some faith in each other, but not a whole lot. That grew over the years. In the beginning we argued with each other more than we do now, because now we understand each other better and can predict how the other person would react, and find a better way to communicate. We are open and honest with each other, and tell each other everything. We've worked through a lot of problems, and it's made our faith in each other stronger. Bill has proven to me over and over that it is worthwhile to have faith in him, because he is a faithful person. But it would be stupid of me to just find a man off the street somewhere to marry, and pour all my faith into him, trusting him no matter what, because I have chosen to believe in him. This is what some people do with religion. They want to believe something is true, so they pour their faith into it even though it is dumb. My belief in God is not something I just decided I wanted to have. It is based on facts, on logic, on a relationship with Someone that I trust because He has proven Himself faithful. (I'm talking about God now, not Bill. Bill is great, but he is still a human with flaws!) I trust the God of the future because I know the God of the past. I trust in God for things that I can't see, based on the ways that He has already shown His power.

                The purpose of this paper is not to explain all the reasons that I believe what I believe. But let me tell you, I would not believe what I believe unless there were reasonable explanations. Faith doesn't have to come blindly. It can come through the voice of God, through miracles, through convincing words. Every one of the people in the Bible who trusted in God had a reason to do so. Believing in God is a logical thing to do. It would have been illogical for people not to believe in Him after seeing Him part the Red Sea! (Although many still didn't believe in Him after seeing that, because people are and always will be illogical.) Knowing what I know about God, in the ways He has revealed Himself to me, it would be foolish and illogical to reject Him. But what do we do with our faith, once we are convinced that God is true? What did the people in Hebrews 11 do? They allowed what they believed to change their lives. They stepped forward into the unknown, doing bold and dangerous things, living for God rather than themselves, standing against opposition even to the point of death. The blind part of faith comes after God has proven Himself to us. It involves our futures--what do we do with God, once we trust Him? Are we convinced enough in what we believe that we can witness for Him, knowing that others will try to convince us that our religion is not true? I know Christians who are afraid to witness, because they think  that if someone questions their beliefs, they won't be able to answer them. I'm not afraid of other religions in the least, and it's not because I hold blindly to my faith no matter what people say. It's because my religion makes sense. It holds up to criticism. I have answers for those who question it. During my freshman year of college, when Bill and I were dating, we used to go out witnessing to people. Since then, we have witnessed to people around the world. And in all that time, I have never heard anyone give a convincing argument for why I should not believe what I believe, or why another religion is true. People don't usually try to argue why their religion is true. They just think, "it just is," and you either accept it or you don't. I don't treat my religion that way. If something is true, it will hold up against criticism. It will stand logically against opposition. If my religion did not, I would not want to believe it--who wants to believe a lie? Would I be willing to sacrifice my life for a lie? No. But I am willing to sacrifice for what I believe, because I am convinced that it is true. How sure of you of what you believe? Faith is being sure that something is true. If you are not sure of it, is it really faith? Or is it just pretending?