Reason is not the enemy of Christian faith, it is a vital and indispensable part of it. It’s common for atheists, agnostics, sceptics and unbelievers in general to mock Christians by claiming that we ignore reason. In fact the opposite is (or should be) true. And despite what some Christians think-which is that if you try to augment your faith with facts you’re destroying faith-the Christian faith is the most logical there is. The two work hand-in hand.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1).
Here we are, right in the middle of the New Testament, being told, in the famous chapter on faith, exactly what faith is. And the writer says that faith is “being sure”. It’s not a wishy-washy wishful thinking. This kind of faith outlined and commended in “the faith chapter” is so sure that it endures even severe persecution, and endeavours to have an entirely changed life because of what is believed. There’s nothing wishy-washy about that.
From the day I committed myself to Jesus, I could not understand anyone wanting to loosely associate themselves with the gospel message but not accept what it claims. Some might call me a “fundamentalist”. Well, if being sure of what you believe is fundamentalism, it’s a valid label-even if they misinterpret what those beliefs are-and nothing to be ashamed of. Why is there such fear in being sure of something in our time? This is why corrupt politicians run our nations and our cities: no-one has the stomach to confront them (except Donald Trump). What is the point in any other position? If it’s about what tickles your fancy, forget it: I have other things to do with my time.
If it’s true, give your life to it. If it’s not, take up yoga or newt breeding or stamp collecting. If you aren’t all that sure, search for the evidence which will give you that surety. But I’ll give you a warning in that regard. If you go and ask Nancy Pelosi or CNN if Trump was a good president, you aren’t likely to get an entirely unbiased answer. If you enquire of Chinese Communist party leader Xi Jinping what makes free-market capitalism so productive you’re likely to receive his own slant on the subject. And in the same vein, if you ask an atheist or a sceptic for evidence that the Bible is trustworthy, don’t expect a balanced reply. That’s logical, isn’t it?
A very polite and pleasant atheist took me to task on my blog last week. He suggested that I learn something about evolution so that I could have the correct view of life, the universe and everything. I assured him that I attended a secular school and a secular college where I was taught evolution. I’ve been bombarded all my life with evolutionism on secular TV and radio. I listen to secular science podcasts where evolution is preached, and from where I build a picture of just how unproven evolution is, despite the swagger of its proponents. I’ve been to look for evidence of evolution at museums (and found only artists impressions of what they were told happened) and I’ve done plenty of my own study on related issues. It’s time now, now that I have given my heart to Jesus and the God of the Bible, to search out evidence which further confirms my conviction that the Bible really is the inspired word of God. I want to know and enjoy what God has done, not what man chooses to believe as a poor alternative.
The apostle Peter wrote this in his second letter:
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge (2 Peter 1:5).
Knowledge is not sinful, if fact we are to pursue it. With genuine knowledge we can beat back the lies promoted in our world; we can defend the faith and help to convince others. This is another of the best reasons to gain that knowledge:
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).
This isn’t easy in our present age. Many people, and the institutions they have commandeered, have steered our society away from the God of the Bible. To be blunt they hate what God stands for, and the fact that they would have to change their ways under a Christian worldview They want you to hate it too. There is no neutrality in our world, which is why Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (Matthew 12:30, NKJV). It’s also difficult to confront someone what has been adequately brainwashed and educated in the philosophies which oppose our faith. We can’t know everything-but we can know something, and that something may be all that’s required to make a difference in our world. Jesus called us to be witnesses, not know-alls.
We are living in a post-truth age, in which Truth in the objective sense is a non-issue, but where lies and deception are perfectly acceptable-so long as they are entirely woke, of course. We have been taken from a Christian society, where, yes, nothing was perfect and human nature was still human nature, to a paganised society, where Jesus Christ and holiness and righteousness are ignored or hated.
So if we want our faith to grow; if we want to know that surety and to be secure in our faith, and if we want to honour our God instead of risking calling Him a liar, we need to augment our faith with knowledge and reason.
I’ve shared a few resources recently with those of you who would like to sure up your understanding of creation over the religion of our time-religion, evolutionism. In the past few days I’ve been enjoying a terrific video called “Is Genesis History?-Watch the Full Film”, viewable free in its entirety on YouTube. It has had 1.7 million views. It’s a little technical in places, but definitely a faith-builder. In the very near future, I intend to similarly share with you some information on the origin and reliability of our Scriptures.
Please take a moment to share this post. Comments are welcome, even from atheists. Thanks for reading!
Fuel for Faith 