A fundamental challenge (and a proper one!) you will encounter the moment you begin your evangelistic efforts, is the question of why you believe a particular thing to be the case. ⁽¹⁾This isn’t just true in the case of religion, by the way. ‘Evangelize’ for something like organic food, or why a Mac is better than a PC, and see what happens. For example, just the other day I was challenged concerning why I believe the Bible rather than the myriad other religious texts. And while the question is often posed in a mocking way, it is actually a great question. Christian apologists such as Greg Koukl in his book, Tactics, recommend we (Christians) start doing more such asking of our own.

But, before we look at the reasons people do believe things, it might be helpful to consider reasons they might not. It is often said that there are three fundamental reasons people reject Christianity. I think this typically applies in general.

Intellectual

This reason for rejecting a position rests on the data, or at least the person’s perception or interpretation of the data. It doesn’t mean they understand the facts correctly, but that are grounding their decision in this manner. This would be the claim of most atheists as to why they reject Christianity.

A person might reject the idea of aliens, for example, if they understand fine-tuning principals and astrophysics. Or, they might reject global warming because they just experienced a really cold winter. (Note: in this last example, the interpretation of the data and reasoning is in error, but the rejection falls into the intellectual category.)

Emotional

An emotional rejection occurs when the reason for the decision is based in a person’s experience and reaction, rather than a proper intellectual analysis. As above, their position could be correct or in error. In our Christian context, this might be the person who rejects Christianity because they were abused by a Christian leader.

A person might reject global warming because they don’t trust environmentalists. Or, maybe they reject Islam because they know someone who was killed in the 9/11 attacks.

Volitional (will) or Moral

A volitional rejection occurs when what a person wills overrides the intellectual analysis. Again, this doesn’t necessarily make the decision to be in error. Someone who loves dark-chocolate covered coffee beans, and selects them over jelly beans, might reap health benefits in the process with no knowledge of nutrition or scientific studies. Someone might reject Christianity because they don’t like the impact on their lifestyle. Or, a person might reject global warming because they don’t want to give up their SUV.

I hope it is easy to see why emotional and volitional reasons for believing something can be problematic. However, it is important to keep these in mind. If they are the reasons, the intellectual will almost always be overridden.

Reasons people believe things

Societal

The grounding for this reason is in what one is taught by the common knowledge of the society in which they live (aka. conventional wisdom). It is influenced by many factors which may or may not have credibility. For example, that going out into the cold with a wet head makes you sick. Or, that a Twinkie has an infinite shelf-life. That said, conventional wisdom is often quite good, it just isn’t the correct basis on which to believe something.

Authority

The grounding for this reason is what someone in a position of authority might tell you, such as parents or teachers. Maybe your parents stressed that if you fall in the water and stay under too long you might drown. Whether or not you’ve ever been swimming, or studied the effects of water on human lungs, this would probably be a good thing to believe.

However, maybe a teacher taught you that the Miller-Urey experiment (the one with the glass apparatus containing water and gases where electrical discharge produced amino acids) showed how life could have started on the early earth. While that teacher had good intentions, it might be wise to be a bit skeptical. Authority can be (and usually is) a great reason to believe something. Most of what we know relies on this principal.

Psychological

This is a type of grounding that is based on your psychological state or feelings. Examples would be things you believe because they give you comfort or hope. Maybe you believe someone isn’t lying to you because they are pleasant to be around. I think it is pretty easy to see how such a grounding could be in error. But, that doesn’t mean it is necessarily in error.

Religious

This type of grounding shares much in common with authority above. However, it goes a bit beyond this with the inclusion of supernatural involvement. For example, if a particular scripture is revealed by deity, then it would at least have the potential for a higher level of knowledge and accuracy. If the religion is false, this grounding could be wildly unreliable. However, if the religion is true, this grounding would be better than anything we have access to. We can be mistaken, even in our perception of reality. God, as defined by Christianity, or even classical theism, has all knowledge and can’t lie, so would be the only 100% reliable source of information.

Philosophical

This type of grounding is based on a correspondence of beliefs and facts. It is, in fact, called the Correspondence Theory of Truth. As J.P. Moreland put it:

“In its simplest form, the correspondence theory of truth says that a proposition is true just in case it corresponds to reality, when what it asserts to be the case is the case. … Grass’s being green makes Sally’s thought true even if Sally is blind and cannot tell whether or not it is true, and even if Sally does not believe the thought. Reality makes thoughts true or false. A thought is not made true by someone believing it or by someone being able to determine whether or not it is true.” ⁽²⁾Truth, Contemporary Philosophy, and the Postmodern Turn by Dr. J.P. Moreland.

While this Correspondence Theory might seem obvious, it is important to note how this differs from the others. While the others might be grounded in reality, they don’t have to be. In other words, they could be correct, but they might not be.

So, why believe something?

Because it is true! That’s the only good reason.

“But wait,” the Christian might say, what about the Bible? Yes, the Bible is a special case, but not for the reason some might assume. Making the argument for why this is the case is beyond the scope of this article, but let’s just say that, “The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it,” doesn’t quite cut it!

We’re warned over and over in Scripture to test the spirits, ⁽³⁾1 John 4:1 and in fact to test everything. ⁽⁴⁾1 Thes 5:20 The Apostle Paul spent years carefully checking out the claims of Christianity, and the Berean Jews were commended for examining the Christian testimony carefully. ⁽⁵⁾Acts 17:10-11 Even Jesus pointed at miracles, ⁽⁶⁾John 10:38 and responded to John the Baptists doubts by pointing at prophecy. ⁽⁷⁾Matt 11:2-5 In fact, Old Testament prophecy is indicated as a marker for knowing the true God, as false Gods aren’t able to know the future. ⁽⁸⁾Isa 41:21-23 Romans 1 tells us that we’re all without excuse because God is plainly revealed by the world and universe around us. ⁽⁹⁾Rom 1:20 And, don’t forget, our arch-rival Satan is said to appear as an ‘angel of light’ and not the red-dude with a pitch-fork! ⁽¹⁰⁾2 Cor 11:13-15

When someone asks you why you believe something, especially Christianity, your first answer should be, “because it is true.” Then, back that up by presenting the case from Scripture and evidence.

Photo: © Depositphotos.com/olly18

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Photo:Leap of Faith by Matthew Juzenas

Since the previous post on faith I did a bit more digging.

First, the word faith – remember, faith is an English word translated from the Greek = pistis from peitho (persuade) – means trust of that which I am persuaded to believe is true or real.

The root of pistis is peitho, which is defined by Strong’s Greek Dictionary as: to convince; to pacify or conciliate; to assent; or to rely (by inward certainty). Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines peitho as: 1) to persuade; 2) to be persuaded; 3) to trust, to have confidence, or to be confident.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary gives the following definition: “Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true. Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in accordance with the evidence on which it rests.”

Now, let us look at how Scripture itself defines faith.

Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the assurance (hupostasis = ‘a support, substance, steadiness, confidence’) of things hoped for, the conviction (elegchos = ‘a proof, test, conviction’) of things not seen. (NASB)

I especially like how Eugene Peterson put it in The Message paraphrase:

Heb. 11:1 “The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.”

A couple of other verses to consider:

John 10:37-38 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” (NASB)

Jesus was not above giving evidence to back up his claims.

Luke 1:1-4 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught. (NASB)

It seems Luke could have more easily just have told Theophilus, just believe! Notice that Luke is interested in the facts and details.

Acts 17:11 “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (NASB)

The Bereans more noble for testing what they received.

1Th. 5:21 “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;” (NASB)

All of this should pretty much do away with the ‘just believe’ mentality which comes out of some Christian circles. We certainly need to guard against becoming overly skeptical, but God wants us to build our faith on a firm foundation.

But, what about the skeptic who says, “sure, I understand what you are saying about faith… but that is just the problem… there is no foundation you are speaking of. It IS just wishful thinking.”? To answer this charge is what the discipline of Apologetics is all about.

1Pet. 3:15 ” … but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence …” (NASB) [emphasis added, mine]

The post Faith – part II appeared first on TilledSoil.org.

Photo:Leap of Faith by Hamner_Fotos

I often hear people talk about faith as if it is ‘wishful thinking’. This is especially true in the ‘science vs. religion’ debates. “I have my reason…. you have your faith…” is the general sentiment. I have even heard Christians use a similar way of speaking. In some circles, there seems to be an attitude that you should ‘just believe’ and not question anything.

These views of ‘faith’ are a misunderstanding of epistemology (how we know what we know… what separates a justified belief from simple opinion) on one side, and what the Bible teaches on the other. The assumption from non-believers is that faith has no foundation. The assumption from some Christians is that the Bible teaches us to ‘just believe’ and that searching for reinforcement of our beliefs is some kind of sinful doubting.

Faith, though… whether in religion or secular… is a very similar thing. If I decide to fly to Chicago tomorrow, I’d go to an airport and travel in a jet. I don’t know for certain that gravity will work the same way tomorrow, and the jet will get to its destination (baring other things which could go wrong). However, I am reasonably confident in what science has discovered about the nature of gravity and its consistency. I am also reasonably confident in flight safety records. My chances of a safe flight are extremely good. If this were not the case, I wouldn’t have so much ‘faith’ in the whole process and would walk or drive.

In this use of ‘faith’, everyone can see what I mean. It is a trust or confidence in what I do know, even if I might have fears, doubts, and lets face it… in this case, some uncertainty. There is no full guarantee or promise that I will absolutely get there; nor can I prove it before I leave! It is, a leap of faith.

Christian faith is similar in many ways. I can’t put it all in a set of test-tubes and beakers in a lab and test it. I can’t, in some complete way, prove it to you. But what, when you think about it, can you ultimately do this with? The set of things is pretty limited. I can’t prove my senses are 100% accurate, though without them, life would be incredibly uncertain. I can’t prove my wife loves me in a ‘naturalistic scientific’ way. There is no lab test for that kind of thing…. any such tests would depend on things we already suppose we know about the way things work.

Christian faith is based on trust in what God has done for us, and will do for us. This is based on our relationship with God, God’s revelation to us, history, science (yes, I said science… more on this in another post), and experience. It may or may not be something I can ‘prove’ to you (depending on what prove means to you), but it is certainly NOT wishful thinking.

Faith is essentially trust. We trust things based on many criteria. Just like the factors involved in my jet flight, or my wife’s love for me, some of these criteria can be ‘proven’ to various degrees, and some are harder to measure. We do this all the time, every day of our lives. Christian faith is really no different. How faith differs from belief, is that we are confident enough in it to put it into action. I might reasonably believe the jet will get me to my destination safely, but until I climb aboard, it doesn’t really become faith. Christians believe in the promises of God in Christ, and then exercise faith by putting their lives (and souls) in Christ’s hands.

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