Faith—at least in some measure—is an important part of our lives. We accept employment, expecting that we will get paid. We plant crops with the assurance that the seeds will sprout. We trust our friends. And we have confidence in the laws that govern the universe. This is an informed faith, for it is based on evidence.
Likewise, faith that God exists rests on evidence.
At Hebrews 11:1, the Bible says: “Faith is . . . the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.” Another version says: “Faith . . . makes us certain of realities we do not see.” (The New English Bible) To illustrate: You are walking along a beach when, suddenly, you feel the ground quake. Then you see the water rush out to sea. You recognize the significance of these phenomena and that they warn of a tsunami. In this case, the quake and the vanishing water together form an “evident demonstration” of the yet unseen reality, the approaching waves. Your informed faith, in turn, moves you to flee to high ground and safety.
Faith in God too should be an informed faith, a response to convincing evidence. Only then can God become an ‘unseen reality’ to you. Must you be a scientist to examine and weigh such evidence? Nobel laureate Vladimir Prelog acknowledged that even “winners of the Nobel Prize are not more competent about God, religion, and life after death than other people.”
An honest heart and a thirst for truth should move you to examine the evidence fairly and let that evidence lead you in the right direction.
No comments:
Post a Comment