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The following comment comes from a website which debunks urban legends. It was made in reference
to the legend making internet rounds in which a young student, named Albert Einstein, allegedly
refuted an atheist professor's denial of God's existence.
"Here's the problem with faith: that which are articles of it can't be proved. (According to our dictionary, faith is firm belief in something for which no proof exists. In other words, if such validations were possible, those concepts would stop being matters of faith and start being matters of fact.) Those who are convinced of the existence of God, therefore, have no incontrovertible, irrefutable answer to anyone who challenges them to provide evidence of the veracity of their belief systems' tenets." (www.snopes.com/religion/einstein.asp)Like most of the world — both religious and non-religious — the writer of the above views faith as wishful thinking. That is diametrically opposed to the Biblical view of faith. The faith of which the Bible speaks is not some kind of wishful thinking, but conviction based upon evidence. In fact, without evidence, there is no faith at all. All faith, whether it is true or false rests upon evidence. A study of Hebrews 11 indicates that faith is simply hearing God's word and acting upon it. "By faith, Abel offered..." "By faith, Noah...moved with fear, prepared an ark..." "By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out...obeyed." In all of these cases, the faith of these worthies was based upon evidence. The thesis of John's gospel is to produce faith in Christ as God's Son (John 20:30-31). One who accepts that tenet does so based upon the evidence of Christ's life presented by John. It is foolish to the "nth" degree to maintain that "faith is firm belief in something for which no proof exists," as the commentator on the above website avers. Jesus proved His claims by the miracles He did (John 5:36) and those claims were faithfully recorded by inspired men for all time. Testimony in a criminal or civil court trial is given by credible witnesses and that testimony is corroborated by evidence. The trial is committed to permanent record by a court reporter and once the judgment is rendered, all of the testimony and evidence is available for anyone to read. We wonder if the above commentator believes that the "Scopes Monkey Trial" took place in Tennessee in the 1920s. If so, upon what would the commentator base his belief? And if he believes the trial took place, can he prove it? Our commentator takes his definition of "faith" from the dictionary — although he fails to cite which dictionary. He will also find in some dictionaries that "baptism" is defined as having water sprinkled or poured on one's head, or as immersion. Like most people in our postmodern age, the problem with the commentator is defining Bible things in secular terms. If I were to take off hitch hiking east on Interstate 40, which runs past our town, do you suppose I could wind up on the moon? According to the commentator cited above I would be traveling to the moon on faith. The world defines faith as a "leap in the dark." But faith is based upon evidence. The commentator who said believers in God, "have no incontrovertible, irrefutable answer to anyone who challenges them..." doesn't understand that his very existence bespeaks the existence of God. David said, "the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork" (Psa. 19:1 ASV), and Paul declared that the universe and all that is therein testifies to the existence of a Creator (Rom. 1:19-20). The website commentator would probably accept the existence of his own house as sufficient proof that it had a builder. Why, then, would that same rational being not accept the heavens and the earth as sufficient proof of the Eternal Builder? Even a false faith is based on evidence. The evidence may be false, but it will produce faith. That is seen in the case of Jacob, when his older sons sold their brother Joseph into slavery. To cover their wickedness, they took Joseph's coat of many colors, which his father had given him, and dipped it into the blood of a goat (Gen. 37:31). They brought the coat to Jacob and asked him if he recognized it as Joseph's (Gen. 37:32). When Jacob observed the blood stained coat of his son, he exclaimed, "It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces" (Gen. 37:33). What was Jacob's belief? He believed Joseph was dead, having been torn asunder by a wild beast. That was Jacob's faith. Why did he believe what he did? Was it just a "leap of faith" or a "shot in the dark?" Of course not. His belief was based upon the evidence presented to him — his son's bloody coat. Was he sincere? Yes. Did he believe what was true? No. Why? Because the evidence upon which his faith was based was false evidence. Further proof that he sincerely believed Joseph was dead is found in these words: "And Jacob rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him" (Gen. 37:34-35). What was the source of Jacob's deep grief? It was his belief, or faith. What did he believe? He believed Joseph was dead and his faith was based upon the evidence presented by his other sons. The same thing is true with true Biblical faith. It is based upon evidence. When one reads and understands the will of God, expressed in the Bible, and believes that word, he has faith that is based upon written evidence from eyewitnesses, just as the "Scopes Monkey Trial" can be believed today from the written record of it. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). Bible faith is not a leap in the dark which cannot be proven. It is firm conviction, based upon evidence of things not seen. |