Is blind faith a misnomer?
- John
- Jun 14, 2024
- 5 min read
There is a familiar scene in movies when the hero seems to have lost all hope that the old and wise mentor often offers the sage advice that “Sometimes, you just have to believe…” The Bible teaches the very opposite of what this phrase implies. This is not to say that we shouldn’t have faith, but this phrase implies that the faith we have has no basis. We are told to have faith and believe that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.
Some may find comfort in ending a conversation by saying that we must have faith even with faced with evidence to the contrary. This often happens when we are presented with a question that challenges our beliefs like a set of verses that seem to contradict each other. We may use this phrase “sometimes you just have to believe” as an excuse not to face the challenge head on when we see it as insurmountable. When we are confronted with a challenge to our faith and dismiss it with “I just need to believe” our faith is wounded. Without healing these wounds with a satisfying reasonable and logical answer they will begin to fester. If our faith is wounded too often it will die. If we truly believe that God exists and created the heavens and the Earth then why are we afraid of what we will find if we examine a challenge to our faith? Some say that you should never question what you believe, but we see Paul and John telling us to examine everything, testing what we hear to determine what is correct, searching for the truth with an open heart.
Acts 17 11 Now these people 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.
1Thessalonians 5 20 do not utterly reject prophecies, 21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good,
1 John 4 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Often today people will propose an alternate view to what our understanding of a verse is. This usually makes us uncomfortable as we would rather not be challenged and continue with what we were taught by those we trust. However, if we want to be noble-minded we are obligated to search the scripture to determine the truth and be willing to consider the fact that we might be wrong. This is true for an alternate interpretation and also a perceived contradiction. If two verses seem to contradict each other then there are only two plausible reasons: either God contradicts Himself or we are misunderstanding at least one of the verses. We know that God claims to not contradict Himself in verses such as 1 Corinthians, so if two verses truly do contradict themselves the only conclusion is that God is not the author of the Bible.
1 Corinthians 13 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.
When we find a potential contradiction it is often due to a misunderstanding that requires us to examine the scripture more closely. We find that faith is increased by the word of God. This is not a magical effect of reading the scripture, but a conviction that grows the more familiar you become with the evidence. We have already seen that if we do not question our faith, but believe blindly it can leave a wound. This also happens when we question our faith and do nothing. However, when we question our faith and search for the answer with an open heart we come out stronger. The more we study to find the answer the more our faith is increased as we see in Romans.
Romans 10 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
We see this further in Hebrews.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old gained approval.
The word translated as “proof” is from the Greek word “elegchos” which Thayer translates as a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested. Some definitions focus on the result of this which is a conviction. This point is made practically in John where he states that what has been written is there to convince us.
John 20:31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
We see that all scripture is profitable for proof in 2 Timothy.
2 Timothy 3 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for proof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
The word “proof” is often translated as “rebuke”, but it is the same word “elegchos” translated as “proof” in Hebrews 11. We further see that we are to be ready to make a defense of the hope that is within us. We are called on to be ready with the logic and reason required in a well thought out response to those who would question what we believe. A defense lawyer would never stand up in court with the argument “you just have to believe”.
1 Peter 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, but with gentleness and respect;
We see in 2 Corinthians Paul saying that they were destroying arguments. This is only possible with a well thought out logical argument that presents evidence as proof. No argument can be destroyed with “you just have to believe me”.
2 Corinthians 10 5 We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
Another issue with this phrase is that saying “you just have to believe” to someone who does not believe can cause them to think we have no foundation to stand on. We must instead study to show ourselves approved, being ready to present a defense based on the evidence that we have been given and is all around us.
2 Timothy 2 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
When I think of the Bible as a whole it is hard to think of any story or teaching that is not intended to provide us logical reasons that we should seek God. The whole Bible was written to appeal to us intellectually and provide proof for us to base our faith on. We read further in Romans that all of creation is doing the same. All that has been created points to God and is intended to cause us to seek for Him. The Bible then leads the way.
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