IS OUR FAITH IN JESUS A BLIND FAITH?

For some, faith in Jesus might be blind. They might not choose to “make it their own” by evaluating reasons and evidences. However, this doesn’t mean that faith is always blind, although many claim that faith is opposed to reason and the evidences.

This idea is commonly promoted by atheists. The late cosmologist, Carl Sagan, had stated:

·       You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep-seated need to believe.

This is certainly not the position of the Bible. The Apostle John had written about the need for supportive evidences and reasons-to-believe:

·       Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 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. (John 20:30-31 ESV)

What John had written reflects the posture of the rest of the Bible, which NEVER teaches that we should just believe with any evidences, even if they are very personal reasons. Jesus even taught that He shouldn’t be believed unless there were evidences for belief:

·       “If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.” (John 5:31-32)

Jesus then cited the corroborating testimonial evidence of John the Baptist, the Father, Scripture, and His miracles. Later, He taught:

·       “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:37-38)

Admittedly, Jesus castigated His disciples for not believing, but His criticism wasn’t based on any lack of evidence but on the very presence of mounds of evidence.

Besides, many of us have embraced Jesus because we had become convinced of the evidence for Jesus. I had been a Zionist, committed to my Jewish identity and the State of Israel. The idea of becoming a Christian was not only foreign to me. It was actually repugnant. Nevertheless, I embraced Jesus because of the undeniable evidences.

Consequently, there exists no opposition between the facts and the Christian faith. It’s not that the facts oppose the Christian faith but rather friends, family, and society. Our commitment to follow Jesus will eventually put us at odds with the world.

Admittedly, there are times when the light of reason alone will fail to adequately light our path. King David was overwhelmed by his many enemies and cried out to God for His deliverance. The evidence alone would not sustain His faith that God would deliver Him. Why not? Eventually, we all succumb to the inevitability of death. Instead, David had to trust in the Lord. He therefore recalled how God had rescued him in the past and found the confidence to proclaim:

·       And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant. (Psalm 143:12)

However, even in this, David wasn’t left to exercise a blind faith. Instead, he knew His God, His promises, and what God had done for him. As a result of this knowledge, he was comforted.