FAITH IS NOT BLIND

Faith never asks us to take a blind leap into the darkness. However, one verse is cited as proof that blind faith is the only "evidence" we have:

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

However, this verse does not deny the evidential foundation of faith. It merely declares that we have to walk by faith and not by sight. In fact, in its examples of people walking by faith, evidence was also present. For example, Abraham was enabled to walk in faith by sacrificing Isaac, because he had experienced the faithfulness of God:

·       **By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (Hebrews 11:1, 17-19)

Abraham had been assured by the evidence. What evidence? God had always blessed him and bailed him out of trouble. He therefore knew, based upon this evidence, that he could invest his trust in his Lord.

The Case of Rape and how it is Used to Discredit the Bible

If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay her father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives. (Deut. 22:28-29)

Often, have I seen these verses thrown up to show Christians that their religion is sub-standard.  Therefore, we need a ready response.

The way these verses stand, it seems that women were regarded as mere chattel. However, this is clearly not the case (Gen. 1:26-27). Instead something else is going on here.

First of all, forcible rape was a capital offense. Evidently the fact that this “rapist” did not receive the death penalty reflected the fact that there was some uncertainty about his deserving it. Instead, she might have been seduced, especially if it took place in town where her cries for help would have been heard. If, instead, the “rape” took place out in the fields where there was no one present to hear her cries, the charge of “rape” and the imposition of the death penalty might be hard to justify.

The above verses seem to indicate that a forcible rape might not have been involved. The language - “they are discovered” – seems to suggest that the woman might have been a willing accomplice. There was no mention here that her screams were heard. Instead, it seems like they both were found in the act.

In this case, where capital punishment might not have been appropriate, the matter would understandably fall back upon the family. While the “rapist” was legally required to marry his quarry, the family did not have to accept him:

·       “If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins. (Exodus 22:16-17)

Of course, if the woman had been seduced, marrying her seducer would represent the best prospect for her future. It would have been difficult for her to find someone else to marry her after she had been discredited. Consequently, her father would naturally comply to the marriage. However, if she refused because she had been forcibly raped, the father would most likely settle for the money. Who would want their daughter to marry a rapist and who would want such a son-in-law!

The Meaning of Love

Jesus’ ministry was about compassion (Mat. 9:36; 14:4; 20:34; Mark 8:2; Luke 7:13) and love (John 15:9; 11:5; 13:1; 19:26; Rom. 8:35; 5:8; Mark 10:21; 1 John 3:16).

His disciples knew that Jesus loved them. In his Gospel, John was very explicit about knowing Jesus’ love for him (John 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). However, it is likely that they all knew that Jesus loved them. He eventually made it very plain to them by laying down His life.

However, the Gospel accounts lack any verse where Jesus encouraged His disciples. He never told them that they were growing or doing a good job. Instead, Jesus was very critical of them. For example, He corrected Philip right before He would be taken from them:

·       “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?” (John 14:9-10)

Despite His critical talk, they knew that Jesus loved them. I think that this points to a fundamental difference in how we measure and understand love as opposed to the 1^st century understanding. Today, we measure love in terms of how highly the other regards me – the kind things they say about me, their lack of criticism of me, and their agreement with my lifestyle choices. In other words, we measure love in terms of affirmation. If you affirm me, you love me. If you don’t, then you hate me.

Perhaps there is something wrong with the way we measure love. Instead, the Bible measures love by our willingness to sacrifice ourselves for the ultimate welfare of another. Jesus defined love this way:

·       My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:12-13)

And Jesus modeled this love by dying for us. How then do we love our neighbor? Not necessarily with agreeable and encouraging words – words of affirmation! Jesus often spoke painful words to people, but this was because they needed to hear them (Mark 10:21).

We too must love enough to go beyond stroking egos and affirming our friends so that will like and appreciate us. If we love, we will confront as Jesus confronted. We will pursue the ultimate welfare of the other, even if they might hate us for this.

Jesus informed the Pharisees that if they didn’t believe in Him, they would die in their sins (John 8:24). Those words might have seemed harsh, but they were words of love, spoken to undermine false hopes in favor of the One true hope!

We too must expose false hopes to show the way to the One true hope. One friend related to me her regrets. She had many homosexual friends and would even party with them at the gay bars and clubs, never once warning them about their false hope. She now laments that she had come to understand love too late for them.

Atheism, its Annotated Bible, and Logical Incoherence

It is becoming increasingly common for atheists to refer us Christians to the Skeptics Annotated Bible (SAB). It presents many verses which we cannot understand completely – verses that seem to defy understanding. Here are the first three from the Book of Genesis:

• God creates light and separates light from darkness, and day from night, on the first day. Yet he didn't make the light producing objects (the sun and the stars) until the fourth day (1:14-19). And how could there be "the evening and the morning" on the first day if there was no sun to mark them? 1:3-5

• God spends one-sixth of his entire creative effort (the second day) working on a solid firmament. This strange structure, which God calls heaven, is intended to separate the higher waters from the lower waters. 1:6-8

• Plants are made on the third day before there was a sun to drive their photosynthetic processes (1:14-19). 1:11

Admittedly, I cannot provide an exhaustive understanding of these perplexities, and so I won’t even try. Instead, I think that it is more important to expose the faulty logic hiding behind the charges of the SAB. It goes something like this:

1. Many of the Bible’s verses are not fully amenable to our understanding.

2. Therefore, the Bible is mistaken and cannot be God’s words.

Admittedly, #1 is correct. The problem is with #2, which does not follow logically from #1. Simply because we cannot fully understand the Bible doesn’t mean that it isn’t God’s Word. In fact, if the Bible is God’s Word, we shouldn’t be surprised that some of it transcends our understanding. The Bible itself warns us that we only understand it in part. Why then should we reject it when we find that we can’t understand it completely – the very thing it claims!

To use an analogy, it would be pure folly for a first-grader to reject his math teacher because he fails to understand her lesson. To bring this principle closer to home, dismissing the Bible for SAB reasons would be like dismissing science because of its many perplexing findings and its failure to exhaustively define/comprehend even the basics – time, space, laws, mathematics, and matter.

Furthermore, many of the sub-atomic findings of science even seem to overthrow the very basics of science – cause and effect. Nevertheless, we do not reject science. Instead, we reject our limited understanding of science. We do not reject what is known by virtue of what is unknown! However, the SAB is not as gracious when it comes to its appraisal of the Bible.

Here is another reason why we should not dismiss the Bible, merely because it states some perplexing things. As with science, the Bible has already contributed so much to life and understanding that it would be foolishness to dismiss it. Besides, as is the case with science, it has been validated in many ways. Here are some of the ways:

1.      The Witness of the Spirit and Personal Experience

2.      Changed Lives and Societies

3.      External Confirmation

4.      Miracles

5.      Fulfilled Prophecies

6.      Internal Consistency

7.      The Other-Worldly Nature of Scripture

Discerning the Will of God

Christians who take the Bible seriously know that God has a plan for our lives. This includes the days of our lives (Psalm 139:16), our strengths and weaknesses (1 Cor. 12:12-19), and the deeds we are to perform (Eph. 2:10). He has even promised to guide us:

·        The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (Psalm 23:1-3)

However, we remain anxious about discovering this plan. We worry, “Perhaps I’ve made the wrong decision and have removed myself out of the parameters of God’s plan and now have to settle for plan B?” And by the end of the week, we are wondering whether we will have to settle for plan X.

Many have written intelligently on this anxiety-ridden subject. Scripture is understandably identified as our first line of defense. It is the most reliable source to discover God’s will and plan for our lives. However, Scripture is easy to misinterpret. Therefore, we have to live it to know it:

·        But solid food [of the Scriptures] is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

However, many of us are immature and are also blinded by our own experiences, fears and desires. Therefore, we seek counsel from others. But who can tell us, with any certainty, who to marry, where to live or what to buy or do? Scripture often lacks those coveted details.

Out of frustration, we resort to analyzing dreams, meditating on our feelings, supernatural events and even Bible-roulette to discern God’s leading. And then we wonder whether we are spiritual enough to discern His voice through them. Sometimes, we are left more confused than before.

Often, our anxiety results because we leave an important piece out of the discernment puzzle – the sovereignty of our God. Jesus taught that we are so thoroughly surrounded by God that we need not worry about our needs being met (Matthew 6:25-31). He explained that God cares about each hair on our heads:

·        Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:29-30)

According to our Savior, it is not simply that God knows how many hairs are on our heads. He actually sets the number. No detail is too small for Him; no concern is too insignificant; no tear passes from our eyes unnoticed.

Perhaps, then, it is not so important to be able to discern God’s detailed will. Perhaps, instead, it is sufficient to know that He is guiding us – whether we are aware of it or not – and is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). In fact, He seldom reveals to us the details of His plans beforehand:

·        A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way? (Proverbs 20:24)

We can’t! Much is shrouded in mystery. We are very limited in terms of what we can see. Our senses have been calibrated to perceive only a limited range of things. We can see the movement of the clock’s second-hand; perhaps even the minute hand. However, we can’t perceive movement in the hour-hand, and if the second-hand was moving a thousand times faster, we wouldn’t even see it at all!

We are not only limited in seeing speed, we are also limited in seeing size and wave-lengths. We can’t see what the microscope sees or what the telescope sees. We can only see a very limited range of light and sound. We can’t hear what the dog or the whale hears. We can’t perceive what the bat perceives, nor can do we have the infrared sensing of a snake. And when it comes to the spirit-world, we are even more limited.

We certainly can’t imagine how God can be leading us without our ever sensing it. However, tells us that He leads even those who care nothing for Him or His will:

·        The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. (Proverbs 21:1)

Scripture gives us many examples of our God hardening the hearts of kings and even softening their hearts towards His people. Without the kings having even the slightest sense of His leading, He has led them against one nation or another to accomplish His purposes.

If He can do this with people who have no awareness of Him, how much more can He do this with us, who are seeking Him! Saul hadn’t been aware that God was infallibly leading him to the Prophet Samuel who God had instructed to anoint Saul king over Israel. Meanwhile, Saul had merely been trying to find his donkeys, searching from one town to another. He had no idea whatsoever that he had an appointment with destiny (1 Samuel 9).

So it is with us. We have no clue how God is guiding us by the moment, even the second! God brought Saul to Samuel at the very moment that He had determined.

God is omnipotent. He can do all of this. If a computer microchip can perform so many operations at one time, how much more the Creator of this entire universe who sustains every atom and all the laws of physics!

We understand our God too incompletely. However, when we understand His greatness – the power that is working in our lives – we have a basis for peace and cognitive rest. We no longer have to worry about whether or not we correct discern His leading. We don’t have to!

Understanding just a bit of His glory gives us the freedom to take our eyes off of our limitations, failures and doubts and to place our attention and adoration upon Him. What a relief!

I still worry. However, now, I have been handed an adequate reason not to worry, and that has made all the difference.