# Faith and Reason
FEATURED ARTICLE
Language: en
Author: Darren Drayer
Ossian, IN
Original issue: The Heartbeat of The Remnant, Summer 2020, Number 2
Source pages: 7–8
Read article:
Original PDF: Summer\-2020\-Remnant\.pdf
[The Heartbeat of The Remnant, Summer 2020]()
![A vivid pink, purple, and blue sunset over the ocean]()
As a young man I remember hearing a popular slogan about faith: “Faith begins when reason ends\.” As a young Christian, I thought it was a great life slogan\. As I mature in my walk with Jesus, I look back on this particular slogan and shake my head\. I can think of no better way to misrepresent faith than by claiming it exists apart from reason\.
One simple reason for rejecting this view is because it misrepresents faith\. A quick search on Google turns up this definition of faith: “complete trust or confidence in someone or something\.” We use this definition all the time\. I might tell you I have *faith* in my wife, I have *faith* in my employer to give me a paycheck, or I have no *faith* in alcohol to give me a good time\. This is the same way the Bible defines faith\.
Hebrews 11:1 affirms that faith is “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see\.” Biblical faith is simply a state of mind that has confidence and trust in the Lord\. I have *confidence* that I will one day walk on the new Earth, and I have *confidence* that the Holy Spirit is working in the hearts of Christians\. *My confidence* is based on, not apart from, reason\. The more Jesus shows himself trustworthy, the more I trust \(have confidence in\) Him\.
One aspect of Christ’s dependability is His word\. The Old Testament was written by prophets and leaders who correctly predicted future events and ruled nations\. The New Testament was written by Apostles or people that were closely associated with the apostles\. We have more manuscripts of the Bible than any other work in antiquity\. The Bible gives an honest portrayal of its heroes and correctly describes ancient leaders and places\. In short, I trust in the Bible because it stands alone above all other books in terms of its authorship, preservation, honesty, and accuracy\. The more I read it and read about it, the more my faith—and trust—increases\.
Luke bases his whole Gospel on the premise that more knowledge gives more faith\. He begins his book with this introduction: *Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled \[or been surely believed\] among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word\. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. –Luke 1:1\-4\. \(NIV\)*
The apostle Paul argues that faith in God is so grounded in reality that no one has a legitimate claim against God’s existence\. He writes, *The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them\. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse –Romans 1:18\-20\. \(NIV\)*
Knowledge of nature builds my faith in Jesus\. Scripture teaches that God created all life in six days, that there was a global flood, and that animals produce after their own kind\. All across our earth, the rocks cry out their testimony of the global flood\. People have uncovered billions of fossils—mostly marine animals—in rock layers that were laid down by water\. Animals too, live out what the Bible teaches about kinds\. We can observe animals changing all around us\. They change sizes, colors, and eating habits\. Fish in caves lose their ability to see\. Birds’ beaks adjust to the environment\. In all this intricate change, all animals exist within the Biblical framework of their own kind\. Sharks remain sharks; frogs remain frogs; iguanas remain iguanas; and gibbons remain gibbons\. The more I learn and observe about nature, the more my faith \(confidence\) increases\.
In some discussions of faith, it is natural for the words of Jesus to come up\. After His resurrection, Jesus visits Thomas and tells him, *…Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed –John 20:29\. \(ESV\)* From this, it is tempting to define faith as “believing without seeing\.” That would be missing the point\. I’m not claiming any superiority to Thomas, but he *should* have believed without seeing Jesus\. All the ***evidence*** pointed to it\. First, his good friends, who had proved themselves trustworthy, said Jesus was alive\. Second, Jesus had plainly said He would be resurrected \(see Matthew 16:21\)\. Third, Jesus had already proven He was divine by His ability to raise the dead, control the weather, heal the sick, and multiply food\. Thomas had all he needed to believe Jesus rose from the dead\. Yet, he went against all *reasoning* and said he needed more evidence\.
When confronted with the resurrected Christ, Thomas repented of his disbelief and followed Christ into martyrdom\. Unfortunately, the spirit of disbelief in the face of evidence still lingers in our world\. Atheists claim, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, that life can come from nothing\. They claim, without any evidence, that fish turned into frogs\. They blindly cling to various theories such as: The Big Bang, Punctuated Equilibrium, and Descent with Modification\. They have **NO** workable evidence, yet they still claim to base all their thoughts on observable, repeatable reality\. Christians, who with good intentions, tell them that faith begins where reason ends, unwittingly play right into their hands\. This world does not need a social media definition of faith\. They need to see faith for what it is: confidence in the living God based firmly in reason\.
## Magazine citation
- [A vivid pink, purple, and blue sunset over the ocean](): Unsplash\.com