One of the most important parts of believing in any theological or belief system is faith. Faith, by definition, requires no reasoning. It is not rational. It's believing in something for the sake of belief. So the practice of apologetics seems contradictory. It seems to cancel faith. Putting your faith in a sure thing isn't faith. Faith is believing in something because it calls to your irregardless of reason. To rationalize faith is to not have faith.
Wonder what kind of responses I'm going to get.
Wonder what kind of responses I'm going to get.
14 comments:
I agree with your point...but understanding why you believe something is helpful. I don't believe because of the facts that I can prove. I believe because Jesus first believed in me. That belief has led me to wrestle with why I believe what I believe and that led me to some facts.
You've got some good points Scott. As far as Christianity is concerned, I believe it's a mix of facts and faith. Christ's life was historically accurate, as far as we know at this point. God has been proven and dispelled by science so much the point is moot.
I think faith is where we start. Once we have faith, it evolves over time into fact.
Hey guys...thanks for your responses. Derek, I really appreciated your posting about "Differing Opinions". This maybe one of those issues where we disagree. But before we walk away with our hands in our pockets and our heads hung...let us step into the ring of free ideas, and exchange civil blows in an attempt to comes to conclusions beyond our current selves.
Jesus as a person is historically verifiable. However, I don't know anyone who puts their faith in the person of Jesus. They put their faith in the claims of Jesus. Basically, His importance lays in who He was, not that he was. And it is in this that science and fact fall fatally short. We cannot prove the God-ness of Jesus. And even if we could, wouldn't that take away from the faith experience? If we could prove Jesus' divinity the way we prove gravity then everyone would accept it, and faith would not exist. The importance of faith is that blind first step based on whatever you would base it on. Even Paul talks about faith being something beyond our rationale.
Furthermore, basing faith on fact and science creates a flimsy faith. If your faith is based these things, then all I would have to do is show you where one of these facts is inaccurate and someones faith might be shattered. But a person who bases their faith on pure belief, will not be moved by such things. Their belief goes beyond facts, science, reality and reaches into something beyond all of that. Faith should not contingent on it being true. Faith is contingent on belief in something beyond ourselves.
So I would submit, that attempting to "prove" your is actually attempting to negate your faith.
If it were shown that somethings in the Bible were not true, would your faith in Jesus be shaken? Could you believe in Jesus if the Bible turned out to not be literally true? These are hard questions, and I know in reality there is no easy answer to them.
Hey Scott, thanks for the reply back. I actually don't think we are too far off on our opinions. I just don't think I did a real good job fully developing my ideas.
I guess what I was actually trying to convey was the idea of "fact". In other words, once we make that step into faith; the experiences we gain, the knowledge we find, and the relationships we build, make the "faith" easier and easier to accept as "fact" to ones' self. Granted this is a personal experience and would in no way convey from person to person, obviously.
And you're right on point with proving Jesus' God-ness. That would completely negate the need for faith and crumble the entire Gospel as we know it. Faith is the point. We don't need to know everything, and in seeking what we don't know, we grow. And I think that is the point.
Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things. If you have faith, you hope for things which are not seen, but are true.
If you changed that last statement from "...but are true" to "...believe to be true", then I could completely agree with you. But as is, you take a position that cannot be defended. We cannot "know" what happens after we die. We can strongly believe...to the point of everything else seeming ridiculous. But you do not know it in the same way we know simple algebra or gravity.
i love your blog!!!
@Prince Jerry...thanks man.
hey scott, your blog is really thought provoking.
according to webster
Definition of FAITH
a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty
a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3: something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs
so basically faith means to follow a path.firm belief in something for which there is no proof./complete trust
ever thought why muslims, christians and jews are called the people of book ?
the common ground amongst US is Abrahamic teachings, monotheism basically.That there is ONE God, ONLY one God, who is the creator and is worthy of worship.
Christianity recognizes Jesus, who had at least a Jewish mother, as its messiah, as the son of God, and as being part of the Godhead himself.(drifting towards polytheism ?? or lets call it neopaganism) on the other hand Islam recognizes Jesus and the Jewish prophets after Abraham (such as Moses) as being divinely inspired (though not divinely born), and in a crucial distinction recognizes Muhammad (the religion's founder) as a prophet - the last.
but the source remains same, and that is one God.
as you said in one of your replies that jesus can not be God himself (..rite?)
well...jesus himself said that he in NOT God.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21)
“And the Father himself, which hath sent me, bore witness of Me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape” (John 5:37)
“And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10:18)
“For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak” (John 12:49)
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me” (John 6:38)
“saying, ‘Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)
“I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16)
and at many more places, jesus continue to say and tell people about the supreme being. :)
Jesus himself was just a messenger of God like Abraham,Moses and Mohammad (P.B.U.H)
Yes i believe Jesus had significant powers and was born in a miraculous way but he never called himself God.
so think about it man, the more i get into it...the more it looks like a jigsaw puzzle and if u really looking forward to join the pieces.
i suggest you to read quran, just go through it, surely will provide some food for your thoughts :)
*its one long post man, i hope it helps some how :), i tried to keep it short...but i love that genius creator of mine.*
I really enjoyed reading your blog. .love it.=)
You shouldn't remove comments - seems like your censoring. If they contain profanity or a seemingly mindless insult so be it.
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