Blind Faith

A friend recently sent me an article he thought would be of interest, titled “You’re not agnostic, you’re an atheist” by Issac Saul. It mentions blind faith as an obstacle in understanding the opposing views of faith vs. atheism. Blind faith is defined by englishclub.com as unquestioning belief in something, even when it’s unreasonable or wrong. For argument sake here, I am classifying blind faith as something different from true faith. This excerpt from the article was my source of inspiration.

The Argument

“If you’re a believer, don’t preach to the world about the way you’ve experienced your own God or have blind faith in the scripture you read; instead, see how your arguments hold up against highly educated atheists, and try understanding the way your God’s teachings correlate with how others experience our universe under scientific principles. (note: there is certainly science in scripture and scripture in science, and this is not meant to make them mutually exclusive.)”

I understood the rationale supporting the author’s views, agreeing with some of them. There is indeed, science in scripture and scripture in science. In fact, there has been numerous atheist scientists who have sought to use their scientific knowledge to disprove the scriptures, by taking a deep dive into them, only to end up as a believer in the God of the Bible. How does that happen? And therein lies my argument.

My friend sent that article the day after we had a heated discussion on the validity of the writers of the Psalms. My lack of a substantial scientific argument shut him down with a warning about his unbelief. My preaching probably came across as blind faith. However, my passion comes from a true faith that is not blind. There is supernatural power in genuine faith. I will attempt to explain the difference.

Faith is believing something without seeing or being able to prove it, for example, the Big Bang theory. The Bible says “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Maybe atheists hope for a big bang so they don’t have to be accountable to God. And believers hope in God, so they can find comfort in a cruel world.

I think my political convictions could be based on blind faith in the sense Saul Issac proposed. I am guilty of not seeing how my arguments hold up to those of the other side, (primarily because I am so repulsed by their ideals, but that’s beside the point).

Some Christians have this kind of faith. They have no intimate knowledge of the scriptures, nor do they take time to want to internalize them. They produce no fruit in their life, and base their beliefs on second-hand knowledge.

Similarly, my political convictions usually come from second hand sources, like my husband, my boss, and headlines that pop up in my email. I don’t research or read much about that subject, so my arguments are flimsy, unless of course I can bring the Bible into the discussion. I have intimate knowledge of that!

True Faith

Something happens when you read and internalize God’s Word. A measure of “genuine” faith is birthed within you and you begin to bear fruit. The fruit of the spirit is peace, love, joy, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. (Galatians 6:22) This doesn’t develop over night, but grows through testing. Faith comes through hearing the word of God, and this faith is anything but blind.

Jesus gives sight to the blind. He often talks about having eyes that see and ears that hear, referring to spiritual eyes and ears that are opened when you read and hear God’s Word (for those who truly seek Him).

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

Spiritual Blindness

God has put a veil over his people’s eyes because of their unbelief and disobedience. He instructed Isaiah…

“say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. Make the minds of these people dull; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10)

Paul writes to believers…

“We are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from gazing steadily until the end of the glory of what was being set aside, but their minds were hardened. For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains; it is not lifted, because it is set aside only in Christ. Yet still today, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” (2 Corinthians 3: 13-16)

Enlightenment

Seek the Lord and you “will” find Him, even if you’re seeking to only prove He does not exist. When you seek Him with all your heart, by searching the scriptures, a supernatural transformation takes place. It is something that cannot be explained, only experienced.

How does one explain that experience? They tell others what God has done for them. And yes, this often comes off to others as blind faith, because they have to experience it to understand. Genuine faith, on the other hand, is a deep “knowing” within your inner being, where passion rises, then, at the right time, God’s Word just comes out of your mouth. When it’s all said and done, you think to yourself, “was that me?” The answer of course is, no, it was God, the Holy Spirit who dwells within all believers who come to the knowledge of the truth.

As Christians, we may not be able to “see how our arguments hold up against highly educated atheists, and understand the way our God’s teachings correlate with how others experience our universe under scientific principles”. That is reserved for Christian apologists with a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit that comes from being well versed in God’s word. It is usually portrayed by people with intellectual characteristics (learn more about Apologetics). However, the rest of us non-intellectuals can still rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading, without being ashamed of the gospel.

Regarding the conversation with my friend, let me be clear. Before you talk to anyone about God, it is important to pray that your words will not fall on deaf ears. Ask the Lord to remove the veil from their eyes, open their ears, and put His words in your mouth. He promises that His Word will not return void. That’s how those atheist scientists ended up becoming believers.

The Last Word

“Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. Avoid irreverent and empty speech, since those who engage in it will produce even more godlessness,” (2 Timothy 2:15-16)

If one’s life does not reflect the fruit of the spirit, their defense of the gospel will come off as empty and irrelevant. They are perceived by the world as having a blind faith that is misunderstood. This was most likely the case for Saul Issac.

Who are we seeking approval from? God or man? If it is God, then get to know his Word in the Bible. Let it transform you, and start building genuine faith. As for the agnostics or atheists, I dare them to take a deep dive into God’s Word and experience the God of the Bible for themselves. As for you my fellow Christians, be ready and open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, because you never know when God will use you to do His bidding.

Until next time: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”