Is Faith in God Reasonable?
Richard Dawkins, atheist and best-selling author, claims that religious faith is "conviction that doesn't seem to owe anything to evidence or reason." He thinks one who believes in God takes "a leap in the dark" because he chooses faith over evidence. Is this true? Is faith nothing more than a feeling or a guess? Is it a conclusion reached apart from reason or real evidence?
Strangely, many religious people describe faith exactly the same way Mr. Dawkins does. When asked why they believe in God or any religious doctrine, many say they do because either:
- their parents believe it,
- their preacher, pastor, rabbi or imam said so,
- they had some religious "experience," or
- they just feel it is right.
If any of these is the main reason you believe in God, then indeed your faith is based on something other than real evidence.
Surely we understand that because something has been believed for generations doesn't automatically make it true. Likewise, relying mostly on what a preacher says is unwise since he may be mistaken. Not every religious teacher is right; in fact, most disagree on many things. Religious "experiences" also don't substitute for evidence as they are entirely subjective. People from different world religions claim to have "experiences" and, obviously, they don't all agree. Beware when you are asked to have faith in something without being provided sufficient proof.
“Strangely, many religious people describe faith exactly the same way Mr. Dawkins does.”
The Bible gives us a true definition of faith: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Notice that the Bible connects evidence to faith. Though we do not see certain things (such as God), the available evidence leads us to faith. To illustrate, a jury may not have seen a murder take place, but upon examining the evidence presented in the courtroom, the jurors are led to a reasonable conclusion that the defendant is guilty. The court then recognizes that as fact and acts on it. Despite what Mr. Dawkins or any other atheist says, ample evidence exists for God. We can come to a confident faith in God based on the reasonable examination of that evidence.
Scripture clearly encourages us to reason with our minds (Isaiah 1:18). The Bible never asks us to "leave our brains at the door." Jesus Christ never told people to accept what He said without question. He didn't use force. He used reason and provided proof of what He was saying. Likewise, the apostle Paul persuaded people to understand truth through logical argumentation (Acts 17:2-3; 18:4,19; 24:25; Ephesians 3:4). Is this how you examine the important question of God?
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Answering The Atheist
Complaint:
Where was the home of Peter and Andrew? Was it in Capernaum (Mark 1:21,29) or Bethsaida (John 1:44)? Is there a contradiction?
Response:
That John 1:44 identifies Bethsaida as "the city of Andrew and Peter" is evident. Whether Mark 1:21,29 speaks of Capernaum as their home is one of the concerns we will address herein. There are a few possible explanations to what the questioner has called a contradiction.
"...the city of..."
Mary's husband, Joseph, lived in Nazareth, but when a census was proclaimed, he journeyed to Bethlehem, for his family was associated that city. It is possible that this was the case with Peter and Andrew - that their family was from Bethsaida (ie. they may have been born there), but afterward lived elsewhere (ie. Capernaum).
We've moved...
John 1:44 is in a context which discusses the days prior to Jesus' apostles being selected. Andrew and Peter had just met Jesus the day before He spoke with Philip (John 1:40-44). It is entirely possible that at the time Jesus met Andrew and Peter, they lived in Bethsaida, but some time thereafter, had moved to Capernaum.
Going home from the synagogue...
Mark 1:21,29 does not prove conclusively that Peter and Andrew lived in Capernaum. We do know that the synagogue in which Jesus taught on that particular Sabbath was in Capernaum (Mark 1:21). At verse 29, we read:
Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
Years ago, I lived in a small Ontario hamlet by the name of McArthur Mills. Since there was no faithful assembly of God's people in the tiny village, I would travel to Bancroft, a nearby town, where faithful Christians were meeting together. After church services were over, I would return to my home, in McArthur Mills, not Bancroft.
It is very likely that Bethsaida was a small village very near to the larger town of Capernaum. Jesus and His disciples were at the synagogue in Capernaum (perhaps because there was not one in Bethsaida), and then after worship on the Sabbath was complete, they returned to the house of Peter and Andrew (in Bethsaida).
There is not one, but at least three plausible solutions. There is no contradiction.
This article is in response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible