Evidence and Faith

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Understanding and Then Faith

Imagine that the Apostle John approached you and said, “Believe in Jesus. Later I will tell you who he was and what he did.” What would be the content of your belief? Faith must be in something. A level of understanding precedes faith. Faith then opens the door for greater understanding.

A famous 20th Century theologian, Cornelius Van Til, argued the reverse. He argued that, unless God exists, no understanding can be possible to man.

Why Did the Disciples Have Faith in Jesus?

Faith comes at the conclusion of a reasoning process—not as the presupposition to it. Let’s look at the disciples for a demonstration.

The disciples saw Jesus heal the sick and bring the dead to life. They saw him walk on water and calm a storm. These facts convinced them to have faith in Jesus, believing him to be the Son of God (Matt 16:16).

John Locke on Faith

First Comment!

Hooray for my first reader comment!

I want to encourage interaction at my blog, so I’ll reproduce the comment and my response:

 

A friend asked:

“What does ‘faith’ mean in this context? To come later?”

He wanted to know what I mean by faith. I wrote back:

“Here faith means trusting God. It means believing that God has spoken, and believing God’s promises. Faith comes at the conclusion of a reasoning process–not as the presupposition to it.”