"Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne." (James Russell Lowell, 1844, The Present Crisis)
We must measure our faith by the object it's in--its validity is dependent on the reliability and trustworthiness of the facts. There is no such thing as perfect or total objectivity with man, and the faith we have begins with something we cannot prove, but accept as a starting point. Even in geometry, they make assumptions. Note that your presupposition determines your conclusion: if someone tells you he saw your wife talking to a man and said she was cheating, you would conclude that she wasn't, but just made a friend because you know her and he doesn't! That's an example of two people seeing the same fact in different lights and drawing separate conclusions. You cannot use circular reasoning, assuming there is no God, and then concluding there are no miracles, for instance; because the presupposition that there is no God is a leap of faith. God has given a man all the proof he needs and has no excuse not to believe there is a God (cf. Rom. 1:20).
Believing something doesn't make it true, nor does disbelieving something make it false (objective truth exists regardless of belief, and can be known--"you will know the truth and the truth will set you free," according to John 8:32, NIV). Truth is reflective of the mind of God and agrees with God's reality and the world--it's absolute and timeless. According to Augustine, "all truth is God's truth" and consequently "all truth meets at the top" according to Aquinas. Note that people confuse fact and truth, or truth and opinion. We have a right to our own opinions, but not our own facts. There is no universal belief, but there is universal truth! We don't have the right to fabricate our own truths, but we have a right to our own opinion, even if people disagree.
Christianity is a religion of facts and the believer has nothing to fear from scrutiny, there is no suddenly discovered the so-called fact that's going to destroy the credibility of Christianity after 2000 years. In order to discover truth in a scientific sense or using the scientific method, you must be willing to go where the facts lead--dogmatic science is not science. Socrates said that in order to begin learning you must admit your ignorance. and to find truth, you must admit you could be wrong! All knowledge begins in faith, and Augustine said that he believes in order to understand.
God is able to open the eyes of our hearts to see spiritual truth. If you are unwilling to admit you could be wrong, you will never arrive at the truth--even scientists have been wrong, historians have misinterpreted history, and philosophers have come up with unsound, wacky ideas. All of the wrong ideas have been because man basically only accepts the facts that fit his opinions or theories.
Spiritual truth is not subject to scientific analysis, Christianity is the only religion based on history, and if you could disprove its reports the faith would crumble--many have tried, only to fail and to become believers. You cannot disprove or prove history in this scientific, empirical sense since history by its very nature is nonrepeatable. God is metaphysical and we cannot measure God, or subject Him to laboratory conditions with variables and experimentation. God is neither audible, visible, tangible, nor auditory. God cannot be known by our tests or experiments, because He demands faith. The question of God's existence is philosophical, and out of the domain or province of scientific research or verification.
It takes faith to believe in God, but once you do it's like the proof of the pudding is in the eating--"taste and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8). But it also takes a leap of faith to disbelieve in God or to become an atheist--he cannot disprove God because logically no one can ever disprove a universal negative (e.g., try disproving the existence of little green men somewhere in outer space!).
The problem with an atheist is that he cannot defend his position and there is virtually no substantial evidence that cannot be refuted for that worldview. The fact is that it takes more faith to be an atheist; Norman Geisler wrote a book, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Ray Comfort wrote God Doesn't Believe in Atheists, to make a similar point! The problem with an atheist is that they don't want to believe, not that they cannot. It's not an intellectual problem, but a moral one--they don't want accountability for their life and principles.
People also don't have an open mind, they have their minds made up and don't want to be confused with the facts. In the theory of evolution, they have twisted and manipulated the facts to fit their theory, not fit the theory to the facts. It's not a matter of which side (creationism or evolution) has faith or reason, but what set of presuppositions one commences with. It has never occurred to atheists that they could be wrong (they are just unwilling to accept the God-hypothesis, which they find repugnant), and what those consequences would be (hellfire and judgment).
We must measure our faith by the object it's in--its validity is dependent on the reliability and trustworthiness of the facts. There is no such thing as perfect or total objectivity with man, and the faith we have begins with something we cannot prove, but accept as a starting point. Even in geometry, they make assumptions. Note that your presupposition determines your conclusion: if someone tells you he saw your wife talking to a man and said she was cheating, you would conclude that she wasn't, but just made a friend because you know her and he doesn't! That's an example of two people seeing the same fact in different lights and drawing separate conclusions. You cannot use circular reasoning, assuming there is no God, and then concluding there are no miracles, for instance; because the presupposition that there is no God is a leap of faith. God has given a man all the proof he needs and has no excuse not to believe there is a God (cf. Rom. 1:20).
Believing something doesn't make it true, nor does disbelieving something make it false (objective truth exists regardless of belief, and can be known--"you will know the truth and the truth will set you free," according to John 8:32, NIV). Truth is reflective of the mind of God and agrees with God's reality and the world--it's absolute and timeless. According to Augustine, "all truth is God's truth" and consequently "all truth meets at the top" according to Aquinas. Note that people confuse fact and truth, or truth and opinion. We have a right to our own opinions, but not our own facts. There is no universal belief, but there is universal truth! We don't have the right to fabricate our own truths, but we have a right to our own opinion, even if people disagree.
Christianity is a religion of facts and the believer has nothing to fear from scrutiny, there is no suddenly discovered the so-called fact that's going to destroy the credibility of Christianity after 2000 years. In order to discover truth in a scientific sense or using the scientific method, you must be willing to go where the facts lead--dogmatic science is not science. Socrates said that in order to begin learning you must admit your ignorance. and to find truth, you must admit you could be wrong! All knowledge begins in faith, and Augustine said that he believes in order to understand.
God is able to open the eyes of our hearts to see spiritual truth. If you are unwilling to admit you could be wrong, you will never arrive at the truth--even scientists have been wrong, historians have misinterpreted history, and philosophers have come up with unsound, wacky ideas. All of the wrong ideas have been because man basically only accepts the facts that fit his opinions or theories.
Spiritual truth is not subject to scientific analysis, Christianity is the only religion based on history, and if you could disprove its reports the faith would crumble--many have tried, only to fail and to become believers. You cannot disprove or prove history in this scientific, empirical sense since history by its very nature is nonrepeatable. God is metaphysical and we cannot measure God, or subject Him to laboratory conditions with variables and experimentation. God is neither audible, visible, tangible, nor auditory. God cannot be known by our tests or experiments, because He demands faith. The question of God's existence is philosophical, and out of the domain or province of scientific research or verification.
It takes faith to believe in God, but once you do it's like the proof of the pudding is in the eating--"taste and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8). But it also takes a leap of faith to disbelieve in God or to become an atheist--he cannot disprove God because logically no one can ever disprove a universal negative (e.g., try disproving the existence of little green men somewhere in outer space!).
The problem with an atheist is that he cannot defend his position and there is virtually no substantial evidence that cannot be refuted for that worldview. The fact is that it takes more faith to be an atheist; Norman Geisler wrote a book, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Ray Comfort wrote God Doesn't Believe in Atheists, to make a similar point! The problem with an atheist is that they don't want to believe, not that they cannot. It's not an intellectual problem, but a moral one--they don't want accountability for their life and principles.
People also don't have an open mind, they have their minds made up and don't want to be confused with the facts. In the theory of evolution, they have twisted and manipulated the facts to fit their theory, not fit the theory to the facts. It's not a matter of which side (creationism or evolution) has faith or reason, but what set of presuppositions one commences with. It has never occurred to atheists that they could be wrong (they are just unwilling to accept the God-hypothesis, which they find repugnant), and what those consequences would be (hellfire and judgment).
Faith precedes reason and I must stress that all knowledge begins in faith. Proverbs 1:7 says that the "fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." We all learn from each other, even Christians, because no one has a monopoly on the truth or even on wisdom (that includes Solomon). In the final analysis, what conclusions you reach depend upon your preconceived notions and how willing you are to follow the evidence and the facts to the truth.
The purpose of Christianity is salvation, not education or enlightenment in the Buddhist sense, and the Bible was written to change lives and save souls, not to increase our knowledge. We must never be content just to be doctrinally correct but must realize the importance of applying our knowledge. When we learn something we must ask what difference it makes and what our purpose in learning it is. Knowledge is not an end in itself, but a byproduct and a means to an end. Ignorance is not bliss, and it's not knowledge that binds us but ignorance. Jesus said that knowing the truth sets us free (cf. John 8:32).
I'm not referring to the possibility or existence of absolute truth, of which Postmodernists are suspicious of, but of facts that we should be able to agree upon (Christianity is one religion based on facts). Facts are basically propositions that are indisputable, such as the sun's eclipse on such and such a date. It used to be considered fact that the earth was flat and the center of the solar system until science was enlightened! Science has been called a moving train since its theories and so-called facts vary over time and adjust to new experiments and data. For instance, astronomers no longer hold that the cosmos is eternal, but that there was a big bang and it had a beginning. The whole point is that if we cannot even agree upon the facts, how are we going to get along and progress?
The danger in today's intellectual power elite or the intelligentsia is the rise of "scientism," or using science for unscientific purposes and assuming that the only reliable facts are those derived by scientific endeavor; e.g., Carl Sagan said that evolution is not a theory, but fact, and that "the Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be." These statements are unscientific, and, just because a reputed scientist makes them, doesn't lend them credence nor viability.
Everyone, in summation, is a person of faith (it's not a matter of faith versus reason, but which set of presuppositions you adhere to): Secularists put a lot of faith in science and the scientific method and deny outright the supernatural, and won't let a divine foot in the door; while Postmodernists have faith that you can know nothing for certain and all truth is relative--no one is in a position to judge your truth--especially religious or spiritual truth and reject the fact of science being the answer to man's dilemmas; atheists have faith that God cannot does not and must not exist--unfortunately, the weakness of their philosophy is the problem of atheism per se, which cannot be validated or proved, and is irrational.
On the other hand, Christianity is rational and meant to be understood by the mind, but it's not rationalism, putting ultimate faith in the power of reason as the only epistemology because he chief function of reason is to show that some things are beyond reason. Soli Deo Gloria!
The purpose of Christianity is salvation, not education or enlightenment in the Buddhist sense, and the Bible was written to change lives and save souls, not to increase our knowledge. We must never be content just to be doctrinally correct but must realize the importance of applying our knowledge. When we learn something we must ask what difference it makes and what our purpose in learning it is. Knowledge is not an end in itself, but a byproduct and a means to an end. Ignorance is not bliss, and it's not knowledge that binds us but ignorance. Jesus said that knowing the truth sets us free (cf. John 8:32).
I'm not referring to the possibility or existence of absolute truth, of which Postmodernists are suspicious of, but of facts that we should be able to agree upon (Christianity is one religion based on facts). Facts are basically propositions that are indisputable, such as the sun's eclipse on such and such a date. It used to be considered fact that the earth was flat and the center of the solar system until science was enlightened! Science has been called a moving train since its theories and so-called facts vary over time and adjust to new experiments and data. For instance, astronomers no longer hold that the cosmos is eternal, but that there was a big bang and it had a beginning. The whole point is that if we cannot even agree upon the facts, how are we going to get along and progress?
The danger in today's intellectual power elite or the intelligentsia is the rise of "scientism," or using science for unscientific purposes and assuming that the only reliable facts are those derived by scientific endeavor; e.g., Carl Sagan said that evolution is not a theory, but fact, and that "the Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be." These statements are unscientific, and, just because a reputed scientist makes them, doesn't lend them credence nor viability.
Everyone, in summation, is a person of faith (it's not a matter of faith versus reason, but which set of presuppositions you adhere to): Secularists put a lot of faith in science and the scientific method and deny outright the supernatural, and won't let a divine foot in the door; while Postmodernists have faith that you can know nothing for certain and all truth is relative--no one is in a position to judge your truth--especially religious or spiritual truth and reject the fact of science being the answer to man's dilemmas; atheists have faith that God cannot does not and must not exist--unfortunately, the weakness of their philosophy is the problem of atheism per se, which cannot be validated or proved, and is irrational.
On the other hand, Christianity is rational and meant to be understood by the mind, but it's not rationalism, putting ultimate faith in the power of reason as the only epistemology because he chief function of reason is to show that some things are beyond reason. Soli Deo Gloria!
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