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Is Faith Just “Believing Without Evidence”?
By Rev. Justin Wyckoff
If you listen to conversations at work, on campus, or on social media, you will eventually hear someone say something like, “Faith is just believing in something without evidence.” For many people, that is the working definition of faith. If that is all faith is, it is not surprising that some people walk away from it. Who wants to build their life on something that is basically a blind guess?
The problem is that this is not what the Bible means by faith. Biblical faith is not a leap into the dark. It is a trusting response to what God has already revealed. Think about Thomas in John 20. The other disciples tell him they have seen the risen Lord. Thomas says he will never believe unless he sees and touches the wounds himself. When Jesus appears, notice what He does. He does not shame Thomas for asking to see. He invites him to come close, to see, and to touch.
Then Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That is not a blessing on gullibility. It is a blessing on those who will trust the credible testimony of witnesses and the inner work of the Holy Spirit, even though they do not get to physically touch His hands and side. Faith is not groundless. It is trust based on reasons that are good, even if they are not exhaustive.
Many of us in the Tri State area live and work around people who assume that to be a Christian you must have turned your brain off. One of the quiet missions of The Crossings is to show, in both our words and our lives, that you do not have to choose between Jesus and thinking. You can bring hard questions, and you can seek real answers.
What might this look like for you this week?
First, be honest about your questions. You may struggle with God’s goodness in a painful situation, or with a hard teaching of Jesus, or with the reliability of the Bible. That does not make you a second class Christian. Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Refusing to seek truth is closer to the opposite of faith. Doubt can be a doorway to deeper trust if you walk through it with Jesus and His people.
Second, use the mind God gave you. It is okay to read books, listen to thoughtful podcasts, and ask questions of mature believers. There are solid historical reasons to trust that the New Testament documents are reliable. There are philosophical reasons to believe that
God exists. There are scientific voices who see no conflict between real science and real faith. You do not have to become an expert in everything. You simply need to be willing to learn.
Third, lead with humility. Christian apologetics is not about winning arguments. It is about removing obstacles so that people can see Christ more clearly. When someone raises a challenge to Christianity, resist the urge to jump into “defense mode.” Slow down. Ask, “Can you tell me more about why that matters to you?” Often there is a story or a wound behind the objection.
Our goal at The Crossings is not to turn everyone into professional apologists. Our goal is that you would be confident enough in Christ that when questions come, from your own heart or from others, you know that the Christian faith can bear the weight of honest investigation. Faith is not closing your eyes and leaping. It is opening your eyes to who Jesus is, hearing the evidence, and choosing to trust Him. |
