In the early 2000s, prominent leaders of the new atheist movement popularized the idea that faith is, by definition, a blind belief. That is to say, faith is a belief supported by no evidence. As Richard Dawkins said in his Edinburgh address, “Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.”
In this vein of thought, faith is essentially centered on desires and authority. Consequently, it’s suggested that religious people accept baseless claims because they are raised in religion or because faith affords them something like hope, peace, salvation from hell, or community. Their Faith is blind because it’s based on wants or needs, not evidence and truth.
I will admit the new atheist position does resonate. The prosperity gospel is a prime example of a tradition that encourages people to believe because they desire something. As their message goes, “If you want health and wealth, give a donation in faith.” So blind faith is real. However, this is not the whole picture. The new atheist definition of faith is inaccurate because faith can be founded on more than just authority, wants, and wishful thinking.
What is Biblical Faith?
Before getting too far into the weeds, we should define some terms. Our modern word faith is a translation of the Greek “Pistis.” The term can also be translated as trust, belief, confidence, assurance, and loyalty. These nuances can still be seen in how we use the word faith. Think about what it means to say someone is faithful or “I have faith in them.” In a sense, you could say that to have faith is to trust in a message, be it a claim, statement, or concept. (See: “What is Biblical Faith? – An Analysis of ‘Pistis,’” for more information.)
Blind Faith and Other Kinds of Faith
Because trust is at the core of faith, we can ask the question: What makes someone confident enough to trust? This is where we can begin talking about the foundation of someone’s faith—i.e., the reason why people choose to trust or remain faithful.
From what I can tell, people go from knowing about Christ to trusting in him for one of four reasons.
- Experience
- Reason/Evidence
- A Trusted Source
- Desires
The Bible actually talks about these foundations for faith in various texts of the New Testament. Furthermore, Scripture seems to speak highly of some and negatively of others.
Faith Via Experience
In Scripture, experience is often described as a powerful tool for transitioning someone from skeptic to believer. Paul and Thomas are two classic examples; however, there are many others. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks about skeptical people coming to faith after experiencing the power of the Spirit.
“But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!’” – 1 Corinthians 14:24–25
Earlier in the letter, Paul seems to suggest he prefers faith founded on experience over anything else.
“My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” – 1 Corinthians 2:4–5
However, dramatic events like miracles are not the only way people experience God’s trustworthiness. Many come to faith after testing the promises of Scripture. Think of passages like “Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you” or “those without wisdom should ask.”
Even experiencing the quality of the Christian message is often enough to bring people to trust in it.
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” – 1 Peter 2:2
Faith Based on Reason
Using evidence and reason to build faith has a long and rich history in Christianity—whether it’s the modern apologetics of Craig, Plantinga, Feser, Lennox, or Lewis, the scholasticism of Augustine and Aquinas, the debates of the ecumenical councils, or the writings of people like Tertullian, Justin Martyr, St. John of Damascus, St. Irenaeus, and St. Athanasius. Christianity has never shied away from using science, philosophy, and reason to ground faith.
This tradition actually stems back to Paul’s missionary journey. While in Berea, Paul converted some Jews who evaluated his claims against Scripture. In his record, Luke commends them for their diligence.
“As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.” – Acts 17:10–11
A Trusted Source
The last foundation mentioned positively in the New Testament is a trusted source. It appears in Paul’s letter to Timothy, where he praises the faith that was passed down to the young minister.
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” – 2 Timothy 1:5
Desire and Blind Faith
Of the four ways faith can be founded, believing because you want to is the most discouraged. In Mark, there is a story about a father who goes to Jesus with his demon-possessed child.
“And Jesus asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘“If you can”! All things are possible for one who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’” – Mark 9:21–24
The father is a good illustration of the problems with desire-based faith. You can see it in his confession: “I believe; help my unbelief!” The father came to Jesus because he was desperate, not because he was confident in Christ’s power. You could say that the father was blindly entrusting his son to Jesus.
Not all Faith is Blind Faith
Desires are not the only foundation for faith. Our trust in God can be based on reason, evidence, experience, and trusted sources. We’ve also seen that Scripture encourages us to base our faith in these sorts of things. Consequently, faith cannot simply be defined as an unjustifiable belief or as a belief held without evidence. To do so would suggest that historical, philosophical, testimonial, and experiential evidence do not count as such, or that they are not justifiable grounds to trust and be confident in a message, a conclusion that would be absurd and impractical on every level of life.
Sources
- Richard Dawkins, speech at the Edinburgh International Science Festival, 1992-04-15, quoted in “EDITORIAL: A scientist’s case against God”.
