Why I Believe: Faith Isn’t Blind

Overview

When Christians get into debates with others about whether or not God exists or whether Jesus was who He said He was (or who we claim Him to be), it always makes me cringe when their final, crushing blow to their argument is, “you just gotta have faith.” I don’t cringe because I disagree with it; I do believe that faith is a huge, crucial part of Christianity, otherwise we wouldn’t call it our “Faith.” I cringe because this statement is usually said after the Christian has been backed into a corner and has nowhere else to go. It is said when the Christian has no other knowledge to contribute to the debate and has already lost. What does “just have faith” mean to an Atheist or an Agnostic? Probably not much, or if it does mean something to them, it is translated into, “just be stupid.”

Christians often present the faith as something that is accepted blindly. Perhaps that’s because many Christians have done just that. I’ve known several people who did so growing up, but when they began to question why they believed, they couldn’t come up with a decent answer, so they simply stopped believing. No one ever told them why they should believe, they were just told to believe. The thing is, blind belief doesn’t lead you too far, and it is not what God intended for us anyway. He’s given us so much evidence of His existence and so much evidence of Jesus, His crucifixion and His resurrection.

In this study, I hope to provide you with a solid foundation on how to communicate your faith better, that is assuming you are a Christian believer. If you’re not, this is still open to you. If you are just curious about Christianity and seeking some answers, I hope to at least provide you with something that will open your mind a little to the possibility of truth in Christ. It’s also possible that you feel like you’re in the in between. You’re a Christian, but you’re wondering if that’s the right path. Maybe something has left your faith shaky and you’re not sure what your next move should be. Let me assure you that that’s an okay place to be. I’ve been there before. In my near 20-year faith journey, I’ve had my ups and downs and have found more questions than I have answers. As a teenager, if someone would have been able to prove to me that Jesus was never raised from the dead, if someone could have cast a dark enough shadow on my belief system, I would have gladly left it and started living life as I pleased. It would have made life easier. In fact, I’d probably say the same now.

This doesn’t mean that I have all the answers. It doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped questioning. The more I grow in my faith, the more I question, and the more I find that God is all right with me questioning. My other goal with this Bible study is to provide a safe place for you to ask your questions without feeling silly or judged. If you look at the outline below, I’ve listed only six topics even though the group will meet for 8-9 weeks. I’m going to allow for you to submit your big questions (you can go ahead and start in the comment box at the end of this post if you want) and we’re going to try to tackle some of them.

This study will start in June and should wrap up at the end of July (with maybe some spillage into the beginning of August, depending on how things go). We’ll meet on Mondays or Wednesdays, I’m still not certain, but I’m leaning toward Wednesdays unless I get an overwhelming request to choose Mondays. The time will be 7 PM and it is open to men and women. If you are unable to attend in person or don’t feel comfortable enough to meet in a group, I’ll be posting the information for each week on here as well. There will also be bonus material posted and hopefully some good online discussion.

More info about the study will go up here and will be announced in the 20-somethings Sunday School class at Shandon. Till then, check out the outline below, post questions if you want and I hope to see you either in person and/or on here in June!

Outline

1. Overview of study, guidelines and expectations
During this meeting, you will have the opportunity to write down questions (anonymously if you choose) and submit them. They can be as far out as “Do aliens exist” to questions about creation and dinosaurs to questions about other religions and how they compare. You can write anything. We’ll attempt to cover as many as possible during the study. If there’s time after the introduction, we’ll go ahead and dive into topic #2.

2. It All Comes Down to the Empty Tomb
We’ll discuss the resurrection, why without it, our faith is nothing and all the evidence that supports the resurrection actually happening.

3. The Bible is the Word of God: So What?
Validity and reliability of the Bible, what the Bible is all about and a general look of how it came to be will be discussed.

4. Importance of the Old Testament
We’ll dig deeper into the Old Testament and discuss why it is important and still relevant to us today.

5. Importance of the New Testament
We’ll look at the similarities and differences in the 4 Gospels, examine the lives of the apostles and discuss how the early Christian church shaped who we are today.

6. Pain and Suffering: Why and how it provides evidence for a loving God
The most commonly asked questions that I’ve encountered from people are along the lines of “Why do we hurt and have to endure pain” and “Why does it seem like God allows good people who follow Him to suffer while people who disobey Him live happy lives?” Atheists try to use pain and suffering to say that God doesn’t exist or if, by some chance He does exist, He’s not good or powerful. We’ll explore why we must endure hardships and try to figure out where God is in the midst of all the pain.