Knowing the Truth that Sets You Free

Recently, I’ve had atheists (at least, they claim to be atheists) complain that I pretend to know something I don’t — that God exists. I’ve been accused of arrogance and condescension for sharing my faith and told that Christianity is a crutch — with the unspoken implication that only weak or incompetent people could be Christians.

I seriously doubt I’ll ever convince these people to change their minds, but such charges deserve an answer.

Whether or not atheists or skeptics (and I believe they are not necessarily synonymous) agree, Christian faith is belief that is built on knowledge. There is no “leap of faith” in Christianity. Some atheists would like to redefine faith for the rest of the world, insist that it is belief without evidence or even against evidence, but that’s an obviously self-serving stance built on a false dichotomy.

Just think about what that definition of faith would mean for all the great Christian thinkers, artists and social activists throughout the centuries. Aquinas’ Summas were stupidity from start to finish. Dostoyevsky’s novels were built on superstitious nonsense. Bach’s music was motivated by moronic thinking. Wilbur Wilberforce fought against the slave trade for unintelligent reasons.

If faith is the absence of intelligence or knowledge, then Jesus Christ is actually the enemy of faith. If faith is belief divorced from evidence, He apparently was misinformed because He kept providing reasons for people to believe.

Why would the New Testament exhort Christians to study, gain knowledge and teach on the average of twice every chapter if learning undermines faith?

What are the implications for higher education? All the first universities were founded by Christian organizations. Why would Christians go to such expensive lengths to take away all the ignorance that faith requires?

Why would Christians waste our time with apologetics if providing evidence for belief takes away people’s faith?

The word faith has a meaning based in history, scripture, theology and experiential context. I’m fluent in American Sign Language and the ASL sign “faith” combines “think leading to trust”.  In other words, knowledge that leads to confidence. Many nonbelievers would like to divorce the word “faith” from its traditional moorings and insist it means something it has never meant before. Maybe it’s because they are ignorant of the rich history of Christian thinkers, artists, and educators, though they act as if they know all about these things. Rather than accuse them of ignorance, I’m going to suggest that they do know that a lot of very smart people have been faithful Christians throughout the centuries and that their reason for redefining faith is a propaganda tool.

Why? Because after more than a century of controlling our American school system, they haven’t been able to stop faith. About 80% of Americans say they believe in God and around half of American scientists say they believe in a metaphysical realm. Worse, from an atheist point of view, these “heretics” have the audacity to question the authority of materialism as a sole acceptable view of the way universe.

If you can’t convince people with rhetoric and you don’t have the demographic numbers for coersion, then use proganda to MA finalize those who offer an alternate point of view.

By suggesting faith is anti-knowledge and possibly lunacy, the hope is they can automatically inoculate people who care to be viewed as intelligent and sane from very even listening to us.

Of course, when you know the truth, you shouldn’t really worry much overmuch about the opinions of the misinformed, except to be concerned for their well-being, because being misinformed has consequences.