Many people have trouble with the idea of "believing in Jesus" because the very notion of faith seems irrational. How can you expect people to check their brains at the door? And why should you have to?
But what if that's not what faith is at all?
Let me acknowledge at the outset that there is an unfortunate number of Christians who not only accept but seemingly revel in the idea that Christianity runs on blind faith. If there are facts, they don't want to hear them because it might interfere with their "faith".
But that's not biblical faith. Biblical faith is trust based on evidence.
The prime example from scripture is John the Baptist. He came to announce the Messiah. He saw the Spirit descend on Jesus. He proclaimed him to be the Messiah. Then he was imprisoned. And he doubted. So he sent a message to Jesus: "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matt 11:3).
And Jesus said, "Tell him, just have faith!", right? No.
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor" (Matt 11:4-5).
In other words, Jesus pointed to the evidence.
This is the biblical pattern. The Gospel of John in structured around "signs" that Jesus did "that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31).
The Gospel of Luke was written as a historical account for disciples "so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught" (Luke 1:4).
And this is what we see throughout the Bible. Abraham was given signs. Moses was given signs. The nation of Israel was given signs. They were never expected to operate off blind faith. They were supposed to take the evidence and trust based on what they'd seen. Later generations were supposed to take the evidence of the testimony of those who had gone before.
Which brings us to what many see as a counter-example: Thomas. Thomas had heard that Jesus had been raised from the dead, but he refused to believe unless he saw it with his own eyes, touched with his hands. Jesus appeared to him and said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). That's praising "blind faith", right? No.
Thomas was not asked to have blind faith. The Lord had predicted his death and resurrection. Thomas' 10 closest friends had then reported seeing the risen Jesus. But he wanted more proof. Thomas got it. But blessed are those who are willing to take the testimony of the witnesses and trust based on that.
Another passage some may raise as a counter is Hebrews 11:1. "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Isn't that defining faith as "blind faith"? No. It's not defining faith at all. It's describing what a life of faith looks like. This statement heads up the "hall of faith" in chapter 11 where we read of various people who trusted God. We don't know all the details about everyone mentioned, but we know Abraham received his signs, as did Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samson, and more.
Biblical faith is not "believing what you know ain't so." It's trusting God for the future based on what you do know.
So we take the biblical evidence, the testimony of the witnesses to the death and resurrection of Christ, and we take the contemporary evidence, the testimony of those around us who know Christ, and we trust that God will do what he said: forgive us our sins and put his Spirit in us, adopting us as his own. That is faith.
Related:
Trusting the Gospels Because of What Is(n't) Included
The Resurrection: A Story No One Would Make Up
Image: Beheading of St John the Baptist by Massimo Stanzione, 1635 via Wikimedia Commons
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