Faith is one of the most misunderstood terms. Every time I hear some one use it as a dichotomy against reason I cringe. There is no such thing as “Faith Vs. Science” There is no such thing as “Faith Vs. Reason” Both sides use faith.
Faith does not mean an absence of reason, an absence of the scientific method, Faith doesn’t even mean believing what so ever in things unseen.
Faith simply means to put your hope in. If you are a scientist, you put your hope in/ have faith in the scientific method.
If you are a surfer, you place your faith in your surf board and your swimming skills every time you paddle out to sea.
You see where the differences lie between those who believe in intelligent design vs. Macro Evolution vs. a specific religion is not weather or not they have “faith.” The differences lie in WHAT they choose to place their faith IN.
You do not have faith in faith itself. There is ZERO power in faith, faith can even be dangerous if you place it in something undeserving of your trust.
…there, however, is AMAZING power when you place your hope in / “Have Faith” in something that is powerful and true.
For example, if you jump out of an airplane with a child’s birthday balloon. You can have all the faith you want that the balloon will save you from gravity but ultimately faith in that balloon will not help you and to jump depending on it would be dangerous.
If however you used your REASON (Yes, I said reason) maybe even scientific or mathematical principles of analysis to determine that the proper thing to place your faith in when jumping from a plane is a parachute, then and only then would that faith save you, because the faith is in something that works and is strong enough to hold you when your falling.
When I began asking questions about my world view, God, what was worth living for. I did not shut my eyes and just believe whatever the first person told me. I used all sorts or reasoning, I examined the evidences of many views, and yes, I did take into account my experiences but with the understanding that I am only one person and can’t draw my conclusions on my personal experience alone.
I personally do believe there is a spiritual aspect to the world that we cannot see with our eyes. But this belief is far from blind faith. I chose it because I believe it is the best explanation for the things I HAVE seen.
CS Lewis says this well when he uses the example of air. You may not be able to see air with your naked eye, but you CAN see the evidence of air. If I blow up a balloon or wind rushes through the trees I can come to a valid conclusion that something is there beyond what I’m seeing, and this would not be a violation of science or reason at all.
I have never seen God, but I have seen the evidences of him and of his hand in my life. I see his footprint all through our history, creation and even my own conscience. I choose to place my hope in this God because I believe he has shown himself to be worth my trust.
You must decide for yourself what you think is worth your faith.
For those of you who have chosen your faith blindly or with out much thought or evaluation I would encourage you to do some seeking. What you place your hope in will determine how you live and experience life and is worth your time and effort.
