Faith, Proof, and Certainty

Faith. One of those words charged with meaning. A concept which I have been turning over and over in my mind recently. This will not be easily said in few words, but I will do my best. I begin with that age-old question so often posed to any person of faith: How can you believe in what you cannot see?

While I am surely not the first to make this suggestion, my response is simply this: How can you believe in what you can see?

One with a critical would see that even in academic circles, which rely so heavily on logic and reason, there is constant debate. One scholar argues, for example, that based on his research he has come to a certain conclusion, while his college, considering other evidence (or perhaps even the same evidence), has come to a very different conclusion. Neither is less intelligent than the other and both ideas could be equally sound in logic. This pattern extends far beyond academic study. We do not live in a world of black and white. For every theory, there is a possible alternative.

There is no proof. There is only evidence.

“Well, Arthur, this seems to be a rather bleak outlook on things,” says the reader, “If I can’t be sure of anything, is life worth living? Is the sky really blue and the grass green or is this just a figment of my imagination? More importantly, how do I know my next meal won’t kill me? But maybe death won’t be so bad. But, then again, maybe it will. Is everything I know a lie? Where’s Morpheus?! I WANT THE RED PILL!”

Well, reader, take a deep breath. Calm down, and think twice before following any white rabbits. I spent a few years in such a frame of mind. Doubting . . . everything! I never felt a part of my own life. Everything seemed somehow distant, unreal (in fact, I’m still trying to shake this). How strange to doubt the only thing you know! I had lived through twenty years of sensual experiences—sights, sounds, tastes, smells, feelings, emotions, desires, decisions, goals, failures, even faint bursts of the recognition of beauty and love—and all I could do was doubt. Are we simply ungrateful, or do we perceive deep down that there is something more, something worthwhile, something true, beyond what we experience in this physical world?

“Is there such a thing as certainty?”

There is faith. And, in a world without proof, I believe that faith is the only certainty.

“And what is faith?”

At church a couple weeks ago, Pastor Ron Miller presented a great illustration. Chances are that you are sitting on a chair at the moment (unless you are in the habit of using a computer standing). Before sitting on that chair did you first consider the quality of the chair? Did you wonder if there was any chance that the chair would fall apart beneath your weight? Did you call the manufacturer and ask for documentation ensuring the stability of said chair? Did you ask a friend a few pounds heavier than you to sit in the chair first? If so, I think you might be suffering from hypochondria.

More than likely, you plopped yourself down in that chair without a second thought. Whether you realized it or not, this was an act of faith.

No one goes through life without at least a little faith in something. It takes a great deal of faith to believe that all of our experiences are the result of a series of meaningless coincidences. Even the atheist is a person of faith. I would argue that the hard agnostic comes closest to a life without faith. The agnostic recognizes the lack of any definitive proof, but to avoid severe depression must approach life with a great deal of cynicism and emotional detachment, or so it was with me. But even this requires a small degree of faith.

Should we, therefore, throw logic and reason out the window? Absolutely not. I repeat, there is no proof, but there is evidence.

Evidence is hope.

I believe, that is I take it on faith, that God gave mankind a capacity for reason, for a reason. Some have argued that the ability to analyze is what makes us human, hence, homo sapiens, wise man, rational man.

I have placed my faith in Christ. The foundation of my faith is the gospel–that God sent Jesus to live as a man (fulfilling the prophets, teaching, healing, setting a perfect example), to suffer and die (taking on the full weight of humanity’s iniquities, becoming sin itself, death itself, that undeserving people might have redemption), and to rise again (overcoming death for our sakes, that we might live abundantly). I make it my mission to learn the principles Jesus laid out in his teachings and strive to live accordingly, accepting his words in faith, but questioning them that I might understand them and live them out more effectively. On the foundation of the gospel I place the commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you soul and with all your mind,” and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Such things are essential and I will not compromise them for anything. All other aspects of theology are to be taken one at a time, arguments are to be considered, prayers to be prayed, scriptures to be read and analyzed. What I don’t yet know, what I have yet to consider, I commit to faith. I may hold a belief and later, upon further consideration, amend it, reshape it, or throw it out all together; this is part of the process, and it is a beautiful thing. It’s a messy process and it will not always be fun, but what else do I have?

I have come to understand God as infinitely mysterious; we could spend a lifetime (even multiple lifetimes) learning more and more about God, and we would hardly scratch the surface. It’s humbling. We needn’t even consider God to recognize that the wealth of knowledge in this world alone (which I imagine to be finite) is mindbogglingly enormous. In better words:

I only know that I know nothing.
[Attributed to Socrates]

In various dialogues about Socrates, Plato recognizes that in order to consider ourselves wise, we must first admit that we understand very little, that we do not and will not have it all figured out. And so it is with God:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
[Proverbs 1:7 NIV]

I strive after an unreachable goal. But that is the beauty of it! How sad to spend the better part of lifetime pushing forward toward some finite goal! If I live my life for an early retirement, what do I live for after retirement? How much better set one small goal at a time, knowing that after every achievement, every failure, there is still more to be gained, forever and always, to infinity and beyond! Sorry, I got carried away.

I leave you with some food for thought:

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where their are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
[1 Corinthians 13:8-13 NIV]

I don’t claim to understand this passage very well, but I think that might be the point. Nevertheless these words excite me, they resonate somewhere deep in my spirit, they frighten me and inspire me all at once. This is my journey: to know God, to serve God, to love God, and, in everything, to glorify God.

Amen.

High Time

Well, I think its about time to get this blog train rolling again. I was very excited to get this thing stated last summer and its not the excitement that diminished but the free time. So far I have aimed for the deeply profound in my posts but I must humbly admit that I am not capable of regular genius, only short bursts of it whenever the Lord sees it fit. So, while I hope to produce a few pleasant ramblings on the vastness of the universe from time to time, you can expect a fun anecdote, an essay about on life and times of Arthur Graves, a fun quote from a famous person, a knock-knock joke, maybe a short piece of fiction,…the possibilities are endless. You may even be graced with a feeble attempt at poetry here an there, but don’t get your hopes up.

For the time being, I have another of the vastness-of-the-universe type in the works, more or less. Its a topic I have had on my mind for a while and I thought it would be helpful to gather my thoughts in writing. You can expect that by the end of the week; Sunday at the latest.

God bless!