In my experience, the term “faith” is all too commonly used and understood as “blind faith,” or “belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.”1/ I see it in popular literature and movies and hear it in discussions with family and friends. Dictionaries reflect and perpetuate this understanding. Consider, for example, how Merriam-Webster’s ordering of definitions closely links the concepts of belief in God and “belief in something for which there is no proof”:
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person: LOYALTY, b (1): fidelity to one’s promises (2): sincerity of intentions. 2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God . . . b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust. 3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).
My Christian faith is rational and based in evidence. It is not blind faith. It is not lacking in logical proof. See Objective Proof. There is, among other things, eyewitness evidence (from disciples and others) presented in reliable documents (the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), which are corroborated by archaeology as well as ancient writings by non-Christian historians (such as Josephus and Pliny the Younger).2/ There is also a wealth of circumstantial evidence, such as that found in my own story.
To be clear, describing my faith as rational and fact-based is meaningfully different from advocating or adhering to a “seeing is believing” standard for evaluating Christ. Faith is, after all, “the evidence of things not seen”. Hebrews 11:1 (KJV). “[F]aith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV). This verse describes the pivotal moment (thus far) in the evolution of my faith: by virtue of our belief and trust in and loyalty to God, we began to tithe, even though there appeared to be no way we could afford to. In this sense, my “faith” is perhaps as much a verb as it is a belief.
1/ American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed. 2000) (second definition of “faith”).
2/ I have found Lee Strobel’s THE CASE FOR CHRIST to be a most concise and accessible source on these topics.
