John 8:31-32; Hebrews 11:1, 6
Introduction:
1. Having seen the necessity of knowing God for eternal life this morning, we are obliged to address a common criticism of the position set forth.
2. This criticism comes from atheists and theists alike, and it threatens the faith.
Discussion:
I. The Criticism
A. “Reason and faith are opposites, two mutually exclusive terms; there is no reconciliation or common ground… It is logically impossible to reconcile reason and faith.” (George Smith: Atheism, The Case Against God).
B. “I have therefore found it necessary to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith” (Immanuel Kant- Critique of Pure Reason)
C. William James argued that since we must believe in something, belief in God is the better risk (The Will to Believe).
D. James further argued one should live “as if” God exists though we cannot know He does, in order to live the best type of moral life.
E. “Even in faith, then, there is no certainty entirely free from doubt. In faith, we must commit ourselves to something uncertain (Theologian Hans Kung, Does God Exist).
F. “Faith is a commitment to an unprovable assumption…” (Televangelist Robert Schuller).
II. Reason and The Bible
A. The law of rationality says that “We ought to justify our conclusions by adequate evidence” (Lionel Ruby- Logic: An Introduction).
B. In the following passages, we will see the God of the Bible upholds the law of rationality.
C. God demands we give a rational defense for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).
D. He demands we test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
1. The term means to “scrutinize to see whether a thing is genuine or not” (Thayer).
2. God commended such scrutiny as an act of noble minds (Acts 17:11).
E. Jesus urged the Jews to believe in His works that they “may know and believe” that the Father was in Him and He in the Father (John 10:37-38).
F. He was telling them to reason about the evidence before them and draw a rational conclusion.
III. No Clash Here
A. Many misunderstand faith and knowledge because of 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
B. Though sight is one way of attaining knowledge, sight is not knowledge itself.
C. Seeing something does not ensure faith in it (John 4:39-42; 20:24-29).
D. Multiple statements indicate faith and knowledge work hand in hand (John 6:67-69; 8:31-32; 10:37-38; 17:3).
E. Nothing in the Bible suggests God expects us to believe without evidence, against evidence, or beyond evidence.
F. There is no evidence that biblical faith and reason/knowledge are mutually exclusive.
Conclusion:
1. One final quote summarizes all the above quite well, so we conclude with this.
2. “We have learned one lesson of great importance in the pursuit of truth—one that acts as a pioneer to prepare the way of knowledge—one that cannot be adopted and acted upon but the result may be salutary. It is this: Never to hold any sentiment or proposition as more certain than the evidence on which it rests; or, in other words, that our assent to any proposition should be precisely proportioned to the evidence on which it rests. All beyond this we esteem enthusiasm—all short of it incredulity” (Alexander Campbell-1827).