The Role of Faith in the Search for Truth
Wayne Adkins
December 15, 2005
The truth about God is like the elusive lean body. We all say we want it, but few are willing to put in the work it requires. Most people are content to take what their parents give them as truth. That is why a child born in Iraq is likely to become Muslim while a child born in Utah is more likely to become Mormon and a child born in Alabama more likely to become a protestant Christian. It’s not that the argument for Islam is any more compelling in Iraq than it is in Alabama. It’s just that we are, to a great extent, products of our environments.
At some point a person might begin to question what they are given as truth. What’s with all these contradictions in the Bible? Why doesn’t God condemn slavery? Most clergy are ready for such questions with canned answers or recommendations for a good apologist to read. Why? It is because most people don’t want to abandon their notions of truth, even when they doubt it. They just want an answer that will quell the uneasiness they feel while allowing them to retain their notions of what the truth is. In other words, any plausible explanation will do.
The problem is that truth is lost in the process.
If you are married and your spouse starts coming home late because he or she is having an affair, would you want to know the truth, even if you didn’t like it, or would you be pacified with any and all plausible explanations given? “I was working late.” “I had a flat tire.” “I ran out of gas.” “I ran into an old buddy from high school.” Would you accept every excuse given so you could retain your faith in your spouse? That is what most people do when it comes to religion.
Suppose you wanted to buy a building and the seller assures you the roof doesn’t leak. As you tour the building you come upon a puddle. The seller tells you it could have blown in from a nearby window, but assures you the roof doesn’t leak. You continue and find another puddle. “That seeps up through the concrete floor,” you are told. Another puddle is explained as the product of a leaky water fountain. Yet another is explained as a spill. You feel a drop of water fall on your head and look up. The seller quickly points out that it could have been condensation from the air-conditioning ducts. You walk on and still more water falls on you and you point out to the seller that there are no ducts overhead now and water is running down the rafters. He tells you that his kids have super soaker water canons and that they could have been playing with them and sprayed the ceiling. He then tells you with a straight face that it couldn’t have come through the roof because it is impervious to leaks. As you look across the room, the floor is covered in water and the seller is telling you the roof doesn’t leak. How can you buy that?
Enter faith. When people confront the clergy about problems with the God myth and the clergy can see that their plausible explanations aren’t playing well, they play the faith card. “It all comes down to faith” we are told. Faith is what bridges the gap between compelling evidence and belief. The Bible says faith is required for salvation. If a person was given enough compelling evidence, maybe that person would believe without faith. After all, Thomas wasn’t praised by Jesus for his skepticism; he was scolded for it and told “blessed are they who have believed without seeing.” There is just one problem with all of this. For faith to have any value it must be placed in a true proposition.
Ask your average Christian what will happen to a Muslim when he dies and they will tell you that unless he placed his faith in Jesus Christ he is going to hell. Misplaced faith is apparently useless. Suppose you knew an adult who still had faith that Santa Claus is real. Would you consider that person a fool for having faith in such a preposterous thing? How do you know you are not a fool for believing the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God? If faith only has value when placed in a true proposition, how do you know that what you have placed your faith in is true? Has your faith served you well if there really is no God? It cannot end with faith or you are just rolling the dice and hoping that your parents, despite the odds, took you to the one church that has the truth. You must consider the evidence to determine if you have placed your faith in a true proposition and if the evidence is not compelling, why would you want to believe this?
You wouldn’t buy a car on the salesman’s word without test driving it. You wouldn’t buy a home on the realtor’s word without having it inspected. Why would you choose a religion, arguably the decision that will most influence the rest of your life, by walking into the closest church to your house or going to a church like the one your parents attended, and accepting at face value that you have been given the truth about God?
Faith is an impediment to the sincere search for truth. It is a shortcut that allows people to avoid the hard work of searching for truth for themselves. Faith allows a person to say “this is what I believe” without being able to articulate “why.”
I encourage you to fearlessly pursue the truth wherever it leads you. When someone says “How do you know this is true?” be prepared to answer with evidence. Show me a person who says they believe in God simply by faith alone and I’ll show you someone who hasn’t earnestly looked for the truth about God.
At some point a person might begin to question what they are given as truth. What’s with all these contradictions in the Bible? Why doesn’t God condemn slavery? Most clergy are ready for such questions with canned answers or recommendations for a good apologist to read. Why? It is because most people don’t want to abandon their notions of truth, even when they doubt it. They just want an answer that will quell the uneasiness they feel while allowing them to retain their notions of what the truth is. In other words, any plausible explanation will do.
The problem is that truth is lost in the process.
If you are married and your spouse starts coming home late because he or she is having an affair, would you want to know the truth, even if you didn’t like it, or would you be pacified with any and all plausible explanations given? “I was working late.” “I had a flat tire.” “I ran out of gas.” “I ran into an old buddy from high school.” Would you accept every excuse given so you could retain your faith in your spouse? That is what most people do when it comes to religion.
Suppose you wanted to buy a building and the seller assures you the roof doesn’t leak. As you tour the building you come upon a puddle. The seller tells you it could have blown in from a nearby window, but assures you the roof doesn’t leak. You continue and find another puddle. “That seeps up through the concrete floor,” you are told. Another puddle is explained as the product of a leaky water fountain. Yet another is explained as a spill. You feel a drop of water fall on your head and look up. The seller quickly points out that it could have been condensation from the air-conditioning ducts. You walk on and still more water falls on you and you point out to the seller that there are no ducts overhead now and water is running down the rafters. He tells you that his kids have super soaker water canons and that they could have been playing with them and sprayed the ceiling. He then tells you with a straight face that it couldn’t have come through the roof because it is impervious to leaks. As you look across the room, the floor is covered in water and the seller is telling you the roof doesn’t leak. How can you buy that?
Enter faith. When people confront the clergy about problems with the God myth and the clergy can see that their plausible explanations aren’t playing well, they play the faith card. “It all comes down to faith” we are told. Faith is what bridges the gap between compelling evidence and belief. The Bible says faith is required for salvation. If a person was given enough compelling evidence, maybe that person would believe without faith. After all, Thomas wasn’t praised by Jesus for his skepticism; he was scolded for it and told “blessed are they who have believed without seeing.” There is just one problem with all of this. For faith to have any value it must be placed in a true proposition.
Ask your average Christian what will happen to a Muslim when he dies and they will tell you that unless he placed his faith in Jesus Christ he is going to hell. Misplaced faith is apparently useless. Suppose you knew an adult who still had faith that Santa Claus is real. Would you consider that person a fool for having faith in such a preposterous thing? How do you know you are not a fool for believing the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God? If faith only has value when placed in a true proposition, how do you know that what you have placed your faith in is true? Has your faith served you well if there really is no God? It cannot end with faith or you are just rolling the dice and hoping that your parents, despite the odds, took you to the one church that has the truth. You must consider the evidence to determine if you have placed your faith in a true proposition and if the evidence is not compelling, why would you want to believe this?
You wouldn’t buy a car on the salesman’s word without test driving it. You wouldn’t buy a home on the realtor’s word without having it inspected. Why would you choose a religion, arguably the decision that will most influence the rest of your life, by walking into the closest church to your house or going to a church like the one your parents attended, and accepting at face value that you have been given the truth about God?
Faith is an impediment to the sincere search for truth. It is a shortcut that allows people to avoid the hard work of searching for truth for themselves. Faith allows a person to say “this is what I believe” without being able to articulate “why.”
I encourage you to fearlessly pursue the truth wherever it leads you. When someone says “How do you know this is true?” be prepared to answer with evidence. Show me a person who says they believe in God simply by faith alone and I’ll show you someone who hasn’t earnestly looked for the truth about God.