It is not blind faith

Posted on December 22, 2015 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

In response to the idea that religious faith is blind faith, I ran across this paragraph from John Lennox and thought I would share it with you.

“Unfortunately the two ideas – that all religious faith is blind faith and that science does not involve faith – are so deeply ingrained in the New Atheist’s psyche and thus so widely disseminated int heir writings that we need to emphasize strongly that they are wrong. John Haught writes: ‘At some point in the validation of every truth claim or hypothesis, a leap of faith is an inescapable ingredient. At the foundation of every human search for understanding and truth, including the scientific search, an ineradicable element of trust is present. If you find yourself doubting what I have just said, it is only because, at this very moment, you trust your own mind enough to express concern about my assertion. You cannot avoid trusting your intellectual capacity, even when you are in doubt. Moreover you raise your critical questions only because you believe that truth is worth seeking. Faith in this sense, and not in the sense of wild imaginings and wishful thinking, lies at the root of all authentic religion – and science. Haught rightly concludes that this ‘shows clearly that the new atheistic attempts to cleanse human consciousness of faith are absurd and doomed to failure.”

John Lennox in God’s Undertaker

We do not believe in spite of facts to the contrary; ours is not a blind faith. We believe in response to the evidence that is presented to us. Those who do not choose this interpretation see the facts differently. I cannot force anyone to see things the way I see them. The fact that they see it differently does not cause me to think less of them as individuals.

But on the other hand, I would hope that everyone would experience the grace that is found in Jesus Christ.

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

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About Mark McIntyre