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That Faith Thing
by Wayne Brooks Quite a few years ago, I attended a lecture by the Publisher and Editor-n-Chief of "Skeptic" magazine, Michael Shermer. He is also the author of the book, "The Believing Brain". It was held at the College my daughter was attending at the time, Troy State University in Dothan, Alabama. I decided to go because I had read Skeptic magazine and I wanted to hear what evidence he was going to present. Well, without speaking negatively of Mr. Shermer, I soon knew that no evidence was going to be presented. I only heard jokes, put-downs and ideas that where not backed up with science. I looked at the program and saw that he had two degrees in Philosophy and one degree in something called "Science Methods" (I could stand corrected on this; I have long lost the program by putting it in a book in my library). So he was not a scientist; he studied philosophy. This made the remarks even more insulting. I took notes in my mind for the Q&A at the end of the lecture, but behold I froze up and was intimidated by the man's cleverness, and I did not want to look foolish. Then after the Q&A, he said itI could not believe he did. He said, "I believe science has all the answers and if it doesn't it will eventually." I was floored; this man was talking about his faith. I tucked this memory away in the back of my mind. I filed it under Amazing Faith. But what is faith? We have all heard the definitions. I believe I knew where Mr. Shermer was coming from, he believes he has seen enough questions answered by science to have confidence that science will continue to do so. And if science fails, there will be a logical answer. What I cannot understand is why these people do not allow us to have the same faith in what we see as our creator answering all of our questions, and if He doesn't, we'll wait patiently until He does. I have not read of any scientific result that has proven beyond doubt the theory of evolution. the results only show me a wonder working God. But back to faith, does Mr. Shermer have faith because he has seen answers in his view, as being answered? Doesn't that remove 'believing' from the equation? Philosophically speaking, the same can be said to us Christians, if we have seen Christ work and believe because of those workings, does it cease to be faith. Are we missing the deepest kind of faith, choosing to believe God when we don't see the evidence that He is able or willing? That is the faith I believe the Lord is looking for in us all. What joy does He have in Angels that see His face daily: They are knowers, not believers? Hebrews 11:6 (King James 2000 Bible) states: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Faith is a requirement for pleasing God. Nothing else will do except putting your trust in His finished work at the Cross, no matter what any other "evidence may show". This may sound closed-minded and narrow, but I quote again Mr. Shermer, "I believe science (in my case God/Jesus) has all the answers and if it doesn't it (He) will eventually." In order to turn me from the God who has so loved me (John 3:16), you must show me non-life coming to life, on its on, naturally (without the help in a lab). And in accordance with scientific method, do it twice. Show me undeniable evidence of one species becoming another, alliterating their DNA on its own naturally. Until then, I put my full trust in a loving God who seeks those who will believe and will come back in His own time. Wayne Brooks is a blue collar worker in the manufacturing field. He also writes a blog dealing with Christians in the workplace and Marketplace Ministry. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |