Faith: The shallow water of America's belief in God

I remember the first Bible study I led at sixteen years of age.  The livingroom held late teens and early-twenty-somethings and I expounded upon the faith of a mustard seed.  Hot on the heels of reading Richard Bach's, "Illusions," I'd concocted a god in my own image, a god where if I thought hard enough and believed enough, I could manufacture what I wanted.  I truly believed I could get Mount McKinley into the sea if only I exerted enough mental force.

It's a wonder God didn't crush me right there.  Grace.

Perhaps no part of the Bible gets more bad press than faith. On the threshold of Resurrection Sunday, Time, Newsweek, et. al. are sure to splash theological articles all over the newsstands, and as they examine events of the Bible, they do so with tongue in cheek and eyes set to perma-roll. To them, the objects of belief are not objective at all; they are no more objective reality than Clash of the Titans. 

Unfortunately, Christians have done "faith" no favors.  Ask most believers why they believe what they believe and they will wither to "You've just got to have faith," as though what they believed was really silly but they were going to believe in it as hard as they can, a la Richard Bach. When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.

I stumbled upon an article yesterday that notched my blood toward 212-degrees.  It started like this:

"I am a person of faith. But sometimes I like to step outside of faith and just think about things rationally." 

While the rest of the article proved interesting, the intro highlights the prevailing belief about faith.  It is utterly irrational and devoid of reason.  It's as hollow as Mortimer Snerd's head and as unsubstantial as a Twinkie.  Worst of all, it's contrary to what the Bible says.

Some passages on faith:

Ernest Borgnine's centurion from "Jesus of Nazareth"

MATTHEW 8:5-13 - THE FAITH OF THE CENTURION:  Jesus lauds the faith of the Gentile soldier.  Greater is it, says the Son of God, than the faith of any in Israel, the people of God.  What is that Roman Centurion's faith?  As a commander, he knew that when he gave a command it would be carried out.  Based upon what he'd seen and heard of Jesus, he understood that Jesus had the ability to command healing (Matthew 4:23-25).  His belief that Jesus could do this thing was quite substantial, hence the request.

MATTHEW 8:23-27 - THE DISCIPLES LACK OF FAITH:  Jesus asnooze amidst a storm on the sea.  The boatsmen disciples feared for their life, and so they woke Jesus.  "Save us, Lord; we are perishing."  (Why the ESV doesn't put an exclamation point there I don't know.)  You would think that rousting the Christ to save them would be an act of faith.  They'd seen what Jesus had done (ref. the previously cited passages and Matthew 8:14-17), and so they turned to him in their time of need.  It is precisely that they had seen what he had done that it is considered a lack of faith.  He had given the orders to cross the sea at that time (8:18).  Would he not see them safely to the other side?  Why would you consider yourself to be perishing based upon all you have seen?  Faith exhibited would have been to trust the One who put them on this mission to see them through to their destination.

MATTHEW 16:5-12 - NO BREAD:  The disciples forgot to pack a lunch as once again they traversed the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus takes that moment to warn them of the false teachings prevelant in that day by referencing bread since food was the topic of discussion.  When the disciples didn't track with Jesus' object lesson, he thumped them for worrying about food by reminding them that he had fed 4000 and 5000.  Essentially, "If I fed all these folks, will I not take care of you also?  Believe in what I have done.  Trust me."  Substance.  Jesus had proven himself before.

MATTHEW 6:25-34 - EXAMPLE FROM NATURE:  During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tackles the stresses and strains of life, the worry that creeps in over providing for one's family and one's self.  He calls their attention to God the Creator.  Check out the birds.  Do they have enough food?  Check out the flowers.  How are they adorned? "Are you not of more value than they?...Will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"  Jesus hammers them for not trusting in the One who has proven himself faithful even within the small details of nature's provision.

Some will retort, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).  I agree, but the verse does not imply a lack of substance or evidence.  To have an assurance and a conviction is to know.  How can I know?  The entirety of Hebrews points to the evidential excellence of Christ.  God who has worked in all of history will fulfill what he has promised to the very end even down to each of us individually (Philippians 1:6).

"By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible" (Hebrews 11:3).  What a great example of faith!  Nobody was there.  If all we have are observations, then we can look at the evidence until we are blue in the face, and all we will ever have regarding the beginning of things is a best guess.  BUT if God Almighty who has proven himself to his creatures again and again throughout history tells us that "In the beginning he created the heaven and the earth," why would I disbelieve him.  I trust him who has proven himself trustworthy.

"Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).  Faith is not, as Francis Schaeffer calls it, an upper-story leap of unreason.  God has spoken plainly in history. His hand is manifest in the creation.  He has revealed himself to us in Word, the Bible.  And he has entered visibly into our realm in the man, Jesus Christ (John 14:9).

A faith without a foundation has no assurance.  You might as well follow Richard Bach and fashion a palatable messiah for yourself.  No, the God of the Bible, the God of Creation, calls his creation to trust the One who has shown himself plainly to them.

To trust him or not to trust him?  That is the question.