The liberal agenda present in this country which seeks to diminish the positive outlook on faith has proved successful to a great degree. Men and women of all ages continue to subscribe to the notion that “faith” is a word which connotes ignorance, folly, gullibility, irrationality, blindness, immaturity, and primitivism; that those who proudly uphold the banner of faith are unenlightened fanatics unaware of secular truths due to their self-installed blinders. This mindset is not only ignorant, and erroneous, but offensive.

What becomes most troubling is the effect this hostility tends to have on the Christian’s view of faith. Christians are not Luddites dead set on destroying the machines of scientific progression to shelter their voluminous fairy tales from refutation. Yet, many Christians tend to turn away from arguments of thought and reason to the safe haven of faith. They refuse to dispute, suggesting faith is more powerful than the skeptics’ logic because it rests on the Eternal God. This view of faith conforms to the skeptics’ view of faith. It has no foundation other than the empty affirmation of belief in God. Faith is not an escape from reason or thought. It is not even devoid of what we secularly call, “the scientific method.” True faith is firmly grounded on the conviction of overwhelming evidence. Faith is not strong and conquering due to a hard headed refusal to reason, but because it begins with reason (cf. Romans 10:17).

Living by faith is not equal to living in total blindness. When Paul wrote, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), he was not suggesting we put on a blind fold and meander out into the world. To the contrary, he meant that the “evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) was so convincing he did not have to have literal sight in order to know those things were there. When he journeyed to Corinth to convert the people, he did not win them with the weak request that they follow Jesus without question. No, “he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:4). Festus was wrong when he accused Paul of madness (cf. Acts 26:24). Paul responded, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason” (v. 25). And likewise, the skeptics of the present are wrong when they bring forth the accusation of madness.

It is imperative we understand that with faith we are not playing from behind. It is not that the world currently has the upper hand, but God will have the upper hand in the end. God already has it, and this is nothing new. L.S. Keyser wrote, “Let us remember this fact; Human reason cannot prove the Christian religion to be true. It can only show it to be more reasonable than unbelief” (L.S. Keyser, A System of Christian Evidence, pg. 31). The skeptic wants to argue from reason, and the Christian should settle for nothing less. It is by this we “convict those who contradict” (Titus 1:9). When one asserts they have reason for disbelief in God, we have already gained the upper hand in the discussion, as they speak of using that which comes from God – reason. C.S. Lewis said, “Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking…But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true?…Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God” (C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity, pg. 32). The skeptic claims we cannot prove outright that God exists, but can the skeptic prove outright that He does not exist? There is more evidence to support the former than the latter. So, the question is: which is more reasonable to believe?

Living by Faith Among the Skeptics does not require us to abandon diligent study, thought, and reasoning. It requires us to appropriate them, and continually whet their keen edge. Just as Paul was “appointed for the defense of the gospel” (Philippians 1:17), so we are to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3). Through inspiration, Peter wrote, “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). He used the Greek word, apologia. W.E. Vine defines this word as, “a verbal defense, a speech in defense [of something].” Clark Pinnock says of apologia, “[it] is not primarily in the face of police inquiry; the verb ‘ask’ rather suggests an informal question such as ‘Why are you a Christian?’ To such a query every believer is obliged to be ready with a sensible answer” (Clark Pinnock, Set Forth Your Case, pg. 3). A sensible answer is not, “I believe in God because I believe God exists.” There is evidence out there, both internal (in the Bible), and external. The skeptic makes the same mistake of underestimation that Goliath notoriously made when he challenges the Christian who is “ready to give a defense.” Are you ready? If you are truly living by faith as the Bible describes it, you should be, and you should be engaged in further preparation.