Dear COA family,

Recently, I met an ex-student of mine coincidentally at a marriage service in church. What made me even more glad was that I heard he was exploring joining the Christian faith.

It was his question to me that piqued my interest: Isn’t believing in Christianity something like blind faith?

My answer to him was this: Christianity is not about blind faith but informed faith.

You see, blind faith refers to beliefs or actions taken without sufficient evidence, reasoning, or critical thought. It is like trusting a financial scheme just because a friend said it works. It means that you simply do not know what you are getting yourself into and would likely get scammed.

That is not true Christianity at all because God has spoken to us clearly about his existence and love for us.

For example, any human being can know of God’s reality and power through creation. The universe and the earth we live in did not come about from nothing. God had to form it according to precise specifications in order for life to exist and thrive. Psalm 19 tells us: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

Furthermore, we can know of the existence of a man named Jesus who lived, died and rose from the dead through historical research. Jesus also spoke clearly of his identity, purpose and destiny, and his words were recorded. These facts are verifiable not only through the Bible but also through secular historical accounts. We term this field as Christian apologetics.

Finally, the living reality of the Christian faith can be seen in the thousands of lives changed by the gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit. Many in the church and outside attest to the love and grace of God in their lives. The church also lives to serve God’s purposes in the world and her existence serves as a living testimony to the reality and power of God.

In other words, there are many “clues” left by God pointing to the authenticity of the Christian faith. It is therefore not blind but a most reasonable one!

I continued to tell him what blind faith truly was. Blind faith is believing that there is no God and that the universe and the beautiful world we live in evolved from nothing. We know from experience that it is impossible for something to come out from nothing. Anything that exists has to be made by someone.

In the end, both choosing to believe or not believe in God takes faith. To me, it takes greater “faith” to believe that God does not exist. Christianity is not a blind but informed faith.

Revd Ian