God & Science
Faith is just believing without evidence.
Short answer
In the Bible, faith means trust based on what God has shown to be true, not a leap in the dark. The apostles pointed people to evidence: eyewitnesses, fulfilled promises, and the resurrection. Christians are invited to love God with their minds.
In simple words: Faith means trusting someone who has shown they are trustworthy. God has given us good reasons to trust him.
Response
Many people think of faith as believing something despite the evidence. That is not the biblical picture. In Scripture, faith is trust in a person, God, based on what he has revealed and done.
The New Testament writers constantly point to evidence. Luke wrote so that readers would "know the certainty" of what they had been taught (Luke 1:4). Paul appealed to living eyewitnesses of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6). John wrote down Jesus' signs "that you may believe" (John 20:31). Peter tells Christians to be ready to give reasons for their hope (1 Peter 3:15).
Everyone lives by faith in some sense: we trust doctors, pilots, and historical records without proving everything ourselves. The question is not whether we have faith, but whether the one we trust is worthy of it.
Faith also goes beyond evidence: it is a personal commitment. You can know a bridge is strong, but you have not trusted it until you walk across. Christianity invites both: honest investigation and wholehearted trust.
Key evidence
- The Greek word for faith, pistis, also means trust or faithfulness, and is used of trust grounded in evidence.
- Acts records the apostles reasoning, explaining, and proving (Acts 17:2-3; 17:17).
- Jesus told people to believe on the evidence of his works (John 10:37-38; 14:11).
Bible passages
- Luke 1:1-4 Written so you may know the certainty of things.
- Acts 17:2-3 Paul reasoned from the Scriptures.
- Mark 12:30 Love God with all your mind.
- Hebrews 11:1 Faith as confidence and assurance.
- John 20:30-31 Signs written so that you may believe.
Quotes
“A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it.”
Timothy Keller, The Reason for God
Discussion questions
- What are some things you trust every day without being able to prove them?
- How is biblical faith different from wishful thinking?
- Why do you think God invites questions instead of forbidding them?