What is Christian faith? (What is not?)

Posted on Jul 22, 2017

Why do you believe the Bible? What does it mean to “believe” in the first place? Should we think of faith as a kind of blind leap or shot in the dark? If so, why have you made this particular leap, in contrast to all the other faith options? This July, WHITE HORSE INN (Sun 800, Tue 1430, Sat 200) tackles the nature and meaning of Christian faith.

Christian faith is grounded in factual claims about the person and work of Christ as reported and authenticated by eyewitnesses. The New Testament reveals this view of faith and its relationship to evidence. We are often told science is empirical, rational, and objective, whereas faith is experiential, subjective, and dogmatic; and while it’s certainly true that many of the world’s religions think of faith in this way, the Christian view of faith is unique in that it claims to be a reasonable trust that is grounded in objective facts, rather than subjective wishes or experiences.

The series concludes the last week of July with a number of man-on-the-street interviews concerning the nature and meaning of faith. A common misunderstanding of faith among appears to be rooted in an often-misinterpreted passage from Hebrews chapter 11; the hosts spend some time explaining in what sense “faith is the essence of things unseen.”