The Gaps in Knowledge and Reason

Suggested Reading: Matthew 8:5-13

I have seen a trend  by skeptics to define faith  as the opposite of reason. These skeptics argue that faith, and the Christian faith in particular, is an excuse to ignore and even contradict reason. So what are some examples of faith from scripture?

One example is David going up against Goliath. As David stepped out onto the field of battle and Goliath taunted him with insults, David responded, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head" (1 Samuel 17:45-46, NIV). David was a teenage boy going against a hardened champion who had terrified an entire army of Israelites and yet David's faith led him to make this boastful statement.

Another example comes from the New Testament. Jesus entered Capernaum and encountered a centurion whose servant was ill. The centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant but when Jesus headed toward his home, the centurion stopped Jesus and told him that all Jesus had to do was speak the word and the servant would be healed. Jesus responded by saying, "I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith" (Matthew 8:10, NIV). 

Both David and the centurion expressed faith in outcomes that defied the logic of the day. David believed that as a boy he could bring down the mighty Philistine champion while the centurion believed that Jesus could miraculously heal his servant from a great distance.  Did these men embrace faith  as an excuse to ignore reason? The fact that they were both right seems to indicate otherwise. So what was the difference for these men? What allowed them not only to have faith but to be right?

Both of these men had experiences that had shaped them and informed them. David had encounters with lions and bears where he learned not only God's faithfulness but his own capabilities. The centurion, in his career as a commander of armies had learned the power of the spoken word and of authority, and he saw both that power and that authority in Jesus.  Neither of these things could be proven empirically to other people, but their own experiences and the Spirit of God moving in them was enough to convince them.

Faith does not stand in opposition to reason. Faith takes up where reason leaves off. Reason can only tell us so much because reason is dependent on what we know. When our knowledge fails us, reason becomes inadequate. Faith in Christ steps in and fills in that lack of knowledge of facts and figures and empirical data with a knowledge of the person of God as he works in our lives.  Our faith as followers of Jesus derives from knowing the God of the universe in a personal way and allowing that knowledge of God to fill in the gaps when our earthly knowledge, and thus our reason, can go no further.

Faith is not the opposite of reason but sometimes faith knows more than reason. Never ignore reason but be honest about how far your knowledge goes. When you reach the end of what you know and reason only goes so far, remember Whom you know and allow faith to fill in the gaps.

Algebra Tests and Good Intentions

Suggested Reading: James 1:19-27

My brother told me once me about an algebra teacher that he used to drive crazy. My brother would calculate exactly how much homework he would have to do to get a 72 for the grading period, if he got a 100 on each of his tests. Then he would do exactly that much. No more and no less. My brother knew how to do the algebra and he proved it by doing just enough to manipulate his grade to be a 72. But my brother never got any more than a 72 because even though he knew how to do the algebra homework, he never actually did it. In terms of his grade, what my brother knew didn't matter. What he actually did and turned in was what got him the grade.

Sometimes, we confuse what we know with what we do. That is one thing James, the brother of Jesus, was dealing with when he wrote the words, "But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works — this person will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:22-25, HCSB). James understood that sometimes we confuse hearing and knowing with doing. Beyond that, sometimes we confuse good intentions or compassionate feelings for good behavior. But  in the end, our feelings, intentions, and knowledge mean nothing if we don't use them to actually do something.

Far too often we confuse studying God's word with living out God's word. We confuse having the intention of helping someone with actually helping them. We mistake feelings of compassion for acts of compassion. In short, we credit ourselves with good works because of our knowledge, feelings, and intentions when we should be focused on our behavior. As James said, we deceive ourselves.

Intentions, feelings and knowledge are worthless without actions flowing from them. Don't start feeling good about yourself because you know how to live the Christian life or because you want to live the Christian life. Focus on actually living the Christian life. Until your knowledge and intentions are paired with actions, they aren't worth much.

Doing Research on Zealous Internet Start-ups

Suggested Reading: Proverbs 19:1-8

Logan was really excited. He had just found out about an internet start-up company that had great potential and in his excitement, he jumped into the deal, paying five million dollars for this company. The deal went through and he couldn't contain his excitement. But then the first lawsuit hit. The company Logan had purchased had stolen it's primary concept from someone else and Logan hadn't done his homework. As a result, he lost everything. He was excited. He was ready to work hard. But he didn't have the knowledge he needed to make informed decisions.

This fictional example from the series Gilmore girls, mirrors a number of times in life when we make bad decisions because we are excited but we don't have all the information. We are sincere.  We are eager. But we lack the necessary information and we allow our emotions to guide us. We fall desperately in love and marry or give ourselves away only to discover later that we really didn't know the person. We invest our money in an expensive item we're really excited about, only to discover its a piece of junk and all our money just went down the drain. We jump into an exciting job opportunity only to discover we missed some key details and now we live without any prospects, stuck in a position we hate.

One of the common problems we experience is allowing our excitement to overrule our better judgment. But Proverbs 19:2 reminds us, "Even zeal is not good without knowledge, and the one who acts hastily sins" (HCSB). Paul, also reminds us of his fellow Israelites who, though extremely zealous for God, missed salvation because their zeal was not based on knowledge and they "sought to establish their own" righteousness instead (Rom 10:3) . Being excited about someone or something can be exhilarating and sometimes we can get a thrill from just jumping into something. But acting on emotion without having all the necessary information can be not only detrimental but, according to this verse, sinful.  

Don't get me wrong, there are times when God says, "Jump," and we need to obey. But if the direct command of God isn't there, make sure you have as many facts as possible before making life-changing decisions. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache.