"Faith and Fiction"

 

There is a popular website I use from time to time called Truth or Fiction. It can be helpful when trying to weed through the mass of information or misinformation that one is bombarded with through today's media streams. 

However, it does have its limits, for instance, if you ask it the question "Is it true God created the world?" You get a long list of related questions to which none gives you an answer. If you ask it "Is evolution true?" you get the same response. Now you can find people who will answer those questions for you, but they range from nut cases to people truly trying to answer you the best way they can from both sides of the issue. But you don't find yourself in any better shape, only more information affirming both questions and it is certain both cannot be true. 

In case you are wondering, you can't find out if it is true that God exists there either, you can't even find out if Faith is truth or fiction. And that brings me to the subject of this post, is there a definable difference between faith and fiction?  Let us begin with a couple of definitions:

Definition Faith

Definition Fiction

As you can see, giving a dishonest answer could easily be done if you are not careful in the application of definitions. I have a friend who will not accept any definition of faith other than (2):b: firm belief in something for which there is no proof. It is difficult to discuss the validity of faith and its actual substance with someone who will go no further than that simple definition. His assertion of my faith in Christ and a belief in God is it's nothing more than fiction. He sometimes refers to it as blind faith and as long as he is confined to that small window he will never understand.

Faith is an English word, so we really need to back up to the original language in the context of the faith we are defining. In Gal_2:16 the scriptures state, "yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."

The Greek word used there that comes over to us in English is πίστις (Pistis). Pistis can mean proof, belief, or state of mind in classical rhetoric (the practice and teaching of rhetoric in ancient Greece and Rome). Philip Rollinson suggests rhetoric (the art or study of using language) in the classical sense can be seen as a 'counterpart of dialectic'(dialectic resembles debate), which seeks not to persuade but to find the appropriate means of persuasion in any given situation. These means are to be found in various kinds of proof or conviction (Pistis). Therefore, when the Christian speaks of faith, he is not speaking of something arrived at beyond any evidence or proof, nor is he leaping into something blindly. He is speaking from his reasoning faculties by which he has been persuaded through his understanding of a sure conviction of certain truths. 

In our Declaration of Independence, we read the statement: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." The term "self-evident" by definition is evident without proof or reasoning; producing certainty or conviction upon a bare presentation to the mind. That's a strong language produced by our founding fathers concerning God as the creator. It is truth such as 2+2=4. It is an equation that is self-evident, you need not have two apples to add to two more apples to know you have 4 apples. The certainty of God as creator was that sure in the mind of the founders. 

It will be said of course my reasoning is flawed, for one can see apples and they can't see God. The fact you can see apples has nothing to do with the self-evident truth that 2+2=4. The equation is invisible, it only becomes visible when applied to the material world. The seeing of the apples only made visible the truth that was self-evident. God's existence is metaphysical, yet He becomes visible when applied to the material world, the seeing of creation only makes visible the self-evident truth of the Creator.  Romans 1:20 ESV (20)  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 

The self-evident truth of 2+2=4 bares upon the mind as a result of knowledge obtained by reason and understanding producing such a said conviction of truth. One with Dyscalculia might not be able to come to that conviction from a lack of reasoning ability in the area of mathematics. The self-evident truth that produces faith in Christ is likewise lacking in the unbeliever because of spiritual Dyscalculia so to speak, their understanding and reasoning are unable to come to the conviction of that truth. 1st Corinthians 2:14 ESV (14)  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

If you only allow for the simple definition "(2):b: firm belief in something for which there is no proof." you don't even arrive at the meaning of the word in question. You are holding to a superficial definition in order to remain in your current state of unbelief. Faith πίστις (Pistis) is not some vapor or imagination of the mind, it is a state of mind concerning the conviction of certain truths produced by reason and understanding of one's intellectual faculties. The lack of that ability such as in Dyscalculia does not make mathematics fiction. Neither does the lack of that ability in spiritual things make those things fiction. The Christian has faith πίστις (Pistis) because he has been given the ability to reason and understand spiritual truths. Ephesians 2:8 ESV (8)  "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,"

When Lee Strobel (Bachelor of Journalism degree) and Yale Law School (Master of Studies in Law degree) and (taught First Amendment law at Roosevelt University) converted from Atheism to Christianity it wasn't because he became smarter or dumber, it was because after two years of investigation to prove God did not exist, his reasoning faculties brought to his understanding the truth of the Gospel which produced his faith πίστις (Pistis). The grace of God was present as in Eph 2:8 to use the means of his discoveries to bring him to such a conviction of mind. While in a state of unbelief, he refused to accept the evidence presented in the Gospel, then grace came and his understanding was enlightened. 

The human race lives in a religious world, 75% of the people on this planet believe in a god or gods as described in Romans 1:25. Romans 1:25 ESV

(25)  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

  This leaves Romans 1:20 standing like a pillow of written evidence in the proclamation of its truth.  They may not know who or what, but they know something brought this all into being by what they can observe. The other 25% know, but suppress the truth (Romans 1:18). Romans 1:18 ESV

(18)  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

The rational mind knows all this did not just happen, the whole book of  Romans demonstrates the condition the human race finds themselves in and the state of mind by which they reason. They suppress the truth about God to escape his existence or change him into something acceptable to their making. They put forth scientific theories to explain God away, but they are left without excuse. 

Matt Dillahunty hosts a television webcast "The Atheist Experience" where he amusingly makes fun of Christians who call in to express their faith πίστις (Pistis). It is amazing how little the Christians know about their bible when calling in, I have listened to many, and I have not heard one of whom Matt did not make look foolish. Granted Matt is a professional at what he does and has hosted the show for 20 years, I dare say he has heard about every angle. Knowing most Christians know very little about their faith πίστις (Pistis) makes his job even easier. However, I have also noticed, that no matter how foolish he makes them look, how twisted he ties up their reasoning, their faith πίστις (Pistis) remains unmoved. Matt of course simply accuses them of being delusionally unable to let go of their (Blank) stupid god and their (Blank) stupid book. The first 300 years of Christianity were filled with much more than simply looking foolish, they were told to let go of their stupid god and their stupid book or be burned alive or fed to lions, and their faith πίστις (Pistis) remained unmoved, it has been 2000 years now and that still remains true. The truth they conceived in their mind was self-evident. Once the mind sees the truth of the Gospel the heart is compelled to remain unmoved even upon the threat of death itself. 

The self-evident truth of mathematics can be seen when counting apples or oranges (Pun Intended), likewise, the self-evident truth of God's existence is seen in creation. It has been said to me, prove to me there is a God and I will believe, I say look at creation. Of course, that answer is rejected and I am then referred to the theory of evolution as proof otherwise. Logic is rejected and a myth is offered in its place. If I am driving down the road and observe a beautiful garden, logic immediately dictates the self-evident truth it belongs to somebody. The observance of the order and design determine it to be so. To suggest that it all just happened over time and produced this beautiful garden is to cast all logic aside. It may be said, prove to me that a gardener exists, I can't see him, I can't hear him, I can't feel him, he, therefore, doesn't exist. I just say, look at the garden, but the logic is rejected. I am told something like, if the gardener wanted to be seen, he would show me some kind of evidence that could be tested and proved. Again, I simply say, (look) (at) (the) (garden). 

The observance of the Universe demands the same logic. The mathematics observed in creation is beyond any natural explanation. The Mandelbrot set is but one source of evidence demonstrated in the Cosmos which demands the knowledge of a Creator by the sheer logic of reason. The Christian faith is not a belief in something for which there is no proof, it is a faith based on self-evident truths evidenced in creation itself.

David