BLIND FAITH ISN'T FAITH AT ALL

 

The word “faith” is one of the most commonly used Christian terms. We always hear or read about it. It is frequently used even by those who are not really familiar with what it truly means. Many people misuse—or even abuse—this word because of their poor understanding of its biblical meaning. Most, if not all, claim that having faith is simply just believing. And so, blind faith is often considered the kind of faith God requires—because after all, it is still “belief.” There may be no examination or questioning, but at least they still believe. Today, we will challenge this idea.

For blind faith isn’t faith at all.

FAITH- BIBLICALLY DEFINED

The Old Testament often used the verb “aman” for faith (from which the word emunah, meaning “faithfulness,” was derived). According to J. L. McKenzie, a renowned scholar and author of Dictionary of the Bible (1965), this Hebrew word essentially means “to be firm or solid and hence to be true.” To have faith, therefore, is “to accept something as firm, sure, true, trustworthy, and dependable.” In the New Testament, the most common term used is the Greek noun “pistis” (from which other Greek terms like pisteuo, “to believe,” are derived). W. E. Vine, author of Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (1996), defined this word as “firm persuasion, a conviction.” Whenever the New Testament speaks of faith, it carries the weight of both the Hebrew and Greek sense.

FAITH AND REASON

By observing how the Bible originally used this term, we can see that faith is far more than simply “just believe.” It is a strong conviction that something is truly real. To have faith is not to believe blindly but to be fully persuaded. You have thought it through and then accepted it.
The writer of Hebrews expresses this when he defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is not only about what is “hoped for” or “unseen.” It must also involve assurance and conviction.

This shows that biblical faith cannot be separated from reason. Jesus did not just walk around one day and tell people to believe in Him without giving them reasons. Instead, He performed signs and miracles as evidence so that they could make an informed decision (John 10:38). For people to place their faith in Christ, they had to be convinced that His claims were true.
If blind faith was enough, then Jesus wasted His efforts in proving Himself. If it were really possible to “just believe” without thinking, questioning, or examining, then Jesus would not have needed to do all the things He did. In fact, the Gospels were written for the very purpose of giving us good reasons to believe in Him, as John said: “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). We were not there to witness Jesus’ works firsthand, but thankfully, they were recorded so that we could examine them ourselves before believing.

REASON AND EVANGELISM

Understanding how people in biblical times viewed faith also helps us see why the early church placed such a strong emphasis on reasoning in their evangelism. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Paul regularly reasoned with the Jews from the Scriptures to prove that Jesus was the Messiah (Acts 17:1–4). They could not have believed unless they were convinced by his message—so Paul gave them evidence. The result? Some of them believed. This also helps us understand why Peter said, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). For people to have genuine faith, they must first be sure of what they believe. That is why Christians must always be ready to provide sound reasons for faith. The Bereans understood this well: “They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Clearly, examining and studying are never obstacles to faith—for faith cannot truly exist without reason.

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Blind faith must never be tolerated in the modern church—not only because it is not true faith, but also because it is not the kind of faith God requires. It is not what God has in mind when He calls us to believe. “Faith and reason are not mutually exclusive. A person should not believe in something without first inquiring whether it is a worthy object of belief… Likewise, God wants us to take a step of faith in the light of the evidence, but not a leap of faith into the dark.” (Howe & Geisler, 1992). Stay Curious.

Sources and Studies:

Vine. W.E. (1999). “Faith”. 𝘝𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Howe, T., and Geisler, N. (1992). 1 PETER3:15—Why does Peter command believers to reason about their faith when the Bible says elsewhere to simply believe?. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘬. Victor Books.
McKenzie, J.L. (1965). “Faith” . 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (pp. 341-342). Macmillan Publishing