If Christians are supposed to believe in God based on faith, why do they keep looking for evidence?

Question

Cases in point:
- Creation scientists
- The dude that wrote "The Case for Christ"

Of course, looking for evidence is good, but as a Christian you are not supposed to need it. Doesn't it show a lack of faith to look for it?

Answer 1

1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

The Bible tells us to. The word "prove" comes from the Greek word "dokimazō" which means to test.

In addition, think about how many non-believers would start to question their lack of belief if Noah's ark was found...or the Ark of the Covenent.

Seeking evidence...at least for me, is a way to help non-believers find God.

And there's more to it. We're all human and humans may falter in their faith from time to time. God knows we're not perfect, hence the quoted verse above.

I

Answer 2

I am a christian and I am not looking for evidence. I already know God exsists and he is my saviour. I am sure there is alot of other christians out there right now does not need the evidence either. If you are saying this by fact that other christians are looking for this, then either they personally do not know him spiritually, intimatley or they don't believe in God. I BElieve and have faith and I don't need evidence at all. My Jesus is Good, Praise God !

Answer 3

As the Apostle Paul explained in First Corinthians chapter fifteen, Christianity is not about a blind leap of faith. Anyone who claims it is, doesn't understand the gospel very well. And he has certainly never read much of the Apostle Paul.

Its Faith in a God Who miraculously sent His only Son to live and die as a human, then miraculously raised His Son back to life three days after being crucified on a Roman Cross.

We are expected to believe by faith that God will one day raise us back to life from the dead, but that's based on the objective facts of what occured in or near Jerusalem, about 2,000 years ago.

So it is important to find as much evidence as we can to prove that what we read in the Bible really did occur.

Pastor Art

Answer 4

Being Christian does not prevent us from being human. Contrary to what many people seem to believe, when one becomes a Christian, God does NOT so rework the personality that the convert no longer thinks, acts or behaves as an ordinary person would. In fact, He doesn't wipe out our memories, and in most cases, He doesn't remove the earthly consequences of our choices. This world has a strong and constant pull, so it can be helpful to us to find confirmation wherever we can get it. Consider the plight of the POW for a moment. As a patriot, what do you suppose would happen to his opinion of his country if he were told day in and day out that his country did not care about him and that no effort was being made to rescue him? What if he were beaten daily and nourishment was witheld? What would a soldier give for photos of members of his army charging after the enemy? Would you really fault him for wanting this?

Tom

Answer 5

As you likely already know, evidence can do one of 2 things...

1. Narrow the gap needed to be bridged by faith (or widen it, but in my experience, narrow it).
2. Strengthen (or theoretically weaken, but again, in my experience stregthen) your confidence in your faith.

Your statement implies that faith in God should be blind. That would not be Biblical, so for the Christian, there is no reason not to look at the evidences.

Additionally, as atheism has continually attacked Christianity, it does seem to be reasonable that a rational examination of the evidences are in order.

Answer 6

I don't need physical evidence but when I read and hear about archeological sites of ancient time and time of the Bible it is interesting. It helps me learn more. Now faith is a belief without evidence. Just the opposite is like the so called "Tomb of Jesus" hoax. How many Yeshua tombs do you think there are in Jerusalem? Probably too many to count.

Answer 7

Well, I think that we (as Christians) MUST believe in God by faith alone. That is one reason why He won't reveal Himself to us; perhaps He wishes to see if we trust Him without even seeing Him. But I don't think we show a lack of faith when we look for evidence that He exists. For many people, looking for evidence that He exists demonstrates that we already know He's there, but we want to offer examples to others whose faith may not be as strong as our own. I hope this makes sense.

Answer 8

They can't make up their mind. Either there is faith alone or evidence everywhere. They are a confused bunch to say the least.

And by the way, the Case for Christ guy is a joke. I have all 3 of his books and they are so easily debunked it is ridiculous. Any atheist with basic logic skills can tear this guy to shreds.

Answer 9

not everyone want s to be seen as an idiot, some aren't looking for evidence so they'll believe but so that skeptics will stop, some just love to learn how God did it (to the best of human understanding) and some are still questioning why they're searching but they just do.

Answer 10

I think christians still look for evidence because the bible has given physical descriptions of jesus and while living inside the box of persons, places and things, it is hard for the majority of us to BELIEVE without seeing...