How can you have a real faith, if your faith based on "because the bible says so?"?

Question

Don't logical, historical and scientific explanations help a person in their faith, by answering questions that would otherwise have no logical answer? It seems many people are afraid of the concept of belief AND logic. For those who are, why do you feel the two are mutually exclusive?

Some of you are misunderstanding. I do believe in faith. What I don't understand is why a person would struggle to make sense out of things that don't make sense anymore, when a less literal approach to the text would allow a person to have faith coupled with a satisfied logic. Many can have faith without feeling the need for science or historical answers, but I sure can't. If it doesn't make sense to me logically, I woudln't believe any of it. So I'm saying, it can actually enhance a person's faith to explore alternative explanations for the events in the bible, rather than simply going by the answer "just cuz it says so, even though it makes no sense."

Answer 1

Science and physical evidence touch your mind. Faith touches your heart and soul. Faith is simply the acceptance of one's truthfulness. It is the evidence of things not seen.
I believe a thing is true. I have faith in the word of another. Logic is applied in both instances.
Many witnessed Jesus on earth. They heard him speak and observed his actions. They passed down to us what they saw and heard and felt. They believed.

I have lived alone for a very long time. If someone were to approach me with an offer of companionship would I not be a fool if I did not ask a few questions of that person? How would my faith in that person develop?....hopefully not blindly! Should I ignore that person's words and actions and just take the advice of others?....hardly. If I placed my faith in that person I would expect to see that faith grow. Companionship would be the reward for my faith.

Answer 2

I do not see reason and logic as incompatible with faith and belief. I am an observant Catholic. I also have a brain, and I believe God intends for me to use it. If anything, historical and scientific knowledge has enhanced and illuminated my faith rather than causing me to question it.

For example: Our belief in the Transubstantiation, the moment when ordinary bread and wine become the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Having accepted this Bible-based doctrine in faith, I nevertheless found it to be not only possible but completely believable when I considered what we know about matter. From the Bible I know that God created the heavens and the earth (all matter, in other words); He is also not bound by time or space. So it's entirely possible, logical even, for Christ to be present in a communion wafer which science tells me is really composed of mostly space and a few particles that give it the appearance of bread.

However, there remains much in the Bible that cannot yet be validated by any source outside of God and therefore must be taken on faith until God reveals its meaning to us -- perhaps not until the end of time. This is the point where "because the Bible says so" applies, for Christians, and also where non-Christians become frustrated because that's the only answer they get. Faith picks up where reason and logic leave off. If I believe the Bible is God's word, then I believe it all -- even the parts I don't yet understand. God is infinite and timeless; mankind is finite and linear, myopic, and even a bit impatient. But the more we learn, the more it benefits us in our understanding of our faith.

Answer 3

They aren't mutually exclusive of each other, just in the minds of those who think they have a monopoly on them. I'm forever amazed when an atheist claims that a religious person is foolish for placing their faith on the central figure of a book written 1800 years ago, and asking how they can know it's true and how can they explain or justify their faith. It seems non-religious folks can't grasp the concept of faith in religious people, so they feel they have to ridicule and belittle them. But let's go in the opposite direction with this. Since religious folk put their faith in the tenets of a book from the past and the unbelievers find this puzzling for lack of understanding what faith is, how many unbelievers can prove that they're going to be alive tomorrow? In 1 year? 5? 10?--20? They can't. But I'll damn sure bet my next paycheck (which is sizeable) that they're "hoping" with lots of confident hope that they will be. Now about this issue of faith?

Answer 4

Well sure...logical, historical and scientific explanations add more reason to the faith but faith in it's self is not understood it's felt. I'm not a man of faith because the bible tells so. I'm a man of faith because i can feel God in my life and though Christ the burden of sin off my back.

Answer 5

As far as you're concerned, what would it be that don't make sense anymore? The Hebrew Scriptures are just there for our benefit as to know the history of what happened up to two thousand years ago... So if this is what no longer makes sense to you, it happens to all make a lot of sense to me as I love to read from the only book that claims divine inspiration just what went down and why. It is the why things happened the way that they did that you don't understand. God, you must remember, is LOVE, WISDOM, POWER and JUSTICE. The closer we get to Him, the more we understand why He did or had men do things that seem "redundant" today. But it made a whole lot of sense there and then.
However, when Christ came to us, he "nailed" those older laws (the ones you probably think don't make sense any more!) to the torture stake! and replaced them all with these two greatest commandments, to love God with all of our heart, mind and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves! If we do these two things, all else which we are recommended to do or not to do, won't be a problem in the least!
In my opinion, the whole Bible is nothing but a book of the purest and most intelligent of "logic" and the wisdom from above is seen throughout! its chapters and verses! It is the living truth of the living God... who knows from the beginning the finale! and everything in between. I don't quite gather what your beef is if any? The Bible is inspired by God, no matter if it was Moses, David, Solomon, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Peter, James or Paul doing the typing, as it were! It's all God who inspired them to write as they did. Do you get that? If not, it would be as calling God a liar as He clearly states that all Scriptures are from Him and that He can't lie... If I can be of more assistance, don't hesitate to contact me! Agape

Answer 6

The Bible claims to be written by God. Over 3000 times it says “Thus saith the Lord”. (Men claiming to be speaking for god wrote all other religious texts.) No one has identified a single historical mistake in the Bible. Over 25,000 archaeological finds relating to the Bible - people, places & events all support it.

Twenty-five percent of the Bible is fulfilled prophecies. (You wont find these in other religious text.) Example: The Lord will be born in Bethlehem, sold for 30 pieces of silver, and crucified. The Old Testament was finished 400 years before the New Testament. Crucifixion was first practiced about 200 B.C., yet it was predicted in detail by King David, who was born more than a 1,000 years before Jesus.

There were seventeen secular historians who wrote about the death of Jesus by crucifixion. External historical records attest to the truth of the Bible.

Also the message of Jesus has never changed. Today we have over 24,000 ancient copies of portions of the New Testament. The next closest in all of antiquity is Homer’s Iliad, of which we have 643 ancient copies.

Answer 7

Well luckily for me my religion does not recognize the Bible as one of it's holy books.

My faith does involve logic to some extent, because logic is so beautiful.

Answer 8

When in school you are using text books as your guide in studying and you have been reading books where you gained knowledge. In your study of History and science you used books, why do you prohibit us from having our faith to God because of the book which is called Holy Bible? what kind of judgment do you have . Is your logic on that way?.
jtm

Answer 9

I did not believe in the Bible. Then when I turned from my sins and received Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Jesus manifested Himself to me and proved to me that the Bible is the Word of God. That is why we refer to it so much. We do not believe in the Bible just because someone told us to or by faith. We believe it because God has proved it to us through everything that we know such as experience, salvation, history, truth, and including Science.

It takes more faith to believe that humans evolved from rocks.

Answer 10

My faith is based on my relationship with Jesus Christ. I know what I feel inside as a Christian. I don't feel I need to prove anything to anybody. Faith doesn't need proof. Am I sure that there is a God, Jesus and Heaven. I feel there is but I can't physically prove it. It is something that a person just can't "get" until they experience it themselves.