In reading my series on finding Truth in a post-truth world, you might think, Wait! What about spiritual truth? All your essays seem to address scientific evidence and reasoning, but isn’t spiritual truth more about revelation and faith than evidence?
Well, some might think so, but I am not convinced. I can’t speak to the evidential foundation for other faiths, but for my own Christian faith, scripture is full of the ideas of testing and reasoning. I argue that blind belief is not faith at all, and, in fact, has been the source of much darkness and evil in the history of faith. No, true faith has been tested and made subject to reasoning. As the book of Hebrews states, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. The Greek word translated as ‘substance’ means to set under or support. The Greek word translated as ‘evidence’ means proof or evidence. Reasoned evidence and supporting substance are the foundations of scientific investigation, making faith not unlike science in this way, and much more than simply the belief in things hoped for or not seen!
To have true faith, we must have substantive evidence that persuades us. Paul the Apostle speaks often of being persuaded (not simply told or inspired). In 2Ti 1:22 he is persuaded (Greek=convinced by argument) that Christ is able to keep that which has been committed to Him. In Ro 8:38 he is persuaded that nothing can keep us from the love of God. In Rom 14:14 he is persuaded that nothing is unclean of itself. Repeatedly in Christian scriptures we are admonished to test ideas (not just accept, believe, or trust). 1 John 4:1 says to not believe every breath of air, but to “test the spirits whether they are from God.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says to “test all things and hold on to what is good.” And again, in Deuteronomy 18:22, “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken.” Testing and comparing claims to observable reality are the foundations for investigative thought, not unlike scientific investigation, making faith and science far better aligned than some people might think.
Consider the odd phrasing of I Corinthians 8:20, which might be taken to mean that our search for spiritual truth should be ongoing and open to new understanding, not unlike the approach to truth in science. The passage reads “Whoever knows anything knows nothing yet as he ought to know it.” What can this contradictory statement mean but that we should not remain complacent in the presumption that we already know something but rather continue to pursue better understanding through ongoing investigation and thought?
Finally, let’s consider the famous “armor of God” passages in Ephesian chapter 6, metaphorically speaking of our spiritual walk as a battle against forces of darkness. Isn’t it interesting that the only offensive weapon cited, a sword of the spirit, is identified as the Word of God, perhaps suggesting that our approach to battle against evil in the world should be viewed as more like persuasion than physical conquest?
You might have anticipated that this essay would explore my own ‘reasons to believe’ in my pursuit of spiritual truth. Many people over the ages have offered their version of ‘proof’ of their spiritual beliefs, creating an entire field of theology with its own name: apologetics. I have, indeed, thought about these things, although I’m not going to share my own internal arguments here. I do want to suggest to you that faith must be tested to be true faith, and that evidence and reasoning are as important in our walk of faith as in our walk of science. Untested beliefs become little more than wishful thinking (and sometimes dangerous or destructive wishful thinking at that) and are no different from any of the other “fake news” of our post-truth society. A need to test beliefs, in both science and faith, means that “truth” is something deeper, and more permanent, than simply the belief of the majority, a factor easily manipulated by wishful thinking, favored propaganda, or authoritative edict.