The Role of Faith in the Search for Truth

 Wayne Adkins

     The truth about God is like the elusive lean

body. We all say we want it, but few are willing to

put in the work it requires. Most people are content

to take what their parents give them as truth. That is

why a child born in Iraq is likely to become Muslim

while a child born in Utah is more likely to become

Mormon and a child born in Alabama more likely to

become a protestant Christian. It’s not that the

argument for Islam is any more compelling in Iraq than

it is in Alabama. It’s just that we are, to a great

extent, products of our environments. 

     At some point a person might begin to question

what they are given as truth. What’s with all these

contradictions in the Bible? Why doesn’t God condemn

slavery? Most clergy are ready for such questions with

canned answers or recommendations for a good apologist

to read. Why?  It is because most people don’t want to

abandon their notions of truth, even when they doubt

it. They just want an answer that will quell the

uneasiness they feel while allowing them to retain

their notions of what the truth is. In other words,

any plausible explanation will do. 

     The problem is that truth is lost in the process.

If you are married and your spouse starts coming home

late because they are having an affair, would you want

to know the truth, even if you didn’t like it, or

would you be pacified with any and all plausible

explanations given? “I was working late.” “I had a

flat tire.” “I ran out of gas.” “I ran into an old

buddy from high school.” Would you accept every excuse

given so you could retain your faith in your spouse?

That is what most people do when it comes to religion.

     Suppose you wanted to buy a building and the

seller assures you the roof doesn’t leak. As you tour

the building you come upon a puddle. The seller tells

you it could have blown in from a nearby window, but

assures you the roof doesn’t leak. You continue and

find another puddle. “That seeps up through the

concrete floor,” you are told. Another puddle is

explained as the product of a leaky water fountain.

Yet another is explained as a spill. You feel a drop

of water fall on your head and look up. The seller

quickly points out that it could have been

condensation from the air-conditioning ducts. You walk

on and still more water falls on you and you point out

to the seller that there are no ducts overhead now and

water is running down the rafters. He tells you that

his kids have super soaker water canons and that they

could have been playing with them and sprayed the

ceiling. He then tells you with a straight face that

it couldn’t have come through the roof because it is

impervious to leaks. As you look across the room, the

floor is covered in water and the seller is telling

you the roof doesn’t leak. How can you buy that? 

     Enter faith. When people confront the clergy

about problems with the God myth and the clergy can

see that their plausible explanations aren’t playing

well, they play the faith card. “It all comes down to

faith” we are told. Faith is what bridges the gap

between compelling evidence and belief. The Bible says

faith is required for salvation. If a person was given

enough compelling evidence, maybe they would believe

without faith. After all, Thomas wasn’t praised by

Jesus for his skepticism, he was scolded

for it and told “blessed are they who have believed

without seeing.” There is just one problem with all of

this. For faith to have any value it must be placed in

a true proposition. 

     Ask your average Christian what will happen to a

Muslim when he dies and they will tell you that unless

he placed his faith in Jesus Christ he is going to

hell. Misplaced faith is apparently useless. Suppose

you knew an adult who still had faith that Santa Claus

is real. Would you consider them a fool for having

faith in such a preposterous thing? How do you know

you are not a fool for believing the Bible is the

inspired, infallible word of God? If faith only has

value when placed in a true proposition, how do you

know that what you have placed your faith in is true?

Has your faith served you well if there really is no

God? It cannot end with faith or you are just rolling

the dice and hoping that your parents, despite the

odds, took you to the one church that has the truth.

You must consider the evidence to determine if you

have placed your faith in a true proposition and if

the evidence is not compelling, why would you want to

believe this?

     You wouldn’t buy a car on the salesman’s word 

without test driving it. You wouldn’t buy a home on 

the realtor’s word without having it inspected.

Why would you choose a religion, arguably the decision

that will most influence the rest of your life, by

walking into the closest church to your house or going

to a church like the one your parents attended and

accepting at face value that you have been given the

truth about God?

     Faith is an impediment to the sincere search for

truth. It is a shortcut that allows a person to avoid

the hard work of searching for truth for themselves.

It allows a person to say “this is what I believe”

without being able to articulate why. I would

encourage you to fearlessly pursue the truth wherever

it leads you. When someone says “How do you know this

is true” Be prepared to answer them with evidence.

Show me a person who says they believe in God simply

by faith alone and I’ll show you someone who hasn’t 

earnestly looked for the truth about God.