a reply to:
Creep Thumper
How do you mean?
By the way, to me the concept of having faith in something (the way it's explained at Hebrews 11:1), means that someone is convinced by the evidence
that something is true, and consequently believes it to be true. In contrast to blind faith, believing something in spite of any evidence for or
against it (the way you perhaps see faith, just believing something regardless of the reasons why someone would believe something).
Definition: “Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.” (Heb. 11:1) True
faith is not credulity, that is, a readiness to believe something without sound evidence or just because a person wants it to be so. Genuine faith
requires basic or fundamental knowledge, acquaintance with evidence, as well as heartfelt appreciation of what that evidence indicates. Thus, although
it is impossible to have real faith without accurate knowledge, the Bible says that it is “with the heart” that one exercises faith.—Rom.
10:10.
Why do many people not have faith?
Faith is a fruit of God’s spirit, and God gladly gives his spirit to those who seek it. (Gal. 5:22; Luke 11:13) So persons without faith are not
seeking that spirit, or they are doing so for a wrong purpose or are resisting its operation in their lives. Many things influence this:
Lack of accurate Bible knowledge: The Bible is a product of God’s spirit, being inspired by God. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Sam. 23:2) Failure to
study it hinders any development of true faith. Although church members may have Bibles, if they have been taught the ideas of men instead of the Word
of God, they will lack real faith in God and his purpose. To solve life’s problems, they will be inclined to rely on their own ideas and those of
other humans.—Compare Matthew 15:3-9.
Disillusionment with religion: Many have been disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the churches of Christendom, which claim to teach God’s Word
but fail to live in harmony with what it says. Others were adherents to a non-Christian religion, but they saw bad fruitage from its practices or
found that their beliefs did not really help them to cope with the problems of life. Lacking accurate knowledge of the true God, such persons draw
away from everything related to religion.—Compare Romans 3:3, 4; Matthew 7:21-23.
Do not understand God’s permission of wickedness: Most people do not understand why God permits wickedness and so blame him for all the bad
things that take place. They do not realize that man’s inclination toward badness is not because of God’s will but because of the sin of Adam.
(Rom. 5:12) They may be unaware of the existence of Satan the Devil and of his influence on world affairs, so they ascribe to God the vile things
perpetrated by Satan. (1 John 5:19; Rev. 12:12) If they are to some extent aware of these things, they may feel that God is slow about taking action,
because they do not see clearly the issue of universal sovereignty and do not grasp the fact that God’s patience down till this time affords them an
undeserved opportunity for salvation. (Rom. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9) Also, they do not fully realize that God has a set time when he will destroy forever all
who practice wickedness.—Rev. 22:10-12; 11:18; Hab. 2:3.
Lives dominated by fleshly desires and viewpoints: Generally, persons who lack faith that has real substance have devoted themselves to the
pursuit of other interests. Some may say that they believe the Bible but they may never have thoroughly studied it or may have failed to meditate
appreciatively on what they read, on the reasons for it, and how it applies to everyday life. (Compare 1 Chronicles 28:9.) In some cases, they failed
to nourish the faith they had but, instead, allowed a desire for unrighteous things to dominate the inclination of their heart so that they drew away
from God and his ways.—Heb. 3:12.
How can a person acquire faith?
Rom. 10:17: “Faith follows the thing heard.” (Compare Acts 17:11, 12; John 4:39-42; 2 Chronicles 9:5-8. A person must first find out what the
Bible says, and he will strengthen his conviction if he examines it carefully so as to be convinced of its reliability.)
Rom. 10:10: “With the heart one exercises faith.” (By meditating on godly things to build up appreciation for them, a person impresses them on his
figurative heart.)
Faith is strengthened when a person acts on God’s promises and then sees the evidence of God’s blessing on what he has done.—See Psalm
106:9-12.
Coming back to Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the
evident demonstration of realities though not
beheld.” The Greek word
eʹleg·khos, rendered “evident demonstration,” conveys the idea of bringing forth evidence that demonstrates
something, particularly something contrary to what appears to be the case. Thereby this evidence makes clear what has not been discerned before and so
refutes what has only appeared to be the case. “The evident demonstration,” or evidence for conviction, is so positive or powerful that faith is
said to be it.
Faith is, therefore, the basis for hope and the evidence for conviction concerning unseen realities. The entire body of truths delivered by Jesus
Christ and his inspired disciples constitutes the true Christian “faith.” (Joh 18:37; Ga 1:7-9; Ac 6:7; 1Ti 5:8) Christian faith is based on the
complete Word of God, including the Hebrew Scriptures, to which Jesus and the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures frequently referred in support
of their statements.
Faith is based on concrete evidence. The visible creative works testify to the existence of an invisible Creator. (Ro 1:20) The actual occurrences
taking place during the ministry and earthly life of Jesus Christ identify him as the Son of God. (Mt 27:54
) God’s record of
providing for his earthly creatures serves as a valid basis for believing that he will surely provide for his servants, and his record as a Giver and
Restorer of life lends ample evidence to the credibility of the resurrection hope. (Mt 6:26, 30, 33; Ac 17:31; 1Co 15:3-8, 20, 21) Furthermore, the
reliability of God’s Word and the accurate fulfillment of its prophecies instill confidence in the realization of
all of His promises. (Jos
23:14) Thus, in these many ways, “faith follows the thing heard.”—Ro 10:17; compare Joh 4:7-30, 39-42; Ac 14:8-10.
So faith is not credulity. The person who may ridicule faith usually has faith himself in tried and trusted friends. The scientist has faith in the
principles of his branch of science. He bases new experiments on past discoveries and looks for new discoveries on the basis of those things already
established as true. Likewise, the farmer prepares his soil and sows the seed, expecting, as in previous years, that the seed will sprout and that the
plants will grow as they receive the needed moisture and sunshine. Therefore faith in the stability of the natural laws governing the universe
actually constitutes a foundation for man’s plans and activities. Such stability is alluded to by the wise writer of Ecclesiastes: “The sun also
has flashed forth, and the sun has set, and it is coming panting to its place where it is going to flash forth. The wind is going to the south, and it
is circling around to the north.
Round and round it is continually circling, and right back to its circlings the wind is returning. All the
winter torrents are going forth to the sea, yet the sea itself is not full. To the place where the winter torrents are going forth, there they are
returning so as to go forth.”—Ec 1:5-7.edit on 19-12-2022 by whereislogic because: (no reason given)