Faith is not the Opposite of Knowledge

One of the most common misunderstandings I see among skeptics of Christianity is the false dichotomy between faith and knowledge. Many people see that they are opposites - that the less knowledge we have means the more faith we need, and conversely, the more we learn, the less we need faith. That's a "false dichotomy" - an "either-or" situation that really isn't either-or.

This false dichotomy becomes a roadblock between someone and faith in Christ. If faith and knowledge are opposites, they reason, then eventually we'll learn enough that we won't need any faith at all.

First, there is no dichotomy here. Faith and knowledge are not opposites. Take an airplane, for example. You can know absolutely nothing about airplanes, and yet still put your trust in one in order to fly to another city. Or, you can know all that there is to know airplanes and still put your trust in one to make that exact same flight to that exact same city. Faith and knowledge are not opposites. As we learn more about how airplanes work, we don't need to decrease the amount of faith we must put in one in order to reach our destination.

Second, more knowledge can actually increase faith. The person who knows all about airplanes has even more reasons to put his faith in one. Someone who knows very little about airplanes may hesitate to put his faith in one because of unfounded fear. The more I learn about the Bible, the more my faith in Christ grows, not less. Likewise, the more I learn about the world around me, the more my faith in Christ grows, not less. The more scientific discoveries I learn about, the more I'm convinced that God designed and created this universe, and so my faith in Him grows ... by gaining knowledge, not by the absence of it.

Third, we will never exhaust the body of knowledge that can be learned. No matter how much we learn, we will not know all there is to know, and we will always have a need to trust God with the unknown. Critics accuse the faithful of having a "God of the gaps" - that if we can't explain something yet, we just assign it to God. Then we learn about it, and reduce our view of God accordingly. True, some people do that sometimes, but that does not explain all of faith, by any stretch of the imagination. Furthermore, secular humanists have a "science of the gaps" - that if they can't explain something yet, they just assign it to a godless scientific process. Granted that the scientific process will inevitable explain more and more, but to assume that there cannot be any activity of God to account for Creation is a science of the gaps as a working assumption.

Finally, God wants us to have an informed faith. He does not expect us to just believe for no reason ("blind faith"). He reveals all kinds of reasons to believe in Him. He invites us to consider the universe to see that He has created everything. He reveals why He has done certain things in human history. He explains how the Christ was the centerpiece of His plan from Day One. Jesus shows the scars in His wrists and side in order to use more knowledge to promote more faith. Jesus appeared to scores of people after the resurrection to offer knowledge to build faith in something very "unscientific."

"Informed faith" is not an oxymoron. It's a divine expectation.

We Don't Know, but We Do

When tragedies like the earthquake in Haiti strike, we invariably deal with the same questions about why God would allow such a thing, is He really sovereign, is He really good, and so on. When there is nothing traumatic going, we settle for some understanding that of course, God is good and sovereign. Then tragedy strikes, and we re-ask the questions - apparently the answers that come when things are going well do not really satisfy us. We wrestle with the questions, then the angst dies down over time, but as soon as the next tragedy strikes, we ask those same questions yet again.

It seems like we can never find an answer that satisfies us enough to carry us through in the midst of trauma.

And apparently, we won't be satisfied until we know why these things happen in God's universe. Are we destined to re-ask and re-ask these questions without end and without satisfaction?

This dissatisfaction can lead to two opposite reactions: On the one hand, we can develop a growing skepticism about God. On the other hand, we can presume to know God's purpose and declare it with false confidence, despite the lack of any direct knowledge. (I believe Pat Robertson fell into this trap in the past week when he declared the cause of the earthquake to be a supposed pact Haiti had made with the devil - accurate or inaccurate, he has no way of knowing this to the degree that he proclaimed it to be true. Plus his gaping lack of genuine compassion was very unlike Christ. Besides, how an entire country could make a pact with the devil is beyond me.)

Can we find an answer that will satisfy us?

I make the following observations:

• The man Job, who suffered such tremendous personal tragedy, never got an explanation as to why he had suffered so much. And yet, he found himself clinging ever tighter to God (Job 42:1-6).
• In God's speeches to Job (Job 38-41), God basically shows Job that God, being God, does not need to check His reasons with us before acting. But also, being God, everything He does is good, even the things that are hidden from our counsel.
• God never promised us that He'd explain everything to us here. He promised us that He is working all things together toward His great and good purposes for His children (Rom 8:28).
• We don't know always why God allows tragedies to occur, but we do know how He wants us to respond to them. He wants us to aid the afflicted, even at personal cost. He wants us to share the love of Christ. He wants us to intercede on their behalf. He wants us to work in advance of tragedies in order to avert them or to be prepared to respond to them.

We struggle because we don't know all the "why's." But when we consider what we do know, we realize that He's given us more than enough knowledge to respond in the way He desires us to, and to trust that He does in fact know what He's doing.

The "why's" will be answered eventually. We already know what He wants us to do now.

Please pray for your Elders

This weekend is the annual Elder retreat. We sequester at Cypress Creek for prayer and fasting, sharing the Lord's Supper together, studying a book together (this year's choice: "The Master Plan of Discipleship"), conducting church business, and visioning for the following year. And for full disclosure: yes, there is some recreation time, too.

There have been a lot of ups and downs in 2009. Some great things happening, and some difficult things, as well. The Elders need wisdom on how to assess all of that, and how to set the direction for the coming year. There will be important decisions made, and so we need the Spirit's guidance.

We ask that the family of DBC be praying for us each day (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). We can accomplish nothing without the Lord's work in us and through us.

Also, we encourage you to attend the annual meeting on Jan 31 after the worship service. There will be a covered dish lunch, and then our meeting. This is the venue for us to discuss with you the state of the church and the future plans. We welcome your thoughts and input. The quarterly "Fireside Chats" have been productive for building better communication, and we hope that the annual meeting will provide even more communication. The meeting is two-way - the various ministries get to share their highlights and plans, but also they want to hear from you, as well.

This is the Lord's church, first and foremost. After that, it is your church. This is not the Elders' church. This is not my church. It is our church. And our church needs your prayers and your input. We invite you to aid your church especially with praying for the Elder retreat and being a part of the congregational meeting.

Class Report

Thanks to the entire DBC family for once again graciously allowing me to spend a week away to continue my studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Every time I go, it's the same pattern - by Tuesday, I'm convinced that I'm doing everything wrong in ministry, but by Friday, I feel like I can now do it a little better. This last week was no exception.

The class was taught by perhaps the most celebrated preaching professor in evangelical circles in the U.S. - Haddon Robinson, who currently teaches at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Robinson is a former DTS student, and was on faculty with them years ago before he left to become the president of Denver Seminary, and then later to Gordon Conwell to teach preaching ("homiletics").

Dr. Robinson conducted the class in a very different manner than I expected, but in a much better way. We had students from all over the U.S., and one from India, and we had a great time working together on properly analyzing passages and developing meaningful sermon outlines. Dr. Robinson spent the last two days just spouting all kinds of preaching wisdom.

I told the class on Friday that my next sermon will likely be my worst! That's because I'll be adjusting, trying to incorporate what we've learned into my own preaching. That will take some time to assimilate and make my own. Lord willing, I'll become a much better teacher of God's Word.

Thanks again for allowing me the time to pursue my studies. This was my last class. All that's left is the hard part: developing my thesis project and writing it up. Piece of cake!