Christianity Is A Faith.

[JAG ..]

Start quote. "Henry Dodwell argues that matters of religious faith lie outside the determination of reason. God could not possibly have intended that reason should be the faculty to
lead us to faith, for faith cannot hang indefinitely is suspense while reason cautiously
weighs and reweighs arguments.

`The Scriptures teach, on the contrary, that the way to God is by means of the heart,
not by means of the intellect . . .(What is the basis of faith? Dodwell answers that it
is) the faith-producing work of the Holy Spirit . . .

Now Alvin Plantinga . . .

Alvin Plantinga has launched a sustained attack on theological rationalism. Plantinga
maintains that belief in God and in the central doctrines of Christianity is both rational
and warranted wholly apart from any evidential foundations for belief . . .

Then William Lane Craig says . . .

I think that Dodwell and Plantinga are correct that, fundamentally, the way we know Christianity
to be true is by the self-authenticating witness of God's Holy Spirit."
End quote

Source:
Reasonable Faith
by William Lane Craig
pages 35, 39, 43

Alvin Plantinga and William Lane Craig are considered to be Christendom's top Christian apologists.

__________________

JAG Writes:
Christianity is a FAITH.

The word FAITH occurs hundreds and hundreds of times in the Bible and is
presented as being absolutely essential to sustaining the Christian FAITH.

So?

So demonstrate with empiricism and logic that Christianity is true at the certainty-level
of 2 + 2 = 4 and you then no longer have to exercise FAITH in God.

It does NOT require any FAITH to believe that 2 + 2 = 4.

These 5 Bible verses below would no longer be needed and would no longer be true.

■ "without faith it is impossible to please God"

■ "for by grace are you saved through faith"

■ "he that comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him"

■ "believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved"

■ God gave His only Son that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life

■ And the HUNDREDS of other Bible verses that demand faith would no longer be needed or be true.

Demonstrate with empiricism that Christianity is true at the certainty-level
of 2 + 2 = 4 and then you would have this:

He that comes to God need NOT exercise faith because we now know, based upon
empirical evidence that rises to the certainty-level of 2 + 2 = 4, that God exists. It is
just as certain as is the fact that New York City exists.

No faith is needed to believe that New York City exists.

Eliminate FAITH from Christianity and Christianity has just been destroyed and wrecked.

■ "for by grace are you saved through faith"

■ "without faith it is impossible to please God"

 

[JAG ..]

Here are a couple of quotes that readers may find interesting:

(1) " . . . the role of rational argumentation in knowing Christianity to be
true is the role of a servant. A person knows Christianity is true because
the Holy Spirit tells him it is true, and while arguments and evidence can
be used to support this conclusion, they cannot legitimately overrule
it . . ." __William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith, page 51

(2) ". . .I'd say that with most people there's no need to use apologetics
at all . . . " __William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith, page 57

_______________

Note: My Opening Post and the post above does NOT say that Christian Apologetics is not useful and needed. Christian Apologetics IS useful and IS needed --- but Christian Apologetics can NOT eliminate from Christianity the necessity to exercise faith in God.

 

[Who Me]

Faith is being certain of what we believe. It is Not a leap in the dark nor is it some sort of mystical believe.

We know that Jesus lived, died, was hurried and that he rose again.
All historical facts.

Just as through the examination of geology we can see there was a global flood.

Interestingly Luke wrote that he carefully investigated these facts that you may know the truth about what you believe.



Yes we believe by faith, a faith that rests on solid facts.


Those who say ' just have faith ' or ' only believe ' are dangerous fools, in the biblical sence, they do not know God and should be avoided.

 

[Truthfrees]

Faith is being certain of what we believe. It is Not a leap in the dark nor is it some sort of mystical believe.

We know that Jesus lived, died, was hurried and that he rose again.
All historical facts.

Just as through the examination of geology we can see there was a global flood.

Interestingly Luke wrote that he carefully investigated these facts that you may know the truth about what you believe.



Yes we believe by faith, a faith that rests on solid facts.


Those who say ' just have faith ' or ' only believe ' are dangerous fools, in the biblical sence, they do not know God and should be avoided.

the interesting thing about those who do not know God is they are uninspiring and have a relatively small following

those who know God have fascinating real life encounters with God that draws people toward God

may we all draw closer with God every day so that others see God is real and choose to walk with God too

 

[JLB]

Start quote. "Henry Dodwell argues that matters of religious faith lie outside the determination of reason. God could not possibly have intended that reason should be the faculty to
lead us to faith, for faith cannot hang indefinitely is suspense while reason cautiously
weighs and reweighs arguments.

`The Scriptures teach, on the contrary, that the way to God is by means of the heart,
not by means of the intellect . . .(What is the basis of faith? Dodwell answers that it
is) the faith-producing work of the Holy Spirit . . .

Now Alvin Plantinga . . .

Alvin Plantinga has launched a sustained attack on theological rationalism. Plantinga
maintains that belief in God and in the central doctrines of Christianity is both rational
and warranted wholly apart from any evidential foundations for belief . . .

Then William Lane Craig says . . .

I think that Dodwell and Plantinga are correct that, fundamentally, the way we know Christianity
to be true is by the self-authenticating witness of God's Holy Spirit."
End quote

Source:
Reasonable Faith
by William Lane Craig
pages 35, 39, 43

Alvin Plantinga and William Lane Craig are considered to be Christendom's top Christian apologists.

__________________

JAG Writes:
Christianity is a FAITH.

The word FAITH occurs hundreds and hundreds of times in the Bible and is
presented as being absolutely essential to sustaining the Christian FAITH.

So?

So demonstrate with empiricism and logic that Christianity is true at the certainty-level
of 2 + 2 = 4 and you then no longer have to exercise FAITH in God.

It does NOT require any FAITH to believe that 2 + 2 = 4.

These 5 Bible verses below would no longer be needed and would no longer be true.

■ "without faith it is impossible to please God"

■ "for by grace are you saved through faith"

■ "he that comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him"

■ "believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved"

■ God gave His only Son that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life

■ And the HUNDREDS of other Bible verses that demand faith would no longer be needed or be true.

Demonstrate with empiricism that Christianity is true at the certainty-level
of 2 + 2 = 4 and then you would have this:

He that comes to God need NOT exercise faith because we now know, based upon
empirical evidence that rises to the certainty-level of 2 + 2 = 4, that God exists. It is
just as certain as is the fact that New York City exists.

No faith is needed to believe that New York City exists.

Eliminate FAITH from Christianity and Christianity has just been destroyed and wrecked.

■ "for by grace are you saved through faith"

■ "without faith it is impossible to please God"

A biblical definition of faith would be good to have in this discussion.


JLB

 

[Susannah]

Christianity is more than a faith. It is everything. It is a gift. It is a journey. It is guidance. It is love and charity. My life is divided in half. Before and after. Before Christianity I was crazy. Now not so much.

 

[Who Me]

He knew God and talked with God and He says He did only what God showed Him to do and said only what God told Him to say - that is why multitudes followed Him everywhere He went - and we are told to walk as Jesus walked

Jesus is God's, and that knowledge seeped out of him. Demons knew who he was and the poor recognised him as they saw his deeds.

We cannot do what Jesus did, but we can be real in how we respond to people, how we care for them and they will slowly see the reality of our faith in our lives.

The hard part is really living for Jesus, we are so influenced by an ungodly world it is difficult to be different.

 

[Truthfrees]

Jesus is God's, and that knowledge seeped out of him. Demons knew who he was and the poor recognised him as they saw his deeds.

We cannot do what Jesus did, but we can be real in how we respond to people, how we care for them and they will slowly see the reality of our faith in our lives.

The hard part is really living for Jesus, we are so influenced by an ungodly world it is difficult to be different.

we can never do it on our own without God

 

[Hawkins]

Today's humans are indoctrinated through the long years of secular education. They are like zombies without a mind. In terms of intelligence they are all captive by the much more intelligent Satan. Their reasoning is all fallacious. They are all blinded by the god of this world.

Faith is the fundamental element for humans in majority to approach a truth of any kind. Humans rely heavity on putting faith in those having a direct contact to a truth in order to get to such a truth.

1) the past
Humans rely on putting faith in what has been written down by historians to get to events happened historically. It is a process on how the historians gathered the witnessed events from the supposedly eyewitnesses accounts for later humans to believe with faith.

2) the present
Humans rely on putting faith in what has been written down by reports/journalists to get to events happened recently and currently. It is a process on how the reporters gathered the witnessed events from the supposedly eyewitnesses accounts for the rest of humans to believe with faith. It is so thus Trump can always claim that they are "fake news". As news are faith based in terms of how they are conveyed. He's not against evidence in this case, he's against faith.

3) science
Science to the majority is about how we put faith in a small group of scientists as the eyewitnesses of a scientific truth which sometimes can only be observed by using expensive equipment which only scientists have the privildge to access. We as modern humans know for a fact that black holes exist but the majority of us are with 0 evidence. In the end we have faith in the works of the scientists.

4) future
We humans lack the ability to tell a future. We thus need to go through a God to gather such a kind of information. We know God from those who encountered Him to write down their testimonies in a way very similar to how history is written. The majority need faith in order to get to the truth from those have a direct contact of such a truth. It is in the same exact manner how we get to the information provided by historians, reporters and that ultimately from our scientists.

 

[XNYHCX]

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

- 1 Corinthians 4:20 -
​

I would never have have been convinced by argument, and never was. It was the calling alone that drew me in and the living power that transformed me.

There is no argument for what a person believes (or doesn't) because our beliefs are not ultimately defined by reason. Faith is of a higher faculty than reason (as stated). Everybody has faith. Just not in the same things. For some, their faith is in their own intellect/ego.

The only arguments I have ever seen with actual persuasive power are love and a greater faith than theirs. When the gentle persistence of love has broken down someone's barriers and they cautiously open up to the possibility of GOD, because you have become a safe place for them to do so. Or when their faith is shaken and yours is not.

 

[JLB]

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

- 1 Corinthians 4:20 -
​

I would never have have been convinced by argument, and never was. It was the calling alone that drew me in and the living power that transformed me.

There is no argument for what a person believes (or doesn't) because our beliefs are not ultimately defined by reason. Faith is of a higher faculty than reason (as stated). Everybody has faith. Just not in the same things. For some, their faith is in their own intellect/ego.

The only arguments I have ever seen with actual persuasive power are love and a greater faith than theirs. When the gentle persistence of love has broken down someone's barriers and they cautiously open up to the possibility of GOD, because you have become a safe place for them to do so. Or when their faith is shaken and yours is not.

Welcome to the Forum.



JLB

 

[JLB]

Today's humans are indoctrinated through the long years of secular education. They are like zombies without a mind. In terms of intelligence they are all captive by the much more intelligent Satan. Their reasoning is all fallacious. They are all blinded by the god of this world.

Faith is the fundamental element for humans in majority to approach a truth of any kind. Humans rely heavity on putting faith in those having a direct contact to a truth in order to get to such a truth.

1) the past
Humans rely on putting faith in what has been written down by historians to get to events happened historically. It is a process on how the historians gathered the witnessed events from the supposedly eyewitnesses accounts for later humans to believe with faith.

2) the present
Humans rely on putting faith in what has been written down by reports/journalists to get to events happened recently and currently. It is a process on how the reporters gathered the witnessed events from the supposedly eyewitnesses accounts for the rest of humans to believe with faith. It is so thus Trump can always claim that they are "fake news". As news are faith based in terms of how they are conveyed. He's not against evidence in this case, he's against faith.

3) science
Science to the majority is about how we put faith in a small group of scientists as the eyewitnesses of a scientific truth which sometimes can only be observed by using expensive equipment which only scientists have the privildge to access. We as modern humans know for a fact that black holes exist but the majority of us are with 0 evidence. In the end we have faith in the works of the scientists.

4) future
We humans lack the ability to tell a future. We thus need to go through a God to gather such a kind of information. We know God from those who encountered Him to write down their testimonies in a way very similar to how history is written. The majority need faith in order to get to the truth from those have a direct contact of such a truth. It is in the same exact manner how we get to the information provided by historians, reporters and that ultimately from our scientists.

Faith is actually a very real substance that originates with God Himself.


It is from this invisible substance that everything in the natural world was made from.


Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:1-3


Faith comes to us, when God speaks to us or moves upon us.


Faith is able to produce tangible visible results in the natural world through those God speaks to.


By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Hebrews 11:7


Faith may mean many things to many people, however faith, true faith that comes from God, is the substance of all tangible reality.




JLB

 

[for_his_glory]

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

- 1 Corinthians 4:20 -
​

I would never have have been convinced by argument, and never was. It was the calling alone that drew me in and the living power that transformed me.

There is no argument for what a person believes (or doesn't) because our beliefs are not ultimately defined by reason. Faith is of a higher faculty than reason (as stated). Everybody has faith. Just not in the same things. For some, their faith is in their own intellect/ego.

The only arguments I have ever seen with actual persuasive power are love and a greater faith than theirs. When the gentle persistence of love has broken down someone's barriers and they cautiously open up to the possibility of GOD, because you have become a safe place for them to do so. Or when their faith is shaken and yours is not.

Hi and welcome to CF. Glad to have you with us.

 

[for_his_glory]

There is no one that can reason God. Faith comes by hearing the word of God as we learn who Jesus is as being our faith as we trust and grow in Him. Faith is the hearts condition.

Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

[Susannah]

Amen!

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

- 1 Corinthians 4:20 -
​

I would never have have been convinced by argument, and never was. It was the calling alone that drew me in and the living power that transformed me.

There is no argument for what a person believes (or doesn't) because our beliefs are not ultimately defined by reason. Faith is of a higher faculty than reason (as stated). Everybody has faith. Just not in the same things. For some, their faith is in their own intellect/ego.

The only arguments I have ever seen with actual persuasive power are love and a greater faith than theirs. When the gentle persistence of love has broken down someone's barriers and they cautiously open up to the possibility of GOD, because you have become a safe place for them to do so. Or when their faith is shaken and yours is not.

 

[humble soul]

I believe in love. Since God is love I believe in God.
Hate is easy.
Love is often a challenge.
I almost felt hate for my older brother yesterday. God must have come to the rescue. All good now.

 

[XNYHCX]

Welcome to the Forum.



JLB

Thank you!

 

[Susannah]

Faith without works is dead. We must love God and our neighbor but we must Aaso serve God. He has a task for each of us. My calling is writing. I want to use this gift to help others who have lost faith reunite with the Lord

 

[Prycejosh1987]

I think that Dodwell and Plantinga are correct that, fundamentally, the way we know Christianity
to be true is by the self-authenticating witness of God's Holy Spirit."

That is true, its easy to say that the Holy Spirit does work in the background and tends to go unnoticed, i think this relates to Jesus saying that people with Holy Spirit are people like the wind. It goes and comes and people do not see it coming.