Hope Today 160 - Is the Christian faith blind faith?

A weekly program of word and music featuring an eclectic mix of Christian music and teaching by Pastor Tom Cullen and Brian Evans.  Mac Wigfield starts the program with southern gospel classics.
Produced at Straight Path Studio in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada.

Christian Artists featured are:

Hyssongs
Dace McVay
Gold City
Mac Powell with Cliff & Danielle Young
Earnestly Etienne
Laura Story
CityAlight
Kristene DiMarco
Stuart Townend
Ross King

Thank you for listening to HOPE TODAY. This is a program developed at Light & Life Programming, a registered charity. We are listener supported. If you would like to help with this ministry, donations can be made through our website at www.lightnlife.ca.

Transcript

Tamara 0:02

Over the years, some have considered the Christian faith to be a blind faith. Is it? There is only one way to prove your faith, and that is by testing it. You will want to listen to this program of hope today, as Pastor Tom Cullen will answer this very question. Stay with us, as together we will learn about faith. Thank you for joining us in this journey today. As we get started, may your hearts be inspired. Mac Wigfield comes first to present some wonderful gospel music. Let's begin this edition of Hope Today.

Mac 0:41

Welcome to Hope Today. Gospel music coming up as we begin the program. Here are the His songs. God can do a lot with a Little Bit of Faith.

Mac 6:26

Listen to Gold City.

Tom 9:46

Does that describe the Christian faith? Is it blind allegiance to ideas and a way of life? Or is the Christian faith based on evidence and the use of the intellect? Stay with us as we probe the idea of blind faith on Hope Today. Mac Powell joins Cliff and Daniel Young to sing God of Wonder.

Tom 14:39

I've always appreciated the fact that Jesus included the mind in our love toward God. There are so many in our world who believe that Christians are mindless and gullible. After all, they say you can't prove with 100% certainty that Jesus rose from the dead or was God in the flesh. Therefore, I'm yours. It is adequate. Is the Christian faith a blind faith? Not the faith to which Jesus calls us.

Tom 20:56

As we read Scripture, we discover we are never encouraged to follow Jesus blindly or unthinkingly. The whole Gospel of Luke is written so that we may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Similarly, the Gospel of John was written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name. We are given a terrible name. The question is, what is the focus of your faith? Have you done a thorough investigation of the fact so that you can say, I will rest my faith here, but not here. Christianity invites you to use your mind and search the truth, confident that it will stand up to any intellectual investigation. Here's Laura's story with indescribable.

Brian 27:07

God asks you why you should be let in. What would you say? This hymn, written by Lydia Edmonds, would be a great answer. Eliza Edmonds Hewitt was born in June of 1851 and passed away in April of 1920. She was an American hymn writer, teacher, and attended a Presbyterian church. Her back was seriously injured during an altercation with a student at Northern Home for Friendless Children in 1887, from which she never fully recovered. During her convalescence, she studied English literature and began writing poems for the primary department of her church. She also prepared study materials for Sunday school and regularly contributed to children's periodicals. Lyddy Edmonds was a pseudonym that she used for some of her poems. Liddy was a close friend to Fanny Crosby, and her cousin Edgar Stitz was a hymn writer. Her hymn, No Other Plea, is sometimes called My Faith Has Found a Resting Place and uses an old Norwegian tune. It first appeared in a hymnal published in 1891. May Liddy's testimony and song help you express your faith in God too. Here is the Haven Quartet singing No Other Plea.

Tom 29:04

I need no other argument I need no other plea it is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me I need no other argument I need no other plea It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me There are some who believe that the Christian faith is a delusion created by humanity to cope with a world filled with uncertainties. God, it is believed, is an illusion, a fictional father figure projected on the sky of our imagination and created by our desire for comfort and security. And heaven well, it is simply a dream to help us cope with that. And religion on the whole is a criteria so we don't have to face the realities of life. All of that makes it unreasonable. When I think of all the other things and ideas people use as a crowd to help them get through in life, I'm in awe of the Christian faith. Is there any other faith? Is there any other philosophy that enables a person to die to self and live for others? I would far rather give myself to God than live for anything else in this world. Howard is our murdered. We are not going to be judged. And Lennox concludes, thus if God does exist, atheism can be seen as a psychological escape mechanism to avoid taking ultimate responsibility for one's own life. City of light sing God is for us.

Tom 35:40

But there are some who say, wait, wait, wait, wait, what about what he says to Thomas at the end of the Gospel of John? They are referring to an event after Jesus' resurrection. Thomas, a disciple of Jesus, hasn't seen the risen Lord yet, even though the rest of the disciples have. And he essentially says, Unless I have proof of it, I won't believe it. His actual words are, unless I see the nail marks in his hand, and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it. And Jesus appears to the disciples and graciously invited Thomas to see his hand and put his finger in the nail holes and his hand in his eye. And Jesus says, Because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen me. What's really happening there? Jesus is correcting Thomas. Thomas had enough evidence to believe in the resurrected Lord. He had seen the miracles, he had heard the testimonies of his fellow disciples, but he stubbornly created conditions for his belief. Not only that, but in the very next verse, what John, the gospel writer, says, Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ or the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. In other words, the whole reason John wrote his gospel was so that he could give evidence that Jesus was the Christ, and the evidence would encourage you to believe in him and be rescued. Jesus does not endorse blind faith. Christine DeMarco sings of her faith in Decided.

Tom 41:38

But you know, it doesn't end there. Once you've searched out God with your mind and you discover the truth of the faith, your spirit is moved, your emotions are stirred as you discover God's love for you in Christ, and you cannot help but praise him for who he is and what he has done. May we all join with Stuart Townen in exalting God in How shall I sing that majesty?

Tom 45:39

Blind faith is a dangerous faith. It leads people into hypocrisy and even acts of terror. But the Christian faith is not a blind faith. There is evidence enough for those who have eyes to see. Jesus is alive and changes lives when trust is placed in his sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the grave. We must dare in order to know. Will you dare? Will you dare study the evidence of Christ by reading his word and hearing the testimony of those whose lives have been transformed by his grace? Will you dare to give him your sin and accept his sacrifice on your behalf and believe that he rose from the dead? Will you dare to follow his word and live for him? If you do, I know you will discover wonder upon wonder, and every wonder true. Ross King sings the invitation in Look and See.

Tamara 50:30

Jesus Christ changed the world forever. Have faith in God. You're not alone. Jesus is the faithful one. You can count on that. Hope today is developed through the mission of Light and Life Programming, a registered Canadian charity and a listener-supported ministry. Please visit our website at lightandlife.ca for more information. That is the letters L-I-G-H-T, the letter N, and the letters L-I-F-E.ca. At our website, you can listen to other programs or share programs with your friends. Hope today is produced at Straight Path Studio. We look forward to being with you next time for another program of faith and hope. Until then, keep looking ahead. Jesus is coming again.