Atheists Ask: “If God Is Real, Then Why Is Faith Required?”
First of all, when people ask, “Why is faith required if God is real?”, they are using a different definition of “faith” than the the Bible does. The average person thinks “faith” means: “blind faith”, or belief without any evidence, zero, zippo, nada. That is not Biblical “faith”.
WHAT IS FAITH, ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?
So let’s clarify what we mean Biblically by faith. “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 NAB). Biblical faith has evidence in support of it, in fact, lots of it!
For example: “Since the creation the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, been understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20 NIV). We can see from the earth and the universe that there must be a designer and Creator. However, it is impossible to see Almighty God literally.
WHY IS FAITH REQUIRED?
“You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20 CSB). This is why faith is required.
In some ways it’s no different from things we think, and do, everyday, but without giving it much thought. Would you work for a company, or organization that you didn’t think was going to pay you on payday? No, you have faith, for good reasons, that you will get paid. You wouldn’t buy a car, or an appliance, if you didn’t at least have some faith, or reasonable expectation, that it would work. Your wouldn’t hire someone to do a job for you without some faith they could do it, would you?
REASONING ON THE ISSUE
Logical reasoning tells us what Hebrews 3;4 says: “For every house is built by someone, but he that created all things is God” (Jubilee Bible). Just because you didn’t see a certain house being designed or built, that someone it wasn’t designed and constructed by intelligent beings. Why would we use different reasoning standard about the immeasurably more complex universe, and its designer and builder?
CONCLUSION
Therefore, the Bible says: “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God'” (Psalm 14:1 NLT). While it is true that “not all people have faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:2), faith is required, and is available to all people!
For more information related to this subject, please see the following article on this website: