Hope and Faith

Hebrews 11:1-3
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old received divine approval. By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear. (RSV)


I used to feel challenged in my faith by my belief in reason and evidence. The problem for my faith is that there is no evidence that God exists. To be sure, there is no evidence that God does not exist either. The result was that God seemed, not impossible, but unlikely. Yet I found that I could not do without God in my life.

My dictionary tells me that faith is belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. If we had evidence or proof that God exists and created us and the universe, then by definition, we wouldn’t have faith. Faith means believing despite the lack of evidence. Faith is emotional, not rational. Faith is based on hope, which is believing in something even when the evidence indicates that it is unlikely.

Geological evidence indicates that the earth is 4 and a half billion years old. Astronomical evidence indicates that the universe is billions of years older. Fossil and genetic evidence indicate that all life on earth comes from a distant common ancestry and that differing species, including humans, evolved over millions of years.

To be fair, it is consistent with a Bible-based faith to choose to believe in the biblical story of creation. However, if reason and evidence are to be applied in any aspects of life, then it only makes sense to apply them to every aspect, not just those that are not addressed in the Bible.

Would it affect your relationship with God, if you believed that God created the universe in an instant billions of years ago, rather than in a week merely several thousand years ago? The big bang theory is no less miraculous than the story of creation told in Genesis. If you consider how improbable it is that life began at all millions of years ago and that upright walking, rational, and emotional beings evolved after millions of years from that first single-celled organism, then it all seems miraculous. When I read about the big bang and evolution, I feel closer to God.

Finally, my real reason for talking about this subject is that my reaction to people whose primary concern is insisting in believing in the details of the biblical story of creation despite evidence to the contrary, is to be concerned that they are missing out on the wonderful experience of faith. Creeds don’t save us. Getting the theology right doesn’t save us. We are saved by entering into a loving relationship with our creator, regardless of how he went about creating us.