Christianity is an Evidence Based Faith

Perhaps one of the most common objections a believer will get from the world goes something like this: “There’s just no evidence for Christianity.” Substitute “Christianity” here with “the bible” or “God” or any other similar thing depending on the situation. But is this true? The answer is that Christianity is actually very much based on evidence, and evidence is something that God was very intentional about providing because it is He who created our analytical minds and knows us better than we know ourselves.

In Romans 1:20, Paul says that God made creation in such a way that mankind is without excuse. What does this mean? It means that we do not need the bible to know there is a Creator. The things in the world testify to an organizing, infinite mind that is itself uncreated and eternal. With all of our breakthroughs in science and mathematics, the truth is that we still do not understand reality on a fundamental level. Rather, we have just gotten really good at describing things that happen in reality to the point where we can make relatively educated predictions given enough information most of the time.

This is very important to grasp, so let me break it down. Knowing how something behaves is not the same as understanding it. We know that if a sperm fertilizes an egg a series of chemical reactions happen that eventually lead to a baby coming out of the womb nine months later. We can categorize and measure nearly every stage of this process, yet despite all of that information we still do not understand what life really is. What makes something living and something not living? At what point do things become animated with life and why? We haven’t the faintest idea why because it is a mystery.

This fundamental level of mystery is important to connect to because the truth is we really don’t know nearly as much as we think we do. In today’s culture we have come to worship science as the prime authority on all things, to the point where those representing it have become like priests and anyone against “the science” deemed a heretic. For starters, the science is never settled on anything, and if we approach science with humility and acceptance of our fundamental ignorance of life’s mysteries —then and only then can we do science clearly.

This is why the virtue of awe is so important. Christ placed great emphasis on childlike faith, because children were pure in their ability to believe. It is surprising how many things people believe today, in quite a childlike manner, that are actually totally false. Even those things that are supposedly based on “science” — the truth is that faith is always part of the equation whether we realize it or not.

Faith and awe go hand in hand, but people today have lost touch with their ability to marvel at God or His works and instead marvel at sports teams, movies, the latest shoe or car or gizmo on TV or the latest series on Netflix. As a culture we have traded in our high intellect for a low one, settling for the garbage instead of opting for the choice fruit. And because we are living in a time that is ruled by pride and material comforts, anyone who argues against these things is seen as crazy.

Nevertheless the evidence is always there because God has written it into reality itself. We have ample proof in nature according to the bible, and certainly our conscience (and even the consciences of animals) testify that the Creator is personal in nature, perfectly just and that He cares about what is right and wrong. There is no excuse to believe that everything we are experiencing is random or the product of chance, and the truth is that it takes much more faith to believe there is no Creator than to accept the testimony of creation that there is one.

With that said, if we do look in the bible we see even more evidence of who God is and what He is like. A main point here is that God very much cares that we have evidence, and the bible shows a consistent picture of this through many situations. When God chose Moses, for example, Moses actually told God to find someone else five times. Did you know that? Moses is actually famous for his doubt, and in response to this doubt God gave him supernatural signs to prove who he was dealing with, such as turning his staff into a living snake and causing his hand to become leprous and then healed again.

In fact the whole Exodus was choreographed by God so that the Israelites would have ample proof of who He was. God raised pharaoh up as a villain so that, when he was destroyed, the people would understand just how much greater God — who is invisible — actually was. God worked supernatural signs and wonders for the very purpose that people would believe and not forget who their redeemer and provider was. He did not expect the Israelites to go off blind faith alone.

Yet despite these things the bible shows us consistently that mankind is stubborn and hard-hearted by default. The Israelites rebelled countless times despite this important memory, and every time God brought judgment on them through various prophets He created even more evidence of who He was by fulfilling His words. Despite this evidence that God was sovereign over all things, people still rebelled, questioned God, tested God, doubted God and rejected God.

Other famous examples of God indulging mankind with evidence are Gideon and his fleece and the well-known doubt of the apostle Thomas, who wanted to put his very fingers in Christ’s wounds in order to believe the resurrection. The bible commands us to not put God to the test in Deuteronomy 6:16, yet this is exactly what these and many other examples throughout the bible portray.

But how did God respond to these challenges for evidence?

What we see consistently is that God was gracious and provided the evidence people wanted. With Gideon, God entertained his bizarre requests to soak or dry a piece of fleece as proof, and with Thomas, Jesus lovingly entertained his request to touch His wounds so that he could believe. God did not rebuke these people but rather patiently showed them the proof that they wanted.

Yet an important distinction now arises. God did rebuke people for their lack of faith and for demanding signs in other places. In Mark 9, where He healed a boy possessed with a demon, Jesus expresses frustration with His disciples for having little faith in the work He had called them to do in His name. The father of the boy is also skeptical, telling Christ that “if” He could help, then it would be very welcomed. To this Jesus replies to the man that anything is possible with faith, and the man begs Christ to help his unbelief. The next thing that happens is a supernatural work of God and the demon is banished.

Jesus also rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees, who demanded signs from Him to prove who He was. This is seen in Matthew 16, where He replies to them that they are an evil and adulterous generation for demanding such signs. And yet even here we see God’s mercy, because He promises to give them a sign nonetheless: the sign of Jonah. What exactly was this sign? Well, we know that Jonah was dead for 3 days in the belly of the great fish, and then he came back to life. In the same way, Christ sweetened His rebuke with a reminder of the greatest sign of His power there is: the resurrection.

So what do we make of these events? Firstly, those who Christ rebuked most for wanting to see evidence were actually believers, not unbelievers. Those who should have known and trusted and had faith the most were actually the ones who demanded more and more of God, and that is why He called them an evil and adulterous (faithless) generation.

Yet with the average person Christ was very patient, like He was with the father of that possessed boy who had reached despair in his situation. We see this also through the countless miracles that Jesus worked while He was on Earth, and what it all comes down to is that God very much cares about giving mankind evidence of who He is and what He does. Christ reminds us in John 18:20 that He said nothing in secret, and this again testifies to the fact that God is as transparent as it gets in His actions and intentions with mankind.

Besides these things, the bible places great emphasis on judging rightly and testing the spirits, on using our analytical capabilities and meditating intently on the meaning of God’s words so that we understand and commit them to heart. The point here is that God created our analytical minds and wants us to use them, yet at the same time there is a limit to analysis and this is where we see God frustrated with believers (or those professing to be believers) throughout history.

There are many supernatural things that happen in the bible because the bible is a testimony of the supernatural Creator who is beyond the rules of time and space. There are talking donkeys, staves turning into snakes, plagues of blood, miracles of all kinds, evil spirits and supernatural manifestations. In today’s world these things are easily misconstrued for fairytales because we have become cynical about everything, relying on our limited understanding of the world as the key to interpreting reality.

Yet the truth is that there is ample evidence to know that God exists and also to know His character. God has provided plenty of evidence, and He also cares that we have it which is clear from nature and from the testimony of scripture. Yet just as the old adage says, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink,” the truth is that no amount of evidence can soften a hardened heart if God has not chosen to supernaturally act on the heart and reveal them the truth.

Just as we see with the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, who had all the knowledge and yet were hardened in their hearts, so too does the world today reject the testimony of both nature and scripture because of the implications. If God exists, and if He exists in the way the bible testifies of Him, then we must be accountable and submit our lives to the Creator. We must give up our love for the world and instead embrace the love and pursuit of God. This is actually the best thing we could possibly do for our joy and pleasure, but sin’s hold over the heart is very strong and without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit man will always resist and rebel.

Today there are archaeological discoveries every month that prove the bible is true. They have also studied the bible and found tens of thousands of correlations between books that were written by dozens of authors over 1,500 years, which is impossible according to man but not if the bible was divinely inspired as scripture testifies of itself. There is also ample evidence for the life of Jesus, where even atheist historians agree He existed, and there is ample evidence for the resurrection available for anyone who, like Thomas, wants to get into the nitty gritty so they can believe.

But belief itself is the work of God, and this is very important. No amount of evidence can prove to you that you need to submit to God. The fallen angels and Satan all enjoyed God’s perfect, divine presence in heaven and yet they still rebelled. The Pharisees saw God in the flesh doing miracles, and still sought to murder Him. History testifies against the human heart and the need for evidence as pre-requisite for believing, because in reality evidence is only useful up to a point.

Today I am a Christian because I know Christianity is true. I have looked into the evidence for the existence of God, for the historical Christ and for the resurrection and it all checks out for me. There are people who have written 700 page books on the resurrection, and there are archaeologists whose life mission is to show ample evidence that the bible is true. And they are successful because, again, God definitely cares that we have evidence. I also have personal evidence by looking back on my life and seeing the countless times God has saved me from death or suffering, and I look upon creation and the only logical conclusion to me is that there is a Creator.

Yet on another level I am a Christian because God has opened my eyes to the truth of the gospel. The bible says that the cross is foolishness to the world (1 Corinthians 1:18) and this is true. No amount of evidence can make you believe that God created the world in 6 literal days or rose from the dead. At some point, after you have considered the existing evidence (and there is plenty), you have to take a leap of faith just like you do with everything else in life — and the glory of God revealed through the gospel is that this leap of faith is something He does for you rather than you having to do for yourself.

So, if you are struggling with the evidence issue, I invite you consider that Christianity is actually very much based on evidence and that God actually cares very much about providing evidence for mankind. The real issue with the human heart is not evidence, though. It is our pride. The gospel is so simple, and yet so many stumble against it because of its consequences. Sin is just too sweet and the world is just too good to let go of, and this is the real issue — not the lack of evidence.

We must remember that we die and there is no changing this outcome, but through faith in Christ we can live forever. He is the solution to all of our problems, He is the one who made us and He will return to reward those who have had faith but also to destroy those who rejected His offer for mercy. Will you be on the right side of history when history ends? Examine the evidence and ask God to open your heart to the truth, because He delights in doing so for all who genuinely approach Him, and may the glorious light of the gospel soften your heart and give you the peace that is beyond all understanding.

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