Wednesday, July 22, 2020
What do we mean by faith-based?
Faith or belief was being put forward as the opposite of reasoned judgment in consideration of the evidence. Indeed such evidence was deemed immaterial in advance! Faith was reckoned not just an alternative but a superior way of knowing what is true and what is false. Judgment could be rendered on the basis of inward feelings alone. For these women, and they are not alone in our culture, faith is defined as something one simply must privately and personally affirm regardless of whatever contrary public evidence exists. In short, for many today faith is defined as the opposite of evidence-based truth. This is neither a biblical nor a Christian understanding of faith.—Matthew W. Bates, Salvation by Allegiance Alone, 17
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2 comments:
"For these women, and they are not alone in our culture, faith is defined as something one simply must privately and personally affirm regardless of whatever contrary public evidence exists."
Which women? could you clarify? I was unable to follow the link to the source of the quotation. Thanks!
Sorry; I should have supplied more context. He is relating a story, which begins on p. 15, of his encounter with a pair of female Mormon (LDS) missionaries. They ignored all his evidence-based questioning and hung onto the "warm sensation" (p. 17) that they felt was evidence that their faith was correct. He is pushing back against the warm feelies that so many consider to be faith—and then leave it at that. He believes that a true faith will result in a change in allegiance, which entails a change in behavior.
Hope that helps, James
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