To believe doesn't make it a fact

 
Recently I read a quote from James Randi, the legendary skeptic who constantly challenged the claims of anything of a spiritual or paranormal nature. In spite of the fact that our worldviews are different, I agree with his statement, “No amount of belief makes something a fact.” I’m sure that by “fact” he means something that is true. So, if I should say, “I had oatmeal for breakfast,” that statement doesn’t change the fact that I had bacon and eggs. Assertions do not create what they assert.
       Is this statement by Mr. Randi relevant in any way to the Christian faith? Let’s see: One could say, “I’ve committed my life to Jesus Christ because I believe he died on a cross and rose again.” Right, but it isn’t your statement that makes what you say a fact. What makes it a fact is whether or not it happened.
       But that raises a question. Since reality exists apart from what we believe about it, how can I be sure that my faith in Christ is valid? Doesn’t that put a big question mark over everything of a religious nature? How can Christians be sure that what they believe about God is not an allusion? We know that faith, by definition, is not what we call “scientific proof.” Faith is one step short of that because, while it points us there, it doesn’t take us all the way. If it did, it wouldn’t be faith.
       This understanding of the nature of faith shouldn’t undermine one’s confidence in what God has done for us in Christ. This is how I see it. I believe that Christ actually died on the cross. He was buried. Three days later he walked out of the tomb alive. Mr. Randi might say, “But your belief doesn’t make it a fact,” and I would agree. The reason I believe is because Christ himself created in my heart the confidence that this gospel account is absolutely accurate – it happened just as it was told.
       Faith was never meant to create anything; its role has to do with our response. In seminary, Dr. Carnell gave us a definition of faith that I have never forgotten. He said, “Faith is the resting of the mind in the sufficiency of the evidence.” Example. Let’s say that I’m on the 10th floor of a building and I need to get down. The elevator door opens and I make the decision to get in. But what if the cable should snap and the elevator suddenly drop those 10 stories and smash to pieces? Something like that could conceivably happen, but I have “faith” it won’t this time. To use Dr. Carnell’s words, the “evidence is sufficient” to put my “mind at rest,” so I step in. Granted, I don’t have go through this routine for every decision in life ­– it happens subconsciously most of the time.
       Faith is present on a continuing basis throughout life. We couldn’t make it through a single day without faith in a number of areas. When it comes to the question of my faith in “the shed blood of Christ” (as the old hymn puts it), I am glad that it is supported by such realities as the transforming power of the Good News in the lives of millions of believers throughout time, as well as the phenomenal impact the gospel has had on the culture and technological advances of western civilization.