BradCube
Active Member
Wow, great question.I'm quite curious, as the most intelligent Christian on the forum, do you still admit the need for "faith"?
That is, how do you reach the conclusion that the christian god exists, beyond any rational conclusions (though challengable) you may have reached in relation to the need for a "first cause designer"? Simply the Bible?
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As a Christian, I think an accurate reading of the bible implies that faith is a necessary and essential component of christian belief - so yes, I think there is still a need for faith. However let me qualify this in answering the second half of your question.
Essentially you seem to be asking why someone would believe in the truth of Christianity when all their current arguments only lead them to the conclusion that a monotheistic God exists. From the perspective of natural theology the obvious answer will be to examine the arguments surrounding the resurrection of Jesus. If the statement "Jesus was resurrected" is the most plausible explanation of the data, then it serves as self authentication for the claims that Jesus made - namely that he was God. From there one can affirm the truth of Christianity as the more rational world view.
This is not the whole story however. Alvin Plantinga's work in what he calls "Reformed Epistemology" offers an argument for the rationality of Christian theism wholly apart from argument and evidence. Essentially Plantinga submits that belief in God can be properly basic in the same way as other unquestionable or foundational beliefs (ie that logic is logical). When addressing the truth of christian belief specifically Plantinga then turns to the role and witness of the Holy Spirit (in addition to this properly basic belief). Put simply, he maintains that the Holy Spirit can act as a legitimate belief forming mechanism that provides the believer with the warrant necessary for accepting the claims of Christianity and the gospels specifically. In this way, the christian believer knows the truth of the Christianity via the properly basic beliefs brought about through the Holy Spirit.
So taking a step back, yes, faith is an integral part of christian belief, but when qualified it is warranted and rational through the witness of the Holy Spirit. Also note that faith is not limited to the belief in Gods existence. For the Christian, faith encompasses a multitude of areas (ie, trusting that God is good in the midst of a crisis or disaster).
My summary of reformed epistemology is not be taken so much as a defense of christian belief but rather as an overview of how warranted belief can be integrated with aspects of faith. If you are super keen, have a read through Plantinga's work on this topic.
Warrant: The Current Debate, Warrant and Proper Function and Warranted Christian Belief.
I only have a copy of Warranted Christian Belief - it's still unread as of yet but if it's anything like others of Plantinga's work you can be sure that it will be a good read (make sure you have your thinking cap on though!)