One initial worry that the conservative will have is that I John 4:7,8, which I have characterized as fundamental for understanding salvation, doesn’t mention “faith” or “belief” (although they are implied later on in the passage). We need to get clear on the relationship between faith and love. But before that, we should talk about one thing that faith is not.
The first important realization concerning faith is that we must admit that it is not the product of some kind of objective analysis that comes from our own thought process. This is a common misconception in the evangelical world, as evidenced by such apologetics book titles as The Case for Faith, or Evidence that Demands a Verdict. These books make it sound that all that is required to acquire Christian faith is an open, honest, and dispassionate examination of the evidence. But this is simply not how human reason works. Nietzsche, whom I consider backwards a lot of the time, does make an accurate analysis of reason. He says that objectivity is a myth. Instead, we acquire certain beliefs – be they religious, moral, or otherwise – and then use reason to make our beliefs seem appealing.
Those who believe that our beliefs are formed by our objective use of reason have the formula exactly backwards; it is rather that we brandish reason like a club in an effort to defend the beliefs that we already find ourselves with. If you have much contact with philosophy, you will see this point immediately. For example, if someone wants to prove the existence of God, or that people have a free will, etc., they will likely be able to do it! And if someone wants to disprove the existence of God, or that people are determined, etc., they can also always succeed! On issues such as these (we philosophers call them metaphysical issues) the person that wins the argument is the person who talks last.
This point is seconded all throughout the Scriptures, where we find constant examples of “God hardening” someone’s heart (Exodus 14:4), or Jesus speaking in parables with the intention of not being understood (because they wouldn’t understand anyway, he says; for another sort of example, see Luke 16:31). Why is the message of the cross foolishness to some, while it makes a lot of sense to others? Is it intelligence? No. There are geniuses on both sides of this debate, and we certainly know that both sides have their morons. The truth is that no one has any idea why some believe and some don’t. This is a difficult teaching – for my money, the most difficult for any Christian, but it doesn’t stop it from being right. The origins of religious faith are unexplained, and perhaps unexplainable.
