Kaliwanagan Kay Kristo: Christian faith is blind faith || John Pesebre

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Question 1: What is the brief statement of the doubt?

Ayon sa kaibigan at kaklase ni Bella sa university na ang pananampalataya daw ni Bella sa Diyos ay “blind faith.” Ang “blind faith,” according sa Dictionary.com means “belief without true understanding, perception, or discrimination.” Kumbaga, ang pananampalataya Kristiyano daw ay bulag na pagsunod sa mga utos at tayong mga mananampalataya ay tumatalima na walang pagkaunawa sa ating sinusunod. Christian faith is blind faith -- yan po ang maikling statement na atin pong tatalakayin ngayon.

Question 2: Where did this doubt come from?

Naglipana ang mga ideas na ganito sa internet.  Tulad na lang netong isang comment na ito sa Facebook na tinalakay ni author Tom Gilson. Ang comment ay ganito, “The core problem is that religion teaches that holding absolute beliefs without evidence (aka faith) is a virtue.”

Ayon sa kilalang atheist at biologist na is Richard Dawkins, "Faith is belief witout and against evidence and reason; coincidentally that's also the definition of delusion.”

Kung totoo ang mga sinasabing ito, at marami talaga yan, ang ating pananampalataya ay hindi reasonable. Hindi mo kailangan ang isipan mo. Intellectual suicide ang mangyayari sa’yo kapag naging Christian ka.

Question 3: What is wrong about this doubt?

Hindi po totoo na ang pananampalatayang Kristiyano ay “blind faith.”

Question 4: How is it wrong?

Unang una po, ang Christian faith ay nagpapaptotoo sa isang objective source and foundation para sa knowledge, reason and rationality. Kumbaga may pinag uusapan tayo objectively is falsifiable. Hindi po falsified kundi falsifiable. Ang falsifiable po means may “inherent possibility that it can be proven false.” So one can argue that God doesn’t exist, or one can argue that God does exist. Ngayon how you craft your argument justifies your claim. Ang Diyos natin ay lumikha ng universe para mag reflect ng coherent na order, and he made man in his image na may rational capacity to discover yang intelligible na organization na yan. Kaya naman ang logic at rationality ay key feature ng Christianity all though the centuries.

Pangalawa, ang mga kini-claim na katotohanan ng mga Kristiyano do not violate the basic laws of reason. Ang pananampalatayang Kristiyano at mga paniniwala (tulad ng Trinity at Incarnation), though medyo mahirap siyang unawain hindi nangangahulugan na wala silang rational na paliwanag. Makailang siglo na ring pinag usapan at dinipensahan ang mga beliefs na yan sa Church.

Pangatlo, ang Salita ng Diyos mismo ang humihimok sa atin patungo sa katalinuhan at pagkaunawa, tulad ng sinasabi sa Job 28:28 at sa Prov. 1:7 na nagsasabi, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Ang Bible din ang nagpo-promote ng mga intellectual virtues such as discernment, testing at reflection, tulad ng sinasabi sa Acts 17:11, 1 Thess. 5:21 at Colossians 2: 8 na nagsasabi, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits[a] of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Pang-apat, ang mga katotohanan ng Christian faith ay nagku correspond at supported by evidence, facts and reasons. Ang Greek word for faith ay maaring idefine as

• a confident trust in a reliable, reasonable, and viable source (God or Christ). Faith (or belief) is a necessary component of knowledge and reason since a person must believe something in order to know it. Yet reason can be properly used to evaluate, confirm, and buttress faith. Faith and reason therefore function in a complementary fashion. While reason in and of itself, apart from God's special grace, cannot cause faith, the use of reason is normally a part of a person's coming to faith, and serves to support faith in innumerable ways. In summary, faith is foundational to reason and reason can serve to evaluate or confirm faith. 

Question 5: What wrong idea about God is this doubt trying to create?

Ultimately po, ang attack na ito sa Christianity wants to paint a god that doesn’t exist o kung mayroon mang diyos, isang diyos-diyosan na tila baga walang kaalama alam kung bakit niya ginawa ang isipan ng tao. O kaya hindi niya inaasahan na tatalino ang tao at yayabong ang kanyang katalinuhan. Ito’y isang diyos-diyosan na galit din sa ating paggamit ng ating kaisipan kasi ang importante ay mabuhay na hindi ginagamit ito.

Question 6: What is the Biblical teaching about God that recuperates this wrong idea about God?

Read 1 John 1:1-3 and translate it in your own words.

• That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

In this verse, naglalahad si Apostol Juan na ang kanyang tinuturo at sasampalatayanan ng mga Christians ay hindi blind faith.

Question 7: What application can you draw from this correct teaching about God?

Answer the following: Ano ang criteria ng verification ang inisa-isa ni Juan patungkol sa encounter niya kay Jesus? Ano si Kristo sa mga verses na ito?

Meditate on this: Why is it important to you that your faith is not blind faith, but reasonable faith?

Question 8: What action point can you resolve to do at this point?

Ang ating pananampalataya ay faith na nakatuntong sa realidad ng buhay. We are to live in this reality of God in our lives. One of the ways we can do this is constant practice in the presence of God by constant prayer.