God & ScienceSample

Faith and Facts

Some people claim that Christians are people of faith while atheists are people of facts. A more accurate description would be that both Christians and atheists claim to have facts that back up their faith.

Take the universe for example. As a Christian, I have faith that God created all of it. “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command” (Hebrews 11:3). I wasn’t there when creation happened. I can’t find a YouTube clip to check it out. By faith I believe in God the Father, the Maker of heaven and earth, but I didn’t see God the Father make heaven and earth. 

Yet my faith is backed up by some stunning facts. The design of the universe is powerful evidence for a Designer. The odds that life exists on the earth—that we are just so far from the sun and the gravitational force is just so—are nearly impossible unless an all-powerful God fine-tuned it. The last time I investigated the evidence, the odds of life just happening on earth would be like winning the Powerball jackpot not once but 342,000,000 times in a row! It turns out that our faith is not blind but supported by powerful facts.

The next time you find yourself in a healthy discussion about doctrine and data, remember that Christians are people of faith . . . and people of facts.