“Reasons To Believe” is a group of Christian scientists who demonstrate that science helps to prove biblical claims. They introduced me to apologetics 😊.
Can you not see that by cherry picking your scientist based on faith to prove faith, you are literally corrupting your "investigation". Please tell me Christians are smarter than this.
@@julsshan good point. That passage is talking about how our faith in God, which should be grounded and tested, is then applied in a forward thinking manner toward the promises we've been given by God that we obtain in the future. It's a relational thing. When you trust someone you take their past consistency and trustworthiness and then use that to accurately trust they'll keep doing or being what they've said they'll keep doing or being. It's basic relational trust applied to how we think about the future. It's based on knowledge and proof, but is then used to anticipate things not yet seen.
@@julsshan Exactly! The foundation of your beliefs is that you were taught to believe these things as a child, right? So _after_ you already believe, you have faith in that particular religion and that particular god or gods, because that's what you really _want_ to be true. At least, that's the typical pattern. Obviously, I don't know you. But worldwide, religious people _overwhelmingly_ believe in whatever religion and whatever god or gods they were taught to believe as children. There are converts, in every direction (Muslims on TH-cam are always bragging about the Christians they've converted to Islam), but they're a tiny minority.
@@Bill_Garthright , well ..of coz I understand what you are talking about..And many many nominal Christians are there and they are Christians because they were taught this from childhood of coz..But that's not what really born again Christians are...It's impossible to have true faith in Christi unless you really have a revelation based on the evidences ..both objective and subjective. .That's what happened to me ))),Praise the Lord.I was brought up in family where all were atheists))) I never heard any kind of religious stories until the age of 14 as far as I remember. but still I was not an atheist still. I was searching for answers ..See its good to be a tabula rasa so to say with the mind which is open ...not indoctrinated already by certain beliefs from ur ancestors. Search was not long and at the age of 16 Jesus found me..For what I'm so thankful to Him!! God bless u!
@@julsshan I know, our belief is based off of an evidential Christian worldview. Hebrews 11 is speaking about our faith in the promises that this worldview offers. For e.g the resurrection can be proven by evidence, however we have to have faith in the promises that the resurrection gives us.
P Mike, you just saved my life! What I mean is this will help me tremendously in responding to an atheist relative, which I have just prepared a response to based on the notes I just took from the points in this video. My aim is to not attempt to convince or debate him, and this video literally answered my prayer for wisdom in how to respond.
mike is an idiot and he is dishonest. he left out when the atheists have explained why they use this definition. they are aware of hebrews 11, but this definition is based on observation of how christians use the word faith. when christians have evidence or good reason for what they believe, they will say that reason. they say they believe it on faith when they don't have evidence or good reason for their belief. mike uses in that very way. even the examples from the bible show this, as what he thinks is evidence is just an argument from ignorance fallacy.
@@louiscyfer6944 It may appear ignorant from your perspective, but the evidence is enough to convince me. The bottom line is always that everyone has to decide for themselves.
@@taratags4499 that means you have really poor standard of evidence. i guess yoh are not familiar with logic and logical fallacies. argument from ignorance is the name of a specific logical fallacy. would you believe in other gods based on the same evidence? say vishnu? have you read the mahabharata?
This is the answer to so many questions I've had and wondered why so many Christian friends would quote this scripture about their faith. Thank you so much Pastor for sharing your knowledge.
The teaching on Hebrews 11 is very helpful for our brothers and sisters! In fact, we should be glad when skeptics use this scripture to attempt to weaken the faith of Christians because it provides an opportunity to both explain that we do not follow Jesus without evidence, and a chance to use Biblical exegesis for a skeptic - which in my experience is rare (with atheist skeptics). God bless and Thank you, Mike.
@@Eisenbison That’s shallow thinking. When someone has a pattern of reliability, his reliability is evidence that his forecast or promise will come to pass. That someone could be yourself. If you’ve seen something for yourself and it no longer is happening, you now believe it by faith. Example: I can’t prove that my dad took me hunting, but I trust my memory. My memory is evidence, and I have faith that my dad took me hunting. Translate that to faith in future things. My dad taught me to shoot. You could say I have sniper skills. I can’t prove that I will hit a distant target tomorrow, but I have plenty of experience that what you can’t see today, I can do tomorrow. Pop atheists have taught you to confuse faith with blind faith. They devalue honest language. I hope you are not so gullible.
@@ricksonora6656 That is true, but conversely, when someone or something has a consistent pattern of failure in all applications, every single time, rational minds learn pretty quickly to distrust it. Case in point: the Bible is full of historical and scientific errors and is dead-wrong about damn-near everything back to front in that regard, because the people who wrote it thousands of years ago simply didn't know any better. The way the Bible depicts the Earth in relation to the rest of the universe is _laughably_ wrong, and has been known to be wrong for *thousands of years.* And we're not talking about memories, are we (nevermind the fact that eyewitness testimony is the least reliable form of evidence)? We're not even talking about first hand written accounts. We're talking about bronze-age mythology which not only contradicts itself and contradicts the other books of the Bible, but we can prove many of those stories were adapted from older mythologies and religions.
@@ricksonora6656 And in both of your examples, you have actual evidence and prior experience to backup your trust in both of those things, which is why you don't need faith in either of those cases. But religion does require faith because it has neither evidence or testable accuracy. In other words, there's no way to distinguish any religious beliefs from something someone just made up.
I'm always late but, I learn and keep going . My JOY is becoming more abundant . The Peace is on the Rise Be Blessed as I know you are . Thank you for your on line classes . Your explainations are so much easier to understand with the back ups plus , I have a pause ,rewind , and replay to go with a new pair of OTC glasses ! Thank you Mr. WINGER .
I just want to say that I LOVE your channel. You are such a blessing to me with your desire to explain the Bible in a clear and unbiased way. Thanks for all you do. I would love to give to your mission if there is any way to do that. Please let me know!
_I needed to know what FAITH is_ Faith is believing whatever you _want_ to believe (typically, in religion, it's whatever you were taught to believe as a child), rather than what you have good reason to think is actually _true._ If you care about the truth of your beliefs, you'd be evidence-based, since evidence is how we distinguish reality from delusion and wishful-thinking. But when you _prefer_ delusion and wishful-thinking, that's where faith is useful.
@@Bill_Garthright Hey Bill, I do care about truth, that's why I'm here following Jesus who claimed to be 'the way, the TRUTH and the life.' Have you read the Bible? The Bible says "prove all things, hold fast to that which is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21. I appreciate your concern Bill, I hope it is genuine. If you're sincere, you will find the Bible to be true and you will find your freedom. (John 8:32) God bless you Bill! P.S. Did you watch the video?
@@Dazticmizo _I do care about truth_ I don't believe you. After all, there is _nothing_ - no matter how crazy no matter how silly, no matter how wrong - which could _not_ be justified by an appeal to faith. But you could demonstrate otherwise, if you wish. Just give me *one* piece of good evidence that your god actually exists or *one* piece of good evidence that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. (Your choice.) If you don't have even *one piece of good evidence* backing up your beliefs, then you clearly don't care about the truth.
@@Bill_Garthright Necropost here: Descarte is the furthest you can get without faith: “I think, therefore I am.” Faith in consistent meanings of words, faith in logic “making sense,” or being able to even trust your senses? All require some degree of faith. The problem is that faith varies by degree and conviction. This is why optical illusions work, right? You trust your eyes, but they can be deceived. You can check that with physical measurements, but that means you already trust your eyes. This is why “faith by works” is important. It distinguishes whether a person holds accountability between belief and actions. Ergo, “faith” is not self-defined, but _a collective composition of different forms of information._
I've come across your station recently and I just wanted you to know wow!!!! I honestly love how you make things so clear I feel like sometimes I ask God questions then I watch your videos and God makes the answers clear through you! I think you have a gift from God to really make complex issues understandable thankyou!!!!
Love most of your videos. The verses that make the biggest impact on my understanding of Biblical faith is John 20:30-31 where one of Jesus' disciples, who spent 3 years under his instruction and observing his behaviors wrote that the purpose of him (John) recording all these historical events was so the people would be persuaded to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. John himself seems to explicitly state that belief (faith) in Christ is founded on evidence, but one must take the last (reasonable) step to act on that evidence.
It clears a path for all of us who are too afraid to speak out on the " GOSPEL" but, how about asking & listening to their story then , telling them yours ! Wouldn't that that be a form of a heartfelt evidence , That your life has never been the same ? Not perfect ,but, Forgiven when you gave your sins ,your life over to Jesus and began this new life that led you right to them ? Pretty evident to me . Be Blessed !
Great info, Mike. I wanted to add a thought on Heb 11 that might help some to understand that reference to faith. First, verses from Hebrews really must be taken in context. So many verses, when taken out of context, seem to be totally contradictory to the rest of the New Testament. But when read and understood in context, perfectly dovetail with both the Old and New Testaments. Heb 11:1 can only be understood if you look at the continuing passage through the third verse of chapter 12. When the author says "faith is the evidence" he is talking about the exemplary faith of the Old Testament saints that the 1st century Jews held in such high esteem and that will be expounded on through chapter 11. They all had personal supernatural experiences with God that strengthened their faith in the promises of God that would not be fulfilled in their lifetimes. Most notably, of course, the work of the coming Messiah. Abraham was witness to the work of God in his life so much that, when God told him to sacrifice Isaac, he believed that Isaac would die and God would raise him from the dead. When the story unfolds and God does not allow Abraham to kill Isaac, Abraham understands that in the future God will provide a sacrifice and that sacrifice will be killed on the very mount that Abraham and Isaac had been directed to. All of the characters in chapter 11 had some sort of first-hand experience that grew their faith. Noah, whom you touched on, David, Elijah, Daniel, the 3 Jews who were thrown into the furnace but were unharmed and walked with one "like the son of God". The author mentions these and more to help the 1st century Jews understand that their faith could be strengthened by these, as mentioned in Heb 12:1, "great cloud of witnesses". The faith of the OT saints and the resulting prophetic word concerning the Messiah, because they were eyewitnesses to the reality of God's work, was evidence for the 1st century Jewish Christians to endure in their faith, even though they were facing persecution. The OT saints faith was looking forward to the Messiah. The author doesn't ask the NT Christians to have blind faith, nor to have faith in the OT saints, he urges them to have faith in the resurrected Messiah, their great High Priest and Savior. Their faith could be strengthened from the testimonies of both OT eyewitnesses and NT eyewitnesses, fulfilled prophecies, and the personal relationship with God that they could experience. We today have the same eyewitness accounts, fulfilled prophecies, and that personal relationship through the Holy Spirit. We most certainly don't have a blind faith.
I haven’t watched this video yet, but simply put to me faith firstly means a know-that-you-know-that-you-know that what the Bible says about Jesus Christ is true, then secondly actively applying that knowledge by trusting God to the extent of accepting the gift of God’s love, and thirdly continually growing in that knowledge through a living relationship with God through His Holy Spirit. It isn’t ‘blind’ faith as my heart clearly sees and knows the Truth. I’m leaving a lot of things out, but that’s basically it. By the way Mike, I truly appreciate your videos and I’m inspired by the passion you have for teaching, your love for God, your sense of humor and just overall how kind you are. Thank you!
Ok I watched a fair portion.. other than the evidence explained please have a look at what the Bible says about the ‘Story in the Stars’ i.e. the astronomical (NOT astrological) references. I have downloaded free planetarium software and tried to turn back the clock to 9 September 3BC to see if there is truth in what Joe Amaral and other say (e.g. the star of Bethlehem and the woman in Revelations being Virgo etc) but I haven’t been able to confirm if any of it is actually there. I’ve only started and hope to find some confirmation.
That's the thing... It isn't strictly empirical evidence, but it is still evidence. The problem is that one only can know it via introspection... And from testimony. But there is also the question of the 'nature of the world', which allows conclusions.
I didn’t feel that when the Holy Spirit entered me. I know He has but I didn’t know when until I looked back to when I gave my life to Christ. I didn’t feel the peace at first but as I have grown in Christ, I have felt it. Being a Christian has caused lots of trouble in my life because no other adult in my life is one but He is well worth any trouble my faith causes me. It’s His Spirit that makes me still desire a relationship with Him so much. ❤ And like I said, as I grow in Him, His Spirit comforts me and gives me peace.
Because you can feel it, correct? And when you feel something you know what it is, correct? Do you know what it feels like when you need to piss real bad? Then feel of me and see if I need to piss real bad.
@@jerrylong6238 don’t need to. The evidence will present itself. If you really gotta go, you will go. If you truly believe there is a God in heaven who loves you deeply, who will return one day to the earth in judgment of His creation, then you will live accordingly. The evidence will present itself. This was a bad illustration if your intention was to disprove this commenters point.
Strong emotional feelings are not evidence that the thoughts that trigger them are true. The Holy Spirit is another way of saying “trust your feelings,” which is a proven bad way to distinguish between imagination and reality.
I have faith because I trust in the testimony of scripture. I trust in the testimony of the scriptures because it was written by some of jesus's earliest followers like the apostles (Matthew and John) who saw and reported his miracles and fought for their testimony, and the students of the apostles (mark, luke) who faithfully wrote down what the eyewitnesses saw and never changed it. Almost all the apostles died martyrs! they were so changed by what they saw that they never cared about the threats. They never changed their message to please anyone, it would have been easy for John to have backed down and not put such an emphasis on Jesus' divinity, instead, he could have called him a prophet and pleased many. So for me, i believe because of the scriptures, the strength of their testimony is what really gives me faith, their account is evidence.
God is using you. Thankful I found you. I needed evidence. I started with Answers in Genesis-Scripture and science commingle - an open, searching mind is one that finds truth.
Re: Hebrews 11:1 I agree what you said about this passage. I cannot imagine treating any other study the way this is by many Christians. I would NEVER use a single sentence as the sum substance of something. You read the context, the chapter, the book. In Hebrews chapters 1-10 the author lays down God’s track record in the past. Moses was great, but what we have in Christ is so much greater and better. We should not develop amnesia as we transition to chapter 11. The Bible was not written to include every truth in every sentence. That would make it very awkward and convoluted. Instead it is like other writings where it relies on what was said before, so in essence Hebrews 11:1 is saying that God’s track record in the past gives us the confidence to trust him for the future. Thank you for your videos.
They heard God, believed God, and obeyed God. They weren't perfect by works of the law. They believed and followed imperfectly by Faith. Always the biblical example when faith is mentioned. Never is it described, defined, or exampled as believing with no evidence. Many people and groups try to redefine Faith, as other words as well. The bible gives it's own definition in the context and intent the author wrote it by Devine inspiration. Great video, as usual. God is good. ❤🔥 Hebrews 11 1Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. 2This is why the ancients were commended. 3By faith we understand that the universe was formed by God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. The Faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away.a For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. The Faith of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 15:1-7; Romans 4:1-12;Galatians 3:1-9; James 2:14-26) 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. 9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the opportune age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. 17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”b 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death. The Faith of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. 21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. 22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones. The Faith of Moses 23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict. 24By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. 26He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn. 29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow,c they were drowned. The Faith of Many 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. 31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient. 32And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and obtained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,34quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawed in two,d they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. 38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground. 39These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. 40God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.
_Never is it described, defined, or exampled as believing with no evidence._ Fine. Then please give me *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists, or *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. (Your choice.) I'm not trying to pick on you. Anyone can reply here. I've just noticed that religious people like to _claim_ that their faith is based on evidence (even when it's just based on the fairy tales they were taught to believe as children), but when I ask them to back up that claim with just *one* piece of good evidence,... they don't have any. Usually, they don't even _try._
I don't get on here to just argue. You'll find plenty of comments to do that on. I am not gonna take the time because there is evidence out there. If you really cared to see it you would seek the Truth objectively and evaluate the evidence. Instead your on here wanting to pick a fight. The reason you don't believe isn't a lack of facts. It's the hardeness of your heart. I hope you decide to objectively look into the facts and stop seeking to just fight and argue. Love ya❤🔥
@@nathanburgett1599 _there is evidence out there_ Yeah, that's what Christians keep telling me. Muslims, too. And Mormons. But when I ask them for just *one* example, just *one piece of good evidence* backing up their religious beliefs, they can't do it. It's easy to _claim_ that there's evidence. It's easy to make unsupported claims about _anything._ But why would I believe those claims without even *one piece of good evidence* that those claims are actually _true?_ _numerous 1st century eye witness testimonies_ Yeah? Name *one* - with details, please. Who was it? What did he say he saw? When did he say he saw it? When did he supposedly see whatever it was? And how do you know all of that? Of course, keep in mind that we have hundreds of cases of eyewitness testimony right _now_ of the resurrection of Elvis Presley. Hundreds of people have reported seeing him after he died. They're not all dead, and they're not all anonymous. You can even interview some of them, if you want. That's _real_ eyewitness testimony, something Christians would kill for (literally) in the case of Jesus. But it would still be pretty silly to think that Elvis is god, don't you think? Or even that Elvis really _was_ resurrected after death? I mean, it's eyewitness testimony, but is that really good enough evidence to believe that Elvis is god? I don't think so, myself.
I watched the Matt Dillahunty debate. Mike came in empty handed, unprepared, and with nothing in his ammunition to back up his corner. Matt took him to the cleaners.
I've been watching your videos for years. So it threw me off when you talked about Nez Perce and peyote. I was born and raised on the Nez Perce Reservation (still live there) and am Nez Perce also, Travis W. is one of my brothers, best friends. Lol..... small world.
Faith is accepting God's way and acting on that .It's not some superstitious hope .When you pray to God let him answer the prayer .you cant manipulate God with faith formulas .You have to have faith that God will answer in His time and way
The problem there, is that of course he doesn't answer prayers. For example tests have been carried out with some care, to see if prayer is at all effective, and it wasn't. So you could say god would know what was going on and wouldn't play ball! So all we have to do is look back historically at people that always get prayed for a lot, like kings and queens or popes and we see that they don't live longer or have less disease. Or take atheists like me for example, we can spend a lifetime pouring scorn on religion and never receive a prayer from anyone and have an equally great life. Prayer simply doesn't work!
@@_a.z yOUR REPLY saddens me .Your reply is vague and obscure . millions will tell you prayer does work and i can personally vouch for that .My prayer is you will come to your senses and receive Jesus as lord and saviour .Go well
@@johngerritsen908 Well fine! But why wouldn't I want to accept Allah or Vishnu or Thor? And why would I want to be like your chosen deity, his track record of murderous rampage would have me imprisoned for life if I did as he did!
Somebody should tell poor people starving in third world countries that their prayers will be answered soon enough. God is currently busy messing with empolyer's free wills so that Joe Shmoe can get that new job that he's prayed for, or messing with some surgeons free will in order to perform a successful surgery that someone's prayed for. But He'll get to their unimportant plights soon enough...you'll see.
6:12 I wouldn't feel like a fool for believing what God Almighty only because He told me to. It only bothers me that it leads to irreverence of the Almighty by unbelievers. Additionally, the Scriptures teach that faith IS the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So to me, it's built in that faith isn't without evidence. But I also don't mind at all referring folks to the only kind of "proof" that matters to them; I love this info too because it further confirms what I already am soul-certain of. PS: To begin w/, the text of the Bible is built-in of truth! Glory be to God in Christ Jesus!!! 🙏
With sincere curiosity why are there people commenting on a TH-cam channel about thinking biblically when they claim to not believe in Jesus or have any type of faith or religious beliefs? I’m thinking if I thought a topic was rubbish I would skip over it. There are some pretty heated discussions going on here for people that find this all to be make believe.
Holly Krauel- I also wonder that too. However, our God is mighty to save and He can use anyone through any circumstance to draw them to himself. Maybe not today, but seeds are planted. Hallelujah!
Holly Krauel If you thought a belief was harmful to society would you speak out against it? Answer hypothetically. I already know you will not answer my question correctly.
When people make outrageous claims when they are actually pretending to know what you do not know, and it can infect the minds of good people who are somewhat gullible, it is appropriate to challenge it. Read The Faith Virus by Darrel Rae. Faith is a sickness that the recipient thinks it is beneficial.
XxSage OneXx Personally I don’t really feel convicted to protest or speak out publicly against any ones belief system. I try to approach people with gentleness and love. Forcing an opinion only pushes people away. So unless specifically asked about my beliefs or advice I typically do not get very loud. I like peace and I like love. My initial question came out of genuine curiosity as to why people of different faiths or no faith would be interested in this channel because my entire life I’ve been in church and surrounded by like minded people. I’ve had periods of time where I have questioned my faith and why we believe the way we do and sometimes it just boils down to my upbringing when I cannot find another solid answer for myself. So you assumed I would answer incorrectly, which maybe I did, but I’m not sure there is a correct answer here. These are just my thoughts as ignorant as they may seem to some.
This seems like a good place to ask this. I saw a church you were a guest teacher at that explained some of Progressive Christianity. Where is a "study room" teaching on this? It is so very important to know the twists and subtleties of the undermining of The Word. Thanks!
When I first saw the Greatest Showman, at the very beginning of the movie there is an introduction song with a lyric "It's a preacher in the pulpit and your blind devotion" I immediately knew there was something askew about the songwriters. I did a little research and it turned out that one of them is gay. I found it strange that this lyric was in the song since when going through the song that lyric seems out of place. I see the term "blind devotion" or "blind faith" used when non-believers use when describing and mocking Christians. Even when I was a Roman Catholic I knew why I believed what I believed and when I changed over to the church I'm at now, I welcomed different points of view and I check it with scripture. I wish I caught this live stream, I would have mentioned "blind faith" and "blind devotion".
_Even when I was a Roman Catholic I knew why I believed what I believed_ Because you were taught to believe it as a child, you mean? Or are you implying that you actually had evidence that it's true? If it's the latter, I'd be very interested if you could provide *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists or, alternately, *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. (Your choice.) It's been my experience that Christians, like religious believers worldwide, typically just believe whatever they were taught to believe as children, before they even had the _capability_ of critical-thinking. That's what they really, really _want_ to believe, so they think of "feelings," for example, as evidence. Obviously, that's not true, since feelings are indistinguishable from delusion and wishful-thinking. So I'd be very interested if you had just *one* piece of good evidence backing up your current religious beliefs, whatever they are. I don't want a Gish Gallop of vague claims, but just an example of *one piece of good evidence,* please.
At around 28:32 I have a question. How do we, in this day and age recognize that it is faith, and not our own wishful thinking or hopes and dreams of the future?
@@stefanroche3052 It certainly draws from past habits, traditions and superstitions, but while science and rationality have proven their effectiveness, reliability and have improved the human condition immeasurably, faith-based beliefs have a perfect historical record of failure in all applications, _every single time,_ which proves that they're wrong.
You cannot change the past by censorship but I believe his video refuting Ravi where he throws is his books in the trash can is as much as he can do. God Bless Mrs. Rose
WEBSTERS: a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof clinging to the faith that her missing son would one day return (2) : complete trust 3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction especially : a system of religious beliefs
Mike Winger, I honestly do respect you for what you try to do. I am a young atheist living in Mississippi (I know alittle deep within the bible belt to be an atheist). I've seen a few of your videos and I also watched your debate against Matt dillahunty (of who I am a huge fan of). I try to watch and listen to both sides of the discussion just to get a better understanding of where everyone is coming from. Just wanted to give you a shout out from an atheist saying good work and keep up the discussion! With that being said I would like to make the point that providing evidence from the bible does not hold any weight until the validity of the bible and those events are proven first. So basically events from the bible cannot be used as evidence for your faith. I know you and matt touched on this, am wondering if your position has changed.
Hi Joseph! If you think you cannot use the Bible as evidence until you prove the validity of the Bible, why are you treating it differently from other historical sources? A written historical account (which is most of the Bible) is evidence in any historical evaluation. It´s not necessarily conclusive but it´s certainly evidence. If you have to prove an event before you can accept testimonies of it, you now have no history, since most historical events are based on testimony.
Thalente Mthiyane Surely if Jesus did perform those miracles he said he performed why is it bad for them to record it? You are saying you don’t believe in the historical documents of the New Testament because they contain magic but we are not just talking about any historical person here we are talking about someone who claimed to be God himself. If you already believe in God then it is not hard to believe that Jesus proved who he said he was by performing miracles which was written down in the gospels in order to record how Jesus was who he claimed he was. If there were no miracles in the New Testament then Jesus would just be an ordinary guy. But the gospel authors are trying to portray Jesus as God so surely they would have to record the miracles he did
Literally the definitions of faith: "complete trust or confidence in someone or something." "strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof."
When someone opens a new business they are hoping on a future success not yet seen, doesn’t mean that fact based research and market studies weren’t made before opening.
Using things in the bible to prove that faith isn't belief without evidence won't work, because skeptics believe that everything in the bible is fake so if you truly wanted to prove it you would have to use evidence from something that is not the bibel. I don't understand your thinking and how you believe using the bible proves anything
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (NIV) Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see (ERV) Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see (NLT) This says that the faith itself is the evidence. How bizarre!
@@_a.z Faith is based on evidence. Read Rom 9:17, the reason God raised Pharaoh was to let His name be known throughout the earth as evidence of the One thrue God. Luk 1:1-4 Shows how he based his believe in evidence and when directly to the eyewitnesses. There is a lot more passages that can be brought for about this topic.
It seems like some atheists say that what we assert as evidence is not evidence, therefore faith is not based on evidence. But faith, as defined by the Bible, is based on evidence. And strong faith, which many Christians have, is based on what we consider to be evidence.
How do you tell the difference between prophecy and a continuation of the stories, written with the old testament clearly in the minds of the new testament writers? Could you prove, for example that none of the new testament writers had ever seen the old testament? (I'm not expecting an answer so ignore this as usual.)
All of the authors of the New Testament where Jewish except Luke. Why would you think that thay did not know the Old Testament writings? The Apostle Paul was the writter of most of the New Testament. He was a Pharisee. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcisedon the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal,persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law,faultless. (Philippians 3:4-6) The Pharisee where know for being strict followers of the law. They took it even further and added a bunch of traditions that they followed also. I am not sure what you mean about prophesies and the continuation of a story. Can ypu give an example? I know that you are looking for Mike to answer this but I don't think he has time to read through every post. Most people don't have that kind of free time.
@@redeemedone8553 Clearly they knew the old testament, so anything that followed had to fit with the existing narrative. That's not prophecy and it doesn't take anyone of the slightest intelligence to realise. Mike may appear well versed in these matters but this is just another example of trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.
@@_a.z You are making statments and I have no idea what you are refering to. If you want to discuss somthing you need to clarify what you are talking about.
@@redeemedone8553 It's not rocket science! The new testament was based on the old. Christianity does not show signs of prophecy. Prophecy was Mike's main assertion to prove Christianity.
This was a big reason that it was so hard for me to come to Christ. I saw Christians say foolish things like this and as someone who is after truth; this immediately turned me off. Thankfully God worked a miracle in my life and men like Frank Turek helped me wrestle with what faith actually is.
LOL, i bet those 3 thumbs down are them spiritual troll trio who argued with everyone who was actually trying to pay attention to some life changing stuff here.
Excellent subject. This has needed to be tackled forever. It's always been an artificial definition that doesn't reflect the word how it's actually used in church theology or in scripture.
Are you saying that there _is_ evidence backing up your faith? _Good_ evidence? If so, I'd love to hear just *one piece* of it. Do you have *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists, or even *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened? I don't want a Gish Gallop of vague claims, but I'd love to hear *one* piece of good evidence backing up your religious beliefs, if you have any.
@@Bill_Garthright it's evidence for my faith not yours. Atheists seen to have a hard time understanding this. If I, after years of research, soul searching and critically thinking about something, assess the mountains of written evidence and arguments for or against something, find myself convinced and take the next step to make it personal, and upon doing so, actually experience something that cements it for me... that's evidence that contributes to MY faith, not yours. In a comments section I can't distill for you those years, those hundreds of thousands of words, those conversations, prayers and experiences. It's my experience and not yours. You're never going to have my experience. If you did you find have my faith (or at least something like it, like my personal doubts), and you don't. The OP I made is clear, it isn't a clarion call, a neon sign saying "I have all the answers". I don't claim to be able to satisfy your seemingly rather insincere query. That's not the point. The point us that it must be acknowledged that when someone describes something that isn't at all like blind faith, then the retort of blind faith is ill-fitting and no longer apropos or honest. Then and only then can the journey to understand one another begin. And it is indeed a journey, not the sort of short one liner you seem to want.
@@ravissary79 _I can't distill for you those years, those hundreds of thousands of words, those conversations, prayers and experiences._ OK. In other words, you _don't_ have even *one piece of good evidence* backing up your religious beliefs? Got it. Well, that's why I don't share them. After all, no amount of "words, conversations, prayers, or experiences" that aren't distinguishable from delusion and wishful-thinking would be convincing if you actually care about the _truth_ of your beliefs, as I do. Since I do care about the truth, I require evidence - good evidence.
@@Bill_Garthright "Oh you can't distill how we as a race developed quantum mechanics in a short pithy statement, lies it's all lies!" Your weird arbitrary demands aren't the subject. It's really disappointing that you didn't even bother to understand the answer. Many reasons that lead me to believe isn't the same as a single compelling reason you would find sufficient to believe. I thought about it for a while which is why I waited to respond and arrived at the fact that I had no idea what you'd find compelling, since your irrational snark is a pretty good indicator you won't find anything compelling no matter what it is. Again. A lifetime of knowledge can't be condensed into a TH-cam comment. It's a silly demand. Belief in God isn't the sort of thing that can be compellingly proven to a cynical person with any single point. It's quite impossible. I was nowhere near as cynical as you and still needed more than 1 proof.
I just see faith as trust. Faith isnt really limited to religion in my opinion. You can have faith in a person, have faith in yourself. You can have faith below reason (blind faith) or faith above reason which meens you have direct experience and now "you know". I think if someone really dives into the bible and goes deep into it.....the typology of Christ in the old testament and prophecy is enough to say you have faith because you have proof. Finally our inner being (emotional,mental, spiritual) perceptions and how prayer is answered by people, places and events is another reasons to have faith. I think that prayers that asks for inner spiritual strenght, wealth of virtues (Not gold or money) and support from God during trials or asking for help from God to refine ones self is ALWAYS answered. When your prayer is answered it is always in a way you never expected and large lenghts of time could be between the prayer and Gods intervention. God doesn't give us what we want but what we NEED spiritually. He NEVER promised an easy life for those who love and follow him. God NEVER promised good health and no suffering in this life. He promises only that he will give you the resources to get through it spiritually even if the flesh should parish. I think that every single tragedy, great sufferings in my life have been a gift. From my failings and humilations I have learned and ivolved spiritually and it is the worst times that cause many to seek God. So yes those beloved to the lord get suffering and humiliation because it refines you like gold in the furnace. Example: A person is addicted to drugs and cannot quite even if they want too. So in desparation cries out " please God I need help I am completely lost ". God sees the heart and knows if its legit. So he doesnt give him the willpower he makes his addiction go to the rock bottom end. The person loses everything but that finally makes them quit cause the pain is more than the pleasure. So that person is humiliated and completely brought low. Is that not proof which gives you faith (proof,trust) in Gods presence? People are asking what they want and have no clue what they need. So the atheist laugh and point out that prayer is 50/50 which is simply chance. The famous " you can pray to a molk cartoon and get the same odds of a yes".....is all because we ask the wrong stuff. We ask for carnal, physical, earthly things instead of spiritual things. Those who seek will find FAITH/PROOF.......thats how we get to the truths like the giants, creation instead of BLIND FAITH in evolution There is the scientific method and then there is SCIENTISM which is a religion. When science goes theoretical and not scientific method, when science starts to defend old ideas and not challenge the old conclusions the its BLING FAITH.
This is a good subject. The problem is too much meandering, in this video, in the beginning. No clear, quick, direct, communication to help someone who needs the info to address the negative definition of faith. If you have to go through the bible in a lengthy explanation, that's a fine lesson for a believer, but, not good help for someone who, in the moment, needs concise, short, quick, information in refute of the negative statement of faith. Non the less, I enjoyed the lesson, thank you.
The more sloppy their response, the less they analyze their faith, & thus the less likely they are to truly live a faith filled life in Jesus and His Cross... Few,, not many... Grow in grace and mature in the Spirit 🙏
The blood of six million Jews cannot save even one of us, but the precious Blood of One Jewish Messiah was able to save more than six million Christians around the World...
@@karl5722 _Because the blood of God is more valuable than the blood of humans._ But dragon blood is even _more_ valuable, don't you know? And don't even get me _started_ about how expensive magic leprechaun blood is! Wow, that will _really_ bust a budget! :)
There are mountains of hard scientific evidence for the Big Bang theory and Evolution. You have been GROSSLY misinformed. However, besides "The Bible Told Me So", Christianity has NONE!
Mike, I would love to see you have a "discussion" with pastor Cliff Knechtle over the definition / difference between the ideas of proof & evidence as Knechtle does not fully equate the two and still fully embraces the idea that there is very "reliable evidence" for the resurrection. He has also debated Matt Dillahunty before.
No...i most definitely mean a discussion....as opposed to a debate.I know they approach the use of those 2 words (proof & evidence) differently. I have great respect for both pastors Mike and Cliff but would love to see how they compliment our understanding in defending the faith. Also, I believe these two men would become fast friends.
I fully agree. I find that belief in God makes sense and behind it lies a certain process of reasoning and experience that also grows with time. I am thinking of 1 Corinthians 13 right now. Love also plays a big role, the more my love for God and people grows the easier it is to have faith. Now I think there is a tendency amongst some Christians to reject reasoning, a certain anti-intellectualism and hence they might say that one needs no evidence in order to believe. It might just be a certain arrogance against others who demand evidence.
_It might just be a certain arrogance against others who demand evidence._ I'm impressed that you're not that arrogant. Does that mean I could ask you for just *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists, then? Or, alternately, I'd be interested in *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. Your choice. I don't want a Gish Gallop of vague claims - neither of us has time for that, I suspect - but *one* piece of good evidence would be one more than I've got right now! :) Seriously, I'd be very interested if you - or any other theist - had even *one* piece of good evidence backing up your beliefs. Or, like the overwhelming majority of religious believers worldwide, do you just have faith in whatever you were taught to believe as a child?
I'm still confused that Mike talks about there being evidence for the Christian faith, but, then goes on to just quote scripture as being that evidence. Was his goal just to strengthen the faith of believers, or, to also reach out to nonbelievers? If it was to reach out to nonbelievers, then I am confused...the bible is lost on nonbelievers, so, I don't see how his evidence is supposed to work for them...
The point of the stream was rebuke and correct believers who say faith is blind and unsupported and to show that biblical, historical faith is not blind faith but evidential/experience based. Apollos faith was based on the messianic readings of torah, elijah competes to prove Yhwh is the one true god, etc.
@@timg5603 Right...but, nothing he said is going to help believers today, in defending/proving their faith to those who do not believe. For Elijah, God showed up. That's what the proof was...
...and BTW - I am a Christian, so, I hope people don't think that I am attacking Mike...I'm just asking a question about "evidence" for the Christian faith that might count as valid to the non believer when they try to say that evidence for the Christian faith is non existent. I didn't feel that Mike helped in this area at all.
@@Ancalagon-iu4uq no i understand man, and I hope you dont think im attacking you either. Like I said I dont think this video was meant to equip but rather to correct a false idea about what biblical faith is. I think mike has done enough videos for evidence for actual equipping that he doesnt need to repeat it all you know? :)
Eric Sagardia He is trying to bring credibility to the word faith when none is warranted. I have questioned a few people on here and they will not respond.
"I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world" John 17:6.... Isn't Jesus telling us the truth here? bc we do NOT have a single NT text w Jesus EVER mentioning the name "yahweh" nor the "tetragrammaton" ... and NOT A SINGLE CHRISTIAN would even KNOW the name Yahweh until well after the 11th century AD..... do we *_really_* want to profess that Jesus *_forgot_* to mention "Yahweh"?? Seems a strange profession of faith found in the Talmud has been unquestioningly shoved in the back door... "even the very elect" Mark 13:22 ... maybe something we ought to consider.
isn't faith evidence itself? The fact that you have faith is evidence that God is at work in you, you would not have faith if he was not at work in you. the atheist has it backward, and as such will never understand, that God requires faith and not evidence, so if you have hard and fast evidence then you would not need faith, True, but God has said "you must believe that I existe and reward those who seek me" if it were otherwise then faith would not be needed, and you would need evidence. Well Faith is evidence of God because the worldly man can not get or make faith on his own, so it must be given by God to man, and as such it is the evidence of God's work and his exsentis.
It is evidence that the God exists... it is just truly terrible evidence. If I have faith that Alah is God is that compelling evidence? What if I have faith that women are morally superior to men, is that good evidence that the claim is true? If faith is an unreliable way to get to truth in those examples, why is it different for your God belief?
"True, but God has said 'you must believe that I exist and reward those who seek me' " is your assertion. Now, do you have evidence that God actually said that? I'm going out on a limb and be extraordinarily skeptical that you have evidence of God saying that. It may be in your holy book, but that's not evidence.
@@xxsageonexx8910 is the evidence that you can not see the truth. And more importantly WILL not see it, till the day of judgement when you see the Lord on his throne, and at that time faith will do you no good, because the window of mercy is closed leaving only justice.
@@Kvothe3 this proves you do not understand what faith is, Faith is the evidence of the unseen, the substance hoped for. All that you have listed is what you can see, or think, not the evidence that God works in you. You see the flesh and the world, not who upholds it. If you had faith then you would see the results of it in you life, and sents you do not, then you dont have faith. Perhaps you should ask Why has God rejected you.
39:22 I think people are misunderstanding the difference between proof and evidence since they often get used interchangeably. I think there is strong evidence for what we believe as Christians but I don't think we have proof. I think the point in Matt 9:6 Jesus was making is that healing the man would provide evidence that he could forgive sins but there is no proof his sins were forgiven, just that he could walk. Faith is the bridge between the physical evidence we have (and there is lots of it) and the unproven spiritual reality we know by grace.
If your belief in faith is so strong, try this faith exercise, blindfold yourself and try and drive to or from work on faith alone - see how far you get.
roderick isaacs-That's exactly how Satan tempted Jesus. But Jesus didn't fall for his schemes and anyone in Christ will not fall for yours. "It is written, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God." Peace be with you my friend. "For those who have ears let them hear".
If you believe there was no creator and everything just came into existence without guidance or intelligence then just throw a bunch of pieces of metal in a pile and wait for it to turn into a car. And even that would have requiered you thinking to put the basic materials in place but I'll give you that headstart. Let me know what kind of car evolves and when it does I'll take your blindfold test with it.
@@j2mfp78 The old "tornado in the junkyard" type of argument? Seriously?! If you truly don't understand how that is logically flawed, please educate yourself about cosmology and psychics. What's next, the "watchmaker argument"?!
@@nonprogrediestregredi1711 I just like to use what is called the "whatever you say can and will be used against you " argument. If people want to have serious conversation I'm all up for it. But if they want to mock someone's position by simplifying it into a cheesey diatribe I can do that too. It works both ways?😀
@@j2mfp78 his position is pretty much that he smoked pot and listened to John Lennon one day and now he doesn't believe in God. Honest debate doesn't happen with this people.
Does anyone know the video where Mike talks about why it’s not bad to call himself or Christianity “religious” or a “religion”. I tried searching Bible thinker. Thanks!!
Mike, I really love your videos and channel. I used to listen to debates on Faith and I have come to the conclusion that when you are " set" and locked in on a belief , wether it be of GOD or no god, it is 99.9 percent chance of no persuasion. I see your future debate with the atheist as no difference. I won't be watching the debate but I do pray, that through you, HIS marvelous light will shine on the unbelievers who are watching. I pray that the skeptics light bulb does go off as you present your case for Christ.
_it is 99.9 percent chance of no persuasion_ I disagree. In America, at least, the vast majority of atheists were raised Christian. And many of those atheists were very _devout_ Christians, too. TH-cam is filled with atheist videos explaining their de-conversion, which was usually a result of wanting to know more about their own religion. Matt Dillahunty, for example, thought that God was calling him to be a pastor, so that's why he started studying his own religion. Paulogia was a creationist, active in youth ministry, and didn't become an atheist until his 30's. Seth Andrews was a fundamentalist and a Christian radio host for ten years. Genetically Modified Skeptic has only been an atheist for a few years. He's mentioned that most people who know him don't know he's an atheist, because he grew up in such a devout community, and he doesn't want his friends to think that he rejects _them._ I was raised Christian myself, but I was never devout. Indeed, I assume that I must have believed whatever I was told at _some_ young age, but I don't actually remember believing in 'God.' But there are many examples of very devout Christians who looked into their own religion, discovered the complete lack of evidence backing it up, and changed their mind. So I have to disagree with you. And note that, in my case, I don't believe in "no god." I just see no more reason to believe in gods than I do to believe in magic leprechauns. I keep asking Christians for just *one* piece of good evidence that their god actually exists or *one* piece of good evidence that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. So far, the complete lack of evidence keeps me an atheist.
@@Bill_Garthright I SEE your point. And I commend your honesty. But looking through the lens of the Holy Writ I can say that to be a "devout Christian" you have to have FAITH first and foremost( I'm not going to get into the biblical definition of FAITH at this time). But it also takes a perseverance as well. It takes an understanding of who God is according to the scriptures, not any more or less. When we start looking for a creator in the created, it's like a whale looking for the ocean. You can't find it. Many "disciples" left Jesus because he claimed to be the bread of life. This was AFTER the signs and wonders that he demonstrated. The scriptures say that the creation around us should be sufficient enough. The WORD of God tells me about and confirms the wickedness of the heart. And my own regenerated heart confirms the grace that was given. I believe today's world takes the scriptures but deny the power. They can see and relate, but do well enough on "their own" to do what is perfect, right, and acceptable will of God but still deny the giver of this life. I can go on but in any case, the scriptures reveal who is devout or not. It has nothing to do with looking for a sky genie by rubbing a bottle.
@@donaugustine9748 _to be a "devout Christian" you have to have FAITH first and foremost_ And what does that tell you? If you have to believe it (almost always because that's what you were taught to believe as a child) before you can believe it, what does that tell you? Is there _anything_ - no matter how crazy, no matter how silly, no matter how wrong - which could _not_ be justified by an appeal to faith? Faith is what you use when you don't care about the truth of your beliefs, but only about what you really, really _want_ to be true. If you cared about the truth, you'd be evidence-based. Evidence is how we distinguish reality from delusion and wishful-thinking. That's why scientists come to a worldwide consensus on issues, while the faith-based can't agree about even which god or gods exist, let alone about anything else. Heck, Christians can't even agree with _each other_ about much of anything, even when they're all supposedly following the same magic book supposedly provided to them by the same supposedly all-knowing deity! How could your god be the world's worst communicator? (By being imaginary?) And that's why I keep asking for just *one* piece of good evidence that your god actually exists or *one* piece of good evidence that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. So far, no Christian, no Muslim, no believer in any religion has had even *one* piece of good evidence that his faith is actually _true._ But they _all_ have faith. _the scriptures reveal who is devout or not_ The Quran reveals who is devout or not. There, do you accept that? The Bhagavad Gita reveals who is devout or not. The Book of Mormon reveals who is devout or not. If you don't buy any of those unsupported claims, why would you expect me to buy _your_ unsupported claim? Don't you have any evidence _at all?_ (Of course, even those Christians who would agree with your claim don't all agree about who those "devout" _are._ ) _we can add to your list plenty of skeptics that came to BELIEVE by studying_ Can we? Perhaps. Certainly, there are plenty of Christian apologists who _lie_ about that. Lee Strobel is one example. Could anyone read _The Case for Christ_ and still believe that he was actually telling the truth about being an atheist? Heh, heh. No one is that silly, are they? Or J. Warner Wallace, the self-described great investigator, who only 'investigates' by accepting, uncritically, the unsupported claims of one side of the debate, never even bothering to talk to anyone who disagrees? Clearly, both of those people are just making a good living selling what sells, don't you agree? These days, in the Christian community, it's apparently very popular to be a former atheist. There's a woman who writes a religious column in my local newspaper who says that she was an atheist until God came to her in church one Sunday. Yes, as an 'atheist,' she never missed church (the specific sect of the specific religion she'd been raised to believe as a child, of course). And as an 'atheist,' she had to take her kid to Sunday School every week, right? Heh, heh. She seems like a very nice woman, and I don't think she's deliberately lying. (If she was deliberately lying, she could do better than _that,_ don't you think?) But she clearly sees everything through god-goggles. And she's so very faith-based that whatever she _wants_ to be true is all she really cares about. She's trying to be a Christian author, and being a 'former atheist' is very popular among Christians, so she just... imagines whatever she likes. Our memories aren't very reliable, anyway. Still, I'm sure that there are _some_ people who were actually atheists and later became Christians. Almost all of those people had been raised Christian as children, of course, or at least surrounded by religious people, but I'm sure you could even find a few people who hadn't been. So what? That just disproves your own claim that "it is 99.9 percent chance of no persuasion," doesn't it? After all, _that's_ what I was disagreeing with. PS. Skepticism is apportioning your belief to the evidence. So I'd ask those so-called "skeptics" for just *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists or *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magical stories in the Bible actually happened. Just *one.* If they don't have even *one* piece of good evidence, then they might have been doubters, but they weren't skeptics in any real sense of the term.
@@Bill_Garthright you have to have FAITH first and foremost first to be a devout Christian. You have to have perseverance. I never said you have to (MAKE yourself) believe first. Making yourself believe first is not biblical Faith. I said there is plenty of evidence for one to BELIEVE. But like the whale looking for the ocean people just want more. They don't SEE what's laid out before them. Alot of followers left Jesus that day because of his claim. This was right after he fed 5000 with a loaf of bread and 2 fish. They came to him because he fed them. It didn't matter to them how they were fed. He said he was the bread of life and one must eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. (Please don't take that literally). The Holy Writ tells us so much about ourselves and the wicked selfish heart, The false teachers and prophets, The "angel of light" deception, The other spirits, other gospels, other "christ". Devout Christians don't base God off of experience or traditions of men. It is Soley off the word of God. So when I hear about other "religions", I'm fine with that because it is WRITTEN. When I hear other claims about people coming to God or have seen heaven or hell or whatever the case may be, I don't really care about that or get drawn in because I wasn't there.But when I read about the history and events of the Bible, I believe because I believe other things (seen)as well. It just makes sense to me. Logic and reason about a GOD. A creator of ALL. The fallen world in which we live. A God who is above all and in all. Who created us. Our selfishness and disobedience to the simplest laws. The unfailing love, mercy, and forgiveness. The unconditionally free love gift of grace. I can go on. But it starts with taking a look outside and wondering why. The light of the world and our hearts were revealed not by some psychiatrist or philosopher or thealogins. But by God. And when there is TRUTH there must be away to hide it. People come to different conclusions to the same evidence given. My 99.9 percent claim is based on the ones that are grounded no matter what evidence or lack thereof. Skeptics will be skeptics. Doubters will always be. Deceivers will come. Fakers who come and go with the wind. It's the unbelievers and believers who I'm talking about. You can't persuade them. It is WRITTEN. "Please stop saying Faith is believing without evidence."
Thanx for this video,I was thinking why alot of Christians would say its faith,believing like a child.but I keep finding evidence and found God with evidence.
You have faith that your car will turn on in the morning. You have faith that your shower will work. You can “have faith” for plenty of things that you can clearly see in the physical realm.
And faith has several definitions. If you simply Google "faith", you'll see the first definition pertains to what you asserted. The second definition, pertaining to the religious context, says "strong belief in god or the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof." There's quite a difference between the two definitions. It's a false equivalency fallacy to conflate the definitions.
@@nonprogrediestregredi1711 the first definition is the definition for faith which most closely corresponds to the word used for faith in the bible "pistis". The teaching of the bible is not "despite the evidence, believe" but the "there is ample evidence, so believe". So when a christian speaks about having faith in a religious context it should be assumed they mean it in this way, unless there is contextual evidence that they mean belief despite evidence. To assume that they are admitting an absence of evidence based on the connotations of one of the possible definitions of the word faith is disingenuous.
@@benlatham6802 So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're saying that the christian faith has ample evidence to justify a belief that the bible is true and accurate? Also, that the religious definition of faith is only applicable to other religions, just not christianity? If I'm correctly stating your assertions, please enlighten me to the ample evidence of the truth of the bible; particularly the supernatural/miracle claims that it makes, for I realize that some historical claims can be verified.
@@nonprogrediestregredi1711 yes, we have ample evidence to believe the bible. To your second point, not really - I'm saying that the "faith" upheld as virtuous in Christianity is not belief without evidence. I am not making any particular claims about whether other religions encourage belief without evidence. As for evidence for the miraculous happenings in the bible - I have heard many people tell of unexpected and and incredible things which have happened in their lives in keeping with what is in the bible (answered prayers and provision for needs, especially when seeking to obey God), and some who have told me of truly remarkable things, that can only be described as miraculous. My own life hasn't included any undeniably supernatural interventions - but there are many points of my journey which add evidence of God's guidance, provision, and protection. Would you like me to message you with a fuller answer on the evidence of God acting in my life and the people I know?
Opening statement: "Many people think that faith is belief without evidence." Conclusion at 1:00 . . "Faith is a trust in God" So you have substituted the word faith for trust. Nice work! I rest my case!
@@_a.z...Here is what he says starting at 0:05: OK many, many people mistakenly say that faith is quote belief without evidence nowI think this is a destasterious statement... Again, your claim of "Many people think that faith is belief without evidence." is never said. Plain and simple, you are proven wrong.
Not necessarily since evidence does not mean it has been accepted by everybody or even most people. Evidence is not proof though it is often confused with proof. For example there has always been evidence that the Earth is round and that it is flat and depending on what time period you lived in one set of evidence was more accepted and in some cases known than the other, but now that we have sent astronauts into orbit we have evidence verging on proof of the earth being round. (only evidence still because we still must trust a limited if growing number of individuals reports). The same goes for God what one accepts as evidence others reject regardless which position you take or the amount of evidence presented.
@@lukesteele4510 You got stuck on semantics but still managed to come to the actual point (and then omitting the point for some unknown reason). Clearly, as I was talking about a Nobel Prize, it means that the evidence provided has made us conclude that there exists a creator. Can the pwrson who made this video do that? (Or you for that matter?).
@@JWAM Since the topic of God is not a scientific topic no Nobel Prize in science could be awarded whether or not there is any evidence accepted by the scientific community, and I am unsure if there is a Nobel prize for philosophy but I don't think there is so no matter what evidence generally accepted scientific or otherwise really doesn't matter. I have found what Mike presents as evidence as insufficient but he does have some valid evidence. Yes I could present tangible evidence to support my belief, but whether others accept the evidence I present is still up to them. More to the point since the evidence that there is a God is not generally accepted it is very unlikely that a Nobel prize will ever be awarded especially since different people accept or reject evidence as they choose to regardless of the evidence veracity. The evidence for God is also complicated by lack of agreement on who or what he is. In addition if the Judeo / Christian God exists then there is also an adversary who actively works to limit or destroy any belief in that God or any other enabling the adversary greater latitude of action in our destruction.
@@lukesteele4510 You are gravely mistaken! The ONLY purpose of science is to make discoveries about our reality as we experience it. "No Nobel Prize could be awarded whether or not there is evidence to prove God", I agree to your verdict of that statement, but that is because the statement itself is irrational the way you formed it. Had you however stuck with the topic and stated "No Nobel Prize could be awarded if there was evidence to prove god", then that statement is clearly false. If we found out that there is an intelligent designer of the universe, then it means that we may have a window beyond the event horizon. It also sparks the need to reinvestigate other things in physics and the physical world that we may have missed. The award will be given in the field where the discovery was made, or a field in which the discovery makes a significant step forward. Why would you argue against this? The reason why there is no actual scientific field for, say, theologians is the same reason why there is no field for Harrypotterians. But this has nothing to do with "science not wanting to know if there is a creator / harry potter world". That would be huge! Just like finding Bigfoot (biology), dragons(biology,), visiting aliens (astrophysicists)or ghosts(phydics). Or ANY "supernatural" powers (physics).
@@JWAM One of the problems with finding evidence for God is that there are multiple definitions of God many of which indicate that he is immaterial what ever that means which if as I understand it means that he has no physical reality would be unproveable with science. Clearly I don't believe God is immaterial. As for what field of science we might give a Nobel prize for since it could very well be that God wrote or enacted the very laws upon which the Universe/Multiverse operates meaning he would be outside any scientific field we have. Of course by definition God is so far beyond us that we would only find what evidence he wants us to no matter how diligent science is. Since I believe our lives here are a test and part of that test is whether we will have faith in him without absolute knowledge He would only allow as much evidence as would make that faith reasonable without compelling us to believe. Thus there will never be enough scientific evidence for a Nobel prize on the matter. That means we have enough evidence to determine which concept of God is likely correct and with which we each may choose to have faith in him and that individually we can each reach a point where his existence and nature are indisputable even if in general it is not thus allowing each and everyone of us the option to choose not to believe and have faith in essence rejecting any real evidence that exists for what ever reason. I for one am in a position of being certain of the basic nature and existence of God as well a few other facts related to that knowledge beyond just believing it to be so. I am not yet at a point where I am always able to do what I know to be right so I am grateful for the Atonement and the opportunity for repentance it provides. If most others were to accept the evidence and had my certainty of the Existence of God there would be many Nobel prizes handed out belatedly and a much more united world in general resulting in far more harmony in the world and in individual lives. Sadly that is unlikely to happen any time soon, and only after things get potentially much worse in this world.
@@redeemedone8553 We were having this discussion and you haven't yet answered my point; if the writers of the new testament were aware of the old testament "prophecies", fulfilling them as a continuation of the narrative is not the same as a prophecy come true. Particularly in view of the enormous claims that are made by the supposed prophecies. This kind of storytelling happens all the time in religions and more conventional fictions.
@@redeemedone8553 OK so the Bible must be inerrant because it's the word of God and it must be the word of God because it claims to be. . . Circular reasoning!
I like to ask my atheist friends if they've ever flown on an airplane. When they say they have I asked them if they have met the pilot and seen his flight logs and seen his degree and seen his certifications after that I ask them about the co-pilot as well as everyone who worked on the plane - all of the mechanics and such. Then I ask why in the world they got on a plane without proof that it was safe.
You HOPE and have faith that the Pilate is not Pontius, but one who is a conscience pilot. The accuracy of this faith definition is perfect. Faith is the same as I hope so; indeed faith without evidence. It it is really another way of pretending to know what you do not know.
I've seen pilots before. They actually exist. In fact, there's an _abundance_ of evidence that pilots exist. Do you have even *one* piece of good evidence that your god actually exists?
Not nonsense. This is called context. The rest of Hebrews 11 talks about people who had faith, but their faith in what was unseen was based on their knowledge of God from what they had seen. Abel was commended for faith, and if Cain could speak with God (Genesis 4:6), it stands to reason that Abel could speak with God as well. So Abel's faith in God was not based on having no evidence...there was plenty of evidence for him. Noah had faith that God would send the flood because God literally told him that He would. This was faith in God's promise (which hadn't happened yet) based on Noah's faith in God's character, at least partially evidenced by the fact that God talked to him personally. Abraham believed that his people would one day inherit the land that would become Israel. Again, Abraham spoke to God and saw God personally. The point of Hebrews 11 is that these people believed in the promises that God gave to them. For the Christian, we believe that we will inherit eternal life, though we will not see the fulfillment of that promise until after we die. That faith is based on the evidence of God being true to His word throughout history.
I'm glad you have a problem with saying ""faith is belief without evidence". I agree with you. Will you please stop saying that water baptism is not necessary for salvation?
Every moment I breathe here on earth is evident enough. The sun, the moon, our entire galaxy, all these are proofs. If I were a scientist and fortunate to go out of space to see ⅓of what these guys have, I will be dumbfounded by the awesomeness of This Creator. Don't understand how a human will ever believe everything came out of nothing, when we can't even speak anything to life, not to talk of the sun, moon, Jupiter, EARTH!😱😱😱
The point atheist and others that say faith is gullibility is that belief is not proportional to the evidence. You may have evidence but it is not enough to warrant/justify belief. This one of the reasons many many believers claim personal revelation as part of their justification because they claim to have evidence for themselves to believe but it would not be evidence for others to believe. You can say faith means trust but you can point to why (the evidence that would support) you trust. If you can not point to the supporting evidence then it is unsupported belief. When someone tells me they have faith I take it to mean they can not back up their claims but believe for their own reasons whether they are justified or not.
no, there is evidence enough if you have really low standard of evidence. your short statement is already a begging the question logical fallacy. what is creation? how do you know that it is creation?
@@louiscyfer6944 Have you heard of the law of causality? It's basically the fundamental law of the reality we live in: every (natural) effect has a cause. Now, if there was no Creator then the cause would have to be natural, too (as in: the self-emerging universe would need to cause itself). Yet that is logically impossible. We know the universe had a beginning. Since naturalists cannot claim that matter popped out of nothing they have to take refuge in the "singularity" that somehow existed in eternity. The big bang is an effect though that requires a cause. An eternal singularity requires an equilibrium state. A change of this eternal state is impossible in naturalism. We'd still be a singularity.
@@friedrichrubinstein law of causality is not a scientific law. it is a philosophical concept, and we don't know that it would apply to something like the beginning of the universe. as far as what was before the big bang or how it started....we don't know. you are only proposing god of the gaps.
Hello I would like to make sure I understand this video correctly. If someone says "I believe God exists because I have faith" then they are not using the correct biblical definition of faith. You can't have trust in someone unless you already believe they exist. So if faith is trust than you can never use faith as a reason that God is real. Please correct me if I'm not getting it.
I’m late to the party and as a newbie to my faith, I can’t tell you how helpful I found this video. Thank you.
Welcome to the Family 🤗
The Lord is blessing this channel, Mike. Thanks for the videos.
“Reasons To Believe” is a group of Christian scientists who demonstrate that science helps to prove biblical claims. They introduced me to apologetics 😊.
That is called brainwashing.
Can you not see that by cherry picking your scientist based on faith to prove faith, you are literally corrupting your "investigation".
Please tell me Christians are smarter than this.
Thanks, I’ll check them out.
So do you believe in helping someone not fall off a cliff and die??
@hynefah is this Christian Scientists or Christian scientists?
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
It's talking about faith in certain things after you already believe in God. .It's not about the foundation of your beliefs !
@@julsshan good point. That passage is talking about how our faith in God, which should be grounded and tested, is then applied in a forward thinking manner toward the promises we've been given by God that we obtain in the future.
It's a relational thing. When you trust someone you take their past consistency and trustworthiness and then use that to accurately trust they'll keep doing or being what they've said they'll keep doing or being.
It's basic relational trust applied to how we think about the future. It's based on knowledge and proof, but is then used to anticipate things not yet seen.
@@julsshan
Exactly! The foundation of your beliefs is that you were taught to believe these things as a child, right? So _after_ you already believe, you have faith in that particular religion and that particular god or gods, because that's what you really _want_ to be true.
At least, that's the typical pattern. Obviously, I don't know you. But worldwide, religious people _overwhelmingly_ believe in whatever religion and whatever god or gods they were taught to believe as children. There are converts, in every direction (Muslims on TH-cam are always bragging about the Christians they've converted to Islam), but they're a tiny minority.
@@Bill_Garthright , well ..of coz I understand what you are talking about..And many many nominal Christians are there and they are Christians because they were taught this from childhood of coz..But that's not what really born again Christians are...It's impossible to have true faith in Christi unless you really have a revelation based on the evidences ..both objective and subjective. .That's what happened to me ))),Praise the Lord.I was brought up in family where all were atheists))) I never heard any kind of religious stories until the age of 14 as far as I remember. but still I was not an atheist still. I was searching for answers ..See its good to be a tabula rasa so to say with the mind which is open ...not indoctrinated already by certain beliefs from ur ancestors. Search was not long and at the age of 16 Jesus found me..For what I'm so thankful to Him!! God bless u!
@@julsshan I know, our belief is based off of an evidential Christian worldview. Hebrews 11 is speaking about our faith in the promises that this worldview offers. For e.g the resurrection can be proven by evidence, however we have to have faith in the promises that the resurrection gives us.
P Mike, you just saved my life! What I mean is this will help me tremendously in responding to an atheist relative, which I have just prepared a response to based on the notes I just took from the points in this video. My aim is to not attempt to convince or debate him, and this video literally answered my prayer for wisdom in how to respond.
mike is an idiot and he is dishonest. he left out when the atheists have explained why they use this definition. they are aware of hebrews 11, but this definition is based on observation of how christians use the word faith. when christians have evidence or good reason for what they believe, they will say that reason. they say they believe it on faith when they don't have evidence or good reason for their belief. mike uses in that very way. even the examples from the bible show this, as what he thinks is evidence is just an argument from ignorance fallacy.
@@louiscyfer6944 It may appear ignorant from your perspective, but the evidence is enough to convince me. The bottom line is always that everyone has to decide for themselves.
@@taratags4499 that means you have really poor standard of evidence. i guess yoh are not familiar with logic and logical fallacies. argument from ignorance is the name of a specific logical fallacy. would you believe in other gods based on the same evidence? say vishnu? have you read the mahabharata?
@@louiscyfer6944 yes I would believe in other gods if they didn't have counter evidence and had the same amount of evidence as Jesus
@@Bacon2000. what counter evidence? what evidence that demonstrates that jesus was god? i am all ears.
This is the answer to so many questions I've had and wondered why so many Christian friends would quote this scripture about their faith. Thank you so much Pastor for sharing your knowledge.
The teaching on Hebrews 11 is very helpful for our brothers and sisters! In fact, we should be glad when skeptics use this scripture to attempt to weaken the faith of Christians because it provides an opportunity to both explain that we do not follow Jesus without evidence, and a chance to use Biblical exegesis for a skeptic - which in my experience is rare (with atheist skeptics).
God bless and Thank you, Mike.
Hebrews 11 literally describes faith as belief in things which are not seen and have no actual evidence. Literally make-believe.
@@Eisenbison That’s shallow thinking. When someone has a pattern of reliability, his reliability is evidence that his forecast or promise will come to pass.
That someone could be yourself. If you’ve seen something for yourself and it no longer is happening, you now believe it by faith.
Example: I can’t prove that my dad took me hunting, but I trust my memory. My memory is evidence, and I have faith that my dad took me hunting.
Translate that to faith in future things. My dad taught me to shoot. You could say I have sniper skills. I can’t prove that I will hit a distant target tomorrow, but I have plenty of experience that what you can’t see today, I can do tomorrow.
Pop atheists have taught you to confuse faith with blind faith. They devalue honest language. I hope you are not so gullible.
Hebrews 11 “literally” does NOT say “and have no evidence.” Adding to what it says is either sloppy logic or dishonest.
@@ricksonora6656 That is true, but conversely, when someone or something has a consistent pattern of failure in all applications, every single time, rational minds learn pretty quickly to distrust it.
Case in point: the Bible is full of historical and scientific errors and is dead-wrong about damn-near everything back to front in that regard, because the people who wrote it thousands of years ago simply didn't know any better.
The way the Bible depicts the Earth in relation to the rest of the universe is _laughably_ wrong, and has been known to be wrong for *thousands of years.*
And we're not talking about memories, are we (nevermind the fact that eyewitness testimony is the least reliable form of evidence)? We're not even talking about first hand written accounts. We're talking about bronze-age mythology which not only contradicts itself and contradicts the other books of the Bible, but we can prove many of those stories were adapted from older mythologies and religions.
@@ricksonora6656 And in both of your examples, you have actual evidence and prior experience to backup your trust in both of those things, which is why you don't need faith in either of those cases.
But religion does require faith because it has neither evidence or testable accuracy. In other words, there's no way to distinguish any religious beliefs from something someone just made up.
I'm always late but, I learn and keep going . My JOY is becoming more abundant . The Peace is on the Rise Be Blessed as I know you are .
Thank you for your on line classes . Your explainations are so much easier to understand with the back ups plus , I have a pause ,rewind , and replay to go with a new pair of OTC glasses !
Thank you
Mr. WINGER .
Just discovered your channel and so thankful that I recieved a new perspective change and view on the topic.
I just want to say that I LOVE your channel. You are such a blessing to me with your desire to explain the Bible in a clear and unbiased way. Thanks for all you do. I would love to give to your mission if there is any way to do that. Please let me know!
Saved this one. I really enjoy Your break down.
This is just wonderful my Brother. Thank you so much and thank the Lord most of all for such teachings.
God bless you Mike.
God had been challenging me lately. I needed to know what FAITH is... and you answered some of my questions!
Thank you!
_I needed to know what FAITH is_
Faith is believing whatever you _want_ to believe (typically, in religion, it's whatever you were taught to believe as a child), rather than what you have good reason to think is actually _true._
If you care about the truth of your beliefs, you'd be evidence-based, since evidence is how we distinguish reality from delusion and wishful-thinking. But when you _prefer_ delusion and wishful-thinking, that's where faith is useful.
@@Bill_Garthright
Hey Bill,
I do care about truth, that's why I'm here following Jesus who claimed to be 'the way, the TRUTH and the life.' Have you read the Bible? The Bible says "prove all things, hold fast to that which is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21.
I appreciate your concern Bill, I hope it is genuine. If you're sincere, you will find the Bible to be true and you will find your freedom. (John 8:32)
God bless you Bill!
P.S. Did you watch the video?
@@Dazticmizo
_I do care about truth_
I don't believe you. After all, there is _nothing_ - no matter how crazy no matter how silly, no matter how wrong - which could _not_ be justified by an appeal to faith.
But you could demonstrate otherwise, if you wish. Just give me *one* piece of good evidence that your god actually exists or *one* piece of good evidence that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. (Your choice.)
If you don't have even *one piece of good evidence* backing up your beliefs, then you clearly don't care about the truth.
@@Bill_Garthright Necropost here:
Descarte is the furthest you can get without faith: “I think, therefore I am.”
Faith in consistent meanings of words, faith in logic “making sense,” or being able to even trust your senses?
All require some degree of faith. The problem is that faith varies by degree and conviction.
This is why optical illusions work, right? You trust your eyes, but they can be deceived. You can check that with physical measurements, but that means you already trust your eyes.
This is why “faith by works” is important. It distinguishes whether a person holds accountability between belief and actions.
Ergo, “faith” is not self-defined, but _a collective composition of different forms of information._
So excited about your upcoming debate!! Praying for you.
I've come across your station recently and I just wanted you to know wow!!!! I honestly love how you make things so clear I feel like sometimes I ask God questions then I watch your videos and God makes the answers clear through you! I think you have a gift from God to really make complex issues understandable thankyou!!!!
Love most of your videos. The verses that make the biggest impact on my understanding of Biblical faith is John 20:30-31 where one of Jesus' disciples, who spent 3 years under his instruction and observing his behaviors wrote that the purpose of him (John) recording all these historical events was so the people would be persuaded to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. John himself seems to explicitly state that belief (faith) in Christ is founded on evidence, but one must take the last (reasonable) step to act on that evidence.
Aww! I LOVE the kitty! Another great video and well constructed argument for having faith and just what it really means for us, as Christians. :)
It clears a path for all of us who are too afraid to speak out on the " GOSPEL" but, how about asking & listening to their story then , telling them yours ! Wouldn't that that be a form of a heartfelt evidence ,
That your life has never been the same ?
Not perfect ,but, Forgiven when you gave your sins ,your life over to Jesus and began this new life that led you right to them ?
Pretty evident to me .
Be Blessed !
Amen and amen
Thank you Mike for dividing Gods word in such grasious way ❤
Great info, Mike.
I wanted to add a thought on Heb 11 that might help some to understand that reference to faith. First, verses from Hebrews really must be taken in context. So many verses, when taken out of context, seem to be totally contradictory to the rest of the New Testament. But when read and understood in context, perfectly dovetail with both the Old and New Testaments. Heb 11:1 can only be understood if you look at the continuing passage through the third verse of chapter 12.
When the author says "faith is the evidence" he is talking about the exemplary faith of the Old Testament saints that the 1st century Jews held in such high esteem and that will be expounded on through chapter 11. They all had personal supernatural experiences with God that strengthened their faith in the promises of God that would not be fulfilled in their lifetimes. Most notably, of course, the work of the coming Messiah.
Abraham was witness to the work of God in his life so much that, when God told him to sacrifice Isaac, he believed that Isaac would die and God would raise him from the dead. When the story unfolds and God does not allow Abraham to kill Isaac, Abraham understands that in the future God will provide a sacrifice and that sacrifice will be killed on the very mount that Abraham and Isaac had been directed to.
All of the characters in chapter 11 had some sort of first-hand experience that grew their faith. Noah, whom you touched on, David, Elijah, Daniel, the 3 Jews who were thrown into the furnace but were unharmed and walked with one "like the son of God". The author mentions these and more to help the 1st century Jews understand that their faith could be strengthened by these, as mentioned in Heb 12:1, "great cloud of witnesses". The faith of the OT saints and the resulting prophetic word concerning the Messiah, because they were eyewitnesses to the reality of God's work, was evidence for the 1st century Jewish Christians to endure in their faith, even though they were facing persecution.
The OT saints faith was looking forward to the Messiah. The author doesn't ask the NT Christians to have blind faith, nor to have faith in the OT saints, he urges them to have faith in the resurrected Messiah, their great High Priest and Savior. Their faith could be strengthened from the testimonies of both OT eyewitnesses and NT eyewitnesses, fulfilled prophecies, and the personal relationship with God that they could experience.
We today have the same eyewitness accounts, fulfilled prophecies, and that personal relationship through the Holy Spirit. We most certainly don't have a blind faith.
I haven’t watched this video yet, but simply put to me faith firstly means a know-that-you-know-that-you-know that what the Bible says about Jesus Christ is true, then secondly actively applying that knowledge by trusting God to the extent of accepting the gift of God’s love, and thirdly continually growing in that knowledge through a living relationship with God through His Holy Spirit. It isn’t ‘blind’ faith as my heart clearly sees and knows the Truth.
I’m leaving a lot of things out, but that’s basically it.
By the way Mike, I truly appreciate your videos and I’m inspired by the passion you have for teaching, your love for God, your sense of humor and just overall how kind you are. Thank you!
Ok I watched a fair portion.. other than the evidence explained please have a look at what the Bible says about the ‘Story in the Stars’ i.e. the astronomical (NOT astrological) references.
I have downloaded free planetarium software and tried to turn back the clock to 9 September 3BC to see if there is truth in what Joe Amaral and other say (e.g. the star of Bethlehem and the woman in Revelations being Virgo etc) but I haven’t been able to confirm if any of it is actually there. I’ve only started and hope to find some confirmation.
Thank you
When the Holy Spirit enters your heart, you know it without a shadow of a doubt, it is the purest form of peace and joy you will ever receive.
That's the thing... It isn't strictly empirical evidence, but it is still evidence. The problem is that one only can know it via introspection... And from testimony. But there is also the question of the 'nature of the world', which allows conclusions.
I didn’t feel that when the Holy Spirit entered me. I know He has but I didn’t know when until I looked back to when I gave my life to Christ. I didn’t feel the peace at first but as I have grown in Christ, I have felt it. Being a Christian has caused lots of trouble in my life because no other adult in my life is one but He is well worth any trouble my faith causes me. It’s His Spirit that makes me still desire a relationship with Him so much. ❤ And like I said, as I grow in Him, His Spirit comforts me and gives me peace.
Because you can feel it, correct? And when you feel something you know what it is, correct? Do you know what it feels like when you need to piss real bad? Then feel of me and see if I need to piss real bad.
@@jerrylong6238 don’t need to. The evidence will present itself. If you really gotta go, you will go. If you truly believe there is a God in heaven who loves you deeply, who will return one day to the earth in judgment of His creation, then you will live accordingly. The evidence will present itself. This was a bad illustration if your intention was to disprove this commenters point.
Strong emotional feelings are not evidence that the thoughts that trigger them are true. The Holy Spirit is another way of saying “trust your feelings,” which is a proven bad way to distinguish between imagination and reality.
Thank you! Timeless wisdom and breakdown!
I have faith because I trust in the testimony of scripture. I trust in the testimony of the scriptures because it was written by some of jesus's earliest followers like the apostles (Matthew and John) who saw and reported his miracles and fought for their testimony, and the students of the apostles (mark, luke) who faithfully wrote down what the eyewitnesses saw and never changed it. Almost all the apostles died martyrs! they were so changed by what they saw that they never cared about the threats. They never changed their message to please anyone, it would have been easy for John to have backed down and not put such an emphasis on Jesus' divinity, instead, he could have called him a prophet and pleased many. So for me, i believe because of the scriptures, the strength of their testimony is what really gives me faith, their account is evidence.
That’s a very good point 🤌🏼🙌🏻
God is using you. Thankful I found you. I needed evidence. I started with Answers in Genesis-Scripture and science commingle - an open, searching mind is one that finds truth.
Mike thanks for your Work on this. Very Well done.
Re: Hebrews 11:1
I agree what you said about this passage. I cannot imagine treating any other study the way this is by many Christians. I would NEVER use a single sentence as the sum substance of something. You read the context, the chapter, the book. In Hebrews chapters 1-10 the author lays down God’s track record in the past. Moses was great, but what we have in Christ is so much greater and better. We should not develop amnesia as we transition to chapter 11. The Bible was not written to include every truth in every sentence. That would make it very awkward and convoluted. Instead it is like other writings where it relies on what was said before, so in essence Hebrews 11:1 is saying that God’s track record in the past gives us the confidence to trust him for the future.
Thank you for your videos.
They heard God, believed God, and obeyed God. They weren't perfect by works of the law. They believed and followed imperfectly by Faith. Always the biblical example when faith is mentioned. Never is it described, defined, or exampled as believing with no evidence. Many people and groups try to redefine Faith, as other words as well. The bible gives it's own definition in the context and intent the author wrote it by Devine inspiration. Great video, as usual. God is good. ❤🔥
Hebrews 11
1Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. 2This is why the ancients were commended.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed by God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
The Faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah
4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away.a For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
The Faith of Abraham and Sarah
(Genesis 15:1-7; Romans 4:1-12;Galatians 3:1-9; James 2:14-26)
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. 9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the opportune age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
14Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”b 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.
The Faith of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.
The Faith of Moses
23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict.
24By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. 26He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.
27By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.
29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow,c they were drowned.
The Faith of Many
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
32And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and obtained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,34quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37They were stoned, they were sawed in two,d they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. 38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. 40God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.
_Never is it described, defined, or exampled as believing with no evidence._
Fine. Then please give me *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists, or *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. (Your choice.)
I'm not trying to pick on you. Anyone can reply here. I've just noticed that religious people like to _claim_ that their faith is based on evidence (even when it's just based on the fairy tales they were taught to believe as children), but when I ask them to back up that claim with just *one* piece of good evidence,... they don't have any. Usually, they don't even _try._
I don't get on here to just argue. You'll find plenty of comments to do that on.
I am not gonna take the time because there is evidence out there. If you really cared to see it you would seek the Truth objectively and evaluate the evidence. Instead your on here wanting to pick a fight. The reason you don't believe isn't a lack of facts. It's the hardeness of your heart. I hope you decide to objectively look into the facts and stop seeking to just fight and argue. Love ya❤🔥
Mike has videos with evidence, numerous 1st century eye witness testimonies, there is no lack of facts out there.❤
@@nathanburgett1599
_there is evidence out there_
Yeah, that's what Christians keep telling me. Muslims, too. And Mormons. But when I ask them for just *one* example, just *one piece of good evidence* backing up their religious beliefs, they can't do it.
It's easy to _claim_ that there's evidence. It's easy to make unsupported claims about _anything._ But why would I believe those claims without even *one piece of good evidence* that those claims are actually _true?_
_numerous 1st century eye witness testimonies_
Yeah? Name *one* - with details, please. Who was it? What did he say he saw? When did he say he saw it? When did he supposedly see whatever it was? And how do you know all of that?
Of course, keep in mind that we have hundreds of cases of eyewitness testimony right _now_ of the resurrection of Elvis Presley. Hundreds of people have reported seeing him after he died. They're not all dead, and they're not all anonymous. You can even interview some of them, if you want. That's _real_ eyewitness testimony, something Christians would kill for (literally) in the case of Jesus.
But it would still be pretty silly to think that Elvis is god, don't you think? Or even that Elvis really _was_ resurrected after death? I mean, it's eyewitness testimony, but is that really good enough evidence to believe that Elvis is god? I don't think so, myself.
@@nathanburgett1599 You are not thinking.
I watched the Matt Dillahunty debate. Mike came in empty handed, unprepared, and with nothing in his ammunition to back up his corner. Matt took him to the cleaners.
I've been watching your videos for years. So it threw me off when you talked about Nez Perce and peyote. I was born and raised on the Nez Perce Reservation (still live there) and am Nez Perce also, Travis W. is one of my brothers, best friends. Lol..... small world.
You are such a blessing to all new born christians 🥺 God bless and protect you Mike!
Faith is accepting God's way and acting on that .It's not some superstitious hope .When you pray to God let him answer the prayer .you cant manipulate God with faith formulas .You have to have faith that God will answer in His time and way
The problem there, is that of course he doesn't answer prayers.
For example tests have been carried out with some care, to see if prayer is at all effective, and it wasn't.
So you could say god would know what was going on and wouldn't play ball! So all we have to do is look back historically at people that always get prayed for a lot, like kings and queens or popes and we see that they don't live longer or have less disease.
Or take atheists like me for example, we can spend a lifetime pouring scorn on religion and never receive a prayer from anyone and have an equally great life.
Prayer simply doesn't work!
@@_a.z yOUR REPLY saddens me .Your reply is vague and obscure . millions will tell you prayer does work and i can personally vouch for that .My prayer is you will come to your senses and receive Jesus as lord and saviour .Go well
@@johngerritsen908
Well fine! But why wouldn't I want to accept Allah or Vishnu or Thor?
And why would I want to be like your chosen deity, his track record of murderous rampage would have me imprisoned for life if I did as he did!
Somebody should tell poor people starving in third world countries that their prayers will be answered soon enough. God is currently busy messing with empolyer's free wills so that Joe Shmoe can get that new job that he's prayed for, or messing with some surgeons free will in order to perform a successful surgery that someone's prayed for. But He'll get to their unimportant plights soon enough...you'll see.
@@ligase75
Malthus knew the score!
Love having found you and your entire library
6:12
I wouldn't feel like a fool for believing what God Almighty only because He told me to.
It only bothers me that it leads to irreverence of the Almighty by unbelievers.
Additionally, the Scriptures teach that faith IS the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
So to me, it's built in that faith isn't without evidence.
But I also don't mind at all referring folks to the only kind of "proof" that matters to them; I love this info too because it further confirms what I already am soul-certain of. PS: To begin w/, the text of the Bible is built-in of truth!
Glory be to God in Christ Jesus!!! 🙏
We thank God for the wisdom and the insight God has given you to explain his truth God bless you
With sincere curiosity why are there people commenting on a TH-cam channel about thinking biblically when they claim to not believe in Jesus or have any type of faith or religious beliefs? I’m thinking if I thought a topic was rubbish I would skip over it. There are some pretty heated discussions going on here for people that find this all to be make believe.
Holly Krauel- I also wonder that too. However, our God is mighty to save and He can use anyone through any circumstance to draw them to himself. Maybe not today, but seeds are planted. Hallelujah!
@@yourloved3349 Amen Sister
Holly Krauel If you thought a belief was harmful to society would you speak out against it? Answer hypothetically.
I already know you will not answer my question correctly.
When people make outrageous claims when they are actually pretending to know what you do not know, and it can infect the minds of good people who are somewhat gullible, it is appropriate to challenge it. Read The Faith Virus by Darrel Rae. Faith is a sickness that the recipient thinks it is beneficial.
XxSage OneXx
Personally I don’t really feel convicted to protest or speak out publicly against any ones belief system. I try to approach people with gentleness and love. Forcing an opinion only pushes people away. So unless specifically asked about my beliefs or advice I typically do not get very loud. I like peace and I like love.
My initial question came out of genuine curiosity as to why people of different faiths or no faith would be interested in this channel because my entire life I’ve been in church and surrounded by like minded people. I’ve had periods of time where I have questioned my faith and why we believe the way we do and sometimes it just boils down to my upbringing when I cannot find another solid answer for myself. So you assumed I would answer incorrectly, which maybe I did, but I’m not sure there is a correct answer here. These are just my thoughts as ignorant as they may seem to some.
This seems like a good place to ask this. I saw a church you were a guest teacher at that explained some of Progressive Christianity. Where is a "study room" teaching on this? It is so very important to know the twists and subtleties of the undermining of The Word. Thanks!
When I first saw the Greatest Showman, at the very beginning of the movie there is an introduction song with a lyric "It's a preacher in the pulpit and your blind devotion" I immediately knew there was something askew about the songwriters. I did a little research and it turned out that one of them is gay. I found it strange that this lyric was in the song since when going through the song that lyric seems out of place. I see the term "blind devotion" or "blind faith" used when non-believers use when describing and mocking Christians. Even when I was a Roman Catholic I knew why I believed what I believed and when I changed over to the church I'm at now, I welcomed different points of view and I check it with scripture. I wish I caught this live stream, I would have mentioned "blind faith" and "blind devotion".
_Even when I was a Roman Catholic I knew why I believed what I believed_
Because you were taught to believe it as a child, you mean? Or are you implying that you actually had evidence that it's true?
If it's the latter, I'd be very interested if you could provide *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists or, alternately, *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. (Your choice.)
It's been my experience that Christians, like religious believers worldwide, typically just believe whatever they were taught to believe as children, before they even had the _capability_ of critical-thinking. That's what they really, really _want_ to believe, so they think of "feelings," for example, as evidence.
Obviously, that's not true, since feelings are indistinguishable from delusion and wishful-thinking. So I'd be very interested if you had just *one* piece of good evidence backing up your current religious beliefs, whatever they are. I don't want a Gish Gallop of vague claims, but just an example of *one piece of good evidence,* please.
At around 28:32 I have a question. How do we, in this day and age recognize that it is faith, and not our own wishful thinking or hopes and dreams of the future?
Thank you, Mike! I have felt a little guilty for 40 years for thinking faith should have evidence.
Then how is faith different than make-believe?
@@Eisenbison because it draws from past reliability and habit, at least with regards to Christians and the Bible.
@@stefanroche3052 It certainly draws from past habits, traditions and superstitions, but while science and rationality have proven their effectiveness, reliability and have improved the human condition immeasurably, faith-based beliefs have a perfect historical record of failure in all applications, _every single time,_ which proves that they're wrong.
@@Eisenbison could you specify which applications in particular they’ve failed in?
@@Eisenbison I know you typed all, which I think to be a pretty inaccurate and broad statement, but I could still understand it somewhat.
I admire your clarity and humility in teaching. May God bless you.
Great teaching as always Mike, but you might want to edit out your reference to Ravi Zacharias. Blessings.
You cannot change the past by censorship but I believe his video refuting Ravi where he throws is his books in the trash can is as much as he can do. God Bless Mrs. Rose
WEBSTERS:
a
(1)
: belief and trust in and loyalty to God
(2)
: belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b
(1)
: firm belief in something for which there is no proof
clinging to the faith that her missing son would one day return
(2)
: complete trust
3
: something that is believed especially with strong conviction
especially : a system of religious beliefs
Mike Winger, I honestly do respect you for what you try to do. I am a young atheist living in Mississippi (I know alittle deep within the bible belt to be an atheist). I've seen a few of your videos and I also watched your debate against Matt dillahunty (of who I am a huge fan of). I try to watch and listen to both sides of the discussion just to get a better understanding of where everyone is coming from. Just wanted to give you a shout out from an atheist saying good work and keep up the discussion!
With that being said I would like to make the point that providing evidence from the bible does not hold any weight until the validity of the bible and those events are proven first. So basically events from the bible cannot be used as evidence for your faith. I know you and matt touched on this, am wondering if your position has changed.
Joseph From an atheist point of view, how could the veracity of The Bible events be proven ?
Hi Joseph!
If you think you cannot use the Bible as evidence until you prove the validity of the Bible, why are you treating it differently from other historical sources?
A written historical account (which is most of the Bible) is evidence in any historical evaluation. It´s not necessarily conclusive but it´s certainly evidence.
If you have to prove an event before you can accept testimonies of it, you now have no history, since most historical events are based on testimony.
Not sure what makes the historical documents in the bible any less valid than any other historical source we have...
@@jaxup1985 all the magic claims.
Thalente Mthiyane Surely if Jesus did perform those miracles he said he performed why is it bad for them to record it? You are saying you don’t believe in the historical documents of the New Testament because they contain magic but we are not just talking about any historical person here we are talking about someone who claimed to be God himself. If you already believe in God then it is not hard to believe that Jesus proved who he said he was by performing miracles which was written down in the gospels in order to record how Jesus was who he claimed he was. If there were no miracles in the New Testament then Jesus would just be an ordinary guy. But the gospel authors are trying to portray Jesus as God so surely they would have to record the miracles he did
Literally the definitions of faith:
"complete trust or confidence in someone or something."
"strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof."
Every Christian should watch this.
When someone opens a new business they are hoping on a future success not yet seen, doesn’t mean that fact based research and market studies weren’t made before opening.
Using things in the bible to prove that faith isn't belief without evidence won't work, because skeptics believe that everything in the bible is fake so if you truly wanted to prove it you would have to use evidence from something that is not the bibel. I don't understand your thinking and how you believe using the bible proves anything
Why do people not believe Baptism is necessary for salvation.
Mark 16 verse 16
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (NIV)
Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see (ERV)
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see (NLT)
This says that the faith itself is the evidence. How bizarre!
Indeed, clearly faith isn't evidence, it is the opposite!
@@_a.z Faith is based on evidence.
Read Rom 9:17, the reason God raised Pharaoh was to let His name be known throughout the earth as evidence of the One thrue God.
Luk 1:1-4 Shows how he based his believe in evidence and when directly to the eyewitnesses.
There is a lot more passages that can be brought for about this topic.
@@joeysanx1
It's all incredibly weak considering the massive claims that are made!
@@_a.z How come it's incredible weak having in mind those are not the only passages? What its your biblical argument for such a claim?
@@joeysanx1
I'm always interested to know, what would you say is the best evidence for Christianity? I.e. the resurrection etc?
It seems like some atheists say that what we assert as evidence is not evidence, therefore faith is not based on evidence. But faith, as defined by the Bible, is based on evidence. And strong faith, which many Christians have, is based on what we consider to be evidence.
Mike, great video! But my OCD is lit. Your Taylor is sitting uncomfortably.
Josh Whitaker that’s ok. It’s my wife’s Taylor. :)
I love your channel brother, God bless you
How do you tell the difference between prophecy and a continuation of the stories, written with the old testament clearly in the minds of the new testament writers?
Could you prove, for example that none of the new testament writers had ever seen the old testament?
(I'm not expecting an answer so ignore this as usual.)
All of the authors of the New Testament where Jewish except Luke. Why would you think that thay did not know the Old Testament writings?
The Apostle Paul was the writter of most of the New Testament. He was a Pharisee.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcisedon the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal,persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law,faultless.
(Philippians 3:4-6)
The Pharisee where know for being strict followers of the law. They took it even further and added a bunch of traditions that they followed also.
I am not sure what you mean about prophesies and the continuation of a story. Can ypu give an example?
I know that you are looking for Mike to answer this but I don't think he has time to read through every post. Most people don't have that kind of free time.
@@redeemedone8553
Clearly they knew the old testament, so anything that followed had to fit with the existing narrative.
That's not prophecy and it doesn't take anyone of the slightest intelligence to realise.
Mike may appear well versed in these matters but this is just another example of trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.
@@_a.z You are making statments and I have no idea what you are refering to. If you want to discuss somthing you need to clarify what you are talking about.
@@redeemedone8553
It's not rocket science!
The new testament was based on the old.
Christianity does not show signs of prophecy. Prophecy was Mike's main assertion to prove Christianity.
@@_a.z Again what are you talking about? You have said nothing tangible.
This was a big reason that it was so hard for me to come to Christ. I saw Christians say foolish things like this and as someone who is after truth; this immediately turned me off. Thankfully God worked a miracle in my life and men like Frank Turek helped me wrestle with what faith actually is.
LOL, i bet those 3 thumbs down are them spiritual troll trio who argued with everyone who was actually trying to pay attention to some life changing stuff here.
Excellent subject. This has needed to be tackled forever. It's always been an artificial definition that doesn't reflect the word how it's actually used in church theology or in scripture.
Are you saying that there _is_ evidence backing up your faith? _Good_ evidence? If so, I'd love to hear just *one piece* of it.
Do you have *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists, or even *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened? I don't want a Gish Gallop of vague claims, but I'd love to hear *one* piece of good evidence backing up your religious beliefs, if you have any.
@@Bill_Garthright it's evidence for my faith not yours. Atheists seen to have a hard time understanding this. If I, after years of research, soul searching and critically thinking about something, assess the mountains of written evidence and arguments for or against something, find myself convinced and take the next step to make it personal, and upon doing so, actually experience something that cements it for me... that's evidence that contributes to MY faith, not yours.
In a comments section I can't distill for you those years, those hundreds of thousands of words, those conversations, prayers and experiences. It's my experience and not yours. You're never going to have my experience. If you did you find have my faith (or at least something like it, like my personal doubts), and you don't.
The OP I made is clear, it isn't a clarion call, a neon sign saying "I have all the answers". I don't claim to be able to satisfy your seemingly rather insincere query. That's not the point. The point us that it must be acknowledged that when someone describes something that isn't at all like blind faith, then the retort of blind faith is ill-fitting and no longer apropos or honest.
Then and only then can the journey to understand one another begin. And it is indeed a journey, not the sort of short one liner you seem to want.
@@ravissary79
_I can't distill for you those years, those hundreds of thousands of words, those conversations, prayers and experiences._
OK. In other words, you _don't_ have even *one piece of good evidence* backing up your religious beliefs? Got it. Well, that's why I don't share them.
After all, no amount of "words, conversations, prayers, or experiences" that aren't distinguishable from delusion and wishful-thinking would be convincing if you actually care about the _truth_ of your beliefs, as I do. Since I do care about the truth, I require evidence - good evidence.
@@Bill_Garthright "Oh you can't distill how we as a race developed quantum mechanics in a short pithy statement, lies it's all lies!"
Your weird arbitrary demands aren't the subject.
It's really disappointing that you didn't even bother to understand the answer. Many reasons that lead me to believe isn't the same as a single compelling reason you would find sufficient to believe.
I thought about it for a while which is why I waited to respond and arrived at the fact that I had no idea what you'd find compelling, since your irrational snark is a pretty good indicator you won't find anything compelling no matter what it is. Again. A lifetime of knowledge can't be condensed into a TH-cam comment. It's a silly demand. Belief in God isn't the sort of thing that can be compellingly proven to a cynical person with any single point. It's quite impossible. I was nowhere near as cynical as you and still needed more than 1 proof.
I just see faith as trust. Faith isnt really limited to religion in my opinion. You can have faith in a person, have faith in yourself. You can have faith below reason (blind faith) or faith above reason which meens you have direct experience and now "you know".
I think if someone really dives into the bible and goes deep into it.....the typology of Christ in the old testament and prophecy is enough to say you have faith because you have proof. Finally our inner being (emotional,mental, spiritual) perceptions and how prayer is answered by people, places and events is another reasons to have faith.
I think that prayers that asks for inner spiritual strenght, wealth of virtues (Not gold or money) and support from God during trials or asking for help from God to refine ones self is ALWAYS answered. When your prayer is answered it is always in a way you never expected and large lenghts of time could be between the prayer and Gods intervention. God doesn't give us what we want but what we NEED spiritually. He NEVER promised an easy life for those who love and follow him. God NEVER promised good health and no suffering in this life. He promises only that he will give you the resources to get through it spiritually even if the flesh should parish.
I think that every single tragedy, great sufferings in my life have been a gift. From my failings and humilations I have learned and ivolved spiritually and it is the worst times that cause many to seek God. So yes those beloved to the lord get suffering and humiliation because it refines you like gold in the furnace.
Example: A person is addicted to drugs and cannot quite even if they want too. So in desparation cries out " please God I need help I am completely lost ". God sees the heart and knows if its legit. So he doesnt give him the willpower he makes his addiction go to the rock bottom end. The person loses everything but that finally makes them quit cause the pain is more than the pleasure. So that person is humiliated and completely brought low.
Is that not proof which gives you faith (proof,trust) in Gods presence?
People are asking what they want and have no clue what they need. So the atheist laugh and point out that prayer is 50/50 which is simply chance. The famous " you can pray to a molk cartoon and get the same odds of a yes".....is all because we ask the wrong stuff. We ask for carnal, physical, earthly things instead of spiritual things.
Those who seek will find FAITH/PROOF.......thats how we get to the truths like the giants, creation instead of BLIND FAITH in evolution
There is the scientific method and then there is SCIENTISM which is a religion. When science goes theoretical and not scientific method, when science starts to defend old ideas and not challenge the old conclusions the its BLING FAITH.
This is a good subject. The problem is too much meandering, in this video, in the beginning. No clear, quick, direct, communication to help someone who needs the info to address the negative definition of faith. If you have to go through the bible in a lengthy explanation, that's a fine lesson for a believer, but, not good help for someone who, in the moment, needs concise, short, quick, information in refute of the negative statement of faith. Non the less, I enjoyed the lesson, thank you.
Hey Mike, is your last name German and pronounced 'Vinger' with a menacing tone? 😊 Great video by the way
That would be hilarious in a “Mwaa-ha-ha” sort of way 😆
last time I heard is that He's Irish
@ Robert Esquivel
It is "Finger" not "Vinger".
Greatings from Germany.
The more sloppy their response, the less they analyze their faith, & thus the less likely they are to truly live a faith filled life in Jesus and His Cross...
Few,, not many...
Grow in grace and mature in the Spirit 🙏
As the bibles wonders are timeless, so are its teachings. Thanks again for another great and helpful teaching Mike 🙏🙏
If you followed the teachings and laws of the Bible to the letter, you'd be a criminal in every country on this planet.
Wow I’m actually hyped for your debate with Matt dillahunty
The blood of six million Jews cannot save even one of us, but the precious Blood of One Jewish Messiah was able to save more than six million Christians around the World...
Dober Emet Team (נבחרת דבר אמת) 🤔 you are confused.
Yeah, this is a non sequitur.
Amen!
@@karl5722
_Because the blood of God is more valuable than the blood of humans._
But dragon blood is even _more_ valuable, don't you know? And don't even get me _started_ about how expensive magic leprechaun blood is! Wow, that will _really_ bust a budget! :)
just saying thanks again for making us smarter and well-rounded Christians.
If "faith" is the belief in something without evidence, then the big bang and evolution are faith based. (There's no evidence for either.)
Eye witness accounts of Christ. Saw all of what happened.
There are mountains of hard scientific evidence for the Big Bang theory and Evolution.
You have been GROSSLY misinformed.
However, besides "The Bible Told Me So", Christianity has NONE!
Mike, I would love to see you have a "discussion" with pastor Cliff Knechtle over the definition / difference between the ideas of proof & evidence as Knechtle does not fully equate the two and still fully embraces the idea that there is very "reliable evidence" for the resurrection. He has also debated Matt Dillahunty before.
By discussion between those marks, do you mean "argument"? Because that's not the manner of a Christian. God bless.
No...i most definitely mean a discussion....as opposed to a debate.I know they approach the use of those 2 words (proof & evidence) differently. I have great respect for both pastors Mike and Cliff but would love to see how they compliment our understanding in defending the faith. Also, I believe these two men would become fast friends.
Look up Professor John Lennox; he explains this well in debates and talks.
enjoy your channel so much, learning so much
My friend believes single celled organisms evolved over billions of years into the life forms we see today. He exercises faith.
Is there anything we don't believe using 'faith' then?
Have you LQQKed at his evidence?? No "evolutionary faith" needed if he has any.
I fully agree. I find that belief in God makes sense and behind it lies a certain process of reasoning and experience that also grows with time. I am thinking of 1 Corinthians 13 right now. Love also plays a big role, the more my love for God and people grows the easier it is to have faith.
Now I think there is a tendency amongst some Christians to reject reasoning, a certain anti-intellectualism and hence they might say that one needs no evidence in order to believe. It might just be a certain arrogance against others who demand evidence.
_It might just be a certain arrogance against others who demand evidence._
I'm impressed that you're not that arrogant. Does that mean I could ask you for just *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists, then? Or, alternately, I'd be interested in *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. Your choice.
I don't want a Gish Gallop of vague claims - neither of us has time for that, I suspect - but *one* piece of good evidence would be one more than I've got right now! :)
Seriously, I'd be very interested if you - or any other theist - had even *one* piece of good evidence backing up your beliefs. Or, like the overwhelming majority of religious believers worldwide, do you just have faith in whatever you were taught to believe as a child?
I think the cats are fine. They rule the internet anyways.
Amen
Thank you for the in depth study, WoW!!
I'm still confused that Mike talks about there being evidence for the Christian faith, but, then goes on to just quote scripture as being that evidence. Was his goal just to strengthen the faith of believers, or, to also reach out to nonbelievers? If it was to reach out to nonbelievers, then I am confused...the bible is lost on nonbelievers, so, I don't see how his evidence is supposed to work for them...
The point of the stream was rebuke and correct believers who say faith is blind and unsupported and to show that biblical, historical faith is not blind faith but evidential/experience based. Apollos faith was based on the messianic readings of torah, elijah competes to prove Yhwh is the one true god, etc.
@@timg5603
Right...but, nothing he said is going to help believers today, in defending/proving their faith to those who do not believe. For Elijah, God showed up. That's what the proof was...
...and BTW - I am a Christian, so, I hope people don't think that I am attacking Mike...I'm just asking a question about "evidence" for the Christian faith that might count as valid to the non believer when they try to say that evidence for the Christian faith is non existent. I didn't feel that Mike helped in this area at all.
@@Ancalagon-iu4uq no i understand man, and I hope you dont think im attacking you either. Like I said I dont think this video was meant to equip but rather to correct a false idea about what biblical faith is. I think mike has done enough videos for evidence for actual equipping that he doesnt need to repeat it all you know? :)
Eric Sagardia He is trying to bring credibility to the word faith when none is warranted. I have questioned a few people on here and they will not respond.
"I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world" John 17:6.... Isn't Jesus telling us the truth here?
bc we do NOT have a single NT text w Jesus EVER mentioning the name "yahweh" nor the "tetragrammaton" ... and NOT A SINGLE CHRISTIAN would even KNOW the name Yahweh until well after the 11th century AD..... do we *_really_* want to profess that Jesus *_forgot_* to mention "Yahweh"?? Seems a strange profession of faith found in the Talmud has been unquestioningly shoved in the back door... "even the very elect" Mark 13:22 ... maybe something we ought to consider.
Mike! You are getting ads to a Mormon website on your videos! Lol
Thank you so much I'm giving a lesson on this soon and this was a great resource.
isn't faith evidence itself? The fact that you have faith is evidence that God is at work in you, you would not have faith if he was not at work in you.
the atheist has it backward, and as such will never understand, that God requires faith and not evidence, so if you have hard and fast evidence then you would not need faith, True, but God has said "you must believe that I existe and reward those who seek me" if it were otherwise then faith would not be needed, and you would need evidence. Well Faith is evidence of God because the worldly man can not get or make faith on his own, so it must be given by God to man, and as such it is the evidence of God's work and his exsentis.
Delgen1951 It’s evidence that you have been brainwashed.
It is evidence that the God exists... it is just truly terrible evidence.
If I have faith that Alah is God is that compelling evidence? What if I have faith that women are morally superior to men, is that good evidence that the claim is true?
If faith is an unreliable way to get to truth in those examples, why is it different for your God belief?
"True, but God has said 'you must believe that I exist and reward those who seek me' " is your assertion. Now, do you have evidence that God actually said that? I'm going out on a limb and be extraordinarily skeptical that you have evidence of God saying that. It may be in your holy book, but that's not evidence.
@@xxsageonexx8910 is the evidence that you can not see the truth. And more importantly WILL not see it, till the day of judgement when you see the Lord on his throne, and at that time faith will do you no good, because the window of mercy is closed leaving only justice.
@@Kvothe3 this proves you do not understand what faith is, Faith is the evidence of the unseen, the substance hoped for. All that you have listed is what you can see, or think, not the evidence that God works in you. You see the flesh and the world, not who upholds it. If you had faith then you would see the results of it in you life, and sents you do not, then you dont have faith. Perhaps you should ask Why has God rejected you.
39:22 I think people are misunderstanding the difference between proof and evidence since they often get used interchangeably. I think there is strong evidence for what we believe as Christians but I don't think we have proof. I think the point in Matt 9:6 Jesus was making is that healing the man would provide evidence that he could forgive sins but there is no proof his sins were forgiven, just that he could walk. Faith is the bridge between the physical evidence we have (and there is lots of it) and the unproven spiritual reality we know by grace.
If your belief in faith is so strong, try this faith exercise, blindfold yourself and try and drive to or from work on faith alone - see how far you get.
roderick isaacs-That's exactly how Satan tempted Jesus. But Jesus didn't fall for his schemes and anyone in Christ will not fall for yours. "It is written, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God." Peace be with you my friend. "For those who have ears let them hear".
If you believe there was no creator and everything just came into existence without guidance or intelligence then just throw a bunch of pieces of metal in a pile and wait for it to turn into a car. And even that would have requiered you thinking to put the basic materials in place but I'll give you that headstart. Let me know what kind of car evolves and when it does I'll take your blindfold test with it.
@@j2mfp78 The old "tornado in the junkyard" type of argument? Seriously?! If you truly don't understand how that is logically flawed, please educate yourself about cosmology and psychics. What's next, the "watchmaker argument"?!
@@nonprogrediestregredi1711 I just like to use what is called the "whatever you say can and will be used against you " argument. If people want to have serious conversation I'm all up for it. But if they want to mock someone's position by simplifying it into a cheesey diatribe I can do that too. It works both ways?😀
@@j2mfp78 his position is pretty much that he smoked pot and listened to John Lennon one day and now he doesn't believe in God. Honest debate doesn't happen with this people.
Does anyone know the video where Mike talks about why it’s not bad to call himself or Christianity “religious” or a “religion”. I tried searching Bible thinker. Thanks!!
That kitty is cute but it would be way cuter if it was a doggy. 😜😄🥰
Mike,
I really love your videos and channel.
I used to listen to debates on Faith and I have come to the conclusion that when you are " set" and locked in on a belief , wether it be of GOD or no god, it is 99.9 percent chance of no persuasion. I see your future debate with the atheist as no difference. I won't be watching the debate but I do pray, that through you, HIS marvelous light will shine on the unbelievers who are watching. I pray that the skeptics light bulb does go off as you present your case for Christ.
_it is 99.9 percent chance of no persuasion_
I disagree. In America, at least, the vast majority of atheists were raised Christian. And many of those atheists were very _devout_ Christians, too. TH-cam is filled with atheist videos explaining their de-conversion, which was usually a result of wanting to know more about their own religion.
Matt Dillahunty, for example, thought that God was calling him to be a pastor, so that's why he started studying his own religion. Paulogia was a creationist, active in youth ministry, and didn't become an atheist until his 30's. Seth Andrews was a fundamentalist and a Christian radio host for ten years. Genetically Modified Skeptic has only been an atheist for a few years. He's mentioned that most people who know him don't know he's an atheist, because he grew up in such a devout community, and he doesn't want his friends to think that he rejects _them._
I was raised Christian myself, but I was never devout. Indeed, I assume that I must have believed whatever I was told at _some_ young age, but I don't actually remember believing in 'God.' But there are many examples of very devout Christians who looked into their own religion, discovered the complete lack of evidence backing it up, and changed their mind.
So I have to disagree with you. And note that, in my case, I don't believe in "no god." I just see no more reason to believe in gods than I do to believe in magic leprechauns. I keep asking Christians for just *one* piece of good evidence that their god actually exists or *one* piece of good evidence that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened. So far, the complete lack of evidence keeps me an atheist.
@@Bill_Garthright I SEE your point.
And I commend your honesty. But looking through the lens of the Holy Writ I can say that to be a "devout Christian" you have to have FAITH first and foremost( I'm not going to get into the biblical definition of FAITH at this time).
But it also takes a perseverance as well. It takes an understanding of who God is according to the scriptures, not any more or less.
When we start looking for a creator in the created, it's like a whale looking for the ocean.
You can't find it.
Many "disciples" left Jesus because he claimed to be the bread of life. This was AFTER the signs and wonders that he demonstrated.
The scriptures say that the creation around us should be sufficient enough. The WORD of God tells me about and confirms the wickedness of the heart. And my own regenerated heart confirms the grace that was given.
I believe today's world takes the scriptures but deny the power.
They can see and relate, but do well enough on "their own" to do what is perfect, right, and acceptable will of God but still deny the giver of this life.
I can go on but in any case, the scriptures reveal who is devout or not. It has nothing to do with looking for a sky genie by rubbing a bottle.
@@Bill_Garthright and we can add to your list plenty of skeptics that came to BELIEVE by studying.
@@donaugustine9748
_to be a "devout Christian" you have to have FAITH first and foremost_
And what does that tell you? If you have to believe it (almost always because that's what you were taught to believe as a child) before you can believe it, what does that tell you?
Is there _anything_ - no matter how crazy, no matter how silly, no matter how wrong - which could _not_ be justified by an appeal to faith? Faith is what you use when you don't care about the truth of your beliefs, but only about what you really, really _want_ to be true.
If you cared about the truth, you'd be evidence-based. Evidence is how we distinguish reality from delusion and wishful-thinking. That's why scientists come to a worldwide consensus on issues, while the faith-based can't agree about even which god or gods exist, let alone about anything else.
Heck, Christians can't even agree with _each other_ about much of anything, even when they're all supposedly following the same magic book supposedly provided to them by the same supposedly all-knowing deity! How could your god be the world's worst communicator? (By being imaginary?)
And that's why I keep asking for just *one* piece of good evidence that your god actually exists or *one* piece of good evidence that _any_ of the magic stories in the Bible actually happened.
So far, no Christian, no Muslim, no believer in any religion has had even *one* piece of good evidence that his faith is actually _true._ But they _all_ have faith.
_the scriptures reveal who is devout or not_
The Quran reveals who is devout or not. There, do you accept that?
The Bhagavad Gita reveals who is devout or not.
The Book of Mormon reveals who is devout or not.
If you don't buy any of those unsupported claims, why would you expect me to buy _your_ unsupported claim? Don't you have any evidence _at all?_ (Of course, even those Christians who would agree with your claim don't all agree about who those "devout" _are._ )
_we can add to your list plenty of skeptics that came to BELIEVE by studying_
Can we? Perhaps.
Certainly, there are plenty of Christian apologists who _lie_ about that. Lee Strobel is one example. Could anyone read _The Case for Christ_ and still believe that he was actually telling the truth about being an atheist? Heh, heh. No one is that silly, are they?
Or J. Warner Wallace, the self-described great investigator, who only 'investigates' by accepting, uncritically, the unsupported claims of one side of the debate, never even bothering to talk to anyone who disagrees? Clearly, both of those people are just making a good living selling what sells, don't you agree?
These days, in the Christian community, it's apparently very popular to be a former atheist. There's a woman who writes a religious column in my local newspaper who says that she was an atheist until God came to her in church one Sunday. Yes, as an 'atheist,' she never missed church (the specific sect of the specific religion she'd been raised to believe as a child, of course). And as an 'atheist,' she had to take her kid to Sunday School every week, right? Heh, heh.
She seems like a very nice woman, and I don't think she's deliberately lying. (If she was deliberately lying, she could do better than _that,_ don't you think?) But she clearly sees everything through god-goggles. And she's so very faith-based that whatever she _wants_ to be true is all she really cares about. She's trying to be a Christian author, and being a 'former atheist' is very popular among Christians, so she just... imagines whatever she likes. Our memories aren't very reliable, anyway.
Still, I'm sure that there are _some_ people who were actually atheists and later became Christians. Almost all of those people had been raised Christian as children, of course, or at least surrounded by religious people, but I'm sure you could even find a few people who hadn't been. So what? That just disproves your own claim that "it is 99.9 percent chance of no persuasion," doesn't it? After all, _that's_ what I was disagreeing with.
PS. Skepticism is apportioning your belief to the evidence. So I'd ask those so-called "skeptics" for just *one piece of good evidence* that your god actually exists or *one piece of good evidence* that _any_ of the magical stories in the Bible actually happened. Just *one.* If they don't have even *one* piece of good evidence, then they might have been doubters, but they weren't skeptics in any real sense of the term.
@@Bill_Garthright you have to have FAITH first and foremost first to be a devout Christian. You have to have perseverance. I never said you have to (MAKE yourself) believe first. Making yourself believe first is not biblical Faith. I said there is plenty of evidence for one to BELIEVE. But like the whale looking for the ocean people just want more. They don't SEE what's laid out before them. Alot of followers left Jesus that day because of his claim. This was right after he fed 5000 with a loaf of bread and 2 fish. They came to him because he fed them. It didn't matter to them how they were fed.
He said he was the bread of life and one must eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. (Please don't take that literally).
The Holy Writ tells us so much about ourselves and the wicked selfish heart, The false teachers and prophets, The "angel of light" deception, The other spirits, other gospels, other "christ".
Devout Christians don't base God off of experience or traditions of men. It is Soley off the word of God. So when I hear about other "religions", I'm fine with that because it is WRITTEN. When I hear other claims about people coming to God or have seen heaven or hell or whatever the case may be, I don't really care about that or get drawn in because I wasn't there.But when I read about the history and events of the Bible, I believe because I believe other things (seen)as well. It just makes sense to me. Logic and reason about a GOD. A creator of ALL. The fallen world in which we live. A God who is above all and in all. Who created us. Our selfishness and disobedience to the simplest laws. The unfailing love, mercy, and forgiveness.
The unconditionally free love gift of grace. I can go on. But it starts with taking a look outside and wondering why. The light of the world and our hearts were revealed not by some psychiatrist or philosopher or thealogins. But by God. And when there is TRUTH there must be away to hide it.
People come to different conclusions to the same evidence given.
My 99.9 percent claim is based on the ones that are grounded no matter what evidence or lack thereof. Skeptics will be skeptics.
Doubters will always be. Deceivers will come. Fakers who come and go with the wind. It's the unbelievers and believers who I'm talking about.
You can't persuade them. It is WRITTEN.
"Please stop saying Faith is believing without evidence."
I like your thumbnail on this one 😂
Thanx for this video,I was thinking why alot of Christians would say its faith,believing like a child.but I keep finding evidence and found God with evidence.
You have faith that your car will turn on in the morning. You have faith that your shower will work. You can “have faith” for plenty of things that you can clearly see in the physical realm.
No you don't you assume it's gonna come on you assume it's gonna start nothing at all to do with faith
And faith has several definitions. If you simply Google "faith", you'll see the first definition pertains to what you asserted. The second definition, pertaining to the religious context, says "strong belief in god or the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof." There's quite a difference between the two definitions. It's a false equivalency fallacy to conflate the definitions.
@@nonprogrediestregredi1711 the first definition is the definition for faith which most closely corresponds to the word used for faith in the bible "pistis". The teaching of the bible is not "despite the evidence, believe" but the "there is ample evidence, so believe". So when a christian speaks about having faith in a religious context it should be assumed they mean it in this way, unless there is contextual evidence that they mean belief despite evidence. To assume that they are admitting an absence of evidence based on the connotations of one of the possible definitions of the word faith is disingenuous.
@@benlatham6802 So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're saying that the christian faith has ample evidence to justify a belief that the bible is true and accurate? Also, that the religious definition of faith is only applicable to other religions, just not christianity? If I'm correctly stating your assertions, please enlighten me to the ample evidence of the truth of the bible; particularly the supernatural/miracle claims that it makes, for I realize that some historical claims can be verified.
@@nonprogrediestregredi1711 yes, we have ample evidence to believe the bible. To your second point, not really - I'm saying that the "faith" upheld as virtuous in Christianity is not belief without evidence. I am not making any particular claims about whether other religions encourage belief without evidence. As for evidence for the miraculous happenings in the bible - I have heard many people tell of unexpected and and incredible things which have happened in their lives in keeping with what is in the bible (answered prayers and provision for needs, especially when seeking to obey God), and some who have told me of truly remarkable things, that can only be described as miraculous. My own life hasn't included any undeniably supernatural interventions - but there are many points of my journey which add evidence of God's guidance, provision, and protection. Would you like me to message you with a fuller answer on the evidence of God acting in my life and the people I know?
Opening statement:
"Many people think that faith is belief without evidence."
Conclusion at 1:00 . .
"Faith is a trust in God"
So you have substituted the word faith for trust. Nice work!
I rest my case!
a. y..."Many people think that faith is belief without evidence." is never said..
@@wmthewyld
Except by Mike at the start of the video!
@@_a.z...Here is what he says starting at 0:05: OK many, many people mistakenly say that faith is quote belief without evidence nowI think this is a destasterious statement...
Again, your claim of "Many people think that faith is belief without evidence." is never said. Plain and simple, you are proven wrong.
@@wmthewyld
OK, my paraphrasing was spot on then?
@@_a.z...No, you have been proven wrong. Please face that fact. You misquoted, plain and simple, you liad.
Do you realize that if you had evidence for the existence of a god (yours or someone else's), a Nobel Prize is yours? Yes or No?
Not necessarily since evidence does not mean it has been accepted by everybody or even most people. Evidence is not proof though it is often confused with proof.
For example there has always been evidence that the Earth is round and that it is flat and depending on what time period you lived in one set of evidence was more accepted and in some cases known than the other, but now that we have sent astronauts into orbit we have evidence verging on proof of the earth being round. (only evidence still because we still must trust a limited if growing number of individuals reports).
The same goes for God what one accepts as evidence others reject regardless which position you take or the amount of evidence presented.
@@lukesteele4510 You got stuck on semantics but still managed to come to the actual point (and then omitting the point for some unknown reason). Clearly, as I was talking about a Nobel Prize, it means that the evidence provided has made us conclude that there exists a creator. Can the pwrson who made this video do that? (Or you for that matter?).
@@JWAM Since the topic of God is not a scientific topic no Nobel Prize in science could be awarded whether or not there is any evidence accepted by the scientific community, and I am unsure if there is a Nobel prize for philosophy but I don't think there is so no matter what evidence generally accepted scientific or otherwise really doesn't matter.
I have found what Mike presents as evidence as insufficient but he does have some valid evidence. Yes I could present tangible evidence to support my belief, but whether others accept the evidence I present is still up to them.
More to the point since the evidence that there is a God is not generally accepted it is very unlikely that a Nobel prize will ever be awarded especially since different people accept or reject evidence as they choose to regardless of the evidence veracity. The evidence for God is also complicated by lack of agreement on who or what he is. In addition if the Judeo / Christian God exists then there is also an adversary who actively works to limit or destroy any belief in that God or any other enabling the adversary greater latitude of action in our destruction.
@@lukesteele4510 You are gravely mistaken! The ONLY purpose of science is to make discoveries about our reality as we experience it. "No Nobel Prize could be awarded whether or not there is evidence to prove God", I agree to your verdict of that statement, but that is because the statement itself is irrational the way you formed it. Had you however stuck with the topic and stated "No Nobel Prize could be awarded if there was evidence to prove god", then that statement is clearly false. If we found out that there is an intelligent designer of the universe, then it means that we may have a window beyond the event horizon. It also sparks the need to reinvestigate other things in physics and the physical world that we may have missed. The award will be given in the field where the discovery was made, or a field in which the discovery makes a significant step forward. Why would you argue against this? The reason why there is no actual scientific field for, say, theologians is the same reason why there is no field for Harrypotterians. But this has nothing to do with "science not wanting to know if there is a creator / harry potter world". That would be huge! Just like finding Bigfoot (biology), dragons(biology,), visiting aliens (astrophysicists)or ghosts(phydics). Or ANY "supernatural" powers (physics).
@@JWAM One of the problems with finding evidence for God is that there are multiple definitions of God many of which indicate that he is immaterial what ever that means which if as I understand it means that he has no physical reality would be unproveable with science. Clearly I don't believe God is immaterial.
As for what field of science we might give a Nobel prize for since it could very well be that God wrote or enacted the very laws upon which the Universe/Multiverse operates meaning he would be outside any scientific field we have. Of course by definition God is so far beyond us that we would only find what evidence he wants us to no matter how diligent science is. Since I believe our lives here are a test and part of that test is whether we will have faith in him without absolute knowledge He would only allow as much evidence as would make that faith reasonable without compelling us to believe. Thus there will never be enough scientific evidence for a Nobel prize on the matter.
That means we have enough evidence to determine which concept of God is likely correct and with which we each may choose to have faith in him and that individually we can each reach a point where his existence and nature are indisputable even if in general it is not thus allowing each and everyone of us the option to choose not to believe and have faith in essence rejecting any real evidence that exists for what ever reason.
I for one am in a position of being certain of the basic nature and existence of God as well a few other facts related to that knowledge beyond just believing it to be so. I am not yet at a point where I am always able to do what I know to be right so I am grateful for the Atonement and the opportunity for repentance it provides.
If most others were to accept the evidence and had my certainty of the Existence of God there would be many Nobel prizes handed out belatedly and a much more united world in general resulting in far more harmony in the world and in individual lives.
Sadly that is unlikely to happen any time soon, and only after things get potentially much worse in this world.
Faith so grows, belief without proof also known as a "leap of faith "
I agree. The goal of the apologist should be to prove that The Faith is not nonsense and not more irrational than moral atheism.
Mike Winger - In brief:
"The Bible is evidence of the Bible!"
OK guys, enjoy your beliefs!
Yes, it is. Fulfilled prophesies are very good evidence that the bible is what it says it is.....The Word Of God.
@@redeemedone8553
We were having this discussion and you haven't yet answered my point; if the writers of the new testament were aware of the old testament "prophecies", fulfilling them as a continuation of the narrative is not the same as a prophecy come true. Particularly in view of the enormous claims that are made by the supposed prophecies.
This kind of storytelling happens all the time in religions and more conventional fictions.
@@redeemedone8553
OK so the Bible must be inerrant because it's the word of God and it must be the word of God because it claims to be.
. . Circular reasoning!
@@_a.z Are you claiming Jesus is a made up person?
@@redeemedone8553
Only the extreme claims
I like to ask my atheist friends if they've ever flown on an airplane. When they say they have I asked them if they have met the pilot and seen his flight logs and seen his degree and seen his certifications after that I ask them about the co-pilot as well as everyone who worked on the plane - all of the mechanics and such. Then I ask why in the world they got on a plane without proof that it was safe.
I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure I get your point?
OnceAgainICantSleep It’s another lame faith analogy.
You HOPE and have faith that the Pilate is not Pontius, but one who is a conscience pilot. The accuracy of this faith definition is perfect. Faith is the same as I hope so; indeed faith without evidence. It it is really another way of pretending to know what you do not know.
I've seen pilots before. They actually exist. In fact, there's an _abundance_ of evidence that pilots exist. Do you have even *one* piece of good evidence that your god actually exists?
what noncence is this , faith is belif without seeing , evidence is not in the scripture at all ,
Not nonsense. This is called context. The rest of Hebrews 11 talks about people who had faith, but their faith in what was unseen was based on their knowledge of God from what they had seen.
Abel was commended for faith, and if Cain could speak with God (Genesis 4:6), it stands to reason that Abel could speak with God as well. So Abel's faith in God was not based on having no evidence...there was plenty of evidence for him.
Noah had faith that God would send the flood because God literally told him that He would. This was faith in God's promise (which hadn't happened yet) based on Noah's faith in God's character, at least partially evidenced by the fact that God talked to him personally.
Abraham believed that his people would one day inherit the land that would become Israel. Again, Abraham spoke to God and saw God personally.
The point of Hebrews 11 is that these people believed in the promises that God gave to them. For the Christian, we believe that we will inherit eternal life, though we will not see the fulfillment of that promise until after we die. That faith is based on the evidence of God being true to His word throughout history.
I'm glad you have a problem with saying ""faith is belief without evidence". I agree with you. Will you please stop saying that water baptism is not necessary for salvation?
Every moment I breathe here on earth is evident enough.
The sun, the moon, our entire galaxy, all these are proofs.
If I were a scientist and fortunate to go out of space to see ⅓of what these guys have, I will be dumbfounded by the awesomeness of This Creator.
Don't understand how a human will ever believe everything came out of nothing, when we can't even speak anything to life, not to talk of the sun, moon, Jupiter, EARTH!😱😱😱
The point atheist and others that say faith is gullibility is that belief is not proportional to the evidence. You may have evidence but it is not enough to warrant/justify belief. This one of the reasons many many believers claim personal revelation as part of their justification because they claim to have evidence for themselves to believe but it would not be evidence for others to believe. You can say faith means trust but you can point to why (the evidence that would support) you trust. If you can not point to the supporting evidence then it is unsupported belief. When someone tells me they have faith I take it to mean they can not back up their claims but believe for their own reasons whether they are justified or not.
My search for God began with creation itself. There is evidance enough when your eyes are open.
no, there is evidence enough if you have really low standard of evidence. your short statement is already a begging the question logical fallacy. what is creation? how do you know that it is creation?
@@louiscyfer6944 The fact that a self-emergence of the universe is impossible is quite good evidence that there is a Creator.
@@friedrichrubinstein how did you determine that it is impossible?
@@louiscyfer6944 Have you heard of the law of causality? It's basically the fundamental law of the reality we live in: every (natural) effect has a cause. Now, if there was no Creator then the cause would have to be natural, too (as in: the self-emerging universe would need to cause itself). Yet that is logically impossible. We know the universe had a beginning. Since naturalists cannot claim that matter popped out of nothing they have to take refuge in the "singularity" that somehow existed in eternity. The big bang is an effect though that requires a cause. An eternal singularity requires an equilibrium state. A change of this eternal state is impossible in naturalism. We'd still be a singularity.
@@friedrichrubinstein law of causality is not a scientific law. it is a philosophical concept, and we don't know that it would apply to something like the beginning of the universe. as far as what was before the big bang or how it started....we don't know. you are only proposing god of the gaps.
i really enjoyed this apologetic definition of faith.
Thank you so much Mike..I just discovered your channel.. God bless you :))
Faith is belief without evidence.
One: Do you deny Jesus rose from the dead?
20july1944 One: I do not believe it. There is insufficient evidence and no reason to think it’s possible.
@@xxsageonexx8910 Then find my own thread addressed to Brian Stevens, PineCreek, Eagle Nutrients and any other atheists: (to avoid duplication)
There's not good evidence to believe jesus was a historical figure either.
Faith is the evidence of things unseen.
Hebrews 11:1, KJV, "Now faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report."
Hello I would like to make sure I understand this video correctly. If someone says "I believe God exists because I have faith" then they are not using the correct biblical definition of faith. You can't have trust in someone unless you already believe they exist. So if faith is trust than you can never use faith as a reason that God is real. Please correct me if I'm not getting it.