Don Stewart :: Can an Intelligent Person Believe in God?

Yes. The Bible encourages people to put their faith in the God of Scripture. Unfortunately, many people equate faith with a blind leap in the dark or wishful thinking. But the faith that the Bible requires is intelligent faith. It is neither blind nor irrational. Biblical faith is a committing trust with an object (God) who is worthy of our faith. No one is asked to sacrifice their intellect when they put their faith in the God of the Bible.

Christian faith is based upon the solid foundation of what God has done in history. He has revealed Himself to humanity and this revelation is recorded in the Scriptures. The Bible tells us what God requires of us and that we are to respond to Him by faith. In doing so, we are not expected to stop thinking or to act irrationally.

Jesus emphasized that coming to God involves the mind as well as the heart and soul.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37).

The Apostle Paul told people to investigate the claims of Christianity to see if they were true.

Test all things; hold fast what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

The biblical writers encouraged people to investigate the Christian faith because they knew the events they recorded were true. Simon Peter showed that the New Testament writers were aware of the difference between mythology and fact.

For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty (2 Peter 1:16-17).

Since the New Testament writers were eyewitnesses to the events they recorded, they welcomed an honest investigation of the facts. Blind faith never was encouraged.

When Jesus had a conversation with one of the scribes, He equated intelligence with knowing God.

So when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God' (Mark 12:34).

An intelligent response from the scribe caused Jesus to say that the man was close to the kingdom of God. This is another indication that the Bible encourages people to use their minds when examining the evidence.

Only A Fool Rejects The God Of The Bible

It is only the fool that rejects the existence of the God of Scripture. The psalmist wrote.

The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1).

Summary

The God of the Bible does not expect people to act in faith toward Him unless that faith is an intelligent faith built upon the solid foundation of what He has done in history and what He has recorded in His Word. He urges us to think and to investigate His claims. In the Bible, we find intelligence equated with knowing the biblical God. Also foolishness is attributed to those who reject him. Therefore an intelligent person can and should believe in the God of the Bible.