The most that evidence can provide is a high degree of probability. It cannot prove anything with certainty. With eternity at stake, the seeking soul looks for certainty. In Christianity, that certainty is provided by the Holy Spirit (Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990).
To those who believe, no evidence is needed; to those who do not, no evidence will be enough. This is because the question of whether or not to believe is a matter of the conscience first. Where the spirit goes, the mind will follow. If the spirit is in rebellion to the truth of God, then the mind will manufacture defenses and come up with objections that are reasonable on the surface, but which conflict with what the spirit knows is true but refuses to accept. But if the spirit is willing to embrace the truth, then the defenses of the mind will fall away and the light will drive out the darkness. This is why, occasionally, some who are the most intransigent will suddenly and without explanation convert; and it is also why no one can ever be argued into the Kingdom, since any atheist when confronted with a superior argument from reason will resort to being irrational rather than "give up the fight."
The most that evidence can provide is a high degree of probability. It cannot prove anything with certainty. With eternity at stake, the seeking soul looks for certainty. In Christianity, that certainty is provided by the Holy Spirit (Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990).
ReplyDeleteTo those who believe, no evidence is needed; to those who do not, no evidence will be enough. This is because the question of whether or not to believe is a matter of the conscience first. Where the spirit goes, the mind will follow. If the spirit is in rebellion to the truth of God, then the mind will manufacture defenses and come up with objections that are reasonable on the surface, but which conflict with what the spirit knows is true but refuses to accept. But if the spirit is willing to embrace the truth, then the defenses of the mind will fall away and the light will drive out the darkness. This is why, occasionally, some who are the most intransigent will suddenly and without explanation convert; and it is also why no one can ever be argued into the Kingdom, since any atheist when confronted with a superior argument from reason will resort to being irrational rather than "give up the fight."