The author of the book of Hebrews defined “faith” with these words: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11.1 – nasu). The words “assurance” and “conviction” indicate absolute confidence!

It was the late, C. S. Lewis, the renowned British defender of the faith, who astutely said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

Lewis was a great apologist (defender) of Christianity. His little book Mere Christianity is still a classic in its field and should be required reading for every Christian. But I wish intellectually honest skeptics would take the time to read it as well. The quotation above is one of my favorites, and I want to tell you why.

First, everyone who believes has his own reasons for believing in the existence of God, and in His Son, Jesus Christ. Some believe because they can’t remember when they never believed and it is as natural as breathing. Others believe because it seems morally wrong not to believe. Some others may believe because their parents handed down their faith to them.  None of these are necessarily bad reasons for believing. And for many us, their simple trust puts us to shame when we find ourselves needing more reasons to believe in God’s existence.

Second, atheism answers no questions, and just doesn’t make sense. Of course, they would argue that since there is no God, any arguments about cause and effect, the design that is inherently seen in the universe, aesthetics and the source of beauty, and the generally accepted moral values that are practiced in most cultures are all considered utter nonsense. Amazingly, however, evolution fails to answer even  the most basic questions concerning the origin of life, let alone sufficient to explain the above points.

Third,  faith in God and His Son satisfies the longing of man for meaning in a somewhat meaningless world. Because of our faith in God, most of our questions are answered, such as: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? Rule out God and morality is nothing more than a set of man-made rules for effective social interaction. Anything goes regardless if one is in the majority or minority. With faith in God, we can look death squarely in the face and know that it is not the victor. As Lewis says: because of our faith in Christianity we can see everything else. Or, in short, life makes sense. [-Adapted, BTW]