This meme, helpfully supplied by an atheist faith community, left me puzzled.
The viewpoint, from the creator of the animated TV shows Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show, sets up an adversarial relationship between faith and knowledge.
So let’s ask the question: are faith and knowledge compatible? Does one have to “win” over the other?
Consider the words from thoughtful people of faith:
Blogger Tom Gilson (ThinkingChristian.net) says “belief doesn’t arrive out of thin air, or wishful thinking, or fear, or hopefulness, or (especially) pretending. There is a strong knowledge connection there.”
The website BibleAsk.org goes even further, stating “There is no such thing as ‘blind’ faith. Genuine faith is built on facts presented to the mind. Faith and knowledge are never in contradiction. Knowledge always comes before faith, and where there is no knowledge there can be no faith. Without knowledge, it is impossible to have faith.”
The point here is that thoughtful followers of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God) have no interest in the either-or relationship between faith and knowledge advanced by Seth MacFarlane and others. And they’re backed up by the ancient writers and prophets. Chew on these examples:
- Wise people want to learn more, so they listen closely to gain knowledge.
- Intelligent people want more knowledge, but fools only want more nonsense.
- Drinking from the beautiful chalice of knowledge is better than adorning oneself with gold and rare gems.
Most Jesus followers take these words seriously. In fact, some of those Jesus followers, like author and geneticist Francis S. Collins, are among the most knowledgeable in the world and they work to advance knowledge, not hinder it. You can read about just a few of these people here: https://wp.me/p2wzRb-3o.
So that’s the good news. You can accept God’s gift of His Son — whose sacrificial death and amazing resurrection makes up for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do — and also advance the cause of knowledge. Both are utterly, beautifully compatible.
Interesting in knowing more about Jesus and how He can make you into the person God intends you to be? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
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