by Gary Lewis

Created on: January 21, 2009

Belief in anything without empirical data, without having first hand, personal, hands on with fingers touching, eyes seeing, ears hearing, concrete substantiated proof something exists, will exist, will happen or has happened is faith.

When someone puts "Christian" in front of faith they have inadvertently then distilled to the very essence what Christianity has always been, is now, and will be in the future. Total faith in the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), "because if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Holy Bible, Romans 10:9,RSV). Simple as that.

Jesus Christ was born, lived his life and was put to death over 2000 years ago. For people to hear the story of his life, death, and subsequent raising from the dead would sound fantastic. Nobody from now was alive then, without any proof except the words in the Holy Bible. Yet, new converts are being brought into Christian Churches daily because they believe, they have faith.

So many people have a need to believe in God, they hear the history and put their hopes in the redemption so that after they die they may inherit eternal life. " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Holy Bible, Hebrews 11:5 NKJV). They hear, they believe without ever having had first hand knowledge. The Holy Bible is a history lesson, answer to life problems, spiritual guide, and builder of faith. " So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17, NKJV) The word of God is the Holy Bible. It is the record of the interaction between mankind and God.

" Faith is not a matter of impressions, nor of probabilities, nor of appearances. Faith is the assurance that what God has said in his word is true, and that God will act according to what He has said in His Word." (George Muller)

Christian faith is also the conviction that a person can be healed of infirmities or diseases by the name of Jesus Christ. In the book of Luke there are many instances where people were healed of various infirmities such as bleeding disorders, blindness, and leprosy strictly on their belief that they will be healed. Many Christian churches today have prayer meetings expressly for healing the sick and many are healed by their faith. Still others believe that God being God is not held to one form of healing and that God will use doctors to promote wellness by instilling wisdom and knowledge for their specific malady so that they may be healed. Boils down to faith in the Almighty.

Learn more about this author, Gary Lewis.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.