Many skeptics claim that Christianity is a blind faith religion. That is, it’s simply a leap in the dark and requires no intellect. If you care to place a name on this claim, it’s called the God of the gaps theory, which basically says any gaps in scientific knowledge is evidence for the existence of God. For example, I would imagine most skeptics believe in the Big Bang Theory (not to be confused with the hilarious TV show). To this day, scientists cannot adequately explain what might’ve cause this “big bang”; so, skeptics says, theists throw God into that gap and say that’s proof that God exists. He created that bang!

My point here is not to debate the God of the gaps theory or whether God caused the Big Bang—who knows! My goal in this post is to explain that Christianity is not a blind-faith religion. It is absolutely an intellectual religion. Christianity isn’t something you hold to without reason. It’s not something that can be affirmed without understanding.

Granted, there are many self-professing Christians who do this. They believe in Christianity because their parents were Christians or because they grew up in the Bible Belt—neither of which make you a Christian. The Christian faith is not inherited; it is most certainly not something you just “catch on to” because where you live. It’s not something that simply happens to you because of your demographic. Nobody is born a Christian. It is a supernatural religion.

With that said, to be a Christian—to place your faith or trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ—you must first understand who Jesus is. God isn’t overly concerned with if you believe in Him, but rather if you believe Him. He is looking for trust, like you’d trust a parachute.

If I say I believe in Jesus, yet couldn’t tell you anything about Him, it’s safe to say that my “faith” is truly blind. Which, of course, you could argue is no faith at all. I am trusting Christ just because—even though I couldn’t tell you who He is, what He’s like, or something else about Him. Even the most mysterious aspects of the Christian faith—say . . . how God exists in three Persons—don’t require blind faith even though we can’t comprehend it. Why is that? It’s because we are trusting in the character and revelation of God. Our trust in the triune God is not blind because we have good reason to believe Him. He has spoken to us in His Word–the Bible.

We don’t trust God willy-nilly. A willy-nilly trust in God is no trust at all because, eventually, life comes your way and that “trust” will be wrecked and will reveal you never had faith. A faith that is pleasing to Him is served up on the platter of knowledge. God wants us to use our minds. You don’t throw your intellect out the window when you are born again—you’re actually about to use it all the more!

On the other hand, though, Christianity is not merely an intellectual exercise. Knowledge of God does not equate with salvation in God. People can know many things about God and still hate Him with all their heart. This is why God wants us to be like little children and have child-like faith. He doesn’t want us throwing away our brains but He also doesn’t want us to lose the wonder and awe of the glory of God. There’s a balance to strike.

Friends, there is always going to be some degree of mystery to our faith because we serve a God who He is transcendent and holy. However, this does not mean we serve our God blindly. He has revealed Himself plainly in His creation and special revelation, that is the Bible.

Faith requires, first and foremost, us to know the object of that faith. Again, He doesn’t want our mere intellect assent. He wants our faith and trust. But we cannot trust Him if we don’t know Him.

Faith requires knowledge. Get to know Him. Place your faith in Him. He’s trustworthy.