Ignorant faith

In the end, all that’s really achieved by this view of faith is to prove to the world one more time that their worst stereotypes of Christians are true, that they live in a world of head-in-the-sand isolation, fantasy, irrationality, and denial. Not good.

Some people say, “Didn’t Jesus use the example of the little child as the model of true faith?” (Check out Matthew 18:2–3; Mark 10:15). At first, this might appear to support the view that lack of knowledge and understanding lies at the heart of simple faith, but what was the point of Jesus’ comparison? Was it really the ignorance of the child that he was praising? In light of all his teaching about faith, I think he was praising not ignorance, but the humility as well as the openness of the child to receive a gift freely and simply (Matthew 18:1–4).

A child, far more than an adult, knows how to receive a gift. I remember watching my daughters opening presents at Christmastime when they were younger. They would take the gift, tear off the wrapping paper with complete abandon, rip open the box as quickly as possible, then seize the thing inside with great joy. A child doesn’t say, “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” or “I can’t accept this!” or “Can’t I pay you something for this?” or any of the other silly remarks that stem from adult false humility. A child just loves receiving the gift.

I can’t think of any passage in the Gospels where Jesus says anything about separating faith from fact, reason, or knowledge. On the contrary, he speaks of acquiring as much knowledge as we possibly can about the journey of faith before embarking on it (Luke 14:25–33). Where does any New Testament writer show a grain of interest in the kind of faith that glorifies ignorance or stupidity? I remember a theologian who said something like this: Each of us has a moral obligation to be intelligent and knowledgeable about eternal matters; they’re just too important.