One problem for some people is a misunderstanding of the nature of proof.

The key is not a perfect or absolute certainty, as some believe, but a standard of proof that amounts to a moral certainty or puts the matter beyond a reasonable doubt.

This is the standard used in our courts of law historically. When a judge instructs a jury, he or she tells them to decide based on probability, not certainty; based on the evidence presented, not the certainty of having viewed the crime. If jury decisions were delayed until 100 percent certainty existed, no verdict would ever be rendered.

Everybody makes the decisions of life based on probability, not certainty. Decisions are based on a combination of faith related to fact. (i.e., flying in a plane, trusting that everyone obeys traffic signals, the doctor knows what he/she's doing, etc.)

Many people seem to demand absolute certainty in religious matters, when they don't apply the standard of absolute certainty to anything else of major importance. The skeptic cannot even be 100 percent certain of his belief, that "There is no God."

People do not stop making decisions because they cannot reach absolute certainty. A high standard of proof is needed, but not an unreasonable one, like the demand for 100 percent certainty.

Skepticism is, in fact, essential as the first step toward faith so long as it doesn't harden into pride or become a cloak for prejudice. And gullibility is no help to true faith but is actually its enemy.

Christianity claims a moral certainty, to anyone who is willing to take the evidence and weigh and evaluate it. Christianity claims an external verification through evidence, as well as an internal witness through God.

If we are finite beings and God is infinite, evidence and reason are naturally going to trail off at some point. There is only so much that our finite reasoning can comprehend.

It is at this point that faith takes the next step. And it is this step of faith that makes contact to that which is invisible to us.

But this faith must be based on reason and evidence that legitimately point the direction in which to go! Any religious system which demands faith in its teachings on the basis of its alleged authority rather than on the basis of hard evidence, and which is unwilling to allow its doctrines and claims to be examined freely by sincere, inquiring minds, should not be trusted!

->Evidence can point in the direction of the beach.

->Reason, based on the evidence, can persuade you to walk to the beach.

->But you, by the direction of your "will", must make a leap of Faith into the sea of the Living God.

To those outside the Christian faith, Christianity can be shown to rest on strong evidence and have a high degree of probability for its truth claims.

But when a person becomes a Christian, the "assurance" or "certainty" becomes a reality. Christianity from a "morally certain" standpoint becomes as undeniable as one's own existence.

As you will see within the context of this site, the evidence points towards the Christian faith.

Faith in Jesus is not a blind faith. It is not a leap in the dark, but rather, a leap into the Light.

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