Can you believe anything? Why is one idea better than another? Why should one person’s view on any subject be more valid than another’s? These can be crippling questions to Christians who are confronted by a pan-religious world. They don’t need to be. The full question that we’re going to be addressing today is “I can believe what I want as long as I am sincere.”
Let’s approach the question in halves. First, can you believe what you want? If you know that something is false, and you still believe in it – that’s irrational. I don’t know that anyone really wants to believe a lie. If you did want to believe that lie – why? What is it about the truth that is scary? For example if I have a million dollars in the bank, but you don’t believe me, that doesn’t change my status at all.
The second half has to do with sincerity. We can talk about being sincerely wrong, but I think it has to do with faith and it’s definition. The writer to the Hebrews says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” There isn’t really any room for how faith is commonly used in our society. These days faith is a heroic, almost romantic trust in the impossible. You just gotta have it, even when there is no chance that it will happen. I think of different sporting events. In baseball there is the Rally Cap. American football has the Hail Mary pass.
Want to hear more including the portions of Scripture to use in answering this question? Watch this Sunday’s bible study in our series on apologetics – Not Sorry: I Can Believe What I Want as Long as I Am Sincere.
Please click HERE for the Bible class slides.