Some people ask questions about Christianity like "Can a person with independent thinking believe?" "Do people with faith lack independence of thought?" and "Will Christianity affect one's independent thought?" The answer for some is "From a Biblical perspective, faith is knowing the one whom we trust, while blind faith is not."
A Christian website, www.ai-wen.net, once used Proverbs 9:10 to answer these questions about Christianity and free thought. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." This passage proves that believing in God isn't at odds with independent thought.
"God didn't make us fools. He gave us logic for a purpose," Pastor Liang Zhiyong from a church in Henan once said.
First, while the Bible encourages Christians to have a clear understanding of their faith, it is fully against blind faith. "Faith acknowledges the limitations of our senses, but it doesn't reject them. Biblical faith is not blind faith. Faith comes from where our thinking cannot go, while blind faith is logic without thought," according to the website article.
Second, independent thinking without a standpoint or value basis can become a slave to many theories, which results in different and conflicting ideas. Christianity, on the other hand, gives people a complete worldview, helps with independent thinking, and criticizes different ideological thoughts. As G.K. Chesterton often said, "When a man stops believing in God, he doesn't believe in nothing, but in anything."
Finally, people are all corrupted, so Christians should guard themselves against blind belief in people or authorities, including sermons, government propaganda, lectures by professors, philosophical theories, etc. This will inevitably force Christians to commit to reflection and independent thought.
Translated by: Grace Hubl
