It’s Hard to Believe: Faith and Physics

Born in 1564, Galileo understood the way God had created the world even though other scholars were teaching that the sun rotated around the earth. Galileo knew the opposite was true. The church refused to accept this change, but scientists continued to make discoveries for centuries based on his work.

Galileo’s understanding of the principles of gravity and mathematics far exceeded that of anyone else in his day. The most interesting part about his discovery and understanding of gravity is that it couldn’t be proved with visual confirmation until hundreds of years later. Still, scientists trusted Galileo’s math and built upon his scientific theories.

(Check out this video of astronauts on the moon confirming Galileo’s gravity theory.)

It took great faith and conviction for Galileo to stand by his theories.

Hebrews 11:1–3 (NIV) says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

Faith takes belief without sight, requiring that logic be replaced with trust that God is who he says he is, that his character is consistent, and that he is always good. Second Corinthians 5:6–7 (NIV) says, “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight.”

Faith is hard. Always confident? Yikes. Faith without sight is one thing, but unwavering confidence seems impossible some days. At the same time, I believe living out our faith, boldly trusting in the God we profess to believe in without requiring visual confirmation, is more important than ever.

A recent study conducted by YouGov of 8,215 U.S. adults has discovered that just “66 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds are convinced that the Earth is round.” This means 33 percent of eighteen to twenty-four-year-olds don’t believe photographic proof and eyewitness accounts of something proved through the centuries—first by math, then by exploration, and now by visual documentation.

We cannot ignore another alarming statistic. Barna Research Group has released its first surveyed reports on Generation Z, born from 1999 to 2015. Barna reports that “almost twice as many teens in Generation Z (13 percent) claimed to be atheist than millennials (7 percent).” Further, only “85 percent of churchgoing Generation Z teens believed that Jesus Christ was ‘a real person who was crucified by Rome and was actually physically raised from the dead’” (emphasis mine). That means 15 percent of churchgoing Generation Z teens don’t believe Jesus was even a real person.

The unending battle on earth to have faith is not easy, and it is a battle we cannot ignore. Barna Research Group reports fewer Christians with each generation. The largest decreases are with the Millennial and Z generations. The gap is widening, and we would be remiss to ignore this trend. We are losing a more significant percentage of each generation to doubt.

Faith that requires sight is not a new concept. John 20:18 (NIV) says, “Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her.” Shortly thereafter Jesus appears to the disciples, but Thomas is not present.

Later, the disciples tell Thomas about Jesus’s resurrection: “[Thomas] said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’” Read the whole story in John 20:24–29 (NIV).

Thomas had spent three years with Jesus and the disciples, seeing miracles and hearing Jesus teach, but he was still unwilling to believe his friends until he saw evidence with his own eyes. While faith is never easy, Jesus reminded Thomas that those who believe without seeing are blessed.

It might be tempting to roll your eyes at flat-earth theorists or discount the Barna research methods. I won’t, though, because I know how quickly my faith wavers at times. The areas where my faith weakens first may be different from yours, but we all have places not easily surrendered. We all have times when we think we see our own strength instead of God’s hand in a situation. Our weak faith has had a generational impact.

When fear gets the best of me, my children observe where I place my trust, and because I’m their first and most constant influence, they will follow my lead. I can understand why my children may doubt that God will provide for our family when finances are tight. I don’t hide my weakness as cleverly as I would prefer to believe I do.

It may seem like a daunting task, but we don’t have to muscle through alone. Hebrews 10:23–25 (NIV) says to Christians, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on.”

The gap is widening with each generation, but our call is unchanged: hold unswervingly, profess hope, believe God’s promises, meet together, encourage one another. We are to press in “all the more,” and we see it play out right now for a reason. When we don’t press in, we lose faith even with sight.

At The Glorious Table, we understand how hard it is to have unwavering faith without a community. Our Facebook community is a space where you can request prayer, ask questions, and celebrate a win. We want to encourage you in your harder seasons. While online communities are not a replacement for in-person support, our space is safe.

Beth Walker is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.

Photograph © NASA, used with permission