The 16th-century European Reformation was a reformation from the blind faith expected by Roman Catholicism.

Blind faith is believing something because someone else has said it, rather than examining the evidence for oneself. It is encouraged by dogmaticians, who regularly use “proof by assertion” to “establish” their point.

Instead of believing what the Roman Catholic Curia taught, the Reformers bypassed this and took people back to the Bible to find out for themselves what the Bible expected you to believe, what historians call: Going back to the sources. The Reformers contradicted blind faith.

Blind faith is not confined to Roman Catholicism. Children will initially believe everything their parents teach them, then they will move their source of authority to their teacher in school – “My teacher says,” is familiar to most parents. Then it moves to University lecturers, and the hierarchy of authority becomes more evident. Some people behave as if a Ph.D. is a sure signal to exercise blind faith. However, those who reach the dizzy heights of advanced specialism in whatever field are usually aware of their limitations and will defer to others in areas outside their narrow area of expertize.

The nature of faith

Faith is a personal judgement as to the truth of any matter. It is not an objective assessment but a personal, subjective assessment based upon the evidence as you have judged it. You are therefore responsible for your beliefs and you can blame no-one else for your beliefs.

We need evidence for belief and until then one needs to reserve judgment.

There are those who will not examine evidence but form pre-judicial judgments. A common prejudice among intelligent people is – 1. dead people do not rise from the dead; 2. therefore Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead; 3. therefore I do not need to examine the evidence because I do not think (or believe!) that there is any evidence.

Jesus spoke about those who close their eyes and ears to evidence, and this is one example of it.

The apostle Paul challenged such opinions in his preaching: “Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?” Act 26:8. Those who form the judgment that the Christian God does not exist, or that He is not what they want Him to be, will discover that God does not consider this a light matter. If they think that they can sit in judgment upon Him, they should not be surprised that He will judge them according to their beliefs. They will not be able to blame anyone else – they are responsible for their own beliefs.

Similarly with all false religion. The Jews may try to blame their rabbis, Roman Catholics their priests, and others may blame their particular brand of religious gurus, but each person will give account of themselves to God Rom 14:2. “Prepare to meet your God” Amos 4:12.

Updates:

5 Nov 2025: