Q: Why does God request us to have blind faith in him? Isn’t a person who is susceptible to believing things blindly more likely to be tricked into evil? Is it not fair to say that blind faith is more vulnerable to manipulation, subjectivity and human error? Isn’t it better for people to be skeptical and suspicious until they can root their beliefs in evidence or fact? Isn’t it unfair of God to expect blind faith? Humans are skeptical creatures by nature. We are inquisitive and yearn for answers to our questions. I apologize if these questions come off as disrespectful. That is not my intention. I was raised Catholic but never pondered these things until now, and I hope there is an answer to this that I can understand. – James

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC:

It’s good that you are airing your questions. This is a normal way for us to grow in understanding.

Now, it’s a bit simplistic to say that God expects us to have blind faith in him.

He gives us an intellect and expects us to use it, in part to learn more about him and what he has revealed in Scripture and ultimately in his son Jesus.

The Church urges us to use both our faith and our reason to draw closer to God.

Sometimes reason only takes us so far; this is where faith can move us ahead. 

And sometimes we need reason to help purify our faith so that we don’t fall into superstition.

It’s a delicate and complex dance between faith and reason. But both were created by God, so both are good and have their place.

That said, there might be times when, yes, we can only go on faith.

That faith need not be blind in that sense that it is desperate or irrational.

We can make acts of faith when we trust God and understand how much he loves us. And to get to that point, we sometimes rely on — you guessed it — our reason.

For related reading see this Catholic Exchange post. For heavier reading, see Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio.

I hope some of this helps. Count on my prayers.