The Root of Faith Cannot be Faith.

I elect not to debate on the clarifications presented in your opening statement, but upon the original objective as I understood it, which is contained in my acceptance. If this results in my forfeiting of the debate, so be it. In order to answer the question about the reasonableness of faith in general, I must first explain my beliefs. If you"ll bear with me, the end of this speech contains my answer to the debate challenge. God existed for eternity. He has always been here, and always will be, and he created everything that is here. He is the beginning. He created mankind to serve him, but they rebelled against him, preferring to live life their own way. This is sin, and for that, as God had decreed, they deserved death. But God allowed for the death of an innocent animal to pay for their sins, putting in place the practice of redemption. As mankind continued to rebel, however, a more permanent solution was needed. Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" That solution came in the person of Jesus Christ. God and man, both at once, he lived a sinless, perfect life, and was crucified by men because they rejected his teachings and what he would bring. He did not stay dead, however; he was resurrected just days later, and after appearing to many, returned to heaven. But the story does not end there. That was just the beginning. John 3:17: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." The death paid the penalty for our sin, and released us from its power, atoning for it and allowing us to again be in communion with God Almighty. And when we die, we enter heaven and reside with him forever. Colossians 1:13-14: "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" The Resurrection gave men new life through Christ. And at the end of time, the Resurrection is what allows us to have eternal life. Jesus came to give hope; to give us a chance to have life. Galatians 2:20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." John 10:10: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." How does one enter into this abundant life? Romans 10:9: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." It requires faith. Not an intellectual decision based upon the evidence, but faith; and here is why I cannot debate on the grounds you have placed. The root of faith must be faith. Otherwise it would not be faith. What perhaps is not clearly communicated is that faith is all we have. If we had proof that any of the current beliefs were right, there would not be faith any more. There would be truth and there would be denial of that truth, but there would be no faith. Evolution has been proven no more than has Intelligent design. Atheism is no less faith-based than Christianity. At the end of the day, despite what some might wish, it all comes down to choice. And whatever you choose, you start with faith. This is why faith is reasonable; it is necessary! There is nothing that is studied that does not begin with faith in that which cannot be studied. In Science, there is no proof; every theory is based upon faith. Evidence can be used to support, but the theory itself is taken on faith. Even in mathematics, certain premises, called Axioms, must be believed by faith, or the work is fruitless! What we cannot prove, we must take on faith; and there is much that cannot be proven. Faith is, as the writer of Hebrews put it, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."