For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Larry Truelove
Some people believe that they would be commended by God if they believe things that the bible is either virtually silent on. And they believe things that are contrary to the bible because they are ignorant of the bible. But they think their faith is good because those things seem right.
In the bible God developed a history with people and asked people to trust Him based on their experience with him. And God expected other people to learn from observing God work direct with their friends.
Danny Hickman
John 9 tells a story about a man born blind, to whom Jesus gives sight. The man could finally see. Previously, he'd never seen anything. He could only imagine (create his own mental image of) the world. He had a greater challenge than others who live.
We all have questions about the spiritual realm of life; is it a reality, or is this all there is to life? What does the world there (if it exists) look like? We can only imagine. Does the wind blow there? We know it blows here; even if we can't see what it does, we can feel it.
Jesus said something very informative to Nicodemus about the nature of the spiritual realm of life. He told him that he could get some understanding of what the Spirit does by likening Him to the way we understand the wind. He said we can hear the sound of the wind, but we can't tell where it comes from and where it goes. Then this: 'WE speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you (a teacher of Israel) do not receive Our witness' (Jn 3:10,11).
Why wasn't this scholar able to receive what Jesus was telling him? He could hear the wind, but he didn't have any understanding of it.
We are all born blind; everyone; no one is born perceiving. Why? For the same reason the John 9 man was born unable to see. Jesus said it was "that the works of God should be revealed in him."
David wrote: the Lord opens the eyes of the blind (Psalm 146:8). He wasn't writing about eyesight.
Faith is the evidence of things that eyesight can't perceive.