(quote from RealReality.org/Real_Faith_and_Reason_Vol_2_-_Scientia.pdf)
Interpretation as a way of knowing
Interpretation by Following the Evidence
Unfortunately, “evidence” is a word people use when they want to “prove” untrue ideas or concepts. That’s why we need to know what people mean when we hear them using the word “evidence.” And though we’ve toured this problem previously, we’ll walk through it again here from a different perspective. The word “evidence” has different meanings depending on who is using the word. “Evidence” can mean scientific observation of reality, made-up stuff, or even unfounded opinion. And if people use the same word “evidence” with different meanings that have nothing in common, they can use the word “evidence” to lie, deceive, or cause confusion. They fool us this way sometimes.
For example, a persuader says, “The evidence points to the big-bang-billions-of-years-no-Flood-molecules-to-humankind story.” However, the persuader is really saying, “My interpretation, based on made-up stuff, points to the story.” The interpretation begins by assuming the story. This circular-reasoning fallacy begins by assuming what it’s trying to prove. Oh, scientists make observations, but the observations don’t prove the story. The made-up stuff “proves” the story. That means the story proves the story.
Because “evidence” can have such varied meanings, whenever we follow the evidence, we’re careful to make sure the evidence is certain. And we make sure we’ve proved the evidence true and haven’t added any hidden assumptions, stories, opinions, or other fallacies. We also make sure the evidence leads to the conclusion.
God uses the word “evidence” when He speaks of faith, but when God uses the word “evidence,” He means absolutely certain proof. Faith IS the evidence of things not seen, just as the Bible says. It’s absolutely certain proof because God’s evidence comes from God’s utterance. God cannot lie and cannot be wrong. He is the absolute authority. His utterance is evidence. His utterance is absolute.
(end quote)
