Isn't faith just psychological?

The argument goes something like this. All religious beliefs fulfil a deep psychological need, allaying our fears about nature being out of control, or about death, or other issues. Some people just need the comfort that faith provides to enable them to live life with a sense of purpose. But in reality others find different ways of living so faith is unnecessary.

But this same argument can be used against any belief system, not just faith. The Bible teaches that actually there is a psychological need of God, that we were designed to believe in him and failure to do so leaves a gap. Acts 17 as Paul proclaims Christ to the Athenians he does so by talking of God designing man to "seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him..."

When confronted with death we are confronted with the meaningless of our existence, that is the point made by Solomon in Ecclesiastes and in its sobering, hopeless, repeated refrain "meaningless, meaningless...everything is meaningless." We are made to search for meaning and faith in God provides that meaning, not because it is a psychological placebo but because it is the answer. Genesis 1-3 tells us we were not made for death but for life, that we were made for relationship with God which we have lost because of our rebellion. That loss creates within us a fear of death which is perfectly rational.

These are real needs, you can fill them with many things but not all will satisfy, because our need is God and relationship with him, not just psychologically but in reality. Faith does not just make a difference psychologically but to real life, to real living, to real dying.