Faith in Christianity
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Faith in Christianity centers on faith in the Resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) '... the gospel I preached to you... Otherwise, you have believed in vain...'. The same book says, in 15:14: "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (see also Acts 2:32; Philippians 3:10; John 11:25). That he was raised from the death for God the Father. Most Christians believe that God is one eternal being who exists as three distinct, eternal, and indivisible persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ the eternal Word), and the Holy Spirit.
The precise meaning of Faith in Christianity differs in the various Christian belief systems.
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[edit] New Testament
The word "faith", translated from the Greek πιστις (pi'stis), was primarily used in the New Testament with the Greek perfect tense and translates as a noun-verb hybrid; which is not adequately conveyed by the English noun. Pi'stis in the New Testament context is a physical action, based upon a mental belief and sustained with confidence. Belief, in this context is non-synonymous with faith because, belief primarily conveys the mental action, thought of confidence, trust, and/or firm persuasion, not the physical act. Depending on the context, the Greek word may also be understood to mean "faithfulness" or "fidelity" (cf. 1 Thess 3:7; Titus 2:10).
Commenting on the function of faith in relation to the covenant of God, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb 11:1 ESV). Υποστασις (hy-po'sta-sis), translated "assurance" here, commonly appears in ancient papyrus business documents, conveying the idea that a covenant is an exchange of assurances which guarantees the future transfer of possessions described in the contract. In view of this, Moulton and Milligan suggest the rendering: "Faith is the title deed of things hoped for" (Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, 1963, p. 660). The Greek word e´leg-khos, rendered "conviction" at Hebrews 11:1 (ESV), conveys the idea of bringing forth evidence that demonstrates something, particularly something contrary to what appears to be the case. Thereby this evidence makes clear what has not been discerned before and so refutes what has only appeared to be the case. This evidence for conviction is so positive or powerful that faith is said to be it. Christian faith, described in these terms, is not synonymous with credulity.
Hebrews 11:6 describes the meaning and the practical role of faith: "Without faith it is impossible to please [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Summarizing the New Testament concept of faith, it is reliance upon God's self-revelation, especially in the sense of confidence in the promises and fear of the threats that are written in Scripture. The writers evidently suppose that their concept of faith is rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures.
In addition, the New Testament writers conflate or equate faith in God with belief in Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John is particularly emphatic on this point, where Jesus is quoted, "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him" (John 5:22–23). When asked "What must we do to do the works God requires?" the writer has Jesus answering, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent" (John 6:28–29).
[edit] Roman Catholicism
According to Roman Catholic theology, in an objective sense faith is the sum of truths revealed by God in Scripture and tradition and which the Church presents to us in a brief form in its creeds. Subjectively, faith stands for the habit or virtue by which these truths are assented to.
[edit] Faith is a supernatural act
Faith is claimed to be a supernatural act performed by Divine grace. It is "the act of the intellect assenting to a Divine truth owing to the movement of the will, which is itself moved by the grace of God" (St. Thomas, II-II, Q. iv, a. 2). And just as the light of faith is a gift supernaturally bestowed upon the understanding, so also this Divine grace moving the will is, as its name implies, an equally supernatural and an absolutely gratuitous gift. Neither gift is due to previous study, neither of them can be acquired by human efforts, but "Ask and ye shall receive."
Because the virtue is "infused" and not reachable by human efforts, it is therefore one of the theological virtues.
[edit] Faith is not blind
"We believe", says the Vatican Council (III, iii), "that revelation is true, not indeed because the intrinsic truth of the mysteries is clearly seen by the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God Who reveals them, for He can neither deceive nor be deceived." Thus, with regard to the act of faith which the Christian makes in the Holy Trinity, faith can be described in a syllogistic fashion, thus:
- Whatever God reveals is true
- but, God has revealed the Holy Trinity, which is a mystery
- therefore this mystery is true.
- but, God has revealed the Holy Trinity, which is a mystery
Roman Catholics accept the major premise as being beyond doubt, a presupposition upon which reason is based and thus intrinsically evident to reason; the minor premise is also true because it is declared by the Church, which is held to be infallible in its declarations, and also because, as the Vatican Council says, "in addition to the internal assistance of His Holy Spirit, it has pleased God to give us certain external proofs of His revelation, viz. certain Divine facts, especially miracles and prophecies, for since these latter clearly manifest God's omnipotence and infinite knowledge, they afford most certain proofs of His revelation and are suited to the capacity of all." Hence Thomas Aquinas writes: "A man would not believe unless he saw the things he had to believe, either by the evidence of miracles or of something similar" (II-II:1:4, ad 1). Thomas is here speaking of the motives of credibility, the causes which give rise to belief.
Text adapted from The Catholic Encyclopedia article "Faith".
[edit] Protestantism
[edit] Faith as steadfastness in reasoned belief
Protestant Christian C.S. Lewis described his experience of faith in his book Mere Christianity as follows:
- "Faith seems to be used by Christians in two senses or on two levels ... In the first sense it means simply Belief -- accepting or regarding as true the doctrines of Christianity. That is fairly simple. But what does puzzle people -- at least it used to puzzle me -- is the fact that Christians regard faith in this sense as a virtue. I used to ask how on Earth it can be a virtue -- what is there moral or immoral about believing or not beliving a set of statements? What I did not see then -- and a good many people do not see still -- was this. I was assuming that if the human mind once accepts a thing as true it will automatically go on regarding it as true, until some real reason for reconsidering it turns up. In fact, I was assuming that the human mind is completely ruled by reason. But that is not so. For example, my reason is perfectly convinced by good evidence that anaesthetics do not smother me and that properly trained surgeons do not start operating until I am unconscious. But that does not alter the fact that when they have me down on the table and clap their horrible mask over my face, a mere childish panic begins inside me. I start thinking I am going to choke, and I am afraid they will start cutting me up before I am properly under. In other words, I lose my faith in anaesthetics. It is not reason that is taking away my faith: on the contrary, my faith is based on reason. It is my imagination and emotions. The battle is between faith and reason on one side and emotion and imagination on the other."[1]
[edit] Faith involving knowledge
Protestants differ on the exact relationship between faith and knowledge, although all agree that knowledge is normally involved. Roughly, the split is between paedobaptists and baptists, with paedobaptists asserting that faith means placing one's trust in Jesus Christ according to the measure of understanding granted, and baptists asserting faith means placing one's trust in Jesus Christ with a certain minimal core of understanding being necessary.
[edit] Faith is an operation of the Spirit of God
Assent to the truth is of the essence of faith, and the ultimate ground on which our assent to any revealed truth rests is the veracity of God. Historical faith is the apprehension of and assent to certain statements which are regarded as mere facts of history. Temporary faith is that state of mind which is awakened in men (e.g., Felix) by the exhibition of the truth and by the influence of religious sympathy, or by what is sometimes styled the common operation of the Holy Spirit. Saving faith is so called because it has eternal life inseparably connected with it, and is a special operation of the Holy Spirit.
[edit] Faith as a gift of God
Paul writes in Ephesians 2 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast." From this, some Protestants believe that faith itself is given as a gift of God (e.g. [1]), although this interpretation is disputed by others (e.g. [2]).
[edit] The warrant of faith is the truthfulness of God
The basis for faith is divine testimony, not the reasonableness of what God says, but the simple fact that he says it. Faith rests immediately on "Thus saith the Lord". But in order to understand this faith the veracity, sincerity, and truth of God must be owned and appreciated, together with his unchangeableness.
A small paragraph is from Wikinfo.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Summa Theologica "Second Part of the Second Part" See Questions 1-16
- Catholic Encyclopedia "Faith"
