When I think about faith my mind wanders to how I use the word and how that faith is employed in my life; maybe you have wondered about these things; i.e., the tires on my car, especially when traveling at high speeds, or, what is going on in the kitchen at my favorite restaurant, that is faith having someone else make food for me, Ha!! etc. We use this word "faith" so flippantly at times; we place our trust in something or someone without a second thought, not even do we take time to check things out. We use the this word "faith" so generally in its signification, yet there is a chasm between its general significance and its special characteristic meaning. Now there is an element of belief in all our process of knowing, our perceptions, and there is an important difference between what is strictly called faith, and those acts of the mind, things which we cognitive use as in sight or perception, intuition, opinions, conclusions, or apodictic, that is demonstrably or necessary true, as to our judgments. This is the point to be determined, what that characteristic difference is, for there have been designated to this word "faith" certain conditions or status, certain form and essential properties found in statements on this subject, this apodictic, or modes are to be found among certain class of philosophers and theologians that have no similitude to faith as to be regarded as definitive of faith. Herein lies a major part of the problem for if we come to believe that those theologians or philosophers as having the correct interpretation; then our beliefs will be structured in that manner. What is it that they do? They take the word out of its ordinary usage, its established meaning, and arbitrarily limit the word "faith" to special spheres of our cognitive thoughts making those thoughts to be dissonant. John David Morell (1816-1891) a minister for three years, gave it up in favor of philosophical work says, "Faith is the intuition of eternal verities" (Philosophy of religion, 1849). Verities is a statement that something is true, i.e., a principle or belief. Is this true, in other words can we put our trust in this man's words? Now, eternal verities are not the only objects of faith. Neither can we place intuition as the only mode of apprehending truth as that mode is the nature of belief. The same objections can be said when faith is called a special means to implement the supernatural and divine, in other words, a special means to communicate, opinion, thoughts, etc., as means of action, to bring us to the eternal and the holy.
Here is a fact, the supernatural and the divine are not exclusive objects even of religious faith. We can examine for ourselves that we believe that the worlds were made by God, that Noah built an ark, and that Abraham was called by God even to go where he knew not where, yet, we cannot say that those objects of faith are verities for this is not what is meant that these objects are of a special organ or sense to know and understand and put our faith. That is to be arbitrary in our thinking even when the divine and supernatural are its objects. We were made in the image of God and we have by God a nature that is adapted to receiving truth, all kinds of truth of that which we have any ideas of, but we do not need to assume a special organ to receive one kind of truth and another for special revelation, and another for that which is divine and holy. Our constitution is so made by God that we are capable of belief, we have within us the ability to conceive and be involved in the complex state of mind in the act of faith. We do have a necessity before us that there is in the act of faith a different course of nature of the truth believed, and the nature of the evidence on which our faith is founded. Neither makes it necessary for a separate or different organ, or communicative source to establish our faith.
What has been established is that faith is faith built upon truth, that which we can and have put our faith, our trust as we have come to believe as trustworthy. We have the God given ability to believe, to act upon our beliefs, therefore, what we come to believe is very important in determining our God, our religion and our actions according to His will, either to obey or not to admit they exist or even if admitting to a faith that is not act according to His will.
In considering our faith we begin to establish the ground or basis for our faith. It is this knowledge, the truth that will change us into the object of God's children as our insider knowledge of Him, His truth, is objectively seen on the outside.
In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame" (Psalm 71:1).
Grace to you and peace be multiplied (1 Peter 1:2b).
Richard L. Crumb
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