Friday, July 23, 2004
So! Im gonna jump the gun here, and write about this before anyone else can. :) but ot only because of that. I think I can add something here because Ive been through some tough times dealing with this, and made it out more or less intact! Oh, and I should warn you that this post is going to be a tad huge! :) maybe even rivalling one of Reubens or Nathans! :D
Faith. What Is it? well, it can be used in different contexts. during much of the Old Testament, and many of the Psalms the word is used in referring to the faithfulness of God, and the unfaithfulness (and on the rare occasion faithfulness :D) of His people. In this case, faithfulness means 'being committed to, and able to be relied upon.' God is commited to His people, and they can rely on him to help them, and always be their God. The other main use of the word is found more in a New Testament context. Faith here is a gift of the spirit! (Gal 5:22-3) Faith means a belief and trust here. To paraphrase, using a popular SUnday School song: "Faith is being sure of what you hope for, and certain of what you cannot see" This is the Kind of Faith we'll be talking about here.
**EDIT - Thanks Nato for pointing this out! man i missed THIS one last night.. that sunday school song is based on Hebrews 11:1 :)**
Ok, Let me start off by saying, from some perspectives I wish all you needed is Blind faith. or: to recieve The Kingdom of God like a little child (Luke 18:17) Im not saying that we shouldnt have faith. How could I? I mean, as Martin Luther said: "by Grace, Through Faith". Faith is the key for us believing. (see also Proverbs 3:3). Read Romans 14. It talks about the eating of Clean or unclean animals, but also referrs to the different levels of faith each person has been given, and why each level should be treated differently. We know from previous passages that God has given each person a different measure of faith (Romans 12:3) THis level can also change, it can be strengthened (Acts 16:5; Luke 17:5; Col 2:7) but it can also be weakened, which ill come to in just a second :)
Blind faith, is absolute faith. it disregards everything else, and just believes. In a nutshell, i think that Blind faith is compulsory for Christians who are just starting their walk to Christ. but as we mature, I think we must move out of the blind faith stage, and grow into a more 'informed' faith. Let me explain.
Informed faith is a good thing, if it is kept in context. Informed faith involves questioning what and why you believe things, to try and reach a deeper understanding, and a deeper and more intimate knowledge of God. While Blind faith will instantly accept what is said without quesitoning, an informed faith will search out what other people think, read other sources, and compare.
There are several passages in scripture that support such faith. In Proverbs 13:15 we see that understanding is pitted against being unfaithful. THis implies that it is a good thing to have not just a blind faith, but an informed understanding. Again in Proverbs 22:12, the Lord holds Knowledge, but does not let it go to the unfaithful, linking knowledge with understanding and placing it in opposition to unfaithfulness. A blind faith does not search after knowledge or understanding, but simply accepts. An Informed faith is more like an objective reader. But there are dangers to having an informed faith. The danger being, that it is possible to examine and prod too much, and become TOO objective. The Bible warns against such acts: (1 Cor 2:5; 2 Cor 5:7).
Ideally, although everyone has been given different measures, we should all attempt to grow in our faiths, and strengthen each other. Here it is the role of those with a lot of faith, to assist those with less. In Luke 22:32, Jesus Prays that Peter's faith will be strengthened, and then says that when he returns to the rest of the disciples, that he must help them, and most specifically "The strong must support the weak". This doesnt mean that the people with informed faith should plunge those who use blind faith into the deep end! Paul says in 1 Cor 3:2 that he gave them milk instead of solids because they were not ready. Its the same here. people may not be ready for things that some others are, and if you introduce them too early, you run the risk of destroying their faith altogether, which is where I come to my personal experience in this.
December last year (man it seems so long ago) my faith was at it's lowest Ebb ever. I had broken up with my Girlfriend of seven months In october, She wasn't a Christian, and that played a big part in my 'downfall'. Another thing that contributed was the fact that i had started getting seriously into History, I especially loved mythology, and the study of the early religions. Now, my faith previous to this, was not what i would call strong. I was definately not ready for solids yet. BUT they came. I started getting into a very objective mindset about the Bible. I read it more as a historical document rather than the testament of Faith, and the transcribed Word of God that it is. I started to see trends in earlier religions that implied that Judaism (and thereby Christianity) may be based on earlier religious traditions, eg. Babylonian and Hittite. etc. This meant that maybe all I had known my life was false, and superstition. It didnt help that the guy I saw in Education every week was an avowed Humanist (now a Pagan) and ex-Catholic, and I started to sympathise with his way of thinking. I wanted proof. I wanted to proove that Judaism and Christianity were right, but I couldnt stop asking questions about it and being Objective.
It came to a head one night at a friends Christmas Party. I had just consumed entirely too much alcohol and was sitting in a
room talking about what i believed (or didnt believe) to two entirely sober people. (people, never never NEVER start talking about your life if you arent sober, or unless youre sure everyone else around you is drunk too! :P). Praise God though, these people WERE sober, and that both of them were very strong in their faiths, and they told me stuff that i still didnt necessarily believe, but stuff that got me thinking. (by a strange coincidence One of them was the infamous 'E' girl who you can read about about 5 posts back! :D) It was a slow process, but thanks to joining up in a small group, and having a good group of Christian friends, I was set on the road to recovery.
I said all the while I was going through it that I believed that what I was doing was attempting to strengthen my faith by being Objectvie or trying to get an 'Informed' faith. But i tread the line too early, when i wasnt ready for solids, and if not for God's intervention through my Christian friends, then I would have fallen. Looking back now, I think that I have emerged stronger and more firm in my beliefs and faith. That is why I support having an informed faith, and having long discussions about the 'nature of God and free will and 4D dimensional time-space blobs! :D'. But I do freely acknowledge that there is a time for everyone, and everyones time is different. Not everyone should be put to the test of being too objective too early.
In the end, while I do think that everyone should aim for an informed faith, and while I do appreciate MY informed faith, when all is said and done though, there will come a point in each argument or discussion in objectivity, where you have to just say: "I have faith that this is the way it is." And thats the strongest argument you will be able to make. This is what our beliefs come down to. We can question/interrogate/prod/poke/etc.. what and why we believe, but in the end, it is a matter of faith. We cannot know things entirely, because we are human. But we have faith that God does. Others may point to this and ridicule. "is that the best argument you can make?" the answer, is a most emphatic yes. Faith is the best argument. ever. For people with Stronger or weaker faiths, both informed and blind: Faith is not something we duck under during an argument, faith is not a thing we cowardly hide behind. Be it blind or informed, or even as small as a mustard seed (Matt 17:20;Luke 17:6), Faith is our shield. We march forward bravely, trusting that God is with is, using our faith as a shield against all arguments and frightening situations, deflecting all the slings and arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). Blind faith or informed, it doesnt matter. Some suits one person more than the other. Faith is not our weakness, it is our strength.
Ok, that was enough for one night! :) I have this feeling ive left somtehing out.. perhaps i will come back to it! Im sure i can be forgiven, as its about 3AM in the morning, and i must work at 5:30! :) ok, guys, hope you didnt fall asleep through
that! :D have fun! :) and BELIEVE ^_^
S.A.M
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