Faith and Belief

Before exploring the relationship between faith and knowledge, we'll briefly review how faith relates to belief. Faith presupposes belief but is not guaranteed by it. In some translations of the Bible, belief is used where faith might better convey the meaning of the passage. Let's look at why this can happen.

Imagine a child stranded above a swiftly flowing river, on a large fallen tree anchored by its roots to one of its banks. The child does not see the father anywhere. For a moment, it occurs to the child that, given how treacherous the river is, the father may be unwilling to risk his own safety to effect a rescue. The child may also realize that, even if the father tries, he may not be a strong enough swimmer to triumph over the current, which is even stronger near its banks. The father may be unwilling, unable or both.

You could say that the child has faith in the father, that he will come to the rescue, but you could also say that the child believes that the father will come. The child believes in the father. This illustrates how easy it is to blur the conceptual distinction between belief and faith. Still, in thinking about Christianity, it is helpful to distinguish between the two terms.

Faith, as we will use the term, means to rely on, trust in, and put yourself at risk in the face of uncertainty. You can give mental assent to true beliefs without risking anything on them, in which case faith is trivial or non-existent. Many people acknowledge the existence of God and intellectually accept the claims of Christianity, but they don't think about or commune with God very often and cannot, therefore, be said to rely on, trust in, or put themselves at risk.

Living by faith in God, as revealed in the life and teachings of Christ, brings with it the possibility of ending up disappointed, suffering the emotional pain this could bring, and devoting time and attention to spiritual matters. If there is no God, this time and attention might better be devoted to other things.

Intellectual honesty demands that any thinking Christian admit the possibility, however unlikely and remote it may seem, that Christianity is all a dream. If so, Christian faith will turn out to have been the groundless foundation of a series of delusion, including belief in the resurrection of Jesus. Faith rests entirely on the assumption that this foundation, far from groundless, is rock solid, in fact more substantial than anything else on earth.

Yet, it is only the possibility that the beliefs of Christianity might, in the end, be wrong that gives the idea of faith meaning. This uncertainty is what presents us with opportunities for faith. Ambiguity permeates our existence, and it is this ambiguity that brings with it the chance to develop our love for God.

This love is the end point of faith, its ultimate purpose. (St.) Paul, who wrote many of the documents in the New Testament, stated that there are three outstanding virtues: faith, hope, and charity. He then added that the greatest of the three is charity, a word that up to about a hundred years ago meant a lot more than giving money to the poor. He seems to have had in mind love of other people, but from the rest of the New Testament, it's clear that he would have been even more eager to highlight the importance of loving God. The two are, in fact, inseparable, since you cannot love God while refusing to love your neighbor.

Belief is often defined as agreement or mental assent. It is therefore primarily intellectual. Faith, by contrast, is primarily relational. In the absence of communication, it's impossible to enjoy a relationship with anyone, including God. You cannot love a being with whom you have no communion and therefore no real connection.