I know I've been silent for a while but these last several weeks of school have been brutal. The workload can get very heavy sometimes but now that the semester is coming to an end, I can give a more time to my other projects. What I want to talk about in this post is faith. What is faith? That's a question I hear asked around on a frequent basis and I have heard many different answers. Some say that faith is believing without seeing. Others say that it is merely belief in general. Still others equate it as simply being a synonym for religion. Personally I have never been satisfied with these definitions. When I was a protestant I heard that if I believed I would be saved. I always thought to myself that it was way to easy that way. Christ said that the way would be difficult and full of trials these definitions of faith do not reflect that. Let me propose with a little example what I believe that Faith is. Say I have a chair next to me. I believe that the chair will hold my weight but if I do not sit in the chair what good is that belief. We have Faith only when we place the belief that we have at the center of our existence. Let us take another case. Jesus says in Matthew 16, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." That is Faith. Man is not the center of his own existence. God is.
St. Ignatius of Antioch says, "Faith is the beginning and Love is the end, and the union of the two together is God." This presents another point that I want to make about Faith. It is the beginning of every Christian's journey, but it is not the end. Having Faith does not mean that we have instantly been 100% saved. St. Paul says in Philippians 2: 12, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Salvation is a journey and Faith is what begins that journey. The end of that journey is something much greater, Love. The road is hard but we persevere in the Hope of the world to come. Thus we have the three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Love. Man needs all three to receive salvation and they are bestowed on him through the Grace of God received through prayer and the Sacraments. As St. Paul tells us, It is by Grace that we are saved. God freely gave Grace as a gift to Man and Man in turn accepts and cooperates with God's Grace. Faith, Hope, and Love; they are forever linked. Man cannot have one without the others and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
That brings this post to a close. Again if you have questions or anything to add feel free to do so.
Hi, Ryan,
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see you back blogging. I wrote a VERY long post yesterday and then forgot to hit "publish." I'll try again.
I don't have you facility with Scriptural citations, but I'll try to do what I can.
Your example with the chair is interesting. If you test your faith in the ability of the chair to hold your weight by actually sitting on the chair, once you've sat on it, doesn't the faith become knowledge based upon experience and demonstrable fact? Would you need to bring in another chair to test your faith again?
I agree with you (and Ignatius of Antioch) that belief alone is not enough. We do need to use our Faith to get to Love and, from there, to a closer relationship to God.
Do you think that Divine Grace is offered to everybody? Is everybody offered the same amount (bad word choice) of Grace? Why do you think that someone would use his free will to reject the Grace? I'm interested in your thoughts.
You're right about the road to Salvation not being an easy one. I think that people have an easier time accepting the Divinity of Jesus than they do the humanity of Jesus. A hungry, tired Jesus is not as appealing as one who changes water into wine. We need to remember that Jesus faced many of the same temptations as we do. In our attempt to follow His example, it is inevitable that we'll make missteps. The grace we are given is what we need to get back on track when we slip.
St. Paul's comment about the "fear and trembling" always bothered me. What do you think? I'll tell you my take on it after I hear yours.
I hope that, at some future time, you'll take up the differences between the angry, vengeful God of the Old Testament and the more loving, forgiving one of the New. I'd imagine that you'd have a lot to say about that.
It's obvious that you have a profound interest in theology. Have you ever considered becoming a priest? You may find that it's not for you at all, but it couldn't hurt to take a look.
Hope that Finals go well for you and that you have a wonderful Christmas.
Have fun. I'm convinced that God has a great sense of humor. To create something as terrific as our world and then put someone as imperfect as Man in charge of it, he must!
These are exactly the kind of questions that I like to hear. They really got me thinking, which is exactly what I want.
DeleteYour first question about my example of the chair was a good one. It was not something I thought about originally but then I thought of St. Paul's encounter with the Bereans. The Bereans were known for continuously testing the scriptures to see if they hold up. They did. You could say that this works the same way in everything. Our Faith in God is most definitely tested over and over again by trials and contrary points of you, but this has gone on for the past 2000 years and the Faith has held up against everything that came its way. Only truth can hold up under all circumstances. I hope that clarifies things a little.
With regards to Divine Grace, Yes I do believe that it is offered to everyone. It would be unfitting for God, who is Love, not to offer his Grace to all mankind. Man is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore he is inherently good. Anything that God creates is good, and would not be according to his nature to let what is good be destroyed by sin. That is why He sent down his Son, to redeem the World. I also believe that everyone is offered the same amount of Grace, but that does not mean that everyone receives the same amount of Grace. Basic Catholic doctrine tells us that God offers Grace to us allowing us to perform good works and man must also cooperate with God's Grace. Honestly, I don't know fully why someone would reject God's grace, but if we are to admit that man as free will we must also admit that it is possible to do so, which is the Unforgivable Sin. You cannot be forgiven if you do not want to be. My honest guess is that those who reject God are those whose hearts have been hardened which is result of sin and also the fact that I think many Christians today don't evangelize correctly. We need to focus on what the essence of our Faith is, Love.
About the passage from St. Paul, I think that he wants to always keep the end in mind. That's what "fear and trembling" means. We must always be prepared for the Lord will come at an hour we do not expect. This verse also debunks the belief of once saved always saved. The Church does not believe that. Again, Catholic teaching holds that man is always working out his salvation. He must always be wary of the state of his soul, which is why we have the sacraments. We receive Grace through the sacraments, therefore an active participant in the sacraments will indeed be living with the end in mind. When I say "end" I have a double meaning as well. There is the literal meaning which is the Second Coming/Judgement, but I also have a philosophical meaning in there as well. For the ancient Greek philosophers, a man's end or "telos" was his purpose, and for Christians, the purpose of man is to serve God and be in union with Him which he achieves through Grace. That's my take on that passage.
I hope I have answered your questions sufficiently. I do plan to go into the so-called differences between The God of the Old and New Testaments at a later date in detail for it will take quite sometime. For now I will just sat that there are no differences for God is unchanging and that it is very dangerous to start thinking that there are for that mindset has led to a number of heresies. I'll say more on this later for a topic like this deserves it's own post.
A very merry Christmas to you as well. I look forward to hearing from you again.
Hi, Ryan,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, let me give you my take on the "fear and trembling." I once had a job at a Fitness Center. One of the members was a guy who'd lost more than 200 pounds. He would show up every day and work out so hard that he needed to change shirts halfway through his workout. One day, we had sub-zero temperatures and a snowstorm going on. I was , literally, the only person there except for this guy. I was there because it was a job. When I asked him why he was there on a really bad weather day, his response was that he was afraid that if he got away from his routine, even for one day, he'd go back to his old ways and begin to regain the weight that he'd lost. I think the "fear and trembling" he felt is the same kind that Paul is talking about. We need to guard our Faith against backsliding.
Your reference to the Bereans is a pretty esoteric one. I don't see them as major players in the Bible. Do you think that their repeated testing and questioning was a bad thing? Most translations refer to them as "noble-minded." What do you think made them "noble-minded?"
Can we get back to Grace for awhile? We Catholics often pray for "the Grace to..." If everyone receives Divine Grace in equal "amounts," can we hope and pray for an "additional helping? Please, Lord, may I have...more?
You are correct that God is unchanging and, in fact and essence, unchangeable. I guess what I was actually referencing was the "personifications" of the God of the Old and New Testaments. I agree that a discussion of the question merits its own post. We'll get to that.
I have a friend who's a Fundamentalist Christian. His belief is that everything which happens in the world happens because it's God's will. Nothing can happen without God not only allowing but also willing it to happen. I contend that this argument allows for no measure of free will and, indeed, eliminates the concept of sin. If God will's it, how can it be wrong? Do you have an early thoughts on the matter? One again, the question deserves its own posting or set of postings.
Have a wonderful Christmas. I hope that the weather doesn't cause any troubles for your getting home from Ohio. Stay warm, good luck with Finals, and stay warm and healthy.
Regarding Grace, I think that the fulness of Grace is offered to everybody but depending on each individual reaction to it determines the amount of Grace someone will receive. The more active a person is in the Faith, the more Grace he will receive. We hold that when people die they can be at different levels of Grace, thus determining their time spent in Purgatory. Those in perfect states of Grace skip Purgatory all together, but this is rare. In summary, the amount of Grace we receive depends upon how active we are in our Faith. It's not as though we are asking for "additional helpings" because the fulness is already presented through the sacraments. We just have to take part in them.
DeleteWith regards to the Bereans, the quality of "noble-mindedness" would be equated in those days to being a philosopher or someone who was highly educated. Their continued testing of the scriptures was a good thing and is something that should be continued today. It serves as the embodiment of the Catholic view of Faith and Reason. While though they were mentioned for only a very brief portion of Scripture, they still present that mindset that all Catholics should be in. We shouldn't be quick to believe just anything we hear unless of course it comes down to us from the magisterium who have already gone through a long process of deliberation on important matters. We too need to study extensively before believing anything. If something holds up against every test put against it, it is true. This applies to every area of life.
I'll start on one of those other questions this weekend sometime and I have a number of Early Church writings on each of them.
Merry Christmas, now I'm off to take a final.