Belief vs. Faith

I believe in the law of gravity. I believe the earth orbits the sun. In the Christian Church for many centuries there has been belief in the articles stated in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.  There are many things in which we believe, but do we put our faith in them?

I would say no. The 20^th Century theologian, Paul Tillich, said that what governed our faith was our “ultimate concern” and that which we sought as the “ground of our being”. I think what leads us to our ultimate concern and ground of our being, God I would say, comes through events, experiences, and relationships in our lives. Sometimes it may be combination of all of them. Through events, experiences, and relationships we gain a faith. We do not have faith just by belief in objective statements of fact.

It has been my experience that through getting to know certain people the love of God in Jesus is made real to me. There have been times when prayers were answers by events in my life which caused me to have faith and say, “Yes” to God. Those were the times I was willing to step off the ledge, so to speak, and trust God in something even when I did not have “all the facts”. I trusted; I had faith.

On and off through high school and college I felt called to go to seminary and be ordained ministry in my denomination. But several events along the way led me away from that calling. When I became active again in church I thought I was called to become an urban planner, but later found I was not being fulfilled in that vocation. I had several friends at that time who said to me they thought I was supposed to go to seminary. That was matching an inward tug I was receiving again. So I quit my job as a planner for the City of Chicago and headed off to seminary in New York City. I was nervous, little scared, and wondering what really would happen. I trusted I was making the right decision. I had faith, though I was not sure what awaited me.

I must say that I know God was leading me in the right way, and my friends and inner yearnings were God’s way of speaking to me. As soon as I arrived at General Seminary I knew I was in the right place. I had faith, even though I did not have all the facts to believe.

Faith is what helps us step out into the darkness trusting God will be there to give us a solid footing or help us sprout wings.

Fr. Patrick

Denial

The ability of humans to deny what in truth is going on is amazing. I think of this in light of the Jerry Sandusky conviction and the investigation that was authorized by the Penn State Board.  There is denial by Sandusky’s family of his predatory behavior. There was denial and cover-up by those in the highest authority at the University. There was little regard for the most vulnerable, and there was more concern about the school’s image. Now the institution’s reputation is even more ruined by the cover-up, denial and by sanctions imposed upon it.

People who are otherwise rational can also live in denial. I think of people of faith who continue to use the Bible as a scientific document to tell us the how long ago creation began – thousands of years instead of billions. This takes place even with the fossil evidence, Carbon 14 dating, and astronomers calculating the distance between heavenly bodies being billions of years away from the earth.

In the same vein I think of Christian scientists, such as Dr. Frances Collins, who led the team which mapped the human genome. Through his work and that of other scientists they have shown that DNA is the link which demonstrates the evolution of life from single cell creatures to humanity. Yet rational people still wish to believe otherwise and deny scientific reality.

It is the same mentality that caused the Roman Catholic Church to declare Galileo a heretic for stating the earth revolved around the sun. I believe it is these kinds of positions that are voiced by certain Christian groups that lead other reasonable people to think Christianity is irrelevant.

Science and religion ask different questions. Science asks how things happen and work, but does not answer why. That is the area of religion. Christianity can address why we are here, the purpose of life, and the need to be loved and love. Christianity can talk about the love of God in Christ who shares humanity’s pain and sorrows, willing to sacrifice God’s self to show that love, and in resurrection demonstrates the endlessness of Divine love.  That is what the Christian Church can address and still not leave human intellect outside the door.  

Fr. Patrick