The Meaning Of Faith
John Twistleton considers the nature and meaning of faith,
for the individual and for the Christian Community
T
o one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. truth which is upheld by the authority of the church.
To one without faith, no explanation is possible It is upon this body of teaching, referred to earlier as
wrote Thomas Aquinas. This wisdom of this the apostolic tradition, that Christians are seeking a
saying is brought out in the story of the acrobat who fuller convergence
wheeled his son in a wheelbarrow as part of his high The subjective and objective aspects of faith are evi-
wire act. When they asked his son how he felt about the dent in the New Testament. Hence St. Paul writes I
exercise his only comment was I trust my dad. Here is know whom I have believed (2 Timothy 1v12) witness-
faith defined as the extra sense it is, quite beyond the ing his personal faith. Elsewhere as a church teacher he
natural senses, but nevertheless based on experience. writes of the content of apostolic faith e.g. of the church
The boy needed no explanation for the faith he had in tradition of the Eucharist I received from the Lord what
his father though few others would rise to it. I also handed on to you (1 Corinthians 11v23).
By analogy Christian faith in God is the certain Another paradox is to be found in the relation-
though
conviction you will be carried forward in all the ship of Christian faith to human reason. God, the
perils of life by one who loves you beyond reason. The object of faith, is beyond reason but both faith and
seen
strength of Christianity lies in this revelation of God reason are seen as lifting people up to him. Thomas
as the Father of Jesus who acts by his Spirit to carry Merton writes: Faith without depending on reason for
as a
us forward through all the pitfalls in our life to resur- the slightest shred of justification never contradicts
rection glory. reason and remains ever reasonable. Though God is
human
Reconciled to God through the death of his Son… beyond reason as its creator he can never be at odds
we shall be saved by his life…we are filled with exult- with it. Christian faith has a historical foundation in act,
ant trust in God through our Lord Jesus Christ St. Paul the death and resurrection of Jesus that can be ration-
wrote to the Romans (5v10-11). Faith in the Christian ally scrutinised, yet, however reasonable this founda-
faith
perspective is such exultant trust in response to the tion might be, faith does not depend upon it but on
gift of Jesus and all God promises through him. God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1v9b).
is also
If Christian faith is this quality by which one Each Sunday Christian faith is celebrated and built
believes it is also the faith that is believed by Chris- up through the celebration of the Lord’s Day which
something
tians handed on to them by the community of faith is made so by the happening of Christ’s resurrection
and expressed in the creed. As Austin Farrer explained from the dead. On account of this foundation faith for
moved
the creed defines the contours of that world on which Christians is distinctively metaphysical, a creed that
faith trains her eyes…the widely spread circumfer- goes beyond (meta) the world as we see it (physical).
by
ence of God’s revealing action in the birth, life, death As the most popular biblical definition set within the
and resurrection of Jesus. letter to the Hebrews expresses it, faith is certainty
God
Christians come to active faith through immersion about things invisible (11v1b).
in the community that believes in Jesus. Von Hugel Like the natural eye the eye of personal faith is
described this corporate faith as the many-side love of examined with difficulty because you are trying to
through
God only to be grasped ‘with all the saints’. The con- look at something that is the main tool for looking, be
tent of the faith is spelled out in church catechisms it the natural or supernatural eye. To put faith in God
grace
which expound the bible, creed, sacraments, com- as a Christian is like engaging with an invisible photo-
mandments and prayer. There are different empha- electric beam to trigger a visible light. Like electricity
ses here among the denominations as to the content God is unseen yet real. So real to Christian experi-
of so-called apostolic tradition eg. in the doctrine of ence that the same writer of Hebrews, addressing
the last things, the number of sacraments, the role of Christians under heavy persecution, could speak of a
bishops including the Pope and so on although recent certainty you can stake your life upon, a hope, a sure
ecumenical agreements demonstrate a growing con- and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters…
sensus of faith. where Jesus..has entered (6v19-20).
As something God-given personal faith is inevi- Christian faith steers a middle way between cre-
tably mysterious. Believers hold things together in dulity, which is trust in ambiguous authority, and
their experience that live in tension from a rational scepticism, which is trust in the senses alone. As the
perspective. Hence faith is both a virtue and a gift, a main object of Christian faith God is believed with-
human act yet one prompted by God, a personal act out ambiguity as one who is certain though beyond
yet inseparable from the corporate faith of the church. reason or the senses. As mentioned earlier, the con-
These paradoxes are captured in the famous defini- tent of divine truth, or apostolic tradition is made
tion of faith provided by Thomas Aquinas: Believing ambiguous in some measure by Christian divisions.
is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by To the eye of Christian faith God himself is as
command of the will moved by God through grace. unambiguous as the sun for it is the God who said,
Though seen as a human act, faith is also something ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our
moved by God through grace. Though a subjective hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
disposition it is one that embraces so-called divine of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4v6)
ND
November 2007
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newdirections
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