Definition
Trust and commitment to God, revelation, path or promise, which are not limited to scientific opinion or evidence.
Faith can include doubt, interpretation and changes in life. It does not automatically render a corporation and does not exempt any institution from critical scrutiny.
To be retained
- Distinguish confidence and certainty
- Linking belief and conduct
- Respecting freedom of conscience
- Questioning the Human Authorities
Origin of the term and context
Faith comes from the Latin faith, which means trust, fidelity and word given. Traditions distinguish various intellectual adherence, lived trust, fidelity to the alliance and practical.
Why does it matter?
Psychology can study the effects of belonging or religious trust, not establish the truth of a revelation. Depending on the context, faith can sustain or become a source of conflict and guilt.
- Distinguish confidence and certainty
- Linking belief and conduct
- Respecting freedom of conscience
- Questioning the Human Authorities
How can it be explored or practised?
- Read a founding text with a comment
- Name a question without seeking to delete it
- Observing how a belief influences an act
- Chat with a believer or non-believer without a conversion project
Misconceptions and points of caution
- Doubt is not necessarily a failure.
- Faith does not replace evidence in medical matters.
- No human leader should demand absolute obedience.
Perspectives from different traditions
- Judaism: fidelity to the covenant, study and practice.
- Christianity: Trust in God, creed and relationship to Christ.
- Islam: īmān, faith articulated to the practice and consciousness of God.
To go further
- The Dynamics of Faith — Paul Tillich
- Fear and tremor — Søren Kierkegaard