Jeffrey Small, the author of The Breath of God, writes about faith as trust rather than belief here. Echoing the arguments of Harvey Cox in his recent book on faith, Small argues that it would be a strange God who created a world in which humans gained entry to heaven, if but only if, they would cultivate particular beliefs, beliefs that would be impossible for many to obtain because of their geographical placement in the world and an unlikely prospect for millions of others for many other reasons. Small argues that justification by faith has been misinterpreted. We have already been saved. The Kingdom of God is here. We already live in the infinite power of God's being. On the latter point, see Susan Stabile here.
In a passage, I very much like, Small says: "Faith then is not belief in a certain doctrine about Jesus, but a trust in using him as an example of what it looks like to live a God-centered life. Through the stories in the Gospels (whether or not the details are historical are irrelevant), we can understand the nature of God's presence within the world and what a God-centered life looks like: a life of humility, compassion, love without boundaries, a life which experiences suffering and doubt, but a life that ultimately participates in the eternal power of God that transcends death."
Steve, thanks -- I wonder if you could explain a little more what "trust" would entail and how it would be distinguished from "belief." It sounds like the difference between prepositional beliefs and a more general moral sense guided by a religious ethic.
About a year ago, I read a book by Timothy Macklem called 'Independence of Mind,' where Macklem distinguished between trust and faith -- the former being a system of belief subject to verification, the latter not (I trust that my bank will not steal my money, or that my alarm clock will ring, but my trust can be broken by facts in this world -- theft, oversleeping --whereas faith is not like that).
Does this distinction also map on to the one that you are making between belief and trust here? It seems different to me, but I thought to ask.
Marc
Posted by: Marc DeGirolami | 01/22/2011 at 01:14 PM
Marc, the author I cited states that "Faith then is not belief in a certain doctrine about Jesus, but a trust in using him as an example of what it looks like to live a God-centered life." I think the motivation for the statement is partly a rebellion against the doctrinal disputes that divided the Church, disputes that did not improve people's spiritual lives. Cox argues that faith should be translated as commitment, not belief. Of course, some beliefs underlie trust or commitment, but the idea, as I see it, is that the equation of justification by faith with particular beliefs is simply wrong and the policing of beliefs is not constructive.
Posted by: Steven Shiffrin | 01/23/2011 at 05:27 AM