tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13643646.post1390221514904317489..comments2023-05-19T03:36:11.201-05:00Comments on Freedom Log: [THO] The Supposed Crisis of FaithOne of Freedomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02479227411431959461noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13643646.post-57938557101462985652008-02-19T11:28:00.000-05:002008-02-19T11:28:00.000-05:00Welcome to the blog Kelly. Faith is not something ...Welcome to the blog Kelly. <BR/><BR/>Faith is not something that demands we put on blinders. Faith is something lives out of our deepest held beliefs. So when we really believe that God is good, then our faith holds to this even when the situation seems to say otherwise. But faith is internally validated, that is based on an internal logic. Faith is our deepest convictions lived out - it all comes back to what we truly believe. <BR/><BR/>Where the difference is that we teach beliefs (in the Church) but we rarely go beyond intellectual assent. Pascal wrote in Pensees that we cannot really convince another person to beleive what we do, but our lived conviction is what convinces. (no. 795) So if you really believe, then you will live from that belief (faith) and people will see this as authentic - which then has the potential to be compelling (if the belief is desirable). <BR/><BR/>Gary Best would say it like this: as Christians we are to be good advertising for God. So it isn't about having the beliefs lined up, but about the lived beliefs expressed in faith in the world, that is what counts. <BR/><BR/>My critique is that our faith isn't in crisis, but what we believe so deeply that we are willing to give our lives for (faith).One of Freedomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02479227411431959461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13643646.post-47075194808112181612008-02-19T10:55:00.000-05:002008-02-19T10:55:00.000-05:00Perhaps you and your professor are talking about t...Perhaps you and your professor are talking about two different things. one can have beliefs, and one can have faith-based beliefs. When it becomes a crisis of faith is when one has to decide whether it's worth it to have faith. <BR/><BR/>Faith is belief without evidence or belief even in the face of contradictory evidence. <BR/><BR/>I think often with a crisis of beliefs, we're fighting our own vested interests and attachments in our beliefs. For example, I do believe that humanity is basically good and wants what's best on both individual and collective scales. However, there is mounting evidence to disprove my belief. I still hold it anyway.<BR/><BR/>But when it comes to faith, we tend to feel obligated to continue believing in Premise X even when what we believe we know to be patently false or, at best, unfalsifiable. When the costs outweigh the benefits when it comes to faith, that leads to identity deconstruction, and that's rarely viewed as fun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13643646.post-40167925800619822102008-02-09T14:21:00.000-05:002008-02-09T14:21:00.000-05:00Definitely fear is a huge player in this. I imagin...Definitely fear is a huge player in this. I imagine that you Aussies have imported a lot of the American evangelical sensibilities and have a blended reality. That is the case here in Canada, at least (that the things I dislike the most about evangelicalism are mostly imports from the States). The culture of fear is at the heart of the efforts to maintain the anti-intellectual stance. <BR/><BR/>As a pastor though I'm concerned about the foundations we are building on. I'm convinced that if our foundations are solid then we can weather any storm. But the only way to know if the foundation is strong is to look at how it is built. <BR/><BR/>I'm reading von Balthasar right now and he is arguing that our foundation has to be both a solid thoelogical (intellectual) engagement and at the exact same time a spiritual engagement (obedience). But I'm certain that most of the foundations built by contemporary evangelical churches have only one or the other. In our pentecostal traditions it is unfortunately only a spiritual foundation (double blind obedience - we reflect neither on what we are following nor on where we are going, we just let it fly). The thing is the energy of pentecostal spirituality is amazing and even good. It just lacks balance (head to go with the heart).<BR/><BR/>thoughts?One of Freedomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02479227411431959461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13643646.post-72997594224519631982008-02-09T12:26:00.000-05:002008-02-09T12:26:00.000-05:00Very good post, mate. I think one of the key issue...Very good post, mate. I think one of the key issues underlying this discussion is that of fear. Many evangelicals, in my experience, seem to fear that if they think and interrogate their faith-position it will prove untenable.<BR/><BR/>When I went to Bible College to train for pastoral ministry I heard how people had "lost their faith" but, in fact, I found that my charismatic identity was strengthened and the only things that fell away were more cultural than biblical.<BR/><BR/>One of the problems I have identified in Australia is some poor exegesis in evangelical churches. This is a generalized statement but if Christians are not taught a strong, biblical, living faith then they will simply be pretty much like their neighbours and, of course, their fundamental beliefs will be shakey.<BR/><BR/>This is a discussion that I think has a lot more legs especially as you and I engage with faith at its supernatural level as well as the rational.Uncle Leshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12409622326179610286noreply@blogger.com