To be human is to employ some degree of faith. Whether we have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow, that my heart won't stop beating in the next 30 seconds, or that my beloved still loves me, we all exhibit some sort of belief toward ends that are not 'certifiably' (scientifically?) proven (or provable).
Evangelicals, because of our propensity toward marking the instant of spiritual conversion, tend to regard an individual as not having any faith toward God until one professes (read: cognitively assents to) such faith. Unfortunately, this begs many questions. If to be human is to utilize faith, is it altogether inconceivable that some manner of faith toward God is at work even prior to such confession?
Put another way, is the 'unbeliever' who believes that the sun will rise tomorrow exhibiting faith based only upon scientific and experiential probability? Do not I, as a 'believer', maintain that my understanding--that God indeed sustains all things (including the rising of the sun)--is universally applicable to believer and unbeliever alike (ala Mt 5.45b)? In such a way, is it ever appropriate to say that the 'unbeliever' unknowingly is exhibiting faith in the Sustainer God?
The breakdown of this line of arguing, it occurs to me, is that though faith may be exhibited, the understood object of faith has inherent meaning. The ancient Israelites, when faithfully thanking the golden calf for bringing them out of Egypt, were sinning against YHWH, even when Aaron told them, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.' (Ex 32.4)
So, then, if we can agree that to be human is to practice faith, but the object(s) of our faith is crucial, is the Savior God the initiator of faith in that he creates faith from faithfulness, or would it be more appropriate to say that he re-directs the pre-existent faith of all to its proper place: himself, as revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
I believe that the subtle distinction here has something to contribute to discussions of the nature of revelation through to evangelistic strategy.
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3 comments:
I like this.
But let's discuss the implications of said "evangelistic strategy."
Is it simply to do with the narratives we share, or with the impetus to confess?
Thoughts?
I think sharing narratives nearly always carries with it a teaching or persuasive element. Certainly, as Christians, we are ambassadors on behalf of the kingdom of God, and hope to see others 'redirect' their faith toward Christ.
In terms of evangelistic strategy, I think questions we can and should ask, especially in this age, include those of 'In what do you trust?', 'What offers you hope?', 'What do you look to for meaning?', etc. In so doing, we affirm our common human experience that we often look to some describable end (even if it be ourselves) to offer these things...and in those things we trust, or have faith. I think this is helpful in further destroying the us/them mentality.
Hello Sir Conley!
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