For me, faith is a conviction arrived at
when all the evidence has been examined, assessed, or studied. It is far from
something that is opposed to the dictates of reason as some suggest, but is
ultimately the fruit of the application of reason that apprehends the truth of
something when not all of the evidence can be studied, gathered, or known to
provide a definitive answer. After all, if we can know something completely
then there is no need to have faith in it. Complete knowledge negates the need
for faith. Put in a religious context, if God revealed himself in such
self-evident manner that doubt in his existence could not be refuted there
would be no need of faith since we would all know that He exists. Since this is
not the case, faith and belief are required if one holds to the proposition
that God is indeed real. But this does not mean that it is impossible to
rationally support a belief in his existence.
For example, my faith in the existence of
God is founded upon my acceptance of the logical
deductive reasoning of theologians such as Thomas Aquinas as well the
modern arguments of scholars such as Fr. Robert Spitzer
who recently published a series of books examining the question from the
perspective of scientific discoveries in physics of the last century. Such
argumentation leads me to rationally conclude that there had to be a ‘first
mover, unmoved’ or a ‘first cause, uncaused’. In other words, for creation to
exist requires that there first had to be a Creator who established it with the
requisite rules to sustain its continued existence. David Bentley
Hart, in a recent book, ‘The Experience of God’ explores in some depth the
ubiquitous theistic convictions in exists within cultures and religions the
world over. The totality of all these arguments can bring me to the starting
point of believing in the reality of Gods’ existence.
In fact, were I to believe in the absence
of rationally sustainable reasons in the existence of God, I would be guilty of
committing a heresy, namely ‘fideism’.
This was declared a heresy by the Church and condemned even by the early Church
fathers. Simply put, fideism maintains that faith is independent of reason, or that reason and faith are hostile
to each other and faith is superior at arriving at particular truths. In
the Christian tradition, faith and reason are both essential for all believers.
Another definition of faith that appeals to me,
albeit in a more Christian sense of the word, is as follows: Faith is the
‘substance of hope’. Substance here carries its original Greek meaning, which
is to say it’s something that ‘stands under’ or supports the Christian virtue
of hope. To clarify even further, ‘hope’ stands for more than just one’s wish
or desire for something. Hope
is defined in the Catholic Catechism as the theological virtue by which we desire the
kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in
Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the
grace of the Holy Spirit. Thus faith for Christians is seen then as the
structure that lifts up and sustains our trust that the promises of Christ will
be fulfilled for us as individuals and for the greater world in general.
So the question needs to be asked… How do
we obtain faith? The answer to this is
both simple and complex.
While Catholics hold that faith is a gift
from God, it would be wrong to say that it comes directly from God and thus is
possessed by all who are created in His image and likeness. While it is true
that God desires for all to believe and offers sufficient grace for us to
accomplish this end, it is necessary for us to do our part to bring this gift
to fruition. We must be open to using the gifts we’ve been given, gifts such as
our rationality, logic, and intellect as well as the spiritual gifts of prayer,
an openness to grace and a steadfastness of spirit to develop and sustain that
life-giving faith that undergird our hope and desire. It is something that not
everyone will be successful in attaining, but this is not indicative of some
failing on God’s part. If we do not do our part in apprehending faith for
ourselves, it will not likely take root and grow as an integral part of our
life. God opens the door for us, but it is up to us to accept his invitation
and to enter into a relationship with him… a relationship of faith, hope, and
love. Faith thus is sustained and
nurtured through the practice of a religious life, one that is fed by the grace
of the sacraments, prayer, and the merits of living as a disciple of Christ.
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