The Teaching Church

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 31, Issue 8, 1 October 1940, Page 5

The Teaching Church

'Faith— Not Opposed to Rda&ojtt

"Lord, increase bur faith" was the prayer of the Apostles, and, we may be sure of millions of disciples of Our Lord "more especially m times of difficulty and perplexity:. There are many requests which we may make to God, arid we may hope that it may be His will to grant them. Here we have a definite promise that our prayer will be granted. If ( any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that givetti to; all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him" (St. James 1, 6). Faith is partly synonymous with wisdom for faith is the dependence upon the veracity of another and here the other is God. It is not easy to distinguish the exact province of the three virtues faith, hope and love unless we think of faith as the gift and power by. which the understanding is dedicated to God, and even then it is "faith which worketh by love." Faith is the belief m the goodness arid power of God and is founded upon reason as may be seen m the Centurion's declaration of his faith (St. Matthew 8, 5-13). Faith aiid Reason. Is faith opposed to reason? A whole treatise is required to discuss this question and even then agreement might not be reached because we could still differ as to the precise meaning to be attached to both terms. If we accept St. Peter's exhortation faith and reason cannot be opposed. "Be, ready always; to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is m you with weakness and fear." It is hardly possible to entertain hope -without faith and it would seem to be true to say that faith eari only be secure where reason is used to its utmost capacity. To this it may be replied, that it is only true for one type of mind. This may be valid if the existence of "types of mind" is admitted, but a little caution is

needed here. When we speak of faith we need to be very sure that there is no suspicion of credulity, superstition, "imaginations as one would." What is the remedy for these ills? Can there be any doubt that it is patient and accurate thought to the highest degree of which we are capable? "God is Light" and m :Him is ko darkness at alV' (I. St. Jolin, 1-5), and this involves the duty of attempting to attain to complete intellectual honesty. Can you Lave intellectual honesty without clear and valid reasoning? Probably the widely* . held belief that faith and* reason are opposed would not exist if there were no!? room for the suspicion that m the mouths of some . people faith means credulity, and credulity, can be numbered among the greatest evils of life. On Vthe other hand, reason is not the. whole story; if it , were we should arrive at demonstration and not faith at all. To accept some proposition because, it is demonstrated is no virtue, to trust m God through all appearances to- the contrary is a very great virtue. We come back .' to the truth that "faith worketh by love" and can only really be separated for the purpose of thinking out its true province; The following passage from Jeremy Taylor's "Holy Living" shows this clearly :-^- --"True faith is confident and .will venture all the world upon the strength of its persuasion. Will. you lay your life upon it, your estate, your reputation, that the doctrine . of Jesus Christ is true m every article? Then you have true faith. Bmt he that fears men more than God, believes men more than he believes m ' God. , ■ ■ ■ '■■.. ■ "•■ .': . „.., Faith, if it be true, living arid jusr tifying, cannot be separated, from a good life : it works miracles, makes a drunkard become sober, a lascivious pqjrson (become chjaste, ja 'covetous man become liberal; it '"overcomes

the world," it "works righteousness," and makes us diligently to do, and cheerfully to suffer, whatsoever God hath placed m our way to heaven." Growing Faith. A man's mind cannot stand still and, if faith is truly regarded as the consecration of the intellectual life, neither can faith remain m a state of rest. It. goes put on ventures and comes back chastened or strengthened for further work. ' Jereniy Taylor provides one , test by which we may discern whether or no we possess true faith. The following passage from K. E. , Kirk's "Moral Theology" sets forth clearly tests by which we may determine the condition of the faith we have : — "What are' the visible fruits of a faith that is growing steadily and strongly? The signs of growing faith may be set down m" something like the following terms: — (a) An- equable temper m all vicissitudes of human affairs, mark-' ed by an unswerving optimism as to the supremacy, at all times, of the providence of God. (b) A quality which, if it were, riot founded upon God but upon self, we should call self-confidence or selfreliance. (c) A decline m impulsiveness, leading to prudence (careful consideration of means and consequences) before action, and patience and perseverance m action. (d) A certain simplicity and directness which discards, as. often as not, allthat would commpnly.be regarded as tact or finesse and goes straight to the point; (c) A spirit of contentment and even of joy m believing (Phil. 1-25). (f) An ardour for an ever-increas-ing knowledge of' the buth. On the other hand, we may set down as signs of/ defective faith, spiritual cowardice^; (an" unwillingness to be; known as a Christian by an unsympathetic world); impatience, discpntent, and dejection; ineffectiveness and inconsistency." • • . ; ; ■••■'.•'■■-■■■ '. . S.F;N.W;