Faith and beliefs in contemporary society

Faith, Religion & Theology, Brennan Hill, Paul Knitter, and William Madges delve into an examination of faith. They begin by distinguishing faith from belief. Next, they discuss how faith relates to the mind, heart, and will and how the mind, heart, and the will participate in the faith response. They discuss active faith. Finally, they touch on all of the major religions and discuss the uniqueness of Christian faith. Taken together, these explanations of faith help explain the role of faith in Christianity.

Hill, Knitter, and Madges begin their discussion of faith by distinguishing faith from belief. The two ideas are very similar, but there is a fundamental difference separating them. "Faith is our trusting commitment to a relationship; whereas beliefs are the ideas, the truths, the cognitive content that are integral to our commitments. When beliefs change, the faith relationship can be altered" (Hill et al., 1997, p.24). This explanation makes it clear that the authors believe that faith is active and intentional, while belief can be both inactive and unintentional.

That is not to suggest that the authors think that faith somehow belies belief. On the contrary, they believe that the mind plays a critical role in faith. "Faith is in one sense the human capacity to believe that the truth of the matter is somewhere out there to be discovered" (Hill et al., 1997, p.10). In fact, rather than suggesting that faith is something one should have without knowledge, the authors suggest that "faith in someone implies knowledge of that person," and think that religious faith has the same pattern (Hill et al., 1997, p.10). Therefore, there is a certain level of uncertainty that comes with faith, and that uncertainty does not undermine the faith. However, faith is not solely an intellectual endeavor. Faith involves emotions as well, and Hill et al. describe it as "resting in the closeness of another" (1997, p.14). It is knowing and trusting that loved ones will remain true and loving. Choosing to place that trust is how the heart interacts with faith. While both the heart and the mind can urge one towards faith, they cannot do it without the will. "Faith is a commitment, a pledge or promise to carry out certain responsibilities," (Hill et al., 1997, p.18). The will is the way a person translates faith into action.

Action plays a critical role in faith. It is very easy to say that one is faithful, but the proof of that faith comes from one's actions. The authors contrast full faith and empty faith, suggesting that those who have beliefs without faith cut themselves off from the fullness of human experience (Hill et al., 1997, p.29). "Full faith requires openness to learning and life, a willingness to search and explore, an eagerness to make firm decisions, a dynamic energy to reach for goals;" not surprisingly, those are the components of active faith (Hill et al., 1997, p.29). Nurturing human commitments is one way to have active faith. Though the authors mention this example before discussing active faith, they give an example of a rebel priest donning a disguise to attend the funeral service of two women martyred for his cause (Hill et al., 1997, p.22-23). This is a great example of active faith, because it demonstrates the power of human commitment.