January 28

Faith ultimately is unavoidable due to our restless human condition in which we are constantly searching for answers. As Origen states: “our mind burns with desire to know the design of things we think have been made by God. Love of truth cannot be satisfied.” So when self proclaimed reasonable anti-religion sects, like the Manichees, claim they have an answer for each internal question we ask ourselves in pursuit of the truth, we remain restless, especially when it ignores God. That is because there will never be an end to this search–it’s inherent in our nature to be constantly re-evaluating our beliefs. Because there will never be a definite answer, we do not accept definite answers and must utilize our faith. There are many truths we just cannot quantify or answer with definite facts. But although today in our factual and science based society we perceive the word “faith” as simple and negatively, faith is beneficial. Wilken makes the point that much like history, in theology we must have faith in past witnesses and their judgement and integrity to reach what we accept as true. We must have faith to pursue our search: one cannot arrive at truth without faith. Additionally, having this faith can actually make one more receptive to receiving the truth: “if you believe you will understand.” Becoming more faithful is a process where we practice our love, knowledge, patience, and other virtues. So by fulfilling our natural human nature, we actually becoming better humans. According to passage 5, “The obedience of faith is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals.” When discussing Genesis, we discussed how obedience to God is good as he correctly judges things for us. Faith is just a form of obedience to God’s message and when we do his will, God reveals some truths to us. So while many people get frustrated that to truly start reaching truth you must have faith, the reality is that our human condition is fulfilled through faith.