Do you notice how eager the fathers are always to link faith with its content, how loathe they are to talk about believing as a thing in itself, separated from a message? Do you see how far removed both the scriptures and our confessional writings are from the mindless and empty exhortations too commonly heard (Perhaps even from us?): Just believe! Just have faith! Both the Holy Ghost and the fathers insist on adding the WHAT and the WHY. Faith without the promise is superstition; faith without the content is merely opinion; faith that is only feeling is mindless naval gazing.
Here's his summary:
- Faith in the scriptures and in the confessional writings is not merely a feeling, an opinion, some sort of pious optimism.
- Faith in the scriptures and in the confessional writings is knowledge of facts of the history and promises of God in the scriptures, assent that these are true and real—not just myths or fables, and confidence that the particular truth or promise applies to the believer.
- When the subject is salvation, saving faith, it may well be best to avoid speaking of it as weak or strong; for one either trusts that the virgin born and risen Christ is his savior, or he does not.
- Most often when the scriptures and the confessional writings speak about weak/strong faith they are not talking about saving faith but about its consequence, namely that faith which trusts God's word and promises in specific situations and circumstances in life.
- Even when speaking of weak/strong faith in the sense indicated above, the scriptures and the confessional writings are not talking about mindless feelings, emotions alone or opinion; the faith in a particular circumstance is weak or strong in relation to knowledge of God's promises and trust that those promises apply to us in our every need.
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