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Have you ever had the experience through the course of your readings that a theme emerges that captures your attention and sticks in your brain? When a question persistently presents itself begging to be answered. I have been thinking a lot lately about the Christian church and its long history of being “belief-based”. I shared previously the framework that Harvey Cox had presented where he proposes the history of the church as consisting of three phases, the second of which is the age of belief which spans from the 4th century to well into the mid-twentieth century (and is still prevalent in many faith communities). This age is characterized by the primacy of what is believed to be true. Faith communities are defined by their shared beliefs. If one were to believe something other than what is professed by that community the dissonance generally becomes intolerable and causes one to choose to (or be forced to) remove themselves from that community and seek another.
I have been wondering lately about the notion of belief. Why does it seem to be important and insufficient at the same time? What other options are there to be considered when contemplating our spiritual life? I have a mantra that I find immensely helpful, “Distinctions matter”. Clarity is gained through distinctions. In Brian McLarens’s book, The Great Spiritual Migration, How the World’s Largest Religion is Seeking a Better Way to Be Christian, he draws a distinction between Faith and Belief and this distinction has given me a lot to think about. He defines beliefs as “opinions or judgements about which a person or group is fully persuaded”. Though beliefs may not necessarily be proven, they are treated among “believers” as certainties and are generally not up for questioning. Faith, however, he defines as conviction, “the deep and motivating sense that a course of action is right and worth doing”. He goes on to say, “This conviction is lived out in the context of uncertainty. It involves a risk, an unknown. It proceeds not by certainty, but through confidence, the deep and motivating sense that a risk is worthwhile. Based on this distinction he concludes that one may have a lot of beliefs with very little faith and one can have a lot of faith with very little in the way of beliefs.
I am still thinking this through, but it seems that there is a very important distinction here. So, while I continue to think about the differences between belief and faith here is my current, very early take on the differences:
- Beliefs are passively cognitive.
- Beliefs are an attempt to articulate a system and how it works.
- Beliefs are often recited publicly to remind the community what unites them (and may often imply who does NOT belong in the community).
- Beliefs are derived externally.
- Belief may tend to be more communal.
- Faith may tend to be more individual.
- Faith is derived internally. It begins with a strong internal sense of confidence and deep knowing.
- Faith involves “being all in” in the context of uncertainty.
- Faith implies action and commitment.
I am reflecting on Jesus and the great spiritual teachers through the ages. They trusted their faith in the face of the beliefs of the day. They felt a sense of conviction and confidence while having no reason to do so. Their sense of conviction and confidence originated internally. What have we to learn from their example? What might it mean to “grow in our faith”? What does it mean, to use Brian McLaren’s words, to have a lot of faith with very little in the way of beliefs? I plan on continuing to reflect on this topic and these questions. Perhaps you have some thoughts about the distinction between belief and faith. If so, I would love to hear them.
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