Works of Faith

           In my opinion, action on the behalf of one’s faith is one of the greatest qualities of humanity today. If faith does in fact exist, acting on it is almost divine. I believe it is that action that defines one’s faith. Ironically, the exact qualities of faith are still an enigma to me. In simpler terms; I can recognize a work of faith when I see it but it is still difficult to define. What gives us the ability to trust in something beyond our own understanding? Why are we then forced to act on our faith? Is faith derived from some social context or is it all psychological? Do we mistake faith for something else? It certainly cannot be conditioned like other behaviors or else it would not be faith.

            Last week our class tried to define morals and virtue in the name of a better understanding of Machiavelli. I know it sounds pretty corny, but faith is fundamentally impossible to define. I believe this is why Luther faced some harsh criticism from the Church in his time. Faith is not a singular belief nor is it some social construct or mental misconstruction. It is too easy to rationalize something in terms of another article already understood.  To do so would detract from its significance. I therefore think that we should not try to define it as singular belief but instead recognize the works from faith.

            I believe we act on our faith because not to do so would destroy or fundamentally alter the faith that you have. So in that way, I fundamentally disagree with Luther. One cannot be a Christian and not be defined by their works, the two are connected fundamentally. You are a Christian through your works of faith. I am not saying that you cannot sin, but if you have the ability to recognize a situation in which your faith calls you to act, you are obliged to act.

            In this way, there are good and bad Christians. I understand the counter argument during our discussion in how there are good and bad people who happen to be Christian.  Yet with my non-definition of faith, I believe there are some circumstances under which there are indeed good and bad Christians. The good are those who both believe and act on their faith, while the bad only act part of the time. I realize I lack concrete proof, but it is really difficult to put faith in a pressure cooker and expect some indisputable answer.

            In closing, the recognition of faith is the best we can do to understand it and we can only recognize it through its works.