October Fridays in the Christian Playbook will focus on four meanings of Faith using commentary from Marcus Borg’s book Heart of Christianity.
“Faith is at the heart of Christianity. Its centrality goes back to the New Testament. All but two of its twenty-seven books use the noun ‘faith’ or the verb ‘believe.’ ”
~ Marcus Borg in Heart of Christianity, p. 27
Borg mentions that of the four meanings of faith, only one is a “matter of the head” and that one – Faith as Assensus – is more recent. He says assensus is “faith as belief – that is, as giving one’s mental assent to a proposition, as believing that a claim or statement is true.”
He cites two developments that account for assensus’ dominance in modern Western Christianity today: 1) the Protestant Reformation, with each branch distinguishing itself by what they ‘believed’ and 2) “the birth of modern science and scientific ways of knowing in the Enlightenment of the seventeenth century.”
For many of us, faith as assensus is foundational. Yet, could this very aspect of faith may be one of the biggest obstacles to faith for younger generations? Here are a few comments Borg makes in the book:
- “…faith is what you need when beliefs and knowledge conflict.” (p. 29)
- “It’s remarkable to think that God cares so much about ‘beliefs.’ ” (p. 30)
- “Believing a set of claims to be true has very little transforming power.” (p. 31)
POSSIBLE ACTION/CONVERSATION: think about this form of faith. How much of your faith in God is assensus? Consider discussing this with someone if an opportunity arises in the days ahead…
NOTE: these quotes and comments are ‘just a shaving of taste from the major fruit’ that Borg shares in the book. If you’d like more on this, please consider buying the book… 🙂
Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!
This focus on the book “The Heart of Christianity” is inspired by our friend, Dean, one of the hole-in-the-wall gang (leftmost in picture)
Lectionary Texts for Sunday, October 6, 2019:
- Lamentations 1:1-6 and Lamentations 3:19-26 or Psalm 137
- Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 and Psalm 37:1-9
- 2 Timothy 1:1-14
- Luke 17:5-10
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