Re: [asa] RE: TE and apologetics (ASA membership)

First, to the extent that a person is known to fail to do what he says he'll do, one's trust in that person is diminished. The reaction to a promise from that person will then be "I'll believe it when I see it." (& note that replacing "believe" by "trust" wouldn't be appropriate there. You don't speak of trusting that someone will do something that you know he's already done.)

But the real question isn't about trusting a person in a lot of different instances but of fundamental trust in one who promises that we can depend on him in life & in death. I don't know what it would mean to say "Yes, I believe I can trust in God in that sense but I don't really believe factually that I can depend on him." You'd have to give some of the "examples too numerous" for me to see whether or not they're germane.

I think it's confusing to treat "belief" and "trust" as if they were alternatives or in conflict. If Christian faith is fundamentally trust in the God revealed in Jesus Christ then one has to believe that God is revealed in Jesus Christ. But such a belief is not in itself saving faith. I.e., a person can say "Yes, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God but I'm not going to chance my life or he things I rely on because of that."

Shalom,
George

---- "John Burgeson (ASA member)" <hossradbourne@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 9/19/09, gmurphy10@neo.rr.com <gmurphy10@neo.rr.com> wrote:
> > Trust is an essential aspect of faith but it's hard to see how one can trust
> > in someone or something that one knows nothing about. & if one in some
> > sense knows God, it's hard to see how one can trust that God will fulfill
> > his promises unless one believes that those promises are true.
>
> 1. One may trust someone w/o necessarily believing that they will do
> what they say. Examples too numerous to list them all come to mind.
>
> If one actively disbelieves they will do as they say, and thinks he
> has good reason for that disbelief, then, of course, the situation
> might be different.
>
> Few things in life are black and white, 100% vs 0%.
>
> I don't use the word "belief" much; I prefer ""trust." So I reallly
> get tangled up in your closing sentence.

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Received on Sat Sep 19 16:31:58 2009