From G.K. Chesterton's St. Thomas Aquinas (1933):
Since the modern world began in the sixteenth century, nobody’s system of philosophy has really corresponded to everybody’s sense of reality; to what, if left to themselves, common men would call common sense. Each started with a paradox; a peculiar point of view demanding the sacrifice of what they would call a sane point of view. That is the one thing common to Hobbes and Hegel, to Kant and Bergson, to Berkeley and William James. A man had to believe something that no normal man would believe, if it were suddenly propounded to his simplicity; as that law is above right, or right is outside reason, or things are only as we think them, or everything is relative to a reality that is not there. The modern philosopher claims, like a sort of confidence man, that if once we will grant him this, the rest will be easy; he will straighten out the world, if once he is allowed to give this one twist to the mind.
I notice that there are no comments yet posted. Perhaps because it is a Friday night or perhaps it is because the esteemed Mr. Chesterson waxes spiritual. The Bible makes a clear distinction between carnal thought and spiritual reality. It abounds in redundancy of this subject in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans.
The things of God (in the Bible it is transliterated from the Greek word "pneumatikos"; or 'spiritual matters') can be known only to those who know and have God's spirit. How does one obtain God's spirit? The answer is recorded in Romans 10:9-10. This is how one obtains faith.
What is faith?
In the Bible, the words "faith" and "belieivng" are derived from the same Greek root word, "pistis". You are not given a guide as to why which one is used where, which one isn't and why which of them was chosen. Frankly, the translators did a very good job of this (they were subjects of King James, after all).
Please allow me to explain the difference between "faith" and "believing". Believing is a means to an end. Faith is the end in itself. It is the state of being fully pursuaded. We practice this in a carnal manner all of the time. Each time we sit in a chair, we have faith, or are fully pursuaded that the chair will support us. If it is a chair that we are sitting on for the first time, this is a significant leap of "faith". Quite simply, we placed our "faith" (i.e. the state of being fully pursuaded) in the person who has offered us the chair and the manufacturer of the chair. Suffice it to say that neither of these parties are infallible.
It follows to ponder how this is related to "pneumatikos". Good question.
Since the things of The Spirit (pneumatikos) can be known only be the spirit (God's spirit within us), how can these things and matters be understood?
The answer is recorded in Romans, chapter 10, verse 17. "So that faith (the state of being fully pursuaded) cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of God."
My friends, as well as my opponents, The Holy Bible, God's written and revealed will, is tragically misunderstood. I will go on record to say that it is tragically misunderstood by the major Christian denominations. I will also go on record to aver that The Bible is not difficult to understand, if one can forego what has been previously been presnted to you.
Read it for yourself. Let it speak to you. At minimum, 90% of The Bible interprets itself right where it is written. It needs no explanation, no commentary, no research (John 3:16 is a classic example). The Bible describes our God, our Creator, as a "fountain of living waters". May you drink thereof and may your thirst be eternally quenched.
Posted by: Philip France | August 07, 2009 at 11:11 PM
Thank you Philip France for the enlightening response.
Posted by: WestWright | August 15, 2009 at 09:11 AM