I'm not sure if this is a true dichotomy, but I was struck yet again today, as I was working on planning the program for the confirmation retreat I'll be leading this weekend, that when I think about faith, and what I experience as faith, is so much more than "believing in" any particular set of propositions. Being a theology nerd, I do find claims about God and humanity's relationship to God both interesting and compelling. But, as one of the books I was reading today puts it, there's a big difference between believing that God exists and knowing God.
In both the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the church in which I am ordained, and the United Church of Christ, the church where I currently serve as a pastor, members are not bound by creeds. There's no set of beliefs you have to sign on to in order to belong. But still, I feel like people (myself included, at times) too easily revert to an understanding of faith as holding certain convictions, or knowing a lot of facts about the Bible... it can seem like all head and no heart.
So what is faith then, if it's not "I believe X about Y" ? Not accepting intellectually that The Story is True, but rather living as if The Story were True, and in the process finding our own stories make more sense. Faith is commitment to a relationship with God, to spending time with God, through worship, service, prayer and fellowship. Faith is opening not just your mind but your heart to the possibility of being loved unconditionally.
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