Faith as Gift and Choice

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The importance of believing what others say

We’re sometimes told we shouldn’t believe everything we hear, or read, or see. And that’s true. But it’s also true that we are designed so that we can’t survive without believing other people.

The truth we know firsthand, or our own reasoning, just isn’t enough for us. All of human history, for instance, consists in events we weren’t at and can’t mathematically prove.

Or think of geography. How many places do you know exist, vs. how many places you’ve personally been to?

Even scientists must rely on the testimony of other scientists, since no one can do all the experiments themselves.

The reason we want our children to be educated is because we know that the only way they can have access to the wealth of human knowledge is if they receive it from others. That only happens through belief.

A person who doesn’t want to believe anybody should just shut themselves in a padded room and rock back and forth saying, “Lies, it’s all lies!”

But if we want a richer life than that, the only way to get it is by accepting that what other people say is normally true.

And if we believe that what other people say is true, then we should definitely believe that what God says is true. That is what we mean by the virtue of Faith.

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Faith as belief in what God says

The amazing message of the Gospel is that God has spoken to us.

The philosophers have tried to guess and demonstrate that there must be a God, and what He must be like. But God hasn’t left us to our guesses and our arguments. He has spoken. He has given us a Revelation.

This revelation came first through the prophets. Then it came in its perfect and definitive form in Jesus Christ. Now, that message, that revelation of Jesus Christ, is proclaimed and protected and preserved in the Catholic Church.

People tell us things all the time, teachers, friends, family, strangers, and we have the choice whether to believe them or not.

Now God is trying to tell us something and we have the same choice.

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Faith as a Gift and a Choice

As we’ve said, all the theological virtues are gifts. Faith and Hope and Charity are the gifts God grants us when He adopts us through Baptism. In this case, God is giving us His supernatural revelation about Who He is, What He has done, and His plans for our happiness.

He’s also giving us the ability to accept His revelation; to have faith in His message. But it’s also a choice. Belief in someone else is always a choice because belief means to accept something you can’t know by yourself

If somebody tells you 2+2=4 or what you had for breakfast this morning, you don’t need to make a decision to believe them; you don’t have to rely on their knowledge for something you already know on your own. But to rely on someone else, to be dependent on someone else, that always requires a choice, a choice that also involves some humility, because it means we don’t see ourselves as the ultimate standard or source of truth.

So when God offers us this truth, and it's truth we couldn’t know on our own, it’s up to us whether we’ll have the humility to accept it.

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The Three Elements of Belief

Every time you believe somebody, it involves three things. You have to: Trust the person speaking to you, accept the truth of what they say, and act on that truth.

For instance, if you’re in a strange city and you ask somebody for directions, the only way you will believe that person is if you: Think he looks reliable, accept that his directions are accurate, and actually go the way he says to go.

You’re going to have to do the same thing if you want to have the theological virtue of faith.

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The Three Aspects of Faith

The Theological Virtue of Faith means you have to first trust God. That means you have to have a relationship with Him, because you’re not going to have a lot of trust in someone you don’t know.

You’ll also have to Accept the Truths of Revelation because how can you believe God if you don’t believe what He says through Scripture and the Church?

Finally, you’ll have to Act on that Truth because if you’re not willing to act on something, it means you don’t really believe it.

This is the gift of faith. This is the challenge of faith. This is what it means to be a believer.