The Functional Nature of the Christian Faith - Research Paper Example

Sur Understand the functional nature of the Christian Faith rooted in human nature, the cosmos, Christian revelation, and Jesus. In Christianity, faith may be perceived as trust and commitment in Jesus Christ. Also, faith may be described as trust in something objective, a system, a person or a procedure. Faith is the very foundation of Christian faith and it serves as a bedrock of a life of obedience. Although one might not be a Christian, faith of some kind is exhibited by all human beings since it is their nature. Moreover, believing belongs to the structure of human life which, in spite of important differences in realization, is the same for all (Mueller). In order to clearly understand the functional nature of Christian faith in human nature, we must first understand the nature of human beings. Within the structure of the human life, we can distinguish the inner and outer heart and functions. Therefore, faith is considered as the highest function in human existence. This on one hand implies that believing is the only function, and on the other hand it the most important of all functions. When believing is only functional, it implies that faith is not identical with the heart, but it is determined by the heart in its direction toward good or evil. In short, the whole man is religious and his life is a walk before the face of God in obedience or disobedience (Albi). Since the nature of the Christian faith is functional, it is subject to functional law. In this respect, it is identical to all other functions. Furthermore, faith has an analytical function whose nature is to analyze and distinguish. Distinguishing simply entails noting diversity existing independently with respect to its distinguishing activity. Therefore, the analytical is able to note the distinctness of law and function not only in other law spheres but also in the case of analytical itself (Albi). Faith is a fundamental pillar in Christianity since in its absence, spirituality cannot exist, and hope is doomed to crumble. Also, it is the fundamental principle of the religion of Christ. Many people who consider themselves Christians don’t really understand what faith is. However, the Christian faith is grounded and if the foundation is faulty, then it unlikely that structures built upon it will be strong (Boice). According to the Christian faith, the cosmos and all its components were created by God. The ancient Jewish communities believed that the cosmos consisted a flat shaped disc planet that floated on water. According to them, the world was made up of the underworld and the heavens. However, the Jews later adopted the idea that the underworld was a place where wrong doers would be punished while on the other hand the righteous would go to heaven (Boice). Later on, the Greek adopted concept that God created matter. In modern Christian faith, this ideas is widely accepted across all the denominations. In fact, Christians have widely embraced cosmologies informed by once widely accepted interpretations of earth and its life that recent scientific discoveries have discredited. In light of this, many Christians have perceived a need to revive their cosmologies due to contemporary science. However, because the scientific discoveries in recent times have revolutionized the Christian understanding of the universe and the life it has come to support, some Christians have had difficulties in accepting the cosmological changes these scientific advances suggest (Boice). Moreover, many Christians who have accepted recent cosmological discoveries have not contemplated the potential implications that such changes have. Overtime, the scientific changes have complicated the relationship between natural science and the Christian faith hence some Christians have yet to agree upon what these scientific discoveries mean for their faith. Christian revelation and faith is justifiable in the belief that God exist and is revealed through true and authoritative sources. The functional Christian faith is not just about believing that God exist but it is believing God exists and is revealed thus and so through historical acts, in prophets, in scriptures and in wisdom handed down (Albi). Similarly, Gods self-revelation is fundamentally the revelation about the truth of propositions articulated in human language. The Christian faith in revelation also entails the belief that God’s presence is primarily the divine presence itself. Most importantly, revelation has the definitive meaning of testimony, whereby God speaks to man, making a statement of truth of which he testifies. Christian faith is therefore defined as a true intellectual assent given to a truth received by hearing from without. Christian through their faith believe that the things that have been testified, said or revealed by a personal God are true (Mueller). Furthermore, it is said that God has revealed himself in his creations and through manifesting some truth to man by an interior enlightenment of his mind in a way that the man is not aware about the source of his knowledge. That person simply starts to know what he did not know before. This kind of knowledge is the kind that was granted to many of the saints through revelation. In modern Christian faith, this revelation had the meaning of revelations made in consciousness by religious sense. According to them, this was just a personal religious experience (Albi). Christian faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and a spiritual gift that is fundamental to our salvation. Christ has both a human and divine will. Moreover, Christian faith teaches that Jesus had two natures with two activities: as God working miracles, rising from the dead and ascending into heaven and as Man, performing the ordinary acts of daily life. Christian understanding of faith in Jesus is primarily belief, trust and reliance. Also, having sincere faith in Jesus influences the way Christian think and the way of life they choose (Boice). To sum it up, Christians therefore need to fully understand and put into practice the functional faith that is rooted in the human nature, the cosmos, Christian revelation and Jesus. After all, if Christians are to lead a good religious life, they must have firm and sound convictions about their faith and their duties to God. Christians need to have these convictions or else their life will be purposeless. Works Cited Albi, C Martin. Reasons, Faith, and Tradition: Explorations in Catholic Theology. Winowa: Anselm Academic, 2009. Boice, James Montgomery. Foundations of the Christian Faith. Chicago: InterVarsity Press, 1986. Mueller, J J. Theological Foundations, Concepts and Methods for Understanding Christian Faith. Winona: Anselm Academic, 2011. Read More