Faith in People
I once joked that if there is anything in me that could be considered faith it would be my faith in people. This however is a slightly different use of the term “faith” and so it would be more accurate to say that I don’t really have anything in me which could reasonably be considered faith.
When I first started using my line about having faith in people, a friend of mine pointed out that it was less of a faith thing and more of a reasonable expectation. When you get to know people, you begin to form bonds with them and trust them to varying degrees. Because of those bonds, one has a reasonable expectation that they “have your back” so to speak.
Now I will admit that I take that reasonable expectation to the very edge of reason, but there is reason there. It isn’t the same thing as faith which the Bible defines as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” To put it simply, faith is belief without evidence.
So my use of faith in reference to people really is a misuse of the term. We trust those close to us because we have experience with them. Based on the evidence of that experience we often get a reasonable expectation that they will help us when we need help.
I still like my line that if there is anything in me that could be called faith it would be faith in people. I think that line helps to show believers that they have their priorities turned around. Instead of hoping for help from their imaginary friend, they should be asking for help from their actual friends. In fact, instead of trying to help God with his divine plan, they really should be trying to help their friends and family with their more earthly plans and endeavors.
Related articles
- Introducing Biblespoof.com (mojoey.blogspot.com)
- Faith or reason? (brighthub.com)
- Logical Theology (new.exchristian.net)