The twenty-fourth of March

The faith that can move mountains needs three ingredients to work: belief in yourself, belief in others and the ability to draw on your inner strength^*

Some of you may have noticed that I've missed a day or two. This is partly because of ongoing health issues. However, I couldn't resist the opportunity to comment on the distinction between faith and belief.

First, so that there's a copy here for your convenience, I'll mention that the saying is almost certainly making reference (whether the author knows it or not) to something Jesus said:

Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”—Matthew 17:19–20 (NLT)

Anyway, today's saying seems to conflate the idea of faith with that of belief. This is a common thing to do, but I don't like it. I don't like it because I think the distinction is important, and the English language is lucky to be able to make that distinction so easily. Someone may be able to correct me, but I think I remember reading somewhere that Biblical Greek makes no such distinction, and nor does German.

So what is the distinction? I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you what the distinction is in my mind, which may or may not approximate the distinction in some other people's minds. In my mind, belief is the mere intellectual acceptance of the truth of a set of statements; faith is more than this, and involves faithfulness. (You may notice that faithfulness coincidentally is a relatively similar word to faith.)

Arguably, belief isn't even the most important part of faith. In fact, in the Bible, Job seems to display faith and belief actually at odds with each other. He believes that God is attacking him, but he continues to have faith in God's character. Job says this about God:

Why do I put myself in jeopardy
and take my life in my hands?

Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
I will surely defend my ways to his face.

Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,
for no godless man would dare come before him!—Job 13:14–16 (NIV)

(You may have noticed that since near the beginning of the year, I've been using the New Living Translation consistently, so that you can't accuse me of choosing a translation for each passage to agree with my point. Well, for this passage, I'm choosing the New International Version because it agrees with my point; this appears to be one of the more difficult passages in Job to agree on a translation for. However, I think this is a nice compact way of illustrating one of the things going on in Job's mind. Read all of Job (in the NLT, if you like), and tell me if you disagree with me.)

Since I'm not a scholar of ancient Greek, you should probably discount the credibility of what I'm about to say, but I'm inclined to believe that the lack of distinct words for faith and belief probably caused the confusion we're inclined to have when we compare James 2:14–26 with things Paul kept saying about faith, for example: Romans 4, Galatians 3:1–14, Ephesians 2:8–9, and so on. When I read the James passage in context, and come across bits like verse 19—"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."—I really do think that James is talking about mere belief, rather than faith, and it puzzles me why the translators have sometimes chosen faith and sometimes belief when they come across words beginning with πιστ.

I find it interesting that the German language makes no distinction between faith and belief, because the most famous Reformer, Martin Luther, was German (and I've just discovered that I'm exactly 500 years younger than him). Fortunately, the Reformation benefited from the distinction being present in Latin; one of the catch-cries of the Reformation was sola fide, meaning by faith alone, not by belief alone, which I assume would be something like solo credo (but I'm honestly just guessing; when you're correcting my pronouncements on German, Gemma, feel free to consult with your sister or anyone else appropriate about my pronouncements on Latin—and ancient Greek, for that matter).

Finally, I want to include a quote from Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis. This is from near the beginning of book 3, chapter 11.

Roughly speaking, the word Faith seems to be used by Christians in two senses or on two levels, and I will take them in turn. In the first sense it means simply Belief—accepting or regarding at true the doctrines of Christianity. That is fairly simple. But what does puzzle people—at least it used to puzzle me—is the fact that Christians regard faith in this sense as a virtue. I used to ask how on earth it can be a virtue—what is there moral or immoral about believing or not believing a set of statements? Obviously, I used to say, a sane man accepts any statement, not because he wants to or does not want to, but because the evidence seems to him good or bad. If he were mistaken about the goodness or badness of the evidence that would not mean he was a bad man, but only that he was not very clever. And if he thought the evidence bad but tried to force himself to believe in spite of it, that would be merely stupid.
Well, I think I still take that view.

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The twelfth of February

When you remain calm and strong in a desperate situation, you can help like an angel^*

Yes, being calm usually helps you to think more clearly, and thinking is often a good idea, whether the situation is desperate or not. I don't know what else to say.

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The eleventh of February

Let sweetness in my thoughts, words and actions be the most visible of all virtues^*

I don't think I've ever really thought about which virtues ought to be more visible than which other ones. Unless the virtue inherently has something visible about it, I'm not convinced it matters. I don't see why honesty, for example, shouldn't be just as visible as "sweetness", whatever that's meant to mean in this saying.

Something from the Bible:

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”—Matthew 6:5–6 (NLT)

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The tenth of February

Where there is determination, success will become the garland around your neck^*

I'm not sure if constant determination guarantees constant success, but I think constant determination will ensure that you eventually succeed at most things. I'm still a bit too unwell to come up with any coherent comments about whether that success will or should be visible to everyone, like a garland is.

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The ninth of February

Everyone enjoys the company of a soul who is light^*

I assume this is trying to say that people like other people to have a sense of humour. It's hard to argue with that.

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The eighth of February

Truth is like the sun: it cannot remain hidden; it will always shine through eventually^*

I've had a headache all day, so I might not be very articulate right now. That reminds me of this:

Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy. The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!”—Luke 12:1–3 (NLT)

And also this amazing picture that was featured on Wikipedia a day or two ago.

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The seventh of February

Learn from others rather than criticise them. They are giving you free instruction!^*

Indeed, you can learn a lot from other people's mistakes, by observing for yourself what happens, and by listening to the advice of people who have made or observed those mistakes. You don't have to make every mistake for yourself.

Criticism is another way to learn. If you try something new (or even something old), you can ask for polite criticism from someone more experienced, or someone who might see things in a different way from you. Don't be afraid to return the favour if they ask you to, or even if you know them well, and can criticize in a way you know they'll find helpful. And don't forget that praise of good things can teach (and encourage) them, too, not just criticism of things that can be improved.

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The sixth of February

Contentment arises from a peaceful heart and a tranquil mind^*

We already talked about contentment in relation to self-esteem, on the sixth of January. I'm not sure how much more I can say about contentment. I suppose it is related to a peaceful heart and a tranquil mind, but I'm not convinced that it's a result of them. I'm more inclined to think it's a cause of them, or perhaps the same thing as them. Regardless of all that, if you aim for a peaceful heart and a tranquil mind in an attempt to become content, I don't think you'll find you've reduced the problem to something easier to achieve.

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The fifth of February

The essence of wisdom is using what we know and confessing to what we do not know^*

This is good advice. Don't forget to use what other people know, too. Although I'm too tired to find an example at the moment, Proverbs talks a number of times about how wise people often keep their mouths shut. This affords them an opportunity to learn even more from other people, and from observing things they might not have noticed if they were busy talking.

Proverbs says quite a lot about wisdom, actually. I recommend it. In particular, chapter 8 is written from the point of view of wisdom herself.

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The fourth of February

In silence we find a solution to every problem^*

You know, I spent quite a lot of time yesterday thinking about problem number four on my number theory assignment. Some of the time I was thinking in silence, some of the time I was listening to music. I probably occasionally talked to myself, too. I eventually solved the problem when I was listening to music.

Sure, sitting and taking time to think about something can often help solve problems. By not acting on every thought as soon as it comes to you, you give yourself a chance to consider what the possible consequences are. I'm not sure that such a sweeping statement about "every problem" is warranted, though.

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The third of February

Give charity from the heart with sweetness and selflessness^*

And tact. Some people don't like to think of themselves as needing charity. I suppose you'd call it pride. If someone refuses charity, then it's probably not a good idea to try to force it on them. Continuing to be their friend is still a good idea, though.

Perhaps it would also be a good idea to accept charity with gratefulness and humility when you need it, and even when you don't need it, if it'll help significantly.

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The second of February

Make good thoughts the treasures of your life and you will become prosperous^*

Is this trying to suggest that if you put a high value on good thoughts, then you'll have lots of good thoughts, or lots of money, or both? What kind of good thoughts is it talking about? Wishing other people well? Wishing yourself well? Appreciating beauty?

It's very difficult to decide what I think of this one, except that it's quite unclear (to me, at least). If nothing else, it reminds me of something Jesus said:

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”—Matthew 6:19–21 (NLT)

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The first of February

Where there is self-mastery, the face sparkles with confidence and shows no sign of struggle^*

I assume that self-mastery is similar to what I'm used to calling self-control. If so, then in my experience it requires frequent struggle with desires that you don't want to indulge. The suggestion that such struggle will never show in your face seems absurd, to me.

Perhaps self-mastery refers to more than just self-control. Maybe it involves control over the external circumstances that affect you, too, like how other people treat you, or your health, or natural disasters. This seems a bit much to hope for. If mere self-control was good enough for Jesus, then why isn't it good enough for us?

At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!”
Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!”—Luke 13:31–33 (NLT)

And later:

Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”
He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.—Luke 22:39–44 (NLT)

He knew he was going to be killed. He probably knew it would be by crucifixion, in which you finally suffocate when your legs no longer have the strength to lift your body enough to let air into your lungs for another breath. He didn't want to go through that suffering. But he willingly went to Jerusalem for it, instead of running away and hiding.

That is self-control.

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The thirty-first of January

Self-transformation is the greatest gift you can give the world^*

Really? Does it matter what I transform into? An evil dictator? A bird?

That was a bit of a cheap shot. True, we could probably all do with a bit of improvement, but should we concentrate on ourselves, trying to be better people, or should we concentrate on doing those things that a better person would do? The former might lead to self-obsession, which wasn't the goal. Maybe the latter option will result in unexpected but welcome personality changes.

Actually, this is a bit beside the point, but in the interest of fairness, I think I ought to question the received wisdom from modern Western Christian culture (or at least my experience of it). It relates to what I said above about us all needing a bit of improvement. This seems to be the accepted position in Christian circles: if you're not in heaven, then you're not perfect yet. But why? If Jesus died to remove our imperfections, then why can't it happen while we're here on Earth? It seems to be assumed that the process begins here, but never finishes here. But why would God take all the newly perfect people away, so that they can't help with the work to do down here?

Perhaps the process isn't completed until we come into closer contact with God in heaven. I don't know. It may be worth noting, though, that not all Christians have always accepted that assumption. It depends on what you mean by perfect, though. John Wesley advocated (and I understand that Methodists still advocate) that "Christian perfection" can be attained before death. Precisely what he meant by this is unclear to me, but you can try to figure it out for yourself; you may wish to start by trying to read his sermon called Christian Perfection.

C. S. Lewis seems to suggest something perhaps similar in Mere Christianity, in the chapter called The New Men:

Already the new men are dotted here and there all over the earth. … When you have recognised one of them, you will recognise the next one much more easily. And I strongly suspect (but how should I know?) that they recognise one another immediately and infallibly, across every barrier of colour, sex, class, age, and even of creeds. In that way, to become holy is rather like joining a secret society. To put it at the very lowest, it must be great fun.

Earlier, though, in the chapters Counting the Cost and Nice People or New Men, he says

The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were 'gods' and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him—for we can prevent Him, if we choose—He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful, but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said.
He meant what He said. Those who put themselves in His hands will become perfect, as He is perfect—perfect in love, wisdom, joy, beauty, and immortality. The change will not be completed in this life, for death is an important part of the treatment. How far the change will have gone before death in any particular Christian is uncertain.

It sounds, though, like he's thinking of perfection in a broader sense here than what Wesley seemed to claim we could attain in this life; Wesley specifically says that in this life we won't be perfect in knowledge, for example.

I don't know what to make of all this. Let me know if you do.

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The thirtieth of January

Determination is not so much a matter of action as of stillness. Such stability penetrates the surface of life and removes the bumps^*

Plenty of words, but I'm not sure what they're trying to say. Trying to visualize the metaphor doesn't help much. Stability penetrating something? Penetration removing bumps?

Determination is perhaps related to how we perceive the benefits of perseverance in comparison to the effort required. If you decide to make a million dollars so that you can own a really big house, or two ordinary ones in Sydney, you might make progress, and discover that it's a lot of work. Then, you might decide that a more moderate house (not in Sydney, and with a mortgage) is quite nice, and buy that, and relax a bit. On the other hand, if you decide to make a million dollars to prove to yourself that you can do it, you might be much more inclined to persevere, depending on your personality. The difference is intrinsic motivation, as opposed to extrinsic motivation. That's one of the things I learnt from my calculus teacher at high school.

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The twenty-ninth of January

By having an attitude free from blaming others, good wishes are received from everyone^*

Yes, it makes sense to me that people are more likely to like you and wish you well if you don't blame them for things. People also like honesty, though, so don't let your aversion to blaming other people lead you into dishonesty. It may help to remember that even if someone is clearly at fault, there may be extenuating circumstances that you don't know about, so they may not deserve as great a helping of blame as it may appear. In any situation, there's no need to rub blame in someone else's face; you've made mistakes before, too, remember?

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The twenty-eighth of January

Simply deal with the situation as it stands rather than waste time with why, what and how^*

This is good advice sometimes, but only sometimes. Often it's a very good idea to understand how a situation came about, in order to know how to deal with it properly. Even if decisions need to be made quickly, and you do decide to take today's advice, it still might pay to think afterwards about how you got into the situation, so that you can avoid it or repeat it in future, depending on whether or not it was a good situation.

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The twenty-seventh of January

With the aim of excellence, I bring beauty and quality into each word and action^*

Yes, I'll agree that aiming for excellence is the best way of achieving it. That makes sense to me. The words "each word and action" perhaps suggest perfection, though, rather than excellence, and I don't think we can expect to achieve that all the time, no matter how hard we try. Failure to achieve perfection shouldn't be construed as failure, especially not if excellence is a by-product of the effort.

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The twenty-sixth of January

Respect is received when it is given^*

I'm not convinced this is universally true. Wait a minute; it doesn't say that the same person who gives respect will receive it in return. I think that's what it's trying to say, though. I think I agree that usually the most successful way of getting respect is to give it. I don't know if I can think of anything else useful to say right now.

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The twenty-fifth of January

Optimism and a clear conscience are signs of a well-balanced life^*

I'm really not sure that I'm qualified to say much at all about a well-balanced life. I'm not sure I really know what people mean by that, or why such a thing is desirable. I'm actually not sure whether everyone who talks about a well-balanced life is sure what they mean, or whether such people mean roughly the same thing as each other.

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