incorrect faith?
i'm trying to pull together a few items that have been mentioned, both implicitly and explicitly, on this blog. i am asking the question: can a truly faithful act be incorrect?
since i am an existentialist in many ways, this question comes from my desire to teach and struggles with isolated study, and the solution that is becoming increasingly clearer. (this is not necessarily a temporally oriented question, btw. it does not necessarily mean changes immediately or even short term.) in order to teach, it will require me giving myself completely to this vocation. giving myself completely to this vocation will require focused attention and, i expect, re-location for study. from a post a few days ago, vocational teaching is not a given. it is contingent on several things: location, denominational connections, publicity, talent, etc. the decision to teach, then, is only one that can be made in faith. it cannot be made any other way, unless one is extremely talented and gifted or perhaps self-deluded. in other words, giving oneself to a vocation that is not a given is necessarily done by faith. so, can the faithful act of pursuing this vocation be incorrect?
some may object that i am begging the question. the faithful act that is "true," they say, must necessarily be correct. "truly," however, is used, and only used, here subjectively. as far as the actor knows, the act is indeed of faith and not anything else (arrogance, delusion, etc.). to question the actor any further may plunge him/her into introspection. (and what a terrible waste of a person consistent introspection leads to.)
and yet faith is what pleases God. moreover, the call to separation from security is what distinguishes Abraham from the safely insignificant contemporaries (wording credited to volf's _Exclusion and Embrace_). so, it would seem the truly faithful act of seeking uncertain, but Christian vocation must be pleasing to God. and yet certainly there are those (sticking with professors) individuals who faithfully pursued vocational teaching who are now unemployed. (thinking about yesterday, sanctifying study need not be pursued as a registered student, so the faithful act here is limited to seeking actual vocational teaching and not merely study.) if one is left unemployed after the genuine act of faith, was their faithful decision incorrect?
so, can the truly faithful act be incorrect? have i framed the question incorrectly or insufficiently?
since i am an existentialist in many ways, this question comes from my desire to teach and struggles with isolated study, and the solution that is becoming increasingly clearer. (this is not necessarily a temporally oriented question, btw. it does not necessarily mean changes immediately or even short term.) in order to teach, it will require me giving myself completely to this vocation. giving myself completely to this vocation will require focused attention and, i expect, re-location for study. from a post a few days ago, vocational teaching is not a given. it is contingent on several things: location, denominational connections, publicity, talent, etc. the decision to teach, then, is only one that can be made in faith. it cannot be made any other way, unless one is extremely talented and gifted or perhaps self-deluded. in other words, giving oneself to a vocation that is not a given is necessarily done by faith. so, can the faithful act of pursuing this vocation be incorrect?
some may object that i am begging the question. the faithful act that is "true," they say, must necessarily be correct. "truly," however, is used, and only used, here subjectively. as far as the actor knows, the act is indeed of faith and not anything else (arrogance, delusion, etc.). to question the actor any further may plunge him/her into introspection. (and what a terrible waste of a person consistent introspection leads to.)
and yet faith is what pleases God. moreover, the call to separation from security is what distinguishes Abraham from the safely insignificant contemporaries (wording credited to volf's _Exclusion and Embrace_). so, it would seem the truly faithful act of seeking uncertain, but Christian vocation must be pleasing to God. and yet certainly there are those (sticking with professors) individuals who faithfully pursued vocational teaching who are now unemployed. (thinking about yesterday, sanctifying study need not be pursued as a registered student, so the faithful act here is limited to seeking actual vocational teaching and not merely study.) if one is left unemployed after the genuine act of faith, was their faithful decision incorrect?
so, can the truly faithful act be incorrect? have i framed the question incorrectly or insufficiently?
posted by Aaron Perry at
2:04 PM
11 Comments:
So are you wondering if you have the talent, denominational connections etc. to make your faith plunge into vocational teaching worthwhile.
Say you were faithful and don't get hired. By asking if you are then incorrect, do you mean "incorrect in discerning God's will" or something like that?
I agree with you to the extent that you would say that faithful "God pleasing" acts do not always end up in full time positions. (Look at the "job opportunity" section on the Wesleyan website lately? lots of bi-vos)
This whole job-ministry thing is really stretching me right now. Figure out the answer will ya:)
To quote YOU, AP, "All faith, if it is real faith, is faith in Jesus" (or something like that)
that is true, whitey. so, not speaking soteriologically (about salvation), but existentially (life choices), can the genuine act of faith by mistaken? can one make a faithful decision that is pleasing to God and have it be the wrong one?...
asking that question makes me think i have limited the question in how it is framed. a decision may be the right decision, but have its circumstances change. a decision may also be right, but faith wean during the pursuit of a decision's completion... maybe i should allow for an existentialist answer to the question (which would most certainly go beyond yes/no).
Also there is the fact that we often can't see the big picture. We think that taking this step A will lead automatically to step B, C and D... sometimes God has other plans. And sometimes His timing is different. Maybe in His plans, it's not A B C D... but A C D B. Or maybe choice A has nothing to do with what we think it does, but it's still part of God's plan for us.
Where are the Umim and Thumim? Where are the lots? Get Gideon's fleece! Let's call up Elijah!
Why are all of these in the Bible as bad examples?
For goodness sakes, talk about a great deal of words "signifying nothing."
Surely there's more to Wesleyan holiness than constant second-guessing about whether we're in God's will!
Some Guy
some guy.... i believe my only response is: ???
i am not second guessing: i am asking if the faithful act can be incorrect. i failed to consider the existential fallout of the question, needlessly positing "correct" or "incorrect" to the initial act of faith--where there would surely be subsequent faithful acts required, not to mention epistemic uncertainty that goes with being time-bound creatures.
where did the holiness/second guessing rant come from? to put it in Gideon's terms: could Gideon have made a wrong decision with greater faith? could he have made an incorrect choice with greater faith?
Let us explore one of the biblical examples I mentioned already:
The disciples drew lots and chose Matthias to be 12.2. God chose Paul and overrode their choice. Whether it was a faith-filled decision is irrelevant because their decision was rendered irrelevant. God got God's man.
Get on with bearing witness to the Gospel and the rest will take care of itself.
We can take this up on Sunday mano-a-mano.
You will, in due course, say No Mas No Mas just like Smilin Leon Spinks.
Some Guy
it seems to me that declaring "irrelevant!" is only an option from your position. surely this could not have been a Christian response by the disciples! that type of fatalism (God will get his man regardless of what we do) is not one you would recommend to a struggling student.
the question of vocation is most important when considering, like you said, "Get[ting] on with bearing witness to the Gospel."
the question im asking is, did God lead to to act in faith or did you, by your own will step out in faith according to what you thought was a good idea at the time, and expected God to honour your decision to trust Him to support something that was not even in His will?
or
did you pray about it, believe in your heart that God was calling you to do something for His purpose, and when you stepped out you fell flat on your face?
It is posible that God did ask you to do something in faith, knowing that you would not suceed, but wanted to see if, even without immediate or any benefit, you would still trust him to get you by. Do you believe that sometimes God sinks your ship only to see if you trust him to send a coast guard?
Sorry AP there are too many possibilities to your question to narrow it down to a simple yes or no.
sometimes God will act in a way that does not seem sensable or even fair, but He does have a plan even if you dont see the reason. do you ever look past yourself when God is doing something in your life? have you even seen God do something in someone elses life to teach you something? often times we are so narrow minded that we dont see something that is right in front of us because we missed the perspective of God, and most times we never get to see what He sees. there have been times when God was spinning so many plates in my life, the only thing i could do was trust Him.
just something to think about buddy.
Andrew Snider
AP,
I'm simple so I make my answer simple. I think God is pleased and honored with whose who seek to act according to God's will, whether we get it right or wrong. I try to boil it all down to "God looks at the heart" and "the spirit of the law".
Use me for example,Oh!Please pick me!
I went through 4 years of theoritical training for cross-cultural ministry, with no desire or passion for it, just the delussion that you need to be a missionary to be "A REAL CHRISTIAN". During my mental training I was surrounded with practical training in youth ministry.
I think God was pleased with my desire to do his will, even if he had something else in mind for me. He used my 4 months oversea to show me what he had been telling me for 4 years. Like I said, "I'm simple".
I'm not saying, "Just do what we want and hope God blesses it"
Ideally, I think he would have preferred if I got the message before my internship.
We need to seek God's will and while we continue to seek it, act according to the way we think he's directing.
Yah, We ain't big enough to scew up God's plan...How's that for theology?
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