Faith, St. Paul tells us, is the substance of things hoped for the receipt of things as yet unseen. It is found in Hebrews 11:1. This is an amazing locution, chocked full with radical philosophical interpretations! The apostle refers to the word substance 'upostasis' in a manner that denotes his plausible familiarity with Aristotle's metaphysics, most likely at the hand of his teacher, Gamaliel. What a beautiful name. At any rate, Paul's use of 'substance' in reference to a future reference is most idiosyncratic. It reveals a highly profound and unique manner of looking at substances and reveals a deeper penetration of 'faith' in understanding than is common amongst 21st century christian bible interpreters.
The word 'faith' in its vernacular use amongst priests and ministers and evangelists alike, has more or less the same type of subjectivistic meaning which is attached to a particular denominational creed or ideology. Yet all share a subjectivist (modernist) bias, that faith is a)separate from reason and b)is a purely individualistic assent to church or bible dogma. The term has no such reference in Paul's use. It is his use that I would like to explore.
I call this deeply penetrating view of faith---practical---it is faith in its efficacious employment, it emphasizes the work that faith enacts. As such it is of interest to philosophers who do not ascribe to any religious or christian beliefs. Indeed, belief is synonymous with the current use of 'faith' in the vernacular. On the catholic side, the parishioner declares her allegiance to the 'faith' thereby pointing to Catholic dogma and ideology. This is not Paul's use. Neither is the evangelical use consonant with Paul's---here it means something like "are you saved via your faith in Christ?"
Here is a link which demonstrates this inadequate interpretation: Link
Paul's remark is far more universal and is not linked in any manner to any religious conviction. Rather it is a kind of statement one discovers in philosophical anthropology---the act of faith is a human potential of bringing that which is hoped for into the life of the one who holds faith---it is a kind of intellectual faculty for grasping and pulling future matters into one's own existential locus. The second part which uses an economical metaphor ('receipt') is also curious and idiosyncratic and rarely understood in contemporary scripture study. The receipt of things unseen reveals a deeply penetrating philosophical grasp. It is a phrase which contains a genius turn of phrase on its head. Receipt is given for the purchase of an item and legitimates and records its transaction. But in this case the receipt if for things unseen.
At this point in the essay we introduce some of the greek terms being used in Paul's letter in order to draw forth some clarification. The term that is translated as 'receipt 'in the King James translation is 'elenchos'---a term used in dialectics which means 'proof' or 'demonstration'. Ironically this is one of the key terms employed in the Socratic Method. Strange isn't it that the apostle is using two very powerful philosophical concepts in this verse: a) Aristotle's 'hypostasis' and b)Socrates' 'elenchus'!
Faith "founds" or gives foundation for what is hoped for ('elpizomenon') and proves what is unseen ('ou blepomenon').
Now to my interpretation. Paul's saying reveals that faith is a kind of active intellectual power for bringing hope to its fulfillment, and acting as a proof of that which is not perceptibly visible! Rather than subjectivize or dogmatize its meaning as described above, I suggest that we interpret the verse in a manner that delivers a grasp of the nature of human intelligence. The application is as follows: You cannot do what you do not hold in faith that you can do! But in its positive formulation, this means that you can do what you hold in faith. There is a practical sense of the engineer who has so mastered the art of elevators that it is a type of knowledge which allows the engineer to then go on to employ elevators in more and more complex maneuvers thanks to a practical faith that he can do so. Now take the null hypothesis---the use of the elevator for a dog, or a person imagined to have come back to life from the middle ages---to this person the use of the elevator is unthinkable according to all of their cognitive convictions. But if such a person were to speak to the engineer and then receive in faith that the elevator will be OK---then this person is prepared to step on in and be lifted up within the structure of the building. Their faith is an intellectual assent which allows the use of the elevator in their lifeworld. Another example, this time from the corporate world: Whatever a man or woman believes with full conviction establishes their reality. If Tiger Woods could visualize a 206 yard 6 iron blind shot over water from the sand then he could pull off the shot (which he did in Canada). Tiger's Signature Shot 2000 Bell Canadian Open
Thus we see that Paul's teaching is broader than dogmatic conviction, or subjectivist sine qua non of salvation. It applies in engineering realms, business, sports and in all sorts of human domains well apart from religious activity. This interpretation enriches our understanding of the scripture and helps us to clarify other conundrums and obstacles which follow from the narrow "religious" interpretation and also indicates a manner of interpreting scripture philosophically/anthropologically rather than according to church dogma. Such an interpretation liberates the understanding rather than shackling it!
The word 'faith' in its vernacular use amongst priests and ministers and evangelists alike, has more or less the same type of subjectivistic meaning which is attached to a particular denominational creed or ideology. Yet all share a subjectivist (modernist) bias, that faith is a)separate from reason and b)is a purely individualistic assent to church or bible dogma. The term has no such reference in Paul's use. It is his use that I would like to explore.
I call this deeply penetrating view of faith---practical---it is faith in its efficacious employment, it emphasizes the work that faith enacts. As such it is of interest to philosophers who do not ascribe to any religious or christian beliefs. Indeed, belief is synonymous with the current use of 'faith' in the vernacular. On the catholic side, the parishioner declares her allegiance to the 'faith' thereby pointing to Catholic dogma and ideology. This is not Paul's use. Neither is the evangelical use consonant with Paul's---here it means something like "are you saved via your faith in Christ?"
Here is a link which demonstrates this inadequate interpretation: Link
Paul's remark is far more universal and is not linked in any manner to any religious conviction. Rather it is a kind of statement one discovers in philosophical anthropology---the act of faith is a human potential of bringing that which is hoped for into the life of the one who holds faith---it is a kind of intellectual faculty for grasping and pulling future matters into one's own existential locus. The second part which uses an economical metaphor ('receipt') is also curious and idiosyncratic and rarely understood in contemporary scripture study. The receipt of things unseen reveals a deeply penetrating philosophical grasp. It is a phrase which contains a genius turn of phrase on its head. Receipt is given for the purchase of an item and legitimates and records its transaction. But in this case the receipt if for things unseen.
At this point in the essay we introduce some of the greek terms being used in Paul's letter in order to draw forth some clarification. The term that is translated as 'receipt 'in the King James translation is 'elenchos'---a term used in dialectics which means 'proof' or 'demonstration'. Ironically this is one of the key terms employed in the Socratic Method. Strange isn't it that the apostle is using two very powerful philosophical concepts in this verse: a) Aristotle's 'hypostasis' and b)Socrates' 'elenchus'!
Faith "founds" or gives foundation for what is hoped for ('elpizomenon') and proves what is unseen ('ou blepomenon').
Now to my interpretation. Paul's saying reveals that faith is a kind of active intellectual power for bringing hope to its fulfillment, and acting as a proof of that which is not perceptibly visible! Rather than subjectivize or dogmatize its meaning as described above, I suggest that we interpret the verse in a manner that delivers a grasp of the nature of human intelligence. The application is as follows: You cannot do what you do not hold in faith that you can do! But in its positive formulation, this means that you can do what you hold in faith. There is a practical sense of the engineer who has so mastered the art of elevators that it is a type of knowledge which allows the engineer to then go on to employ elevators in more and more complex maneuvers thanks to a practical faith that he can do so. Now take the null hypothesis---the use of the elevator for a dog, or a person imagined to have come back to life from the middle ages---to this person the use of the elevator is unthinkable according to all of their cognitive convictions. But if such a person were to speak to the engineer and then receive in faith that the elevator will be OK---then this person is prepared to step on in and be lifted up within the structure of the building. Their faith is an intellectual assent which allows the use of the elevator in their lifeworld. Another example, this time from the corporate world: Whatever a man or woman believes with full conviction establishes their reality. If Tiger Woods could visualize a 206 yard 6 iron blind shot over water from the sand then he could pull off the shot (which he did in Canada). Tiger's Signature Shot 2000 Bell Canadian Open
Thus we see that Paul's teaching is broader than dogmatic conviction, or subjectivist sine qua non of salvation. It applies in engineering realms, business, sports and in all sorts of human domains well apart from religious activity. This interpretation enriches our understanding of the scripture and helps us to clarify other conundrums and obstacles which follow from the narrow "religious" interpretation and also indicates a manner of interpreting scripture philosophically/anthropologically rather than according to church dogma. Such an interpretation liberates the understanding rather than shackling it!
1 comment:
Thanks for your post, I'll keep its contents in mind as I read through Fides et Ratio (I have to go out and buy a hard copy, I dislike reading on a screen)
You are right about St. Pauls familiarity with Greek thought, JPII writes:
"The Acts of the Apostles provides evidence that Christian proclamation was engaged from the very first with the philosophical currents of the time. In Athens, we read, Saint Paul entered into discussion with "certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.."
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