If you are not of the faith, if you do not belong to thechurch, you can nevertheless read such a theological bookweU by treating its dogmas with the same respect you treatthe assumptions of a mathematician. But you must always keepin mind that an article of faith is not something that the faithful assume. Faith, for those who have it, is the most certainform of knowledge, not a tentative opinion.

It is the cold and detached warrior that defeats the emotional and prideful one. Yet it is the man who fights on his knees, in faith to the Lord, who trumps them. For no man, nor Satanic curse, can stand against an angelic army.

Therefore, it is written that men should "pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)

As I walked home down the steep slope of Fulton Street afterward, I thought: This is like a synagogue, but without Jews or Judaism. Like many things nowadays, the seculars have reinvented a religious concept to cope with the very barrenness that secularism bequeathed us.

It is a law of nature that our thoughts and feelings are encouraged and strengthened as we give them utterance. While words express thoughts, it is also true that thoughts follow words. If we would give more expression to our faith, rejoice more in the blessings that we know we have,—the great mercy and love of God,—we should have more faith and greater joy. No tongue can express, no finite mind can conceive, the blessing that results from appreciating the goodness and love of God. Even on earth we may have joy as a wellspring, never failing, because fed by the streams that flow from the throne of God.

For what purpose? So that the process of what Becker calls “self-transcendence” may begin. And he describes the process of self-transcendence this way: Man breaks through the bounds of merely cultural heroism; he destroys the character lie that had him perform as a hero in the everyday social scheme of things; and by doing so he opens himself up to infinity, to the possibility of cosmic heroism …. He links his secret inner self, his authentic talent, his deepest feelings of uniqueness … to the very ground of creation. Out of the ruins of the broken cultural self there remains the mystery of the private, invisible, inner self which yearned for ultimate significance. …This invisible mystery at the heart of [the] creature now attains cosmic significance by affirming its connection with the invisible mystery at the heart of creation. “This,” he concludes, “is the meaning of faith.” Faith is the belief that despite one’s “insignificance, weakness, death, one’s existence has meaning in some ultimate sense because it exists within an eternal and infinite scheme of things brought about and maintained to some kind of design by some creative force (90, 9 1).” This, then, is what we might call good faith, not a flight into some immortality system. And clearly, some Christians, some Buddhists–at least the Zen Buddhists Becker himself mentions!–have faith in this sense, a faith that Becker characterizes as growing out of tasting one’s own death, embracing one’s own nothingness, and affirming–not a known ultimate meaningful–but an “invisible mystery” of ultimate meaning.

One of the many reasons my wife and I want to plant a church is because it is the very place to foster such virtues and practices! The church gathers to announce that even in the midst of feeling disoriented, demotivated, discouraged, and disembodied, God has not abandoned us. In a season that is marked by so much death and distance, we confess our need for an in-breaking of the Spirit. My hope for the umms is that our love for and wonder of the triune God will not grow stagnant—and that in years to come, we will yet be able to testify, “Great is Thy faithfulness.”

Each Sunday I awake with a longing to gather around song, Scripture, and sacrament. Most of those mornings my wife and I walk to the nursing home to celebrate the Eucharist with a faithful but forgotten few. This year my wife and I want to plant a church in Chicagoland, but many weeks I am left wondering, Where do we fit in? Recently, I was lamenting this season with a friend. He echoed my sentiment, “I’m also floating without a church—it isn’t ideal, just the way it is.” Our exchange wasn’t significant, just two friends consoling each other through ecclesial purgatory. Later that week, I heard similar thoughts repeated by my neighbors who are new parents. Again, this sentiment was echoed by a friend who works at a large Christian nonprofit. Over text messages and phone calls, my old roommate and my denominational executive repeated a similar status. But what really caught my attention is when I heard my students and colleagues at Northern Seminary describe themselves and their congregants in much the same way. All expressed a strong commitment to Jesus and a desire to be part of the church, but they are not active in a local congregation. This growing segment of believers is what I am labeling the “umms.”

Let us then create a new guild of craftsmen without the class distinctions that raise an arrogant barrier between craftsman and artist! Together let us desire, conceive, and create the new structure of the future, which will embrace architecture and sculpture and painting in one unity and which will one day rise toward heaven from the hands of a million workers like the crystal symbol of a new faith.

no Inner Party member wavers for an instant in his mystical belief that the war is real, and that it is bound to end victoriously, with Oceania the undisputed master of the entire world. All members of the Inner Party believe in this coming conquest as an article of faith.

What people think and state depends on how theythink. Thus, it is far more dangerous to assumepeople know what they are talking about than it isto assume they do not

In the classroom, I delegate responsibilities to my students at a rate that astounds people. There is almost nothing that I will not allow my students to do, including teaching my lessons whenever possible. My students take full and complete ownership of the classroom, whether they like it or not, and as a result, they possess great ownership of their learning.

They fail to understand the importance of autonomy when delegating responsibilities.

They lack faith in the capacity of others.

I learned to “let go” and simply trust others to maintain certain gem suites.

exercise your poor carnal reason

Designs must champion usability and clarity, presenting a genuine, good faith choice.

For when the soul has been cleansed by faith and made to love God, it would have all things to be cleansed in like manner;

Rather I mean that most of us would find Christians truly cast in the New Testament mold fairly obnoxious: civically reprobate, ideologically unsound, economically destructive, politically irresponsible, socially discreditable, and really just a bit indecent.

From here comes the emphasis on progress (its possibility and desirability, not its inevitability), on taking personal charge of creating better futures rather than hoping or praying for them to be brought about by supernatural forces, on reason, technology, scientific method, and human creativity rather than faith.

To illustrate, consider Isaac Newton.

Here belief and trust have brought about an obedient response to the divine gift of Jesus and the decrees that, when obeyed from the heart, bring one into that state of "freedom from sin" made accessible in the act of baptism (6:3-11). From that day forward, the person who has thus responded in faith must continue to act in faith by being a "servant of righteousness."

SoifIhadtochoosebetweenlibtheo,oranyology,Iwouldgowithscienceaslongasservicetothepoorwentalongwithit.ButIdon’thavetomakethatchoice,doI?”

Ultimately the essential truths of religion had to be accepted on faith.

The Bible says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.“1 This means that no matter how deeply we may seem to be buried in the distortions of a personal, three-dimensional, finite frame of mind, the faith that we find everpresently abiding within us is our everpresent “connection” with the Actuality of our Being as It is really going on. In other words, it is our Actual experience of Substance, inviolably “held in trust” for us, you might say, so long as we indulge in attempting to experience the Reality of our Being from a partial view. This is why it is “the evidence of things not seen.” It is the evidence of Reality, present and undistorted, in spite of the distortions inherent in the partial view. Faith, intuition, and desire constitute three aspects of our everpresent conscious experience of Reality while we are involved in the deception of existing as a finite mentality.

You are sitting, right now, as the Omnipresence of infinite Good, actively, Omnipotently unfolding and fulfilling Itself without exception. It is the intuitive perception—it is the desire, faith, and intuition of there being something to wake up into—which must remain the focal point of your conscious experience, regardless of the illusion of being boxed in. Then you must desire to wake up. Do not waste any energy in attempting to overcome any facet of the dream, since the way things appear is imaginary. It, therefore, cannot be dealt with in any way other than waking up!

Now, it does no good to have a lifeline attached to us while trekking around in the foreboding territory of the three-dimensional frame of reference if we do not use it to guide ourselves back into the Fourth-dimensional view, wherein perspective returns and there is no foreboding. In other words, it serves no purpose to stand in the finite view and have faith, have intuition, and have desires. From within that frame of reference, the distortion applies equally to those three everpresent perceptions of Reality. It causes them to be experienced as arising out of the absence of that which we have faith in, intuition about, and desires for. One can sit and rot in the illusion of “hell” while tenderly fondling and embracing his intuitions, faith, and desires. Your faith in what is Real, your intuitions about It, and your desire to experience It must be seen for what they are, and utilized, no matter how infinitesimal they seem to be from the standpoint of the partial view!

The Bible says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.“1 This means that no matter how deeply we may seem to be buried in the distortions of a personal, three-dimensional, finite frame of mind, the faith that we find everpresently abiding within us is our everpresent “connection” with the Actuality of our Being as It is really going on. In other words, it is our Actual experience of Substance, inviolably “held in trust” for us, you might say, so long as we indulge in attempting to experience the Reality of our Being from a partial view. This is why it is “the evidence of things not seen.” It is the evidence of Reality, present and undistorted, in spite of the distortions inherent in the partial view. Faith, intuition, and desire constitute three aspects of our everpresent conscious experience of Reality while we are involved in the deception of existing as a finite mentality.

Faith, intuition, and desire constitute three aspects of our everpresent conscious experience of Reality while we are involved in the deception of existing as a finite mentality. Now, it does no good to have a lifeline attached to us while trekking around in the foreboding territory of the three-dimensional frame of reference if we do not use it to guide ourselves back into the Fourth-dimensional view, wherein perspective returns and there is no foreboding. In other words, it serves no purpose to stand in the finite view and have faith, have intuition, and have desires. From within that frame of reference, the distortion applies equally to those three everpresent perceptions of Reality. It causes them to be experienced as arising out of the absence of that which we have faith in, intuition about, and desires for. One can sit and rot in the illusion of “hell” while tenderly fondling and embracing his intuitions, faith, and desires. Your faith in what is Real, your intuitions about It, and your desire to experience It must be seen for what they are, and utilized, no matter how infinitesimal they seem to be from the standpoint of the partial view!

The Bible says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.“1 This means that no matter how deeply we may seem to be buried in the distortions of a personal, three-dimensional, finite frame of mind, the faith that we find everpresently abiding within us is our everpresent “connection” with the Actuality of our Being as It is really going on. In other words, it is our Actual experience of Substance, inviolably “held in trust” for us, you might say, so long as we indulge in attempting to experience the Reality of our Being from a partial view. This is why it is “the evidence of things not seen.” It is the evidence of Reality, present and undistorted, in spite of the distortions inherent in the partial view.

PAUL: Raj, I am failing miserably at demonstrating or seeing the omnipresence of my Being in terms of supply. It’s true that from day to day we have what we need, but it’s far from a comfortable way to live. All we’re getting are basics. The larger debts we owe are not being met. RAJ: Paul, I want you to be aware that you are beginning to give up your faith, trust, and belief in the validity of our conversations. This is indicated by the flip-flopping back and forth between knowing they are real and doubting they are real. I point out also that the doubting comes into play when you are challenged by opinions or circumstances. This certainly is a natural response, but it is not the consistent vantage point which you will find necessary if you’re going to be free from being dangled like a yo-yo or blown to and fro on the breeze of chance. PAUL: Well, if you are wanting me to develop some inner strength which will not yield, no matter what I’m confronted with—and if I’m supposed to do this while it’s my family’s lack that I’m faced with—then I don’t think you should be surprised! Theoretically, intellectually, I can grasp its value. But when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of life, it often seems like nonsense. RAJ: I understand, Paul. I want to refer you to what your Supply told you about how to set the Law in motion. I want you to begin doing this on a regular basis. A word to the wise: Be sure of what you are asking for, because you shall surely get it. PAUL: Alright, Raj. I shall forge forward. I will tell you this: It would be much easier if my family’s needs were being better met.

I am well aware that, at this moment, you do not feel strong. But the fact is, that in spite of your thinking mind, in spite of your finite concepts, you have continued invisibly to grow and become strong with the kind of strength I am speaking of. Your faith has been almost immaculate. I know you are almost totally convinced that it has been foolish, and that you have been gullible to the point of insanity. But, the fact is that you are here, once again communicating with me and believing, still, that these conversations are valid.