Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Faith in the gospel of John

As promised, the first of a few excerpts from The Faith of Jesus Christ::

[Raymond] Brown echoes a general consensus when he remarks that the use of the verb marks for John a sense that faith is not an internal disposition so much as an active commitment. [W.] Carter comments further that the verb and its various forms denote 'an activity that constitutes and expresses an identity in an ongoing way of life...It has the sense of living faithfully and loyally, of acting with fidelity'. This is reflected in his suggestion that instead of 'believe' the verb πιστέυω [PISTEUW] be more frequently translated 'entrust' so as to communicate a dynamic sense of commitment and attachment and emphasize the activity involved.—The Faith of Jesus Christ:, p 234

<idle musing>
I like that, entrust. I think we have used the word "faith" so much that it has almost ceased to have any meaning. Maybe if we used "entrust" it would make us see things a bit differently? What do you think?
</idle musing>

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