Belief, we have said, is the acceptance of a truth from another. We do not always accept what others present to us as truth, for the good reason
that we may have serious doubts as to whether they
speak the truth or not. It is for us to decide the
question of our informant's intellectual and moral
trustworthiness. If we do believe him, it is because
we consider his veracity to be beyond question.
The foundation of our belief is therefore the
veracity of him whose word we take. They tell me
that Lincoln was assassinated. Personally, I know
nothing about it. But I do know that they who speak
of it could know, did know, and could not lead us
all astray on this point. I accept their evidence; I
believe on their word.
It is on the testimony of God's word that we
believe in matters that pertain to faith. The idea we
have of God is that He is infinitely perfect, that He
is all-wise and all-good. He cannot, therefore, under
pain of destroying His very existence, be deceived or
deceive us. When, therefore, He speaks. He speaks
the truth and nothing but the truth. It would be a
very stultification of our reason to refuse to believe
Him, once we admit His existence.
Now, it is not necessary for us to inquire into the
things He reveals, or to endeavor to discover the why,
whence and wherefore. It is truth, we are certain of
it ; what more do we need ! It may be a satisfaction to
see and understand these truths, just as it is to solve
a problem two or three different ways. But it is not
essential, for the result is always the same—truth.
72 MORAL BRIEFS.
But suppose, with my senses and my reason, 1
come to a result at variance with the first, suppose the
testimony of God's word and that of my personal
observations conflict, what then? There is an error
somewhere. Either God errs or my faculties play me
false. Which should have the preference of my assent ?
The question is answered as soon as it is put. I can
conceive an erring man, but I cannot conceive a false
God. Nothing human is infallible ; God alone is proof
against all error. This would not be my first offense
against truth.
"Yes, all this is evident. I shall and do believe
everything that God deigns to reveal, because He says
it, whether or not I see or understand it. But the
difficulty with me is how to know that God did speak,
what He said, what He meant. My difficulty is prac-
tical, not theoretical."
And by the same token you have shifted the
question from "Why we believe" to "Whence we
believe;" you no longer seek the authority of your
faith, but its genesis. You believe what God says,
because He says it ; you believe He did say it because
—the Church says it. You are no longer dealing with
the truth itself, but with the messenger that brings
the truth to be believed. The message of the Church
is: these are God's words. As for what these words
stand for, you are not to trust her, but Him. The
foundation of divine belief is one thing ; the motives of
credibility are another.
We should not confound these two things, if we
would have a clear notion of what faith is, and discover
the numerous counterfeits that are being palmed off
nowadays on a world that desires a convenient, rather
than a genuine article.
The received manner of belief is first to examine
the truths proposed as coming from God, measure
them with the rule of individual reason, of expediency,
feeling, fancy, and thus to decide upon their merits. If
this proposition suits, it is accepted. If that other is
WHY WE BELIEVE. 73
found wanting, it is forthwith rejected. And then
it is in order to set out and prove them to be or not to
be the word of God, according to their suitability or
non-suitabiUty.
One would naturally imagine, as reason and
common sense certainly suggest, that one's first duty
would be to convince oneself that God did communicate
these truths; and if so, then to accept them without
further dally or comment. There is nothing to be
done, once God reveals, but to receive His revelation.
Outside the Church, this procedure is not always
followed, because of the rationalistic tendencies of
latter-day Protestantism. It is a glaring fact that
many do not accept all that God says because He says,
but because it meets the requirements of their condition,
feelings or fancy. They lay down the principle that
a truth, to be a truth, must be understood by the human
intelligence. This is paramount to asserting that God
cannot know more than men—blasphemy on the face
of it. Thus the divine rock-bed of faith is torn away,
and a human basis substituted. Faith itself is destroyed
in the process.
It is, therefore, important, before examining
whence comes our faith, to remember why we believe,
and not to forget it. This much gained, and for all
time, we can go farther; without it, all advance is
impossible.
Source: Moral Briefs by Rev. John H. Stapleton, Imprimatur 1904
that we may have serious doubts as to whether they
speak the truth or not. It is for us to decide the
question of our informant's intellectual and moral
trustworthiness. If we do believe him, it is because
we consider his veracity to be beyond question.
The foundation of our belief is therefore the
veracity of him whose word we take. They tell me
that Lincoln was assassinated. Personally, I know
nothing about it. But I do know that they who speak
of it could know, did know, and could not lead us
all astray on this point. I accept their evidence; I
believe on their word.
It is on the testimony of God's word that we
believe in matters that pertain to faith. The idea we
have of God is that He is infinitely perfect, that He
is all-wise and all-good. He cannot, therefore, under
pain of destroying His very existence, be deceived or
deceive us. When, therefore, He speaks. He speaks
the truth and nothing but the truth. It would be a
very stultification of our reason to refuse to believe
Him, once we admit His existence.
Now, it is not necessary for us to inquire into the
things He reveals, or to endeavor to discover the why,
whence and wherefore. It is truth, we are certain of
it ; what more do we need ! It may be a satisfaction to
see and understand these truths, just as it is to solve
a problem two or three different ways. But it is not
essential, for the result is always the same—truth.
72 MORAL BRIEFS.
But suppose, with my senses and my reason, 1
come to a result at variance with the first, suppose the
testimony of God's word and that of my personal
observations conflict, what then? There is an error
somewhere. Either God errs or my faculties play me
false. Which should have the preference of my assent ?
The question is answered as soon as it is put. I can
conceive an erring man, but I cannot conceive a false
God. Nothing human is infallible ; God alone is proof
against all error. This would not be my first offense
against truth.
"Yes, all this is evident. I shall and do believe
everything that God deigns to reveal, because He says
it, whether or not I see or understand it. But the
difficulty with me is how to know that God did speak,
what He said, what He meant. My difficulty is prac-
tical, not theoretical."
And by the same token you have shifted the
question from "Why we believe" to "Whence we
believe;" you no longer seek the authority of your
faith, but its genesis. You believe what God says,
because He says it ; you believe He did say it because
—the Church says it. You are no longer dealing with
the truth itself, but with the messenger that brings
the truth to be believed. The message of the Church
is: these are God's words. As for what these words
stand for, you are not to trust her, but Him. The
foundation of divine belief is one thing ; the motives of
credibility are another.
We should not confound these two things, if we
would have a clear notion of what faith is, and discover
the numerous counterfeits that are being palmed off
nowadays on a world that desires a convenient, rather
than a genuine article.
The received manner of belief is first to examine
the truths proposed as coming from God, measure
them with the rule of individual reason, of expediency,
feeling, fancy, and thus to decide upon their merits. If
this proposition suits, it is accepted. If that other is
WHY WE BELIEVE. 73
found wanting, it is forthwith rejected. And then
it is in order to set out and prove them to be or not to
be the word of God, according to their suitability or
non-suitabiUty.
One would naturally imagine, as reason and
common sense certainly suggest, that one's first duty
would be to convince oneself that God did communicate
these truths; and if so, then to accept them without
further dally or comment. There is nothing to be
done, once God reveals, but to receive His revelation.
Outside the Church, this procedure is not always
followed, because of the rationalistic tendencies of
latter-day Protestantism. It is a glaring fact that
many do not accept all that God says because He says,
but because it meets the requirements of their condition,
feelings or fancy. They lay down the principle that
a truth, to be a truth, must be understood by the human
intelligence. This is paramount to asserting that God
cannot know more than men—blasphemy on the face
of it. Thus the divine rock-bed of faith is torn away,
and a human basis substituted. Faith itself is destroyed
in the process.
It is, therefore, important, before examining
whence comes our faith, to remember why we believe,
and not to forget it. This much gained, and for all
time, we can go farther; without it, all advance is
impossible.
Source: Moral Briefs by Rev. John H. Stapleton, Imprimatur 1904
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