Event Title
Honesty: The Foundation of Biblical Faith
Presenter Status
Senior Pastor
Location
Biology Amphitheater, Price Hall
Start Date
24-10-2015 9:30 AM
End Date
24-10-2015 10:30 AM
Description
Drawing on the book of Job as well as my own experience, I will in this talk make the case that the foundation for the biblical concept of faith is not found in our confidence that our beliefs are correct. Nor is it found in the amount of piety we display. The foundation of biblical faith is rather located in our willingness to be ruthlessly honest with God about our questions and struggles. The antithesis of biblical faith, therefore, is not doubt, sin or incorrect theology, for in his despair Job exhibits all three of these. The antithesis of biblical faith is rather pretense, as it was displayed in Job’s “friends,” which is why Yahweh in the end rebuked them while praising his servant Job for speaking “straight” (kûn; Job 42:7). I contend that, if we embrace the biblical model of faith, it has profound implications for our understanding of the church, especially as it concerns the way churches should process questions (including questions about faith and science) as well as the way churches should (and should not) assess who is “in” and who is “out.”
Honesty: The Foundation of Biblical Faith
Biology Amphitheater, Price Hall
Drawing on the book of Job as well as my own experience, I will in this talk make the case that the foundation for the biblical concept of faith is not found in our confidence that our beliefs are correct. Nor is it found in the amount of piety we display. The foundation of biblical faith is rather located in our willingness to be ruthlessly honest with God about our questions and struggles. The antithesis of biblical faith, therefore, is not doubt, sin or incorrect theology, for in his despair Job exhibits all three of these. The antithesis of biblical faith is rather pretense, as it was displayed in Job’s “friends,” which is why Yahweh in the end rebuked them while praising his servant Job for speaking “straight” (kûn; Job 42:7). I contend that, if we embrace the biblical model of faith, it has profound implications for our understanding of the church, especially as it concerns the way churches should process questions (including questions about faith and science) as well as the way churches should (and should not) assess who is “in” and who is “out.”
Comments
Greg Boyd is the founder and senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church (Maplewood, MN) and the President of Reknew Ministries. Boyd received his PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and taught for 16 years at Bethel University where he continues to teach as an adjunct professor. He is an internationally recognized theologian, preacher, teacher, apologist and author. He has authored or co-authored twenty books, including his best-selling and award-winning Letters From a Skeptic and his most recent book, The Benefit of the Doubt. Boyd and his wife Shelley have been married for 36 years. They have three children and five grandchildren.