which in English means, “I believe in order that I may understand.” (St. Augustine)

I’ve been researching latin phrases in order that I might find something suitable for a graduation gift Paul is preparing for me: a personalized embosser which would allow me to identify all the books in my library as mine. The above quote, while not fit for a library embosser, is an interesting one. It represents St. Augustine’s general philosophic approach, namely, that it is faith which is the gateway to understanding, and not the reverse. And perhaps a key consideration here is one’s definition of faith. Someone more learned than I might possibly wish to summarize Augustine’s particular definition of faith, but my own definition is something like ‘trust in action.’ (My college professors would have me remember that the word for faith (’pistis’) is in fact a verb). In my own life, understanding has so often followed, rather than preceded, trust/faith, that I confess I must agree with Augustine. Insight into God’s purposes comes, when it does come, often long after the initial trusting step. As Doug once suggested to me, God’s will is primarily discerned in hindsight, and it is a gift to be able to perceive it, but a trial to await perception.

Just the sort of thoughts inspired by coming to the end of a journey (and Diner conversations with Robert).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 5:04 pm and is filed under From the nation of Indig. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.