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Dear Craig,

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If you need a distraction from the stress of your exams, here is some pre-Christian music (Greek, Hebrew, Byzantine, Melkite and Gallican chant forms) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGcvNcgltYs

… and some chant of the first Christians :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfth7akLvA0

… then, just for the pleasure, Isaac Stern and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Prokofiev’s violin concerto N° 2 :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E-FQ9uFtC0

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Thanks Banjo, the exam stress is now over for a little while.

I'm looking forward to listening to some of the pieces you've linked to through the day. I'm sad that I don't feel able to return the favour, since my own musical tastes, while eclectic, are in general probably not compatible with your own. Don't let that stop you continuing to share your own favourite pieces though!

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« I will engage with you if you engage with me ! »

Posted by Sells, Thursday, 28 May 2015 12:34:51 PM

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« Waiting for Godot ... but Godot never comes ! »

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Banjo,
For what it's worth, I thought your question was valid and interesting. What is the difference between faith and belief? Is there a difference?

Peter says in his article that he sees some significant difference, but doesn't go into much detail or elaborate on the thought. So maybe it's right that you ask. But I'm not sure about your insistence that Peter respond. What are you looking for from him? I don't see his obligation to respond if he's not inclined.

I suspect he means that there are certain aspects to 'faith' that are more substantial or life changing than some light belief or mere mental assent. But on the other hand, I see much of this as mere words and semantics. On a dictionary level there isn't much difference between the words faith and belief.

The real difference is when you see effectual faith being put into action. Much of the Bible has been given to us in narrative accounts of people in real situations. We see examples of how faith is put into practice and the dictionary word is then fleshed out with meaning. We can also see examples of faith lived out in the lives those currently around us.

But on the word level, faith and belief can often be interchangeable. For example, Hebrews 11.6 uses the two words in the one context:
"And it is impossible to please God without 'faith'. Anyone who wants to come to him must 'believe' that he exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him."

Here, the original writer conveyed his idea using the noun for faith - pistis, and the verb for believe - pisteuo. From my very limited knowledge of Greek, I can see that he's using two pretty similar words (both in their root begin with the same four letters - pist.)

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Dear Dan,

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You ask :

« I'm not sure about your insistence that Peter respond. What are you looking for from him? I don't see his obligation to respond if he's not inclined.»

You will find my explanation of the problem here :

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/user.asp?id=52506

Peter finally replied this :

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=17351#306885

Since then, I have written a couple of comments to his articles but, contrary to his declaration “I will engage with you if you engage with me !”, he has never done what he said he would do.
The only people with whom he has “engaged” a conversation on OLO since he made that commitment are George and Craig Minns, both of whom apparently share the same basic religious beliefs as him, even though they may not always be in agreement with him.

As I understand you do too, I don’t think you will have any problems getting the occasional reply either.

Of course, you are right in thinking the he has no obligation to respond if he is not inclined and I guess I should never have taken his declaration seriously. I must confess that it had not occurred to me that a practising deacon of the Anglican church would not respect his word.

That’s life I guess. You learn every day.

Thanks for your interest, Dan. I'm glad to see that we agree that faith and belief basically mean the same thing.

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I don't share Peter's religious beliefs, Banjo, but I am sympathetic to the view that there are human drives and experiences that may lead to religious explanations. Personally, I am atheist.