Various theologians have dissected the issue of Christian Faith, which helps them to position their understanding and conceptualize Christian tenets. St Augustine, a catholic theologian, asserts that the knowledge of God is the key to the understanding of the Christian faith, having a personal relationship with God, make Christian journey worthwhile as it reveals their purpose and the course in life. In short, Augustine's viewpoint on prompting inquiries on Christian conviction make the subject on Faith a more complex phenomenon, as a believer cannot fully exhaust the nature of God. Anselm of Aosta conceived the dictum “faith seeking understanding,” in the attempts to explain Christian Faith, he agrees extensively with Augustine’s stand on the faith that a believer need to make inquiries on their faith not because they see it an avenue of attaining rational understanding but for the reason that they find joy in what they believe in.
Furthermore, Karl Barth positions himself in the dogma of the two theologians Augustine and Anselm as a three-way street in the same direction they maintain that Christian doctrine tasks itself to reevaluate the believer’s faith along with the practice to cement and build an enduring foundation on the Christian beliefs. Also, Martin Luther King Jr put across the account of the Christian faith in both material and immaterial perspective, as goes ahead to say, what the heart clings to and have a dependence on is what is God. On the other end, Gabriel Marcel , a Christian existentialist, shared that faith is a mystery, not a problem in which believers have to constantly prompt unending questions on the examination of God’s will and Christian Salvation. Likewise, Edward Schillebeeckx contends that the Faith causes a believer to meditate, which leads individuals to seek an understanding of the phenomenon and mystery surrounding life. God’s ideas and thinking are not the same as humans; that at some point where believers are faced with the mysterious phenomenon they tend to question their Faith.
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Your Opinion (Agree or Disagree using Evidence from the Text)
In my opinion, Christian faith is complex, it takes a lot of effort for one to understand it, and by the end of the day, and the believers may still find it to fathom it completely. Christian doctrines should be able to guide believers and help them understand the meaning of faith. For the most part of it, I think faith is a choice; one can choose to believe or not believe. Faith is believing in the unknown or the unseen; it may be hard for Christians to have consistency; with all the inquiries on faith, a believer may be led astray. The faithless will resort to a more tangible seen thing, what Martin Luther discussed as “ our god may, in fact, be money, possessions, power, fame, family, or nation.” The knowledge of God, who He is, how are the believers connected to God, what He wants from us, that is, God’s will is an important starting point for the journey into Christian Faith. The acknowledgment of God's power over our lives helps believers develop faith since it gives them certainty or something to cling to.
Further Implications you see for Theology as a Whole
Theology brings on board the understanding of God as the trinity, Jesus Christ's centrality alongside the reconciliation of his works, as well as the hope of life fulfillment in the spiritual union with God and the Holy Spirit. The implication of these doctrines to the believers is that it binds Christian faith to the practice of Christianity. Also, the dogma is meant to sharpen the Christian faith perspective to reflect the wide Christian Culture.
Reference
Migliore, Daniel L. (1935). Faith seeking understanding: an introduction to Christian theology. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K. Third edition.
