January 28

Wilken makes many points in his book to show how faith is unavoidable. To me, his first argument starts when he quotes St. Augustine saying that “No one believes in anything unless one first thought it believable.” I find this quote so interesting because I’ve never thought of faith like that. If we didn’t have some belief in an idea or person, we would never have placed our trust in them in the first place. Wilken states that “faith is the portal that leads to the knowledge of God.” There are certain divine truths that are unknowable to us when we are living and faith is the way that we express our trust in God to take care of us after we finish living out our lives here on Earth. He makes a connection between stories that we have no idea are true or not. For example, I don’t know if Julius Caesar was stabbed by Brutus, but I believe it as true because it’s been told to me and I have faith that the author/storyteller is telling me the truth about what happened. Wilken states “historical knowledge required witnesses, and witness invites faith, or confidence in the word of the one who bears witness.” Wilken brings up the example of us not really knowing who our real father is unless we take a DNA test, we just choose to believe what our mom tells us about our father. Faith is beneficial because it provides a sense of comfort to people. Faith is authoritative, without faith in something society would be in shambles. Wilken states “the absence of authority in society not only severs the fragile bond of trust that binds people together, it makes learning impossible. Without faith, who would we believe to give us knowledge? Teachers? Faith is a necessary part of live and Wilken, along with the help of Augustine help prove that.