One of the things we talked about was faith - she believed that as she believed in Christ, she was saved and going to heaven, and it didn't matter what she did, how she acted, for all her sins were forgiven when Christ got crucified. I tried to make her see the other perspective, of how faith was intricately tied in to action - if one "believed" in Christ, but then committed actions that were against the teachings of Christ, one cannot possibly be "saved" - and yet this was something she could not accept as part of her Christian faith.
It was therefore a pleasant surprise as I just read the Epistle of James, and came across a passage that talks exactly about this issue:
17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
-- James 2:17-24I find this to be in perfect alignment with the Bahai teaching that "the essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds." And to me, this is now yet another classic example of how all religions intrinsically really teach the same things, while we people interpret them in our own ways, creating differences and distinctions.
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Great connection. A little earlier in that same Epistle to James there is another nice connection of faith to deeds:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:14-17
Also, Jesus spoke about the importance of putting one's faith into action:
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27
Ah, thanks for these additional references... :) For some reason I meant to paste from 2:14, but ended up pasting from 2:17 - thanks for adding that initial bit...
Wouldn't it have been nice if you had this familiarity with James before you met that woman on the plane? :-) This means that those of you in a Christian sea, would benefit from a rigorous and systematic study of the Bible. And those of us in other places.......
Regards from Saitama
Very interesting passages. I had not read these before; they contradicted my previous interpretations of Christian faith. Previously I have mainly heard Christians use the word faith as a way of justifying why they believe something that may not have much obvious physical evidence.
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