Faith
Is faith just a feeling, or a guess?
Main teaching: De fide
The big question
People often say faith means believing without evidence, or believing something because it makes you feel better. If that were true, faith would be either a guess or a mood. What do Catholics actually mean by faith?
What the Church teaches
Faith is a supernatural virtue by which, with the help of God’s grace, we believe that what God has revealed is true. We believe it not because we see its truth by the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God who reveals it, who can neither deceive nor be deceived (Dei Filius ch. 3; DH 3008; CCC 1814).
Faith is a gift of God, given by grace; even the beginning of faith requires grace (Dei Filius ch. 3, DH 3010; Council of Orange, 529, canons 5–7, DH 375–377).
Faith is free. God does not force anyone to believe (Dei Filius canon 3.5; DH 3035; CCC 160).
Faith is reasonable. God has given outward signs, such as miracles and prophecies, that show his revelation to be credible (Dei Filius ch. 3 and canon 3.3; DH 3009, 3033; CCC 156).
Faith and reason can never truly contradict each other, because the same God gives both (Dei Filius ch. 4; DH 3017; CCC 159).
How sure is this? De fide. Each point was defined by Vatican I. See CCC 142–165.
Where it comes from
Scripture. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), and “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is God’s gift: “by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Faith is not blind. St John wrote his Gospel, recording Jesus’ signs, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). And St Peter tells Christians to be ready to give reasons: “Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
The early Church and the saints. St Augustine summed up the relationship between faith and reason in two directions: understand, so that you may believe; believe, so that you may understand (Sermon 43). St Anselm (died 1109) described theology as “faith seeking understanding” (Proslogion, preface).
How theologians explain it
Faith means believing someone on their word. Most of what you know, you know by trusting witnesses: that Antarctica exists, that you were born on a certain date, what happened in history. That is human faith, and it is perfectly reasonable. Divine faith has the same shape, but the witness is God himself.
What makes divine faith different. The difference lies in the reason for believing, which theologians call the formal motive:
| Human faith | Divine faith | |
|---|---|---|
| Why I believe | A human witness knows and is truthful | God, who cannot deceive or be deceived, has revealed it |
| What makes it possible | My natural intellect and will | God’s grace, raising my intellect |
| How certain it is | Only as certain as the witness is reliable | Certain with God’s own truthfulness |
So divine faith is not just a stronger version of human trust. It is a different kind of act, made possible by grace. Someone who accepts Christian teachings only because of a historical argument, or because they like them, does not yet have divine faith in them, however correct the beliefs.
Faith is an act of the mind, moved by the will. St Thomas explains that the evidence for a mystery such as the Trinity is not something we can see. So the mind does not assent because it is compelled, as it is by a proof. It assents because the will, moved by grace, inclines it to trust God (Summa II-II, q. 2, a. 9). That is why faith is both free and meritorious.
Reasons to believe, not proofs of what is believed. The motives of credibility, such as miracles, fulfilled prophecy, the life of Christ, and the holiness and endurance of the Church, show that it is reasonable to believe God has spoken. They do not prove the Trinity or the Eucharist. They clear the way; grace and the free decision to believe make the act of faith.
Certain, but not seen. Faith is the most certain thing we have, because it rests on God. But it is not evident: the believer does not see the truth of what he believes. That is why someone can be completely committed to the faith and still find parts of it hard to understand.
Philosophy bridge
The philosophy course’s lessons on knowledge distinguish knowing something by seeing the evidence from knowing it on someone’s testimony, and different kinds of certainty. Divine faith is knowledge by testimony, where the witness is God.
What the Church does not claim
- Not that faith is a feeling. Feelings come and go. Faith is a judgement of the mind, which can remain firm when it feels dry.
- Not that faith is against reason. The Church condemned fideism, the view that faith needs no reasons, as firmly as she condemned rationalism, the view that reason alone is the measure of truth.
- Not that difficulties are doubts. St John Henry Newman wrote that ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt (Apologia pro Vita Sua, chapter 5). Finding a teaching hard to understand, and asking questions about it, is not the same as rejecting it.
- Not that only believers can be reasonable. The Church holds that reason can reach truths about God, such as his existence, on its own (Unit 2).
Check your understanding
- Give Vatican I’s definition of faith in your own words.
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Faith is a supernatural virtue, given by God’s grace, by which we believe that what God has revealed is true, not because we can see that it is true, but because God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived, has told us.
- What is the difference between human faith and divine faith?
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Human faith believes a human witness, on our natural powers, and is only as certain as the witness is reliable. Divine faith believes God himself, is made possible by grace, and rests on God’s own truthfulness.
- If faith is a gift of God, how can it also be free?
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Because the evidence for revealed truths is not something the mind is forced to accept. Grace moves the will, and the will freely inclines the mind to trust God. God offers the gift; the person freely accepts it.
- What are the motives of credibility, and what do they do and not do?
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They are signs such as miracles, prophecy, and the holiness and endurance of the Church that show it is reasonable to believe God has spoken. They make faith reasonable, but they do not prove the mysteries themselves, and they do not by themselves produce the act of faith, which needs grace.
- A friend says, “I have lots of questions about the Eucharist, so I suppose I’ve lost my faith.” How might you answer?
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Having questions is not the same as doubting. As Newman said, ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt. Faith is believing God on his word even where we do not fully understand, and asking questions is how faith seeks understanding.