Quotes about Belief

The theory-practice dichotomy that still bedevils many a theological curriculum serves neither seminary nor church. There is a debilitating dichotomy between what Christians believe (doctrine) and how they live their lives (discipleship).

Christian doctrine is what the church believes, teaches, and confesses as it prays and suffers, serves and obeys, celebrates and awaits the coming of the kingdom of God. —Jaroslav Pelikan

What is the message? Can faith bereft of specific beliefs speak understanding? If so, understanding of what? My concern is that the only thing Cox has to say to young people seeking spirituality is "Do good."13 But why should we do good? And what is the good if it is not somehow rooted in the nature and work of God? Cox's Age of the Spirit needs a normative Word. For while belief without faith is empty, faith without belief is blind.

Doctrine is less theoretical than it is theatrical, a matter of doing—speaking and showing—what we have heard and understood.

If actions speak louder than words, it is because they lend the weight of behavior (real assent) to belief (nominal assent).

does belief that fails to issue in behavior count as genuine witness (and understanding) or not?

You were saved when you believed in Jesus, but you were transformed when you realized He believed in you.

when someone believes in you before you deserve it, it transforms you.

But any time you have a thought in your head about you that didn't come from the heart of God, you're trespassing against your own body.

The devil is the ultimate pervert. He is a master at twisting Scriptures to imprison, disempower, deceive and destroy people. The most destructive weapon in the world is the Word of God in the hands of the devil. The Bible misapplied is worse than a lie - it is religion. Religion starts wars, divides believers and oppresses people. The devil even used the Bible to tempt Jesus in the wilderness.

Fear is actually faith in the wrong god. Fear is the manifestation of believing that something is about to go wrong. And yet, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love" (1 John 4:18).

Did you notice that trials do not test our character, they test our faith? Faith is fundamentally a relational term—it is not first a matter of what you believe, but of whom you trust. The battle for our trust is as old as Adam and Eve. In the midst of battle, it can seem so complex, but when the dust settles and the smoke clears, the real war is always over the same question—whom will we believe? Whom will we listen to, God or the devil?