Somewhere along the line the word belief seems to have become accepted as a substitute for opinion. Do you believe in angels? I believe you should feed a cold and starve a fever. I came across an interesting conversation on a web site: A man asked his sister, “Do you believe in global warming?” She replied, “Noooo. I believe in God. Science does not require me to believe in anything.”
1 comment:
Gail;
-----Belief and opinion certainly have common elements. Neither rise to the level of knowledge through full experience, that is, to the level of knowable fact. So both partake of the nature of supposition in regards to what has not become empirically known. Yet both are held concerning matters with which we must deal in spite of not entirely knowing. Therefore, the fact of missing knowledge begs for the use of faith in the holding of either. Maybe the clearest differentiation between the two is that a belief has received more trust or confidence than an opinion, and therefore is more used in further formulating other opinions and beliefs. But the most important element of belief and opinion are their shared susceptibility to error.
-----That is why Proverbs so prominently reminds us that pride goes before the fall. Humility is more important than either belief or opinion, because humility realizes both the need for correcting conclusions drawn from partially known information as well as the reliability of any new information which will render those corrections. More fundamentally, humility pays great mind to the vacancy of particular information within any system of belief or opinion, always being alert for gaining reliable knowledge for filling that vacancy and vetting even its sources of information.
-----The Lord does not mind this scrutiny. In fact, He invites it. He knows He has not given man the full extent of all knowledge. But He has given him enough reliable information that the heart concerned with knowing in truth can both know the direction of his search for more information as well as the basics about which he is learning. God has given man a choice between humility and arrogance which will draw his beliefs and opinions more or less towards the knowledge of final truths. Therefore, I am always more concerned about my choice of humility than I am about my beliefs and opinions at any certain moment. And I will always regard the beliefs and opinions of a humble man more highly than those of an arrogant man regardless of how learned either may be.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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