“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one…” – ‘The Whole Armor of God’ – Ephesians 6:16
Merriam Webster defines faith as: “firm belief in something for which there is no proof”; Britannica defines faith as: “belief in the existence of God”; according to Wikipedia, faith is: “confidence or trust” and can be applied to any object; finally, as stated by Thomas Aquinas, “Faith implies assent of the intellect to the which is believed”.
When, according to Thomas Aquinas: Augustus says that “faith is a virtue whereby we believe what we do not see”, and Damascene says that “faith is an assent without research”, and Dionysius says that “faith is the solid foundation of the believer, establishing him in the truth, and showing forth the truth in him”, these various definitions of faith all amount to the same as that presented in Hebrews 11:2, which says: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
One’s faith, expressed collectively, leads to the founding of group social virtues, as well as the establishing of shared values, norms, trust, and reciprocity – or, social capital, in short. Understanding that faith builds group virtues and social capital – those core requirements of a sustainable society – we can now logic that faith is also a core requirement of a sustainable society.
Understanding from the postulate above that faith is a core requirement of a sustainable society, and that faith leads to the founding of group social virtues and social capital, we can now reason that faith must come first amongst the requirements of a sustainable society. The core requirements of a sustainable society are faith, social virtues, and then social capital, in that order.
Then, from this theorem we can now make the following deduction: Without faith, a society has no foundation upon which to build.
Now, we finally understand the vital importance of faith – no faith, no society! Not surprisingly, “church attendance is the happiness equivalent of getting a college degree or more than doubling your income,” according to Robert Putnam in ‘Bowling Alone’. You never know, an act of faith might just change your life.
Thanks for reading!