What I don't understand is why having faith in the sense of believing a set of doctrines is supposed to be such a good thing. Believing or not believing something doesn't make you a better person.
Now I think I understand historically how this got started. During the Prostestant Reformation the catchword was "faith, not works." What they were reacting to were the abuses in the Catholic church that went under the name of "works" (indulgences: give some money and be saved, etc.). But I'm not certain that "faith" in the 16th and 17th centuries meant quite the same as it does now. I'm thinking that it meant faith in the mercy of God, not in his existence. His existence was taken for granted.
This message has been edited by robinrohan, 05-16-2005 08:56 AM
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