Faith, Love, and Action

The Challenges of Faith in
the Quest for Cosmic Citizenship

5. Faith, Love, and Action

The concern of faith is identical with the desire of love; union with that to which one belongs and from which one feels estranged. We could even ask, “Is there such a thing as love without faith?” There is certainly love without the acceptance of doctrines; faith as a set of accepted and defended doctrines does not produce acts of love. But faith as the state of being ultimately concerned implies love – the desire and urge toward union with that from which we feel separated. The more love is present, the more faith has conquered its demonic-idolatrous possibilities.
An idolatrous faith which gives ultimacy to a secondary concern stands against all other secondary concerns and excludes love relations between the representatives of contrasting claims. The fanatic cannot love that against which his fanaticism is directed, for "love is the desire to do good to others." Idolatrous faith is also confronted with the challenge of repressing the doubts which always characterize the elevation of something secondary to a level of ultimacy.
Lastly we must understand that faith as a state of being ultimately concerned reaches out into the world as action. This is faith which seeks to transform and unite with God all that which appears to be separated from him.
2047:6 192:2.2 "If you love me, Peter, feed my lambs. Do not neglect to minister to the weak, the poor, and the young. Preach the gospel without fear or favor; remember always that God is no respecter of persons. Serve your fellow men even as I have served you; forgive your fellow mortals even as I have forgiven you. Let experience teach you the value of meditation and the power of intelligent reflection."
1780:5 160:5.3 "If something has become a religion in your experience, it is self-evident that you already have become an active evangel of that religion since you deem the supreme concept of your religion as being worthy of the worship of all mankind, all universe intelligences. If you are not a positive and missionary evangel of your religion, you are self-deceived in that what you call a religion is only a traditional belief or a mere system of intellectual philosophy."