While the question "Is faith reasonable?" has continually occupied philosophers and theologians, little attention has been paid to what faith itself is. The Act of Faith remedies this neglect by looking at what it means for a person of Christian faith to believe. Eric Springsted contrasts modern views of faith with the Christian tradition running from Augustine through Aquinas and Calvin. In reviewing such thinkers as Locke and Hume, Springsted discovers that behind modern discussions of the reasonableness of faith lie key assumptions about the human self, including the views that the good is a matter of choice and that we can exercise objective, uninvolved reason. According to Springsted, however, the church has not viewed faith in this way. His survey of the Augustinian tradition shows that the self our most esteemed Christian thinkers had in mind when talking about faith was a "moral self"--one defined by character and self-involvement. Christian faith is at root a participation in the good, and reasoning within faith is reasoning within the life of God. Drawing on contemporary philosophers and theologians like John Henry Newman and Simone Weil, Springsted builds a fresh understanding of faith for today. He shows how the "inner act" of faith is ultimately a radical willingness to be open to God, and he argues that the faithful self is one that develops within a community that shapes its members through the morally formative activities of interaction, teaching, and sacramental practice.

The standard resource for teachers of the Uniform Series

The step-by-step lesson plans in the lesson commentary make teaching the Uniform Series easy. Students will understand Scripture, relate Scripture to contemporary living, and be challenged to respond with positive actions. The Annual includes a Faith in Action life application section. Lessons for a full year include analysis by leading scholars, four quarterly Bible background articles, a Teacher Helps article, four quarterly maps or timelines, and an article relating to liturgical seasons. It uses NRSV and NIV text. Check out other resources based on the Uniform Lesson Series in the Related Products Section below. Learn more about Adult Bible Studies at http://www.adultbiblestudies.com/