Galatians 6:10
"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."
The word "Christian" is in the New Testament only three times. Some called Christianity "The Way." Or sometimes "The believing ones." Or, as we read in today's verse "the HOUSEHOLD of FAITH." The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word for FAITH is "pistis." The Greeks used "pistis" to refer to trust and reliability. The Greeks had no religious connotation for "pistis."
Culture hides things from the people living in it. The early Christians believed in Jesus Christ and it made them different from their pagan neighbors. Their trust and reliance on Jesus is what became know was FAITH. It is not explicitly declared in the Holy Scriptures that "pistis" is exclusive to Christians. So, people have MISSED it. We should not use FAITH to describe other religions or non religious things. Yet, we do it all the time.
This week we will study this subject through a review of the book; Faith Misused, by Dr. Alvin J. Schmidt. His book took twenty years of research. It is information not offered previously. So, the doctor was very careful in his research to confirm it's accuracy. He first encountered this idea in the writing of Dieter Lierhman in 2002. He kept thinking about it. And looking into it. Then he read William Pain Hatch. What we think of as FAITH was unknown to Greeks and Romans. Christians did not realize that they were INNOVATIVE in their use of the word "pistis." Teresa Morgan, Oxford scholar, says it was only used for Christians.
Christians were also the first to use the word "faith" for other religions. Saint Augustin was the first to use the word "faith" to describe Muslim beliefs. And, others began using the phrase "Christian Faith" and it was not long before they began using faith with other religions. As in the "Turkish faith." And, the use spreads to the point it is used for almost anything and everything. Which is why he titled his book "Faith Misused."
To learn more about this subject, the book and it's author listen to this podcast. There is more information here and it's very interesting...
https://issuesetc.org/2022/02/04/0352-faith-and-christianitys-uniqueness-part-1-dr-alvin-schmidt-2-3-22/
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