You do what you believe...
...So said the great Robert Traina
Robert Traina, the extraordinary practitioner and instructor of inductive Bible study, once said in class, “You believe what you do, and you do what you believe.” I wasn’t sure what he said in the moment, but I wrote it down knowing that, upon reflection, the utterance would prove to be profound.
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This beginning of a book review was so encouraging to me. Not sure if the book will be any good…but I have ordered it. The review is by Andrew Prevot and the author is Kevin Hector.
Loving, singing, praying, lamenting, forgiving, being grateful, being generous, even laughing – these are just a few of the Christian practices that inform Kevin W. Hector’s consideration of more traditional theological topics such as the problem of sin and evil, the saving mission of Jesus, and the end of the world. Christianity as a Way of Life shows that the discipline of systematic theology, which traditionally seeks to clarify Christian beliefs, can be reconceived as a study of the embodied, communal practices that make up the Christian life. From start to finish, the prose is clear and the uplifting vision of a life reoriented toward God shines through.
This book reunites doctrine and practice in a manner that many Christians will appreciate, but it also aims to persuade skeptics that theology has a legitimate place in the academy. It does this by arguing that theology offers understanding and wisdom that even scholars who are not devoted to Christianity can recognize as good. By interpreting Christianity not as a collection of beliefs but as a way of life among other ways to live in the world, theology has the potential to broaden anyone’s understanding of life, regardless of his or her religious or nonreligious commitments. Moreover, by explaining how Christian practices can make people better by directing them toward recognizably good ends, theology may help even those who do not adhere to Christianity find some practical wisdom within it.
John Wesley was trying to get after the same sort of thought with is from his Sermon #7 on “The Way to the Kingdom.”
For neither does religion consist Orthodoxy, or right opinions; which, although they are not properly outward things, are not in the heart, but the understanding. A man may be orthodox in every point; he may not only espouse right opinions, but zealously defend them against all opposers; he may think justly concerning the incarnation of our Lord, concerning the ever-blessed Trinity, and every other doctrine contained in the oracles of God; he may assent to all the three creeds, -- that called the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian; and yet it is possible he may have no religion at all, no more than a Jew, Turk, or pagan. He may be almost as orthodox -- as the devil, (though, indeed, not altogether; for every man errs in something; whereas we can't well conceive him to hold any erroneous opinion) and may, all the while be as great a stranger as he to the religion of the heart.
In other words, practice the truth. Don’t just affirm it theologically.
Comedian Louis C.K.:
"I have a lot of beliefs .… And I live by none of them. That's just the way I am. They're just my beliefs. I just like believing them—I like that part. They're my little 'believies.' They make me feel good about who I am. But if they get in the way of a thing I want, I [sure as heck just do what I want to do]."
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E. Stanley Jones once said that belief comes from the Old English “lief” which, of course, means “life.” So belief is, basically, by your life…not just your thoughts.
I think we all know this. But do we all LIVE it?