I think I understood what you were asking, and thus passed over the
example of Thomas that came to mind first. I'm having a harder time
trying to think of a scriptural example of the sort you're looking for.
Just
to make sure I'm on the same page, you're trying to find an example of
a biblical scene in which the senses tell an individual that one thing is
before him/her while faith tells the person that something else entirely
is before him/her. Correct?
I'm not sure if this would serve your purpose, but how about the
different interpretations of the Last Supper? When Jesus says of the
bread, "this is my body," Elizabethan Protestants would look at the
bread in the communion and say, "that's still bread" while followers of
Rome would say "that is his body." And perhaps the recognition on the
road to Emmaus, where the disciples recognize the risen Christ "in the
breaking of the bread" might add to this.
Still, you're probably looking for a less controversial example, where a
patriarch believes one thing despite the evidence of the senses telling
him something different. And there I'm drawing a blank.
--Andy Fleck
Original Message:
-----------------
From: James W. Broaddus [log in to unmask]
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 13:05:35 -0700
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: 3rd try, faith and the senses,
As usual, I didn't explain things clearly.
I don't think Thomas provides the equivalent I was looking for.
Thomas does not have faith sufficient to believe that the one standing
before him was, in fact, the physical Jesus until he proved what he saw
by his sense of touch.
Redcrosse, on the other hand, does not have faith sufficient to doubt,
much less to refuse to believe, that he sees Una in bed with a lusty
squire.
My revised questions are: does anyone in the scriptures demonstrate
the kind of faith Redcrosse lacks? Or is anyone in the scriptures found
wanting because he or she lacks such faith?
I hope this is clearer.
Jim Broaddus
Redcrosse, on the other hand, believes what his senses told him
about the bed scene. what he saw when
----- Original Message -----
From: James W. Broaddus
To: Sidney-Spenser Discussion List
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 11:08 AM
Subject: f2nd try, aith and the senses,
I think I have sent an incomplete query to the list. Let me try again.
Redcrosse's abandonment of Una is typically understood as a failure
of faith caused by a dependence on his senses.
My question: is there a scriptural equivalent?
Christians are asked in different ways have faith and not believe what
ordinary experience tells them. But is there an occasion in the Bible in
which one's faith is supposed to override what is presented to one's
senses.
I hope I haven't revealed complete, overwhelming ignorance.
Jim Broaddus
James W. Broaddus
Emeritus, Ind. State.
Route 3 Box 1037
Brodhead, KY 40409
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