When Faith Goes Dead
Tony R. Nester
James 2:17
In 1882 a German with a very large mustache, having been raised in a devout Lutheran home, wrote the infamous words, "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him." The philosopher’s name was Frederick Nietzsche, and he wrote and published books that were a scathing attack on Christianity.
The Bible scoffs at those who think they can dismiss God from this world - "The fool says in his heart - there is no God" (Psalm 14:1) -- but the Bible does say that faith in God can go dead. As James says it: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).
Now James isn’t saying that faith never existed; he’s saying that a faith that was once alive has now died. And by dead he means ineffective, useless, unresponsive, and like a corpse whose spirit has departed from it. He says it like this in Chapter 2:26: “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.” (NRSV).
And yet, says James, there are believers who think that this dead faith is all they need to be Christians. So when we read James we’re forced to ask ourselves, “Is my faith alive or dead?”
Here is one of the great strengths of the Bible: the Scriptures examine and criticize the very religion that many people claim to get from the Bible. This element of Christian self-criticism is one of the Bible’s most important safeguards. For only a religion that can rightly criticize itself when it goes bad can be safe for the world.
In the same way only leaders who will accept criticism are safe leaders for their people to follow; only a nation that can criticize itself when it strays from its ideals is a nation that can be trusted with great power; only a husband and wife who examine themselves and with their own critical eye will grow in into a mature and unselfish love; only people who are good enough to accept God’s judgement on them will avoid becoming judgmental toward others. The Bible tells us not to judge others ...
Tony R. Nester
James 2:17
In 1882 a German with a very large mustache, having been raised in a devout Lutheran home, wrote the infamous words, "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him." The philosopher’s name was Frederick Nietzsche, and he wrote and published books that were a scathing attack on Christianity.
The Bible scoffs at those who think they can dismiss God from this world - "The fool says in his heart - there is no God" (Psalm 14:1) -- but the Bible does say that faith in God can go dead. As James says it: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).
Now James isn’t saying that faith never existed; he’s saying that a faith that was once alive has now died. And by dead he means ineffective, useless, unresponsive, and like a corpse whose spirit has departed from it. He says it like this in Chapter 2:26: “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.” (NRSV).
And yet, says James, there are believers who think that this dead faith is all they need to be Christians. So when we read James we’re forced to ask ourselves, “Is my faith alive or dead?”
Here is one of the great strengths of the Bible: the Scriptures examine and criticize the very religion that many people claim to get from the Bible. This element of Christian self-criticism is one of the Bible’s most important safeguards. For only a religion that can rightly criticize itself when it goes bad can be safe for the world.
In the same way only leaders who will accept criticism are safe leaders for their people to follow; only a nation that can criticize itself when it strays from its ideals is a nation that can be trusted with great power; only a husband and wife who examine themselves and with their own critical eye will grow in into a mature and unselfish love; only people who are good enough to accept God’s judgement on them will avoid becoming judgmental toward others. The Bible tells us not to judge others ...
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