Show Me Your Faith

There was something else in that Boston Herald article I wanted to mention. This is the last paragraph of the article.

Quoting the Biblical line that “faith without works is dead,” Kerry cited budget cuts to schools, literacy programs and Medicaid as distorted values.

Kerry quoted this a lot in the runup to the 2004 election, but as Inigo Montoya said “I do think think it means what he thinks it means”. What Kerry seems to want that verse to say is that if you profess to having faith, you must also accompany that with works – preferably Public Works of the sort that involves large government programs.

Let’s look at that verse, though. It comes from James, Chapter 2, Verses 14-26 :

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

I quoted the whole section because I wanted you to see not only how many times he used the phrase, but in what context.

What James is saying here is simple: it’s not enough to say you have faith. You have to put some action behind it. In other words, you have to live your faith. Words are not enough.

Kerry has used this phrase to key in on the section about poverty: that when we see the poor and destitute, we should help them, preferably by spending a lot of government money. Notice, though, that James’ emphasis here is different. James says that when you see someone in front of you naked and starving, if you tell them, “You’re warm and full of food, now go on your way”, you’re obviously not doing any good. Faith along doesn’t put clothes on the back nor food on the table. Moreover, as James notes, it’s a terrible dodge to use faith instead of doing works that need to be done. He further points out that it’s all well and good to say you believe in God. Satan and his demons believe in God too. I’ll add that they not only believe in God, but they’ve met him face to face. Has that done them any good? Of course not.

Faith means nothing if not accompanies by works and, as he points out later in the passage, those works can be very hard to accomplish. Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son. Rahab risked imprisonment or death to do what she did. Their works were not easy, but they came directly from a bedrock faith – a faith far different, might I add, than the fairweather faith displayed by John Kerry.

Is it harsh to call Kerry’s faith fairweather? I quote James and say “shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” What works would Kerry show us that proves his faith while he calls out others to do the same? We remember that it was an issue during the election that he voted for things expressly forbidden by the Church to which he professed devotion.

So I say to the Senator, show me your faith.

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Category: Political Pontifications