The Folly of Scoffing at Faith.

Belief is an essential characteristic of those who consistently succeed. Those who achieve feats that the twin sentinels of rationality and realism say aren’t possible are full of faith. And when they’ve succeeded we celebrate their extraordinary achievements in books, films and other media throughout popular culture, retelling their stories to entertain and inspire ourselves and others; sometimes in the hope of following in their footsteps.

Yet in our rational, increasingly data-obsessed, world it’s common for those who are driven by belief and faith to be scoffed at as naïve, soft-headed dreamers, wishful thinkers who are ignorant of the harsh realities they face ahead and their low chances of success. “If only they weren’t so naïve – they wouldn’t waste so much time and energy!”, goes the sceptic’s lament.

I wonder how many who have gone on to achieve extraordinary things in their lives have had something similar said of them before the advent of their success?

This illustrates the paradoxical nature of the role of faith in human success: faith is an essential component of above-average, extraordinary achievement, but it is so often derided as illogical, naïve and even weak. The contempt shown towards it in secular western culture is strong.

What is Faith?

H.L. Mencken encapsulates secular contempt towards faith within a sub-section of Selected Prejudices (1922-1925) entitled The Believer:

“Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable. Or, psycho-analytically, as a wish neurose.”

He then continues, “A man full of faith is simply one who has lost (or never had) the capacity for clear and realistic thought. He is not a mere ass: he is actually ill.”

You would probably struggle to find a more scathing assessment of faith within the writings of Nietzsche! As stinging as his words are, however, Mencken’s characterisation betrays a poor conceptualisation of faith.

How, then, are we to define faith?

Firstly, it’s worth mentioning that faith doesn’t relate exclusively to a religious context; it can apply to any aspect of life in which an aspiration, goal or outcome is pursued. That said, my favourite definition of faith comes from The Book of Mormon, a religious text:

“And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” – Alma 32:21 (cf. Hebrews 11:1 in the New Testament)

Simply put, faith is not synonymous with wishful thinking. It is not naïvety. It is hope for things which are not seen, which (crucially) are true.

Hope is central to faith, because without hope there is no action; and without action there is no effort or experimentation; and without effort and experimentation the truthfulness and validity of faith remains undiscovered.

A popular quote attributed to legendary ice hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, seems salient in illustrating the centrality of faith in the pursuit of success:

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Shooting to score consistently requires hope, effort and experimentation.

Faith that is based on truth, and properly exercised through effort and experimentation, doesn’t remain as faith, though; it graduates to become knowledge when it’s been proven to be true.

Faith is Vital

In challenging times, it’s especially important to have the vision to see beyond what is immediately visible to us. That vision requires faith. In such times, success and survival might seem like the same thing. And if we’re limited to the cold, hard facts bearing down on us then the task may seem impossible. An exclusively rational view is insufficient; we need to exercise faith through hopeful effort and experimentation.

Even before the advent of covid-19, there was a growing epidemic of deaths of despair among non-Hispanic white Americans without a four-year degree. What is at the heart of this awful epidemic? Prominent among the answers to this question are the hopelessness and meaninglessness that have come from the destruction of a way of life, as Anne Case and Angus Deaton illustrate in their hard-hitting book Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism. Despair is not rooted exclusively in financial hardship:

“Being left behind financially is a key part of the story, but it is only the beginning. When we use the term deaths of despair, the despair is much broader, and much worse, than just material deprivation.”

As Case and Deaton also note,

“Deaths of despair are prevalent among those who have been left behind, whose lives have not worked out as they expected.” 

Faith is the antithesis of despair. Faith is the antidote to despair. And I’ve never seen a greater need for it at such a global scale in my lifetime. Scoffing superciliousness towards faith, and those who exercise it, will offer cold comfort to those who are limited to the myopic boundaries of rationality.

Saviours of the World

As James Allen put it in As a Man Thinketh, 

“The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers.”

I would extend that to say that those who exercise faith are the saviours of the world: their hope for better outcomes than the harsh realities in front of them point to, and their efforts to realise those outcomes, can change reality itself.

Whatever success we’re striving for, whatever success looks like to each of us right now, let us be more faithful in pursuing it. Let us have the vision to look beyond the challenges and evils of the day. And let not our hearts fail us. Faith was always supposed to be an integral part of a life well lived.

If you’d like to learn more about how faith can help you in your life and in your pursuit of success then get in touch for a free 30-minute call: tom@3stewardships.com.