If you claim to have "faith," does that absolve you from responsibility?

1. 0

   jonnycomelatelyposted 8 years ago

   If you claim to have "faith," does that absolve you from responsibility?
   
   Can you go to church every Sunday, say your prayers, go to confession, stop doing all those "naughty" things in your life, and then have no care for the world in which you live; no concern for looking after the environment which gives you life; waste the earth's resources; disregard the needs of your children and grandchildren?
   Is it possible to be so "spiritually minded," that you lose sight of down-to-earth obvious demands of good stewardship?

   report
2. 75

   m abdullah javedposted 8 years ago

   
   
   No Alan, the faith doesn't absolve anyone from responsibility. If it sets free anyone of the responsibilities than what difference remains between Faith and Faithlessness and a Theist and an Atheist?
   
   With a belief in a particular faith, a person owes responsibilities, towards God and His creatures both living and non living beings.
   
   Everyone is responsible, but it's gravity and degree varies in accordance with an individual's strengths and weaknesses.
   
   The success depends on how a person has justified the entrusted responsibilities and how far he tried to cultivate a sense of the same among the near and dear ones.

   report
3. 78

   dashingscorpioposted 8 years ago

   
   
   To have faith just means you believe everything will work out for the best even though you don't (know) or can't (see) how.
   You believe there is a "master plan" which may defy your reasoning and understanding. "God will provide...etc"
   Essentially it's (blindly trusting) everything will be fine.
   "Necessity is the mother of all invention."
   That's another way one (believes) solutions arise as needed.
   In fact having faith means one doesn't "worry" about the future!
   
   "Faith is to believe in what we cannot see and the reward of that faith is to see what we (believe)."

   report
   1. 0

      jonnycomelatelyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for that.  Yes, there is certainly more than one way of looking at these matters.  The "faith" path is just right for some.   For others, like myself, it's much more on the "logical" side and looking for reasons/purpose, etc.

      report
   2. 78

      dashingscorpioposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like you subscribe to the following philosophy:
      "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."
      - William Earnest Henley
      Another way of putting it; "If it's going to be it's up to me."
      It's hard to (assume) things will be ok.

      report
4. 83

   tsmogposted 8 years ago

   Key for me with contemplating the OP is on faith firstly while agree with previous posts to an extent. I feel and think faith can be stagnant and it can be dynamic. Both cases it is in partnership with trust and has a direction that leads. When stagnant it is constant, although may be of greatness. When dynamic it changes more toward or away alongside trust while its greatness is a variable.
   
   Next, I remember an adage saying "faith without works is dead". Though is scriptural I apply it saying, "Faith without actions is empty perhaps even useless at times". To become an action there is in fact responsibility simply by doing an action. At first no matter the consequence moral or universal it is taking responsibility led by faith aided by trust toward or away some change. The action is a first step of responsibility. Done.
   
   Next, is the supplemental whereby I can easily substitute for church my job, career, education, family, friends, and etc. That is a next step with the wholeness of faith and its meanings. Then I remember an adage saying "You can be so heavenly that you do no earthly good". So, perhaps that may be an answer to being too spiritually minded losing focus where I reside . . . today . . . now. That said, I best vacuum today, sweep the carport, and pull some weeds :-))

   report
5. 0

   ahorsebackposted 8 years ago

   Johnny ,  Christianity , as many would have you think, is not the end all answer , but a preventative maintaining of the soul of the humble faithful .  This" absolves" you of nothing but that of the trying ,simply in the 'being of a better person' !
   
   Like faithfully changing the oil in your car , you don't absolve anything of your destination   but prolonging your car engine, the core of your cars behavior  .........  Are we not  inciting a theist , atheist's debate but again?

   report
6. 0

   LoliHeyposted 8 years ago

   No!  If you willingly continue to commit the same sin over and over again, you are not really sorry, and will not be forgiven.

   report
7. 85

   tamarawilhiteposted 8 years ago

   A lot of environmentalism today is Earth worship, not Biblical obligation not to literally foul your own mess and manage a farm as if your grandchildren would inherit it.
   God doesn't mandate zero carbon footprint, 100% recycling or poverty.
   And we shouldn't have blind faith in computer models that can't explain why the world stopped warming in 2000, 70+ explanations of the global warming pause, and ever more apocalyptic predictions if we don't implement energy poverty, population control and total socialism ASAP that was their same solution forty years ago to global cooling.

   report
   1. 0

      savvydatingposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for that. Finally, a straightforward, factual answer to a skewed question.

      report
8. 45

   Ericdierkerposted 8 years ago

   No it is not possible. I have never met a deeply spiritually minded person who has lost sight of down-to-earth obvious demands of good stewardship. I have gone really close but the two just don't match up. If we get all blissed out and in touch with our Lord good things happen not bad.
   
   Now with that said I have seen folks who just get dressed up on Sundays and do like you say. But we would not call those folks spiritually minded. Somehow they get all caught up in the dogma and  ritual and lose sight of the core concepts of being a steward. Many folks don't look deep into stewardship and think it just means giving money to a church. But we would not call these people spiritually minded.

   report