An Active Faith
I propose that instead of rushing into the sea of work, we should
go headlong into a struggle for faith. I know you might respond,
"Yes, certainly, but when?" Or you might point out that most
metaphors of searching for faith are much less active or even
violent than mine of rushing headlong--prayer, meditation, and
study, for example. I believe we must first pray for courage. You
can't pray, meditate, study, and do all the other more gentle
approaches to faith if you don't have the courage to act. Courage
combats fear. Ever since I read Dostoevsky, I remain rooted in his
way of seeing faith--that faith matters above all else, and that
it is a gamble. I must gamble for faith because it must shape my
life in the same way that the absence of it shapes my life. It is
not irrelevant. It can't be retired.

--From the essay "Putting Faith First"
by Vance Wilson

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