Yes, faith is a slippery word. But as you note, when we put TRUE faith (in whatever we see as God) into best practice, it allows us to swim among sharks. We might be shaking from head to toe, but we still can jump in when we need to.

However, if we hold what I will call “false faith,” we become just one of the sharks.

What people justify as “faith” often has little to do with the Bible. We sometimes engage in willful ignorance.

The point I think Paul and James wanted us to understand is that we act upon what we believe. Unless you believe you can swim, will you dive into deep water? Unless we truly believe God loves us, will we have the courage to behave as we should?

I don’t believe it IS the faith Paul and James spoke of. I believe it is how faith is sometimes interpreted–the kind that leads to hubris and closed-mindedness, the kind that leads us to hurt as opposed to help.

Faith is a strange thing. Some people use it for justification of anything. Others use it to do the best they can in the world. Still others keep it in their pockets like a lucky charm.

Faith alone isn’t enough, IMHO. If you have faith in a good God who wants good, then you must DO as much good as you can (not meaning to preach here).

What wisdom did Paul and James teach? They told us that God loves us. They told us the price Jesus paid for our redemption. They told us the only way we can accept God’s offer of salvation. We must love God and each other. If such faith leads to hubris and closed-mindedness, how can that be the faith of which they spoke?