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Replying to McCulloch]
I am reasonably sure that the translators of the New Testament from Greek into English did a fairly good job.
The bible is a story. It doesn't expound concepts like a dictionary so much as it explores them through narrative. So the problem is that faith (or lack of faith) needs to be discerned through the relationships of the characters in the bible and their interactions with each other, e.g., between Israel and God, between other characters and God, between human beings and creation.
Faith is in the relationship.
It is only when things like reason and science come to the fore that faith becomes non-relational and more of an... epistemological concept. i.e., instead of existing in our relationships with each other, faith only exists in our relationship to statements or propositions, e.g., "God exists," "the earth was created 6000 years ago."
I'm not sure that I entirely agree with you. Presumably many words and concepts used in the New Testament exist and have been in use outside the Bible.
But what does a modern dictionary definition have to do with what you say? Those words and their meaning are thousands of years old! Are the dictionaries that you consulted from back then? No, they are not. Hence, not exactly a good reference.
Much better that you consult an academic that studies the meaning of words in ancient Hebrew or Greek or whatever other language.
The meaning of words changes over time.
I think that something is missing. I wonder what it might be? Theophile is endeavouring to define the concept of faith using only biblical sources. Hmmm. What is missing? I know! Not a single biblical reference. I think that there is a biblical word for holding someone else to a standard that you are unwilling to hold yourself to. I think it is a Greek derived word starting with 'h'.
You'll notice that Theophile said: "If you do that, I think you'll find..." I think I set expectations that I wasn't about to do a biblical analysis. My only goal was to point you in an alternative (and I think more fruitful) direction.
But look, you're sidestepping the point: your modern dictionary reference is useless.
Perhaps it should be noted that the first source that I cited to define faith is a Christian site which includes a statement of faith. "The Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God - a supernaturally integrated set of 66 books, written by 40 authors, over nearly 2,000 years." Unlike Theophile, they used biblical references to define faith.
A Christian site: that's laughable. At least use the Catholic Church or something that has some history and weight behind it. Or academic sources.
Thankfully, the Bible contains a clear definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.� Simply put, the biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.�
And just what, exactly, is the "in" that faith "trusts in"? Is it, to my point, our relationships? i.e., the point being that we should trust in God, trust in each other? As in, marriage, partnership, etc? (A theme, you'll note, that goes back strong to the beginning of Genesis?)
Or is it, as you want to stress, trust in a notion? e.g., that God exists? That the bible is inerrant? That the world was created 6000 years ago? ...
You are taking a much more narrow view that neglects a whole biblical tradition where God is constantly upset with Israel, not because Israel fails to affirm rational belief in such things as this,
but because Israel is an adulteress, and constantly commits idolatry.
There is a current as deep as the marriage theme that is as clear as day and runs throughout the bible. One example among many is Jeremiah 3:8:
"I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries."
See? A broader and more biblical notion of faith (where faith is about our relationships with God and each other) that covers your narrow view and results in a far more robust concept.
Do you want more biblical evidence or are these broad strokes enough to at least poke some holes in your narrow view and point you in a more fruitful direction?