Last month I wrote a post ("What is Faith?") describing what biblical faith is and is not. Here I will address how our faith is formed. What factors and forces play a role in what we believe? We tend to think our beliefs (whatever they are) are based purely on intellectual grounds. However, there are a variety of forces that inform what we hold to be true. In other words, it's not quite as simple as we think. This is particularly relevant when it comes to belief in the existence of God and how we are to relate to him. Here we'll look at four of the most prominent influences that give shape to what we believe.

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One of the major obstacles to Christianity is that many mistake the concept of "faith" for taking a blind leap in the absence of evidence. That's a valid concern, but it is a false caricature of biblical faith - a caricature I held to be true prior to following Jesus. Biblical faith is not a blind commitment or mere emotional wishful thinking. That is not faith, that is foolishness. I will deal specifically with the plausibility of biblical faith in a future post. But, first we must address what faith is and how it is formed. In this post we will discuss the elements of biblical faith. Traditionally, biblical faith is understood as having three components: knowledge (notitia), assent (assensus), and trust (fiducia). Understanding the anatomy of biblical faith is of crucial importance, both for followers of Jesus and those who are not, as it is faith that leads to salvation and ongoing sanctification (i.e. transformation).

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