[Artemisia] The virtue of Faith

Chuck Heisler Jr. conradvz at yahoo.com
Thu Nov 20 12:34:29 CST 2003


Greetings,
 

I've been asked to explain what I mean by the virtue of Faith, so I thought I'd expound here and see what you all have to say about it.
 
Before I go any further, I would like to state simply that Faith in this context is not, but CAN be, a religious principle.  I will only touch on that briefly in this missive to say that in Period, Faith in God was integral to being a Knight (at least in the literature if not reality).
 
In the SCA, Faith has a much more intricate and meaningful place in my opinion.  Rather than a difficult and dangerously misinterpretable definition, I would like to site some examples of what I mean by Faith.
 
When I sit in a Peer Circle and consider candidates or other decisions, I sometimes have to take ON FAITH, what another peer says about a person, simply because I have faith that that peer would not lie to me about something so important, be it good or bad.  So having faith in your fellow peers (be they Peers or just peers) judgement and wisdom is part and parcel of being a peer.  This is belief.
 
When the Crown makes a decision with which I do not agree, I must have faith that they are making the best decision that they can, and that they probably know more of the situation than I do.  I must have faith that they love the Kingdom as much as I do and that they have only its best interests at heart.  This is patience.
 
When I take to the battlefield, I routinely have faith that noone out there intends to hurt me on purpose.  And when I am hurt, I must have faith that it was accidental.  This is understanding.
 
The ultimate feeling that your fellow man (or woman) is your equal, and that they would help you as you help them, although it may sound religious, is a fundamental part of the human element to getting along.  It is not always easy, gritting your teeth when Peer Bob says "X about Y" and just trying to believe in your heart that in all things there are value, but it is faith.
 
Faith is, in my opinion, humanities greatest strength and most fundamentally fabulous quality.  
 
My sometime lack of faith is my greatest failing in my opinion.
 
I am not sure if that is clear or not, and I would be happy to entertain any questions private or public about what I've said to clarify.
 
Sincerely, 
CvZ


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