| Belief in God. Faith has two aspects: belief and action. Bahá'u‘lláh writes: ‘True belief in God and recognition of Him cannot be complete save by acceptance of that which He hath revealed and by observance of whatsoever hath been decreed by Him and set down in the Book by the Pen of Glory.'1 |
| There is no implication of faith being blind; faith must be balanced by knowledge: ‘Regarding the "two wings" of the soul: These signify wings of ascent. One is the wing of knowledge, the other of faith, as this is the means of the ascent of the human soul to the lofty station of divine perfections.'2 ‘If religion is opposed to reason and science, faith is impossible; and when faith and confidence in the divine religion are not manifest in the heart, there can be no spiritual attainment.'3 |
| Every created thing has ‘faith' in that it must respond to the laws of God. Man's soul also has this sort of faith. However, it is better for a man to choose to know and worship God: ‘Know thou that faith is of two kinds. The first is objective faith that is expressed by the outer man, obedience of the limbs and senses. The other faith is subjective, and unconscious obedience to the will of God . . . This condition of unconscious obedience constitutes subjective faith. But the discerning faith that consists of true knowledge of God and the comprehension of divine words, of such faith there is very little in any age.'4 |
| Faith is personal and must be personally cultivated: ‘. . . the faith of no man can be conditioned by any one except himself.'5 ‘The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds ‘6 |
| [BD 83] |
