Theological virtues

[ZacharyM]

Hi

I should mention by way of introduction that I take a very analytical, philosophical, approach to things, trying to pull them apart in my head, because I think that helps me understand them better. Give me a list of three things, first thing I’ll ask is why not two or four? So anyway, I wanted to study the seven virtues, so I started looking into the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity.

My question is, which I’m hoping someone here might be able to answer, is I’m having trouble understanding how faith and hope really are separate virtues, as opposed to just two aspects of the same virtue. To me, faith is believing in and trusting the Word of God, especially when doing so goes beyond (but not against) the bare minimum which reason and evidence leads us to believe. But isn’t hope just faith in God’s promises for the future? Isn’t hope then just a subset of faith, the future-oriented subset?

I see charity as separate - loving everyone with the same love with which God loves us all (well, that isn’t possible, since God’s love is so much greater than our own, but that should be our goal, our ideal). But I think it is possible to have faith/hope without charity, or vice versa. For example, an atheist has no faith or hope (at least with regard to supernatural things), but they can still have a fair amount of charity - they could be kindly to their family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, strangers, volunteer to help the needy, etc. Likewise, some Christians, while they have faith and hope aplenty, they can be rather uncharitable. I do agree, however, that faith and hope help build charity, and vice versa, but I’m just saying it is at least possible to have charity without faith/hope, or faith/hope without charity; whereas I am really struggling to see how one can have faith without hope or hope without faith.

I suppose the conclusion I am driving at, is rather than three virtues of faith, hope and charity, I am thinking there are only two, faith-hope and charity. Now, I’m sure people will disagree with me, so what I’d really like to see is a coherent response to the above.

Thanks
Zack

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Hi Zack,

Welcome to the forums.

(As a preliminary matter, I think that you might want to look into the Theological Virtue of Charity a bit more, in order to flesh out your understanding of it).

St. Thomas Aquinas deals with some of what you’ve just asked in his Summa Theologica.

In the Second Part of the Second Part (II-II), Question 17, Article 6 he asks “Whether Hope is Distinct from the Other Theological Virtues?”

Aquinas shows us that the three Theological Virtues don’t differ in their object (God) but do as to which aspect of God is their object.

So, he says:

hope and faith make man adhere to God as to a principle wherefrom certain things accrue to us. Now we derive from God both knowledge of truth and the attainment of perfect goodness. Accordingly faith makes us adhere to God, as the source whence we derive the knowledge of truth, since we believe that what God tells us is true: while hope makes us adhere to God, as the source whence we derive perfect goodness, i.e. in so far as, by hope, we trust to the Divine assistance for obtaining happiness.

Further, in Article 7 (Whether Hope precedes Faith) he goes on to say:

Absolutely speaking, faith precedes hope. For the object of hope is a future good, arduous but possible to obtain. In order, therefore, that we may hope, it is necessary for the object of hope to be proposed to us as possible. Now the object of hope is, in one way, eternal happiness, and in another way, the Divine assistance, as explained above (2; 6, ad 3): and both of these are proposed to us by faith, whereby we come to know that we are able to obtain eternal life, and that for this purpose the Divine assistance is ready for us, according to Hebrews 11:6: “He that cometh to God, must believe that He is, and is a rewarder to them that seek Him.” Therefore it is evident that faith precedes hope.

I think summarize the above by saying that Faith is about our knowledge of God, and enlightens our intellect. Whereas Hope is about our desire for God, and moves our will.

The whole of St. Thomas’s work on the virtues are a rewarding study.

Does that help at all?
Welcome again!
VC

 

[Julia_Mae]

The opposite of faith is doubt
The opposite of hope is despair

 

[sparrowhawk28]

From my studies, I recall that:

The object of the theological virtues is God.

Briefly. faith is essentially belief and trust in God and in all that He has revealed to us.
Hope is “Christian realism” rather than optimism. It is built on anticipation and desire for salvation, for a true and eternal relationship with God.

And, as stated by Julia Mae, doubt and despair contradict faith and hope respectively.

 

[yablabo]

Hi

My question is, which I’m hoping someone here might be able to answer, is I’m having trouble understanding how faith and hope really are separate virtues, as opposed to just two aspects of the same virtue. To me, faith is believing in and trusting the Word of God, especially when doing so goes beyond (but not against) the bare minimum which reason and evidence leads us to believe. But isn’t hope just faith in God’s promises for the future? Isn’t hope then just a subset of faith, the future-oriented subset?

… Likewise, some Christians, while they have faith and hope aplenty, they can be rather uncharitable. I do agree, however, that faith and hope help build charity, and vice versa, but I’m just saying it is at least possible to have charity without faith/hope, or faith/hope without charity; whereas I am really struggling to see how one can have faith without hope or hope without faith.

I suppose the conclusion I am driving at, is rather than three virtues of faith, hope and charity, I am thinking there are only two, faith-hope and charity. Now, I’m sure people will disagree with me, so what I’d really like to see is a coherent response to the above.

Thanks
Zack

The theological virtues are three distinct virtues, not two. Faith is most explicitly defined in the First Vatican Council:

This faith, which is the beginning of human salvation, the Catholic Church professes to be a supernatural virtue, by means of which, with the grace of God inspiring and assisting us, we believe to be true what He has revealed, not because we perceive its intrinsic truth by the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God Himself, Who makes the revelation and can neither deceive nor be deceived.

Faith is not believing in or trusting anything or anyone. Faith is the **virtue by which **you believe. In the case of the theological virtues, faith is the supernatural virtue by which you believe God due to His authority. Believing is an act of the intellect wherein one holds articles of belief in his mind; **faith is a virtue **(a good habit) of the intellect which inclines it to act easily, quickly and pleasantly in belief of one in authority.

Now, one has to have the theological virtue of faith in order to have hope, as is alluded to in the quotation of St. Thomas in Verbum Caro’s post. While these two theological virtues work very closely together, though, they are not equal. The theological virtue of hope is virtue by which one desires and expects eternal life and the Divine assistance to achieve it. This is closely tied with faith, absolutely, because without faith one could not know the certain path to tread either to eternal life or the to Divine assistance necessary to achieve it.

These two theological virtues are fulfilled and no longer operational once one is in the beatific vision because at that point one would behold God as He sees Himself, not by faith (as through a mirror darkly) but directly, and no longer is one awaiting this vision by hope, as he is now in the vision.

Charity, however, is another story. The theological virtue of charity is the virtue by which one loves God for His sake and loves his neighbor as himself for the sake of God. This virtue, in one’s temporal sojourn on the earth, depends wholly upon faith and hope. If one loses the theological virtue of hope in this life, he has already lost the theological virtue of charity. If one loses the theological virtue of faith in this life, he has already lost the theological virtues of hope and charity.

Now, in the sense of the theological virtues, faith and hope together or faith alone can exist in a person without charity also being present, but charity never exists in a person who has lost either hope or faith and hope together.

Charity is part of the life in the beatific vision which will continue on, unlike faith and hope. Unless you have it when you die…there’s no chance of entering the beatific vision.

A person can have faith without hope, as is evidenced in a person who knows that specific acts which he has committed were mortal sins, but has despaired of God’s mercy, not in the sense that he doesn’t believe in God’s mercy…but that he figures that he himself is no longer worth God’s time and has simply resigned himself to his fate in going to hell. Another example would be a person who presumes upon God’s mercy, saying to himself that eventhough he has committed another mortal sin, he will have time to confess it.

In order for a sin against hope to destroy one’s faith, it also has to be an explicit sin against faith, not merely implicit (since all mortal sins are implicitly against the theological virtue of faith).

– Nicole

 

[JohnJFarren]

Hello Zack – 18 Dec 2011
Welcome! You’ll find many things here that might not interest you AND you will find also some very important and enlightening things. Always search around a little before deciding “nothing for me here today.” God is ALWAYS Speaking His Word. There is always something for you. I searched and found your posting.

How to distinguish faith from hope? Yes, they do sometimes overlap, sometimes entwine .. or, we might say they sometimes “inhabit” each other. They are, however, distinct. Imaginary example > My uncle, Borwolf, is a stern and unlikable man. His manner is rude and abrasive. He is not always just.  In anger with me he has promised to do me harm. He always keeps his word. I do have faith that bad Uncle Borman will do his best to harm me.  I most certainly do not hope he will do so. I understand “hope” to relate to something good, not bad. I agree this may not be a very good example of the distinction between faith and trust. I’m sure there are better examples.

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A very important and essential distinction must be made between natural faith, hope, charity … and supernatural faith, hope, charity. The former, the natural, are incapable of saving our souls. The latter, the supernatural, are necessary for salvation. Regarding supernatural faith, hope, and charity, none of these can exist – alive – without both others. There is such a thing as “dead faith” and “dead hope.” One who, by mortal sin, has lost his gift of supernatural charity, may retain his faith but it is dead as far as salvation goes. And the same for hope. It is a dead hope. That dead faith and that dead hope may be instrumental in helping that person in mortal sin to repent and be made supernaturally alive again … but of themselves, those dead virtues of faith and hope, cannot save that person. “You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.” James 2:19.

The following sections of **CCC, Catechism of the Catholic Church** will be of great interest and may clarify meaningfully what we have shared > charity 1822-29, 1844 / definition and role of 1812-13, 1840-41 / faith 153, 1814-16, 1842 / hope 1817-21, f1843, 2090.

Zack, I hope my sharings in the Holy Spirit will be helpful. 
            Pray for me. John (JohnJFarren)

 

[ZacharyM]

Thank you all for your responses. I am reading the Summa a bit, hopefully with some more reading the issue will be clearer to me. I will let you know if I have any further queries about this.

God Bless
Zack