What Does it Mean to Believe in God?

Abstract

“To believe means to act out one's affirmations, to testify to one's belief through the way one acts; the test of one's faith is the degree to which it is embodied in the actual life one lives. In Martin Buber's phrase, based on the Hebrew word ‘emunah,’ faith is faithfulness. How overpowering it is to realize that one's religious belief, which is of all things the most private, is so publicly discernible!”