religious revolution now 283Th e fi rst element of this counter tradition would need to be radically
reinterpreted. Th e second element would require to be replaced by the
extension of an idea drawn from the core of orthodox doctrine.
Th e part of abiding truth in the priority of faith over reason is the
circumstantial character of religious conviction. Th at which repre-
sents the most demoralizing challenge to faith— that we ordinarily
derive our beliefs from family and community, and that even when
converted we are converted by the accident of an encounter with in-
spired teachers of a par tic u lar faith— would have to take on an altered
meaning.
For the believer, the experience of revelation must bear the marks of
its own authenticity and power. It must compel assent and, through
action informed by assent, self- transformation. By its very nature, a
religion— any religion, not just the Semitic religions of salvation—
requires an engagement of existence for which the grounds must al-
ways seem insuffi cient. At the end of the day, a daunting disproportion
remains between the weight of the commitment to live life in a par tic-
u lar direction and the fragility or contestability of the justifi cations for
so momentous a choice.
Only a connection, arising out of love, could make up for the diff er-
ence. Originally, at the beginning of the religion, this connection may be
to the inspired found er or teacher and to the small circle gathered around
him. Later it becomes to the community of the faithful, exemplifi ed in
the family, in the nation, or in part of the people. Th e voluntary convert,
uninfl uenced by the pressures of a mass option, will have heard the mes-
sage manifest in the visionary teaching and exemplary action of par tic u-
lar individuals. Th e message must be embodied and become, for those
who convey it as well as for those who receive it, a manner of love.
Suppose that we ask the believer, brought up from childhood to be-
lieve, or the convert, converted by dint of chance meetings to an alien
faith, why he believes. If he is both candid and ardent, if his faith is no
mere abasement before the idols of a tribe, he will answer as follows.
I believe because I loved and because I was shaken. I loved my fam-
ily, my community, or my teacher and received from them or from him
the implicit knowledge about great things as well as small ones that
cannot be inferred from abstractions. It is not just that I belonged; it
is rather that through belonging I came to believe. My belief found