Defining faith

Defining faith is an issue of translation of the Bible and fully understanding Christianity. Faith is a concept central to Christianity and yet a precise definition can be a bit elusive. "Faith" is used 296 times in the New Testament (ESV translation), most often in the Letter to the Romans (40) and a close second in the Epistle to the Hebrews (38).

Different translations of Hebrews 11:1 articulate the definition there in varying ways:

• Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (ESV)
• Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen. (NASB)
• Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. (HCSB)
• Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (NIV)
• Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (KJV)

the second clause above

The term "evidence", "proof", and "conviction" are awkward, failing to convey the power of faith. The Greek term is ἔλεγχος (elenchos), appearing nowhere else in this sense in the entire Bible. It is used at 2Timothy 3:16 in the sense of reproof for correction.

A better translation here would be as "recognize" or "realize", rather than the legal or mathematical term "proof".

Meanwhile, "οὐ βλεπομένων" is typically translated narrowly as "unseen" or "not seen," but it should be given a more powerful translation in this context to capture the full meaning: "the infinite."

The full meaning of the second clause in Hebrews 11:1 is therefore this: "realizing the infinite."

There is no punctuation or English-style word ordering in the original Greek, and the second clause should be placed at the beginning: "Realizing the infinite, ...."

the first clause above

English translations of the first clause above have a bit of a selfish connotation to it, which runs counter to Christianity. The flaw in most English translations is how it renders ἐλπιζομένων (elpizomenōn) as hope rather than imputing a concept of good.