Podcast Summary: The BEMA Podcast

Episode 492: Vice & Virtue — Faith

Host: Marty Solomon
Co-hosts: Brent Billings & Reed Dent
Release Date: January 15, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Reed Dent joins hosts Marty Solomon and Brent Billings for a deep, reflective conversation on the virtue of faith within the Christian tradition. Building on earlier episodes of the "Vice & Virtue" series, the discussion interrogates common misconceptions about faith, explores its relationship to belief and action, considers how faith is deconstructed and reconstructed, and connects it to biblical and historical context, including the four cardinal virtues and First Century Jewish sects. The hosts also share personal stories, spiritual influences, and practical self-reflection questions, all aimed at redefining faith as an active, living journey rather than static intellectual assent.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Reflections: Faith as Verb, Not Noun ([00:13]–[05:46])

• Reed opens with a probing poem and a Frederick Buechner meditation on faith:

  “Faith is better understood as a verb than as a noun, as a process than as a possession... a journey without maps... Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, it’s an element of faith.” —A, quoting Buechner ([01:37])

• Faith beyond Certainty: The Bema approach to faith leans into "trust the story," not just mental agreement but active participation ([03:54], [05:46]).
• Common Misunderstandings:
  • Faith miscast as intellectual assent rather than trust.
  • “We use belief as an intellectual thing... it very rarely is an actionable thing I’m doing.” —Marty ([05:46])
  • Distinction between believing about God and believing in God ([05:52]).

2. Faith vs. Belief — False Dichotomies ([06:23]–[09:36])

• The hosts explore the overlap and differences between faith and belief:
  • Intellectual belief vs. active trust
  • “What I believe affects what I do, and my behavior truly shows what I truly believe.” —Marty ([09:36])
• Balanced Perspective: Repentance and faith involve both mind and action; neither should be privileged in isolation.

3. Dangers of Intellectualized Faith ([09:42]–[13:29])

• Risks of Abstract Faith:
  • Stagnation, lack of growth, fear of examining doubts.
  • “It incentivizes you not to learn more, not to dig, not to wrestle.” —Brent ([10:21])
  • When faith is only agreement with doctrines, personal change is neglected ([11:03], [12:04]).
  • “Underlying it is this assumption: faith is agreeing to these ideas. So to not agree...is literally to lose the faith in that scheme.” —Reed ([13:29])

4. The Dance Between Belief and Action ([14:23]–[23:32])

• Integration Metaphor: Golf driving range and the course—practice (belief/thought) and play (action) are inseparable.
• C.S. Lewis’s Scissors Analogy:

  “To ask which is more necessary is like asking which blade is more necessary in a pair of scissors.” ([16:25])

• Belief-in-Action:
  • “A life of intentionality comes from something that has been engaged thoughtfully. Action is the fruit of careful thought.” —Marty ([17:37])
  • Persistence in faith is not about clinging to dogma but holding reasoned trust, open to further reflection ([18:09]-[19:12]).

5. Doubt and Questions as Vital to Faith ([23:32]–[27:29])

• Doubt as Exercise:
  • “It’s like working out the body...doubt wouldn’t let me just go, ‘yeah, that’s what it is.’” —Marty ([23:38]–[25:09])
• Guidance for Young Believers:
  • Don’t fear questioning; “take the bridges one bridge at a time” ([25:09]–[26:51]).
  • Doubt and faith can both deepen as we examine and test our beliefs ([26:41]).

6. Personal Stories: Faith Sparked & Rekindled ([28:28]–[37:39])

• Brent: Roots in family example, especially his mom’s lived faith, revived by engaging with the BEMA story ([29:12]).
• Marty: Early love for Jesus outlasted dogmatic structures; faith is a relationship, not just doctrine ([31:03]).
• Reed: Experienced faith first through charismatic community vibrancy and personal “electrical” moments, then sought out deeper understanding ([32:35]-[36:50]).
  • Quoted Simone Weil (via Christian Wiman):

    “God wears himself out...to reach the soul and to captivate it...then [the soul] in its turn...crosses...in search of him whom it loves. It is thus the soul...making the same journey that God made toward it. And that is the cross.” ([35:46])

7. The Essential Question: Faith as a Life’s Answer ([37:40]–[40:32])

• "Who do you say I am?" — Jesus in Mark 8
  • The answer is not mere words but a lived response: “Our whole life is the answer.” —Reed ([39:22])
• The perils of outsourcing faith answers to others or to Christian culture, instead of letting faith take deep root personally.

8. Faith, Virtues, and 1st Century Jewish Sects ([41:06]–[49:19])

• Interactive “Virtue Game”: How does faith look if it’s missing one of the other four cardinal virtues? Can this typology map onto Second Temple Jewish sects?
  • Faith without Wisdom: Fundamentalism or Essene-like withdrawal ([43:09], [46:33]).
  • Faith without Temperance: Fanaticism/Zealotry ([43:40], [47:02]).
  • Faith without Courage: Moral therapeutic deism/Herodian compromise ([44:04], [45:55]).
  • Faith without Justice: Oppressive or empty piety/Pharisaic behavior ([44:35], [47:57]).
• Group Input:
  • Some debate over mapping, but agreement that all virtues are interdependent and their absence distorts faith ([49:00], [49:17]).

9. What Is God’s Image for Faith? ([49:46]–[52:56])

• Marty:
  • Invokes Philippians 2—kenosis (self-emptying) as the best model for faith: “He empties himself...there’s no anxiety, no ‘but what if.’”
  • “The character of God is one that goes: this story works in one direction. You don’t have to be scared about where this all shakes out. There’s that trust, that giving, that hospitality...”
• Reed:
  • Quotes Philippians 2:12-13: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling...for it is God who works in you.” ([52:24])
  • Faith as partnership: acting, believing, and being transformed by God—“holy mystery; a virtuous cycle.”

10. Self-Examination Questions ([53:46])

• Guided Reflection Prompts (from Brent, [53:46]):
  • Who do I say He is? How do I say it?
  • Is there some way I know I am not trusting the story right now?
  • Who could come alongside me to help?
  • Is there a belief that feels scary that God is calling me to investigate?
  • Is there a step that feels scary that God is calling me to take?

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Faith as Action: “Faith is more of an actionable thing than a thought thing...trust the story.” —A ([03:59])
• Belief and Faith: “We use belief as an intellectual thing...it very rarely is an actionable thing I’m doing.” —Marty ([05:46])
• The Golf Metaphor: “My son could just crush the driving range. But it’s totally different to play the course. Faith is the marriage of those two experiences.” —Marty ([14:23])
• C.S. Lewis Analogy: “It’s like asking which blade is more necessary in a pair of scissors.” —Reed ([16:25])
• Doubt’s Role: “Doubt makes sure that the things we believe in are growing, living, being examined.” —Marty ([23:38])
• Personal Faith Origins: “I think my mom is probably the basis for my faith. I saw her faith lived out.” —Brent ([29:12])
• Faith as Life’s Answer: “God asks each of us one question, and our whole life is the answer.” —Reed ([39:22])
• Virtue Mapping Party: “You got a neat little party trick...if you got other BEMA friends who haven’t listened...” —Reed ([49:21])

Timestamps of Important Segments

• [00:13] – Opening readings & framing questions
• [03:54] – “Trust the story” as central Bema faith principle
• [05:46] – Difference between faith and belief, faith as verb
• [09:36] – Interplay of belief and action
• [13:29] – Consequences of doctrinal-only faith
• [18:09] – Faith through change and action
• [23:38] – Doubt as exercise and spiritual check
• [29:12] – Personal foundations of faith (stories)
• [35:46] – Simone Weil: God’s pursuit and the soul’s journey
• [39:22] – Mark 8: The question “Who do you say I am?”
• [41:06] – Virtue game: faith and 1st century sects
• [49:46] – What does God want from us in faith?
• [53:46] – Self-examination questions

Tone and Style

The conversation is reflective, honest, and practical—alternating between deep theological probing and everyday relational language. The hosts model vulnerability, curiosity, and a willingness to live with paradox, inviting listeners to wrestle with their own journeys of faith.

Conclusion

This episode offers a nuanced, historically informed, and personally resonant exploration of what it means to have faith—not as abstract assent but as active, ongoing trust and participation in the story of God. Its blend of theological depth, lived experience, and interactive exercises makes it a valuable listen (and read) for anyone questioning, reconstructing, or seeking to deepen their understanding and practice of faith.