There is a gramatical connection between pitheo and pistis in the Greek as one is persuaded once comes to have more faith.
The basic problem for Christians today is dormancy and indolence, This is in part fostered by denominations that present Christianity as a particular set or package of doctrines. If you agree with the package, you are acceptable. The agreement with doctrine is a static characteristic. Christianity was intended to be dynamic.
Here is a short article on dynamic Christianity;
Dynamic Christianity
A recent Christian forum post on the Internet asked why church was so boring. Honest Christians will admit that this is often a problem. One reason for boredom is the same reason why schools are boring. The lecture format is predominant in seminaries and perhaps the single greatest reason why sermons are presented as lectures. In Corinthians we understand that their services were Q&A periods (1Cor 14:35).
The asking of questions is critical to learning as well as engaging interest. The person fielding the questions may have to handle some that are off the wall such as will there be cars in heaven (answered by asking what use a car would be without roads or gasoline). However, the desire to maintain control and with it to prevent error, maintain orderliness, and be consistent with tradition can create a static environment that is boring, inhibits growth, and disengages people. In a way organizational systems maintain stasis through inertia. Christianity was always supposed to be relational as opposed to systematized.
One might expect a new Christian to be questioning and skeptical, This dynamism can be quashed by ritualistic denominational practice and pre-packaged doctrine presented to achieve conformity and compliance. A Christian who has spent his life in a particular denomination might find it difficult to become skeptical, question, or challenge doctrines he has heard from his youth.
In recent years a change has taken place in many Christian denominations so that different doctrines are not so much questioned as abandoned as a new emphasis of how one feels has been elevated. This amorphous collection of “woke” ideologies often consists of self-stimulating activities to provoke sensations that are seen as “spiritual”. This new direction seems to create an environment where what is true is less important than how one feels. This can seem “dynamic” but is actually a diversion.
A dynamic approach to Christianity might be seen in the saying, “I am embarrassed by what I thought five years ago and I hope to be embarrassed five years from now by what I think today”. The idea that one is on a trajectory of continual learning is more consistent with biblical expectations.
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
If we use the measure of Christ-likeness as the indicator of Christian maturity, it is difficult to think of a single denomination, church, or assembly that produces this result. Those who passively listen to the same boring sermons are almost as disadvantaged by disconnection as those seeking self-stimulation are by being diverted. Sadly both fail to achieve what is available and expected of all Christians, that of Christ-likeness.
Faith (trust) grows in proportion to that which is seen as true and trustworthy. Most Christians are blind to what is possible in the Christian life. If churches would teach what riches are available, Christians might gain the confidence to participate in their own learning and growth.
