The Kittel’s article also notes how Greek writers, such as Plato, particularly in
Respublica, drew a distinction between belief—a belief described as “trust”—and knowledge, which is expressed more as insight and understanding.
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--> Some of Plato’s writings indicated the infinitive form of
pisteuo (pisteuein “to believe”) could even carry the nuance of “obey.”
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]
<!--[endif]-->Shortly after the establishing of the early church, some Hellenistic literature writers discussed matters of religion. Plotinys of Lycopolis in Egypt drew a distinction similar to Plato’s between knowledge and belief, writing that man ought to be led by “knowledge” to “belief.” Kittel’s also cites a writing by Vettius Valens, a Greek astrologist in the second century, indicating that belief was then more than “theoretical conviction” but “piety” as well.
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[4]<!--[endif]--> Considering Valens and Plotinys wrote well after the first century strongly indicates that the connection between belief and obedience/action found in
pisteuo, as put forth by earlier writers such as Plato, carried over the New Testament era.
In
The NIV Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words (Zondervan, edited by Verlyn Verbrugge) which is an updated abridgement to Colin Brown’s
New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, we get a sweeping conclusion to the classic usage of
pistis (faith) and
pisteuo (believe). Verbrugge notes that
pisteuo carried a nuance of “to obey” as found in extra-biblical literature. In commenting on
pistis (faith) Verbrugge echoes Kittel’s in that “…
pisits as faith in God stood for “theoretical conviction. But stress was laid on the belief that life was constituted in accordance with this conviction.”
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[5]<!--[endif]--> This is the crux of connecting belief with behavior—that life (behavior) is constituted in accordance with conviction (belief).