Emuna and pistis: the notion of faith in Martin Buber's thought

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Newton Aquiles von Zuben

Abstract

The axial insight from Buber’s thought settled a paradigm by the duality of the “guiding- word principle” (Grundwort) I-Thou and I-It that is form as a keystone of his handwork about religion: the duet disposition of a man-I and a God-thou grounded on a mutual encounter. Faith – Glauben – is the man’s answering to God, in the encounter which He revels himself by the guiding-word Divine-Thou as Presence of a mistery revealed. Buber suggest two different ways to believe: in one hand, the Emunah, as a personal trust or the abandonment from a people trustful, Israel, which is leaded by God and, on the other hand, the Pistis, which, according to Apostle Paul, it is an individual adherence for a Faith content, that is hold as a truthful creed statement. The two ways of believing, although there is diversity in the faith content, it can be learned from experiences: I have confidence in someone and recognize a fact as true. For those experiences, it is not possible to “give a reason”, or to justify them. This paper aims to present, succinctly, Martin Buber’s thought about this question that may illustrate his own comprehension about the relation between Hellenistic Christianity and Judaism.

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How to Cite
VON ZUBEN, Newton Aquiles. Emuna and pistis: the notion of faith in Martin Buber’s thought. HORIZONTE - Journal of Studies in Theology and Religious Sciences, Belo Horizonte, v. 15, n. 45, p. 134–162, 2017. DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2017v15n45p134-162. Disponível em: https://periodicos.pucminas.br/horizonte/article/view/P.2175-5841.2017v15n45p134. Acesso em: 21 aug. 2025.
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Artigos/Articles: Dossiê/Dossier
Author Biography

Newton Aquiles von Zuben, Pontificia Universidade Católica de Campinas

NEWTON AQUILES VON ZUBEN CONCLUIU O DOUTORADO EM FILOSOFIA - UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN EM 1970 COM TESE SOBRE MARTIN BUBER. ATUOU NAS UNIVERSIDADES: PUC-SP(1971-1974) E UNICAMP (1974-2001) ONDE SE APOSENTOU EM 2001 COMO PROFESSOR TITULAR. DESDE 20O5 É TITULAR DA PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDADE CATOLICA DE CAMPINAS. PUBLICOU DIVERSOS TRABALHOS - ARTIGOS, CAPÍTULOS E LIVROS. ORIENTOU 22 DISSERTACOES DE MESTRADO E 15 TESES DE DOUTORADO NAS AREAS DE EDUCACAO E FILOSOFIA.  ATUA NA AREA DE FILOSOFIA, COM ENFASE EM CIÊNCIAS DA RELIGIÃO, ETICA, ANTROPOLOGIA FILOSÓFICA, BIOETICA E FENOMENOLOGIA. FILOSOFIA DAS TECNOCIENCIAS, . (07/12/2015)