Faith in its religious sense is distinguished not only from opinion (or
belief founded on reason alone), in that it contains a spiritual
element: it is further distinguished from belief founded on the
affections, by needing an active co-operation of the will. Thus all
parts of the human mind have to be involved in faith--intellect,
emotions, will. We 'believe' in the theory of evolution on grounds of
reason alone; we 'believe' in the affection of our parents, children,
&c., almost (or it may be exclusively) on what I have called spiritual
grounds--i.e. on grounds of spiritual experience; for this we need no
exercise either of reason or of will. But no one can 'believe' in God,
or _a fortiori_ in Christ, without also a severe effort of will. This I
hold to be a matter of fact, whether or not there be a God or a Christ.

Observe will is to be distinguished from desire. It matters not what
psychologists may have to say upon this subject. Whether desire differs
from will in kind or only in degree--whether will is desire in action,
so to speak, and desire but incipient will--are questions with which we
need not trouble ourselves. For it is certain that there are agnostics
who would greatly prefer being theists, and theists who would give all
they possess to be Christians, if they could thus secure promotion by
purchase--i.e. by one single act of will. But yet the desire is not
strong enough to sustain the will in perpetual action, so as to make the
continual sacrifices which Christianity entails. Perhaps the hardest of
these sacrifices to an intelligent man is that of his own intellect. At
least I am certain that this is so in my own case. I have been so long
accustomed to constitute my reason my sole judge of truth, that even
while reason itself tells me it is not unreasonable to expect that the
heart and the will should be required to join with reason in seeking God