What’s the opposite of faith? There’s lot’s of different answers you might give to that question. I’ve spent a bit of time recently working on an essay about faith and reason, which many people (mistakenly) take to be opposites. You could make a good argument that the opposite of faith is doubt. (See e.g. James 1:6) Or you could say that the opposite of faith is sight, since Hebrews defines it as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Heb 11:1)
Our passage in Mark today adds another perspective. Jesus contrasts faith with fear when he asks the disciples ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ (Mark 4:40) Like the disciples, we often encounter things that terrify us. But trusting in Jesus can help us manage and even overcome those fears. Nothing we fear is more powerful than his love.
Ed