Thinking, Just Thinking

 

faith (n.)

mid-13c., faith, feith, fei, fai "faithfulness to a trust or promise; loyalty to a person; honesty, truthfulness," from Anglo-French and Old French feid, foi "faith, belief, trust, confidence; pledge" (11c.), from Latin fides "trust, faith, confidence, reliance, credence, belief," from root of fidere "to trust,"from PIE root *bheidh- "to trust, confide, persuade." For sense evolution, compare belief. It has been accommodated to other English abstract nouns in -th (truth, health, etc.).

From early 14c. as "assent of the mind to the truth of a statement for which there is incomplete evidence," especially "belief in religious matters" (matched with hope and charity). Since mid-14c. in reference to the Christian church or religion; from late 14c. in reference to any religious persuasion.


trust (n.)
c. 1200, "reliance on the veracity, integrity, or other virtues of someone or something; religious faith," from Old Norse traust "help, confidence, protection, support," from Proto-Germanic abstract noun *traustam (source also of Old Frisian trast, Dutch troost "comfort, consolation," Old High German trost "trust, fidelity," German Trost "comfort, consolation," Gothic trausti "agreement, alliance").

This is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *treuwaz, source of Old English treowian "to believe, trust," and treowe "faithful, trusty" (from PIE root *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast;" compare trow (v.), true (adj.)).

Are they the same thing?  Or slightly different?

I thought this was pretty good.  It's from Guideposts.

It is one thing to believe in God, but another entirely to trust blindly in Him. And it is human nature to fear the unknown. The struggle with placing our trust entirely in God is something we must all face at one time or another.

It boils down to this: faith is a belief system; trust is action. Faith is believing that God is who God says He is and that what God can do, only God can do. But trust takes things a step further. It is making the willful choice to trust that God will do what He promises. The head versus heart.

It also occurs to me that we can trust a human person, but to have faith in a person sounds a little like a slight misuse of the word, though it is often used that way. 

Then I wondered about faithful.

faithful (adj.)
early 14c., "sincerely religious, devout, pious," especially in reference to Christian practice; mid-14c., "loyal (to a lord, friend, spouse, etc.); true; honest, trustworthy," from faith + -ful. From late 14c. in reference to a tale, a report, etc., "accurate, reliable, true to the facts." The noun sense of "true believer, one who is full of faith" is from late 14c. (Church Latin used fideles in same sense). Related: Faithfully; faithfulness. Old Faithful geyser named 1870 by explorer Gen. Henry Dana Washburn, surveyor-general of the Montana Territory, in reference to the regularity of its outbursts.

It is also used of a person who does what they said they would do. I hope to be faithful in my dealings with both God and man, in the sense of trustworthy.