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bang at it
balances (here)
May 14, 2018 17:29
5 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

stepping out upon it

English Art/Literary Religion
This is a book about religion written in the 1940s by an American pastor. I've found several terms that no longer have the same meaning today, but I don't know if that's the case here too.

What is faith?
(...)
Almost all who preach or write on the subject of faith have much the same things to say concerning it.
They tell us that it is believing a promise, that it is taking God at His word, that it is reckoning the Bible to be true and stepping out upon it.
The rest of the book or sermon is usually taken up with stories of persons who have had their prayers answered as a result of their faith.

What's the meaning of "step out upon" in your opinion?

Thank you for your attention.
Responses
4 +3 living in accordance with it
4 +2 acting upon it..acting on it
5 religion
References
Refs.

Responses

+3
16 mins
Selected

living in accordance with it

i.e. believing the Bible to be true and living in accordance with its teachings
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : It's rather odd English, but I think this has to be the meaning.
6 mins
thanks
agree David Hollywood : no doubt about it true or not as the case may be
9 hrs
thanks
agree B D Finch : I understand this expression as meaning that they treat the Biblical teachings as solid ground - so, not a "leap of faith", but rather like stepping out onto the ice of a frozen pond with confidence that it will support you. (Splash! scream! gurgle.)
1 day 20 hrs
thanks
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you, Chris!"
+2
56 mins

acting upon it..acting on it

stepping out upon it => stepping out upon it
Note from asker:
Thank you, Robert!
Peer comment(s):
agree David Hollywood : works too
8 hrs
thank you
agree Christopher Crockett : That's closer to the sense of it (though Allegro's got the ultimate implication right). "Stepping out" reminds me a bit of "walking the plank"--committing oneself fully and irrevocably to some cause or belief, Taking the Plunge.The "living" part is after.
20 hrs
thank you
Something went wrong...
21 days

religion

Here "stepping out upon it" must surely mean "engaging with the world and carrying out one's life with with the assumption that God can be taken at his word and that the Bible is true." And obviously assumption here must go beyond being a hypothesis—it cannot simply be "let's assume for a moment that God can be taken at his word and that the Bible is true." This must be emotional conviction (which is of course central to faith; faith is not a primarily intellectual affair).
Example sentence:

They tell us that it is believing a promise, that it is taking God at His word, that it is reckoning the Bible to be true and acting accordingly.

They tell us that it is believing a promise, that it is taking God at His word, that it is reckoning the Bible to be true and engaging with the world accordingly.

Something went wrong...

Reference comments

19 mins
Reference:

Refs.

http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/tozer/5f00.0888/5f00.0...

Here it must be "to step out in faith", or the whole phrase would be absolute sacrilige. The American pastor would be crazy to suggest if it meant anything else other than in faith ("upon it" is "faith").
5 Signs God Might be Calling You to Step Out in Faith - iBelieve
https://www.ibelieve.com/.../5-signs-god-might-be-calling-yo...
View 5 Signs God Might be Calling You to Step Out in Faith and grow in your Christian faith as a woman of God with advice and encouragement from ...

Stepping Out In Faith - Odyssey
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/stepping-faith
16 may. 2016 - Stepping out in faith means leaving the comfort zone you have become so used to. Yes, it can be scary, but God has been teaching me that ...

Stepping Out in Faith - Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
https://billygraham.org/story/stepping-out-in-faith/
20 jun. 2011 - When we face difficult situations, we may feel that we are in bondage to our circumstances, but we must trust God and step out in faith.


It cannot mean "to step out on sb or something" which is the more modern meaning of "to step out".
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/step-...
step out on sb
us informal
— phrasal verb with step UK /step/ US ​ /step/ verb [ I + adv/prep ] -pp-
​If you step out on your husband, wife, or usual sexual partner, you have sexual relationships with people other than them. (Maybe I should not have even included this part!!.

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Note added at 9 hrs (2018-05-15 03:14:38 GMT)
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Thank you, but another colleague posted a perfectly valid explanation, perhaps not quite the words you would wish to see, but with the same meaning of "stepping out in faith". It really isn't a question that warrants a glossary entry, and my contribution was more in the way of explanation. Appreciate it though. Regards.
Note from asker:
Hi, Taña, I believe you are right, and you have 3 agrees. Wouldn't you like to post your suggestion as an answer? Thank you!
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree philgoddard
3 mins
Thanks.
agree Christopher Crockett : A very curious locution indeed, totally unknown to this particular practitioner of the U.S. dialect. Nice catches, Taña. Well, as the old Brit saying goes, Cheekiness is next to Godliness. Or something like that.
24 mins
Thank you Chris. Also unfamiliar to me until I did a double take (British!). I was being a cheeky!//Cute! http://www.swiss-miss.com/2007/04/st_bartholomews.html
agree AllegroTrans : as an extension of believing and acting upon, yes
2 hrs
Yes absolutely. Thank you again.
agree Yvonne Gallagher : "Stepping out in faith means leaving the comfort zone you have become so used to"=place your trust in God/take a leap of faith
22 hrs
Thank you Yvonne.
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