The Faith of Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday was widely recognized as a man of faith. However, Michael rarely spoke publicly about his faith unless he was asked. Tyndall, his coworker and successor, once commented “Never once during an intimacy of fifteen years did he mention religion to me, save when I drew him on to the subject. He then spoke to me without hesitation or reluctance …” Nevertheless, his faith had a major influence on his relationship with others and on the way he approached science. To understand Michael's faith, we need to understand the Sandemanian church in which he was an active participant throughout his life.
The Sandemanian church, originally called the Glasite church, was founded in 1730 by a Scottish Presbyterian minister named John Glas. Glas believed that the Christian church should not be tied politically with a national church. Therefore, he and a group of followers broke off from the Church of Scotland. The church later got its name from Robert Sandeman, Glas' son-in-law. Sandeman developed much of the doctrine and religious practices of this new church. Michael's father was a member of a local Sandemanian congregation. Michael's mother never became a member, but attended services regularly. Michael didn't formally join until he was 29, but attended services with his family. Michael was appointed as a deacon in 1832 and served as an elder in the years 1840 -- 1844 and again in the years 1860 -- 1864. Let us now look at some of the Sandemanian beliefs and practices.
Sandemanian Beliefs and Practices
The basic theology of the Sandemanian church was not radical, but was essentially orthodox Christianity. Here is a sample from the writings of Robert Sandeman.
As Jesus came into the world not to suffer for any sin of his own, being without sin, but, as he declares himself, to give his life a ransom for many; so God, in raising him from the dead, gave the highest demonstration of his being well pleased with the ransom which he gave; And as Jesus put the truth of all that he said, upon the issue of his being raised again from the dead, which you see his enemies also were apprised of; his resurrection, by this means, turns out to be the highest proof of the divine assent to everything he spoke.
Where they differed from the organized church of the day was in their organization and practices. They tried to follow the pattern for the church outlined in the New Testament. There was no senior leader of the church or of any individual congregation. Each congregation was governed by a group of elders that were selected by the members and ordained by the laying on of hands. The elders were responsible for the teaching and the governance of the church. In addition, they were responsible for baptizing and administration of the Lord's Supper. The congregation also appointed deacons whose responsibility was to take care of the weekly distribution of the Lord's Supper and to care for the poor among the membership. The deacons did such a thorough job of caring for their poor members that outside assistance for them was never required.
As part of their duties, the elders were responsible for church discipline. One rule that was strictly enforced was mandatory attendance at Sunday services. A member was not allowed to miss Sunday services unless they were prevented by extreme circumstances. Michael was once disciplined for such a failure. He was an elder at the time and provided the excuse that he was summoned to dine with Queen Victoria. The church didn't consider this a valid excuse and also felt that Michael was not sufficiently repentant. He was removed as an elder and was denied member status for several weeks. It would be 16 years before he was again appointed as an elder.
The Sandemanians considered unity to be of great importance. The took seriously Paul's admonition
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. — 1 Corinthians 1:10
The elders would try to settle disputes and disagreements peacefully. However, if a dispute could not be settled, the offending parties were excluded from the fellowship.
The Sandemanians encouraged a simple lifestyle and discouraged the accumulation of wealth and the seeking of high office. One unusual thing about this church, who placed great emphasis on following New Testament guidelines, was a lack of emphasis on evangelism. This was a major reason that the church failed to grow significantly and eventually lead to its death.
A typical Sandemanian Sunday service would last from 9 a.m. in the morning to around 6 p.m. in the evening. From 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. the public was excluded. When the doors were opened to the general public at 10 a.m. there would be singing, a time for prayer, and lengthy readings from the Old and New Testament. There would then be an hour long sermon by one of the elders. This part of the service would end at about noon. The members would then share a meal together at one of the member's home. This was known as the “Love Feast.” At the conclusion of the meal the Lord's Supper was celebrated. At 2 p.m. the members and the public would again meet together for singing, prayer, and more scripture readings. There would then be another one hour sermon by one of the elders. At about 4 p.m. the public would be dismissed and the members would meet together. At this time a collection would be taken and each male member of the congregation would offer an exhortation. It was here that potential future leaders were often recognized. As you can see, their services were much longer than a typical service today.
Examples of Michael's Faith
Like the church to which he belonged, Michael placed great emphasis on the Word of God. Here is one quote
The Christian who is taught by God (by His Word and Holy Spirit) finds his guide in the Word of God, and commits the keeping of his soul in the hands of God. He looks for no assurance beyond what the Word of God can give him; and if his mind is troubled by the cares and fears which may assail him, he can go nowhere but to the throne of grace and to Scripture. No outward manifestation can give either instruction or assurance to him, nor can any outward opposition or trouble diminish his confidence for Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness; but to them who are called, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. The Christian religion is a revelation and that revelation is the Word of God.
— from The Letters of Michael Faraday
As an elder Michael delivered some of the sermons. Here is an excerpt from an exhortation given in 1861.
And therefore, brethren, we ought to value the privilege of knowing God's truth far beyond anything we can have in this world. The more we see the perfection of God's law fulfilled in Christ, the more we ought to thank God for His unspeakable gift.
As we have seen previously, Michael never sought monetary rewards or positions of importance. He never patented any of his inventions and often turned down salary raises as well as high positions such as president of the Royal Society or director of the Royal Institution. He also turned down the honor of knighthood. He gave away a large part of his salary to the poor in his church and to others in need. In his role as elder and deacon he would often visit the sick and others experiencing difficulties. This was not just an obligation, but brought him great joy. As unity was a major emphasis of his church, it also played a major role in his science. He particularly saw a unity in the various forces of nature, all being derived from one Creator. He once remarked “the Creator governs his material works by definite laws resulting from the forces impressed on matter.” This idea motivated his experimental studies aimed at relating electricity, magnetism, chemistry, and motion. Michael approached his experimental work with great energy and perseverance. John Tyndall, though a skeptic, once remarked “I think that a good deal of Faraday's week-day strength and persistence might be referred to his Sunday Exercises. He drinks from a fount on Sunday which refreshes his soul for the week.”
Near the end of his life, Faraday was asked “Have you ever pondered by yourself what will be your occupation in the next world?’ His answer was “I shall be with Christ, and that is enough.”
A great summary of Michael's life of faith was given by Bence Jones, his first biographer
That one who had been a newspaper boy should receive, unsought, almost every honour which every republic of science throughout the world could give; that he should for many years be consulted constantly by the different departments of the Government, and other authorities, on questions regarding the good of others; that he should be sought after by the princes of his own and of other countries; and that he should be the admiration of every scientific or unscientific person who knew anything of him, was enough to have made him proud; but his religion was a living root of fresh humility, and from first to last it may be seen growing with his fame and reaching its height with his glory, and making him to the end of his life certainly the humblest, whilst he was also the most energetic, the truest, and the kindest of experimental philosophers.
To complete this picture, one word more must be said of his religion. His standard of duty was supernatural. It was not founded upon any intuitive ideas of right and wrong; nor was it fashioned upon any outward expediencies of time and place; but it was formed entirely on what he held to be the revelation of the will of God in the written Word, and throughout all his life his faith led him to endeavor to act up to the very letter of it.
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