‘This saying is trustworthy’

Abstract This chapter turns from relational to propositional trust: trust that something is the case. Propositional trust is little discussed in philosophy, and is almost absent from discussions of divine‒human trust, but it invites attention at a time when what can be known, or reasonably believed, about the divine, and on what basis, is increasingly debated. Propositional belief has a role to play as one of the foundations of trust, and when people commit themselves and their future to God and Christ. In New Testament writings, it is implicit wherever God acts with therapeutic trust, and is involved in the process of belief formation. It occurs where the faithful are called to trust that they will live with Christ in the eschatological future; where people are called to trust that Jesus is the Son of God; and where the faithful are invited to trust that the teachings they have inherited are true. Propositional trust is also important when we are considering whether a given account of divine‒human trust is trustworthy, whether it has the capacity to engage us and illuminate our experience, and whether, on that basis, we are willing to commit ourselves and entrust the future to it. Four test cases are proposed to see how propositional trust might, for people in different situations, offer a route to trust in God and Christ, and consider its relationship with doubt and scepticism. Finally, this chapter reflects on the role of propositional trust in the dialogue between history and theology.