stepping out upon it

English translation: living in accordance with it

17:29 May 14, 2018
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Religion
English term or phrase: stepping out upon it
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.
Matheus Chaud
Brazil
Local time: 02:34
Selected answer:living in accordance with it
Explanation:
i.e. believing the Bible to be true and living in accordance with its teachings
Selected response from:

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:34
Grading comment
Thank you, Chris!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +3living in accordance with it
AllegroTrans
4 +2acting upon it..acting on it
airmailrpl
5religion
Luke Thompson
Summary of reference entries provided
Refs.
Taña Dalglish

  

Answers


16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
living in accordance with it


Explanation:
i.e. believing the Bible to be true and living in accordance with its teachings

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:34
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24
Grading comment
Thank you, Chris!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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
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56 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
acting upon it..acting on it


Explanation:
stepping out upon it => stepping out upon it

airmailrpl
Brazil
Local time: 02:34
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, Robert!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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
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21 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
religion


Explanation:
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(s):
  • 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.
Luke Thompson
United States
Local time: 00:34
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
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Reference comments


19 mins peer agreement (net): +4
Reference: Refs.

Reference information:
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.

Taña Dalglish
Jamaica
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Note to reference poster
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 (and responses from the reference poster)
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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