Stephen Robinson notes that in the Old Testament, the words for faith, faithful, and faithfulness all come from the Hebrew "aman" (to be firm or reliable) and imply primarily qualities of loyalty and determination rather than qualities of belief. The words for security, certainty, and guarantee all come from the same Hebrew root. Thus being faithful does not have as much to do with our belief or even our activity in the Church as it does with whether we can be trusted to do our [covenant] duty in the earthly kingdom of God. [Stephen E. Robinson, Following Christ, p. 24]