What does Faith Mean to You?

[oneofchrists]

I am interested To know from all of You what You feel that faith Means to You and How You would apply it in your every day life?

 

[hikersong]

A hard question to answer briefly. Faith is something I used to have (a belief in a certain sort of God of the Christian variety) until it became impossible to keep it alive and then it ceased to have any meaningful part to play in my daily life. My history makes it something I still need to talk about, if only to develop my thinking and deal with some emotional stuff, which is partly why I come here.

 

[Arthra]

I am interested To know from all of You what You feel that faith Means to You and How You would apply it in your every day life?

In the Baha'i Writings it says

"Faith is conscious action"

So every day using the principles revealed by Baha'u'llah my goal is to "live the life".

Daily prayers are part of that.. I recite an obligatory prayer once daily.

Oh, trust in God! for His Bounty is everlasting, and in His Blessings, for they are superb. Oh! put your faith in the Almighty, for He faileth not and His goodness endureth for ever! His Sun giveth Light continually, and the Clouds of His Mercy are full of the Waters of Compassion with which He waters the hearts of all who trust in Him. His refreshing Breeze ever carries healing in its wings to the parched souls of men!

(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 108)

 

[Gnostophorrion]

Faith in a Higher Being or higher powers that govern the Universe.

 

[awitch]

I am interested To know from all of You what You feel that faith Means to You and How You would apply it in your every day life?

Faith: The belief in something without empirical evidence; in this context, regarding human behavior.

My faith is a lens with which to view the world. It assists in making choices which direct my behavior. It provides a medium to express myself and appreciate the universe and its inhabitants.

My faith provides a spiritual and emotional satisfaction, encourages the study of many, varying subjects, and provides a means of restructuring my life during troubling times.

...in a nutshell.

 

[RealityPixie]

My general def of faith: a belief that is held in the lack of evidence.

I use some sort of 'faith' when evidence is not directly available to me. For example, for all I know a black hole could open up tomorrow and suck up Earth. It is a very unlikely evident, and so I have faith that tomorrow will not involve the worlds destruction.

In regards to religious faith, I have none and so cannot apply it to my life.

 

[Wicked Willow]

I am interested To know from all of You what You feel that faith Means to You and How You would apply it in your every day life?

Hmmmm... that term has quite a broad meaning, doesn't it? It can signify anything from "trust" over "fidelity to one's promises" and "religious belief" to "unwavering conviction".

Thus, "faith" can mean a lot of things to me in different situations and contexts.

As used by fundamentalist/evangelical Christians, it often translates as a synonym for "fanatical conviction" to me: a mindset that isn't open to any sort of criticism, discussion or even conscious reflection. Any idea or piece of information that is perceived as conflicting with their beliefs is either demonized or rationalized away as a threat to their "faith".

In the mouths of more circumspect believers, however, the term denotes a kind of benign trust in a benevolent deity: the sort of faith that helps people through the hardships of life - the sort of thing that some people would dub a "personal relationship with G_d" or some such. The distinction is a fine one, of course, and I suppose that the boundaries are permeable.

Personally, I know the second kind of faith, although I do not explicitly tie it to my spiritual beliefs or practices: it's just a sense of semi-conscious trust that even seemingly "bad" things in my life may contribute to my growth as a person, and that things will always turn out for the best if I allow them to (and perceive them as such). It is, to use a Christian phrase, kinda like saying: "Thy will be done."

 

[sbvera13]

Faith: the belief in something without evidence.

According to this definition, I believe there is no such thing as faith. Everyone has experiences, anecdotes, feelings, or various reasons to believe... which qualify as a certain kind of evidence, subjective evidence.

Faith: belief in something witout any empirical evidence.

The one I prefer, and as such I find potential benefits and potential dangers to it's practice. An individual's good judgement must be relied on to guard against scams, manipulation, etc, but a healthy spiritual life can be enormously good for a person.

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

In answer to your question, the Baha'i scriptures state:

"Faith is conscious knowledge."

And it applies to many aspects of everyday life.

Peace,

Bruce

 

[sidhe]

When I think of "faith", I figure, y'know, I guess it would be nice, if I could touch your body. After all, I know not everybody has got a body like you. But, then again, I've got to think twice before I give my heart away. See, I know all the games you play, because I play them as well.

What I need is time off from that emotion; some time to pick my heart up off the floor. For when love comes down, without devotion...well, it takes a strong man, but I'm showing you the door. Because, I've got to have faith.

And, you see, I know you're asking me to stay; saying, "Please, don't go away. You're giving me the blues." And perhaps you mean all the words you say, but I must think of yesterday, and another who tied me down to loverboy rules.

So before this river becomes an ocean, and before you throw my heart back on the floor, I'll reconsider my foolish notion; I need someone to hold me, but I'll wait for something more, because I've got to have faith.




















It had to be done. This thread has had that song in my head for days.

 

[Wicked Willow]

As long as you don't infect me with the "Last Christmas"-virus, I'll let you live, sidhe. Anything but that.