aiki
Regular Member
That's my lack of belief in a nutshell. Somebody seems to have left Faith out of the recipe when they whipped me up. I believe in that which can be poked, prodded and tested. Some of those beliefs are wrong but I can check them and then have a good laugh at my own silliness.
You seem to be contradicting yourself here. You say you lack belief but then talk about "believing in that which can be poked, prodded and tested." You don't really lack belief, then, only the desire or willingness to exercise belief in a theistic worldview.
So, can you poke, prod and test, say, integrity? How much does integrity weigh, exactly? Where, precisely, is integrity located in the material universe? What's the boiling point of integrity? One could ask the same questions about a myriad of other empirically untestable things in which we all believe quite firmly: love, bravery, patience, humor, mercy, kindness, etc.
I would also question your philosophical (not scientific) statement about what you choose to believe. Basically, you've defined your position as empiricism and/or scientism. One of the glaring problems, though, with this philosophical point of view is that it cannot itself be subjected to empirical testing. One cannot empirically test the statement that only what is empirically testable is true. Consequently, empiricism self-destructs.
So what is Faith? How do you cultivate it? And why do you want or need it?
It is an old - and false - idea that religious faith and evidence and reason are mutually exclusive things. A Christian's trust in the claims of the faith is (or should be) anchored to various facts and arguments, historical, rational, metaphysical and even scientific in nature. Paul the apostle explained this quite clearly:
2 Timothy 1:12
12 ...for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Paul's faith began with "I know"; it moved to "I am persuaded"; and finally resulted in "I have committed to him." There was no "blind leap of faith," no suspension of reason, or abandonment of knowledge, in Paul's worldview. This is true of many (though, not all) Christians today.
Faith in God is cultivated within a heart God has softened and prepared for His truth. There is no argument or body of evidence that can shift a heart set in sin and rebellion against God toward Him. God must move in a person's mind and heart to overcome their natural sinful disposition and inclination away from Him. If He does not, no sin-bound person can come to know Christ as their Saviour and Lord.
John 6:44
44 No man can come to me, except the Father who has sent me draws him...
2 Timothy 2:25
25 ...if God, perhaps, will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
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