What is faith?

In your own words, how do you define "faith"?

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Trust.

A trust that is acted upon and a choice to believe in the things unseen. As far as christianity goes, it would not be blind faith as many people add to it, but faith based on experience.

Faith is when you believe something and it can't be proven wrong or right because it comes from the heart. Faith means not to just believe, but take action.

Hebrews 11:1 - Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.

My short definition of faith is "an act of the will by which one adheres to another who is known".

Since Jesus was a Jew, the Apostles were Jews, and our faith is the flowering of Judaism, then we need to understand faith as a Jew would, not as a Greek.

The Hebrew word is aman, which is translated as “believe”, “trust”, “have faith”, and also “support”, “nourish”, and “make lasting”. A derivative word is omenat, meaning “pillars” or “supports of the door” as in 2 Kings 18:16. Another cognate is emunah, which is “faithfulness” or “trust”, as in Exodus 17:12 where God brought victory to Israel as long as Moses would hold his hands up. Aaron and Hur held up his hands so that they “remained emunah until sundown”. All of these illustrate that faith is an action that we take, which is exactly what the Catholic church teaches. Faith is a work, it's about what you DO and not merely about what you believe.

We are not able to do this work by our own effort because of the effects of original sin. Each and every time we turn toward God and away from sin it is because God gave us at that moment the grace to be able to do it. It is completely and totally due to the grace of God, who enables all of us at some point in our lives to perform the work of freely responding to Him by performing the "obedience of faith". At that moment we truly have the choice that Adam had, to submit to God or submit to ourselves, and we only have that choice because of God’s grace.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses this by saying that faith is an act of the will in which one turns toward God and away from sin; in which we decide that we will cooperate, with our intellect and will, with the divine grace that God gives us to enable us to comply with the moral law; it is a free response of the human person to the initiative of God; it is a personal adherence of the whole man to the God who reveals himself.

These are all actions, things we do in obedience to God. Thus the Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:5 "Through Him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith...” This obedience is the essence of Christianity: submission to the Eternal One who was enfleshed, and through that submission being brought into union with Him so that we may participate in His divine life.

Dear 2445. Trust growing into truth and love, growing into faith and blessed Assurance. To me Faith is, following the Lord without doubt or any apprehension. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

flying by instruments

2445 said:

Hi everyone,

In your own words, how do you define "faith"?

Thank you,
2445.

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Trusting Jesus' way instead of one's own.

2445 said:

Hi everyone,

In your own words, how do you define "faith"?

Thank you,
2445.

Click to expand...

People have made "faith" into a religious and mysterious word . It simply means "trust"/"believe" . That is all .

2445 said:

Thank you everyone for all your responses!

Follow up question: If faith is just trusting in the unseen, what is the difference between your faith and the faith of a Muslim, or a Hindu?

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Faith isn't trusting in the unseen .
For a Christian , their trust is in the Lord . For a Muslim or Hindu , their trust is in their religion itself or their leader's/mentor's doctrines .

2445 said:

Hi everyone,

In your own words, how do you define "faith"?

Thank you,
2445.

Click to expand...

It's proof positive that you have been listening to the Spirit of God our Father! Can't get it any other way!

Scriptural faith is taking what God said (Scriptures) about us or any situation we are faced with and believes what God said instead of what the five physical senses (taste, feel, see, etc.) are telling us as well as what others are telling us.

We walk by faith not by sight. This walk also includes speaking out loud what we believe (what God said known as Scripture), not doubting, which changes the “facts” that are against us to the reality that God provided for us.