Faith

[ForJesusChrist]

Hello everyone. In no way am I attempting to be rude, I just feel like expressing my opinion.

I just want to talk about faith for a minute. I have met many people in my life, Christian, non-Christian, male, female, etc. One thing that I have noticed is that very few non-Christians seem to realize what faith really is. And what I mean is this: you always see non-Christians asking questions like, "how do you know God exists", "how do you know the bible is correct", "how do you know that Jesus is the Son of God". Well I am here to answer all of these questions with one word.

Faith.

If we look at the definition of faith,

"Confidence or trust in a person or thing"

we see a very important word.

Trust.

Trust means that you believe it. You trust in God. You believe God when He says something and you don't let your mind question it. You just believe it.

All that I am trying to say is that so many non-Christians ask me question like this and really, why do I have to have evidence? Why can't I just believe in God? I don't have to have evidence, its called a faith for a reason. I believe in God and I believe that God is not lying to us. I have no need for proof or earthly evidence. I have faith. If you have faith, you will start to see that you don't need things like proof or evidence.

You just need to believe.

God Bless

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

To a large degree, it really is none of my business what you believe, or why.

As far as I'm concerned, it does not really matter whether you believe in the Christian God, the benevolent alien mothership coming to fetch the enlightened, or the great pancake man who'll feed the hungry with his bountiful body. That's your prerogative, your religious freedom, and it's not my place to contest even the most nonsensical notions or superstitions as long as they do not infringe upon somebody else's civil liberties.

There's the rub, however: most faith-based world views are not content with keeping religion a person's private business. Instead, they try to enforce their idiosyncracies, try to gain political power, and control people whose private lives are none of their business, either.

At that point, when you seek to pass laws based on nothing but particular religious sentiment, or try to replace science on the school curriculum with ancient religious superstitions and demand that they are taught as an equally plausible, equally valid theory, it pretty much becomes my business.


Now, if you *ask* me why basing your world view on the kind of blind faith you describe above is such a bad idea, look no further than the telling pronouncement: "You don't let your mind question it."
Any world view that cannot withstand close critical scrutiny and necessitates such special protective measures CANNOT be any good to begin with.

It's like having a car salesman tell you that you must not open the hood before signing the contract, but really it's the best car he's ever given to anyone at such a low price: it instantly gives the scam away.

 

[BaconWizard]

Faith is belief in something for which there is insufficient evidence for knowledge.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.


Now, expressing your opinion is absolutely fine, of course. But the assertion that non-believers don't understand faith is both baseless and somewhat condescending.
I don't suppose you have anything you can really cite as to why that would be except that they don't agree with you. *Gasp, the horror*

We understand faith just fine. We just don't squander it as easily as you do or for as poor a reason.

Perhaps I will express my opinion on how theists don't understand truth nor value honesty. Would you enjoy that?

 

[Eudaimonist]

"Confidence or trust in a person or thing"

It seems to me that the question of whether God exists or not logically precedes the issue of trust. Trust follows from the belief that God exists and is trustworthy. If you are asking if God exists or not, trust isn't yet an issue.

Trust means that you believe it.

In other words, you believe just because you believe.

You trust in God. You believe God when He says something and you don't let your mind question it. You just believe it.

That sounds just like the common atheist's understanding of faith -- unquestioning belief.

All that I am trying to say is that so many non-Christians ask me question like this and really, why do I have to have evidence? Why can't I just believe in God? I don't have to have evidence, its called a faith for a reason.

Okay, unquestioning belief without the need for evidence. This is spot on for what atheists commonly mean by faith.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Zoness]

Hello everyone. In no way am I attempting to be rude, I just feel like expressing my opinion.

I just want to talk about faith for a minute. I have met many people in my life, Christian, non-Christian, male, female, etc. One thing that I have noticed is that very few non-Christians seem to realize what faith really is. And what I mean is this: you always see non-Christians asking questions like, "how do you know God exists", "how do you know the bible is correct", "how do you know that Jesus is the Son of God". Well I am here to answer all of these questions with one word.

Faith.

If we look at the definition of faith,

"Confidence or trust in a person or thing"

we see a very important word.

Trust.

Trust means that you believe it. You trust in God. You believe God when He says something and you don't let your mind question it. You just believe it.

All that I am trying to say is that so many non-Christians ask me question like this and really, why do I have to have evidence? Why can't I just believe in God? I don't have to have evidence, its called a faith for a reason. I believe in God and I believe that God is not lying to us. I have no need for proof or earthly evidence. I have faith. If you have faith, you will start to see that you don't need things like proof or evidence.

You just need to believe.

God Bless

Honestly you can believe whatever you want and if you have faith, that's great but faith is casually thrown around as an excuse to "turn off your brain" and not think about what is being taught or done in the name of religion. Trust is fine, but when this trust is manipulated by others for nefarious purposes, I lose my trust in God, religion and religious leaders. Hence my lack of 'faith'.

I do understand faith just fine contrary to your assertion, mine has been exploited too many times for me to get burnt by it again. That's all.

 

[ananda]

I see "faith" as belief in or reliance upon something that is unproven.
I see "trust" as belief in or reliance upon something that is proven.

 

[dlamberth]

You just need to believe.

God Bless

I don't see "belief" as faith. Maybe a sort of stepping stone as a run up to faith, but not faith. Faith runs much, much deeper, in my mind. I see a deeper experiential aspect to faith that comes from ones Heart. It's where the Heart is opened wide in full acceptance and gratitude for what ever comes ones way. "Belief", from my perspective, is more of a mind game sort of thing.

.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Hello everyone. In no way am I attempting to be rude, I just feel like expressing my opinion.

I just want to talk about faith for a minute...................

All that I am trying to say is that so many non-Christians ask me question like this and really, why do I have to have evidence? Why can't I just believe in God? I don't have to have evidence, its called a faith for a reason. I believe in God and I believe that God is not lying to us.

I have no need for proof or earthly evidence. I have faith. If you have faith, you will start to see that you don't need things like proof or evidence.

You just need to believe.

I will have to study on that word use in the Bible.

According to the KJV concordance, it is used only 2 times in the OT with 2 different strong #s!

Strong's Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

KJV Search Results for "faith"
"faith"
occurs 247 times in 231 verses in the KJV.

Deu 32:20
And he said, H559 I will hide H5641 my face H6440 from them, I will see H7200 what their end H319 shall be: for they are a very froward H8419 generation, H1755 children H1121 in whom is no faith. H529

Hab 2:4
Behold, his soul H5315 which is lifted up H6075 is not upright H3474 in him: but the just H6662 shall live H2421 by his faith. H530
[Hebrews 10:38]

http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4102&t=KJV
Strong's Number G4102 matches the Greek πίστις (pistis),
which occurs 244 times in 228 verses in the Greek concordance

Hebrews 10:38
The yet righteous out of Faith/pistewV <4102> shall-be-living.
If-ever he should be drawing-back, not is delighting the soul of Me in him.
[Habakkuk 2:4]







.

 

[ForJesusChrist]

Well it sounds good in my mind.

God Bless

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

One more thing: to me, the term faith signifies something else entirely. It's not unquestioning adherence to a specific world view, nor the suppression of doubt.

To me, having faith means trusting in the possibility of a positive outcome to a given situation, even though you do not know exactly how you'll fix the problem at hand. Having faith signifies a frame of mind, a certain kind of optimism that refuses to be bogged down by dire appearances.

 

[dlamberth]

To me, having faith means trusting in the possibility of a positive outcome to a given situation, even though you do not know exactly how you'll fix the problem at hand.

I agree, but with this one change. Faith to me is trusting with what ever outcome comes to be, positive or otherwise. It is a frame of mind.

.