Faith.

[Oncedeceived]

Okay, but how are you certain of God's existence? And if you possess knowledge that God exists, how is that faith? As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary: "firm belief in something for which there is no proof" (emphasis mine, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith). Do you dispute this definition?

I don't dispute that defintion, there are times when that definition is right on.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Proof is a hard commodity to come by don't you think?

 

[ViaCrucis]

Then why is it called "faith"?
There's a word for "trust". It's "trust".

The English language is full of duplicate words, usually demonstrating our language's complex history as a Germanic language that has been deeply shaped by Latin through French due to the Norman Conquest.

The word "trust" is Germanic in origin.
The word "faith" is ultimately of Latin origin.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[cloudyday2]

Hey, @MentalHolocaust , I just read your post several pages back describing your difficulties with psych meds. Are you familiar with the research on scopolamine and ketamine for depression? You should google, but they have many interesting advantages over the standard antidepressants. I have tried scopolamine myself, and it totally washes away the depression in 30 minutes, but it wears off after maybe 8 hours. It's unbelievable how much better I feel for those few hours. All my problems seem to shrink, and I have hope, energy, etc. Ketamine is supposed to be even more promising than scopolamine, AND it is particularly good for bipolar people. A bipolar person on another forum was able to get treatment with ketamine in Canada, and it helped her tremendously apparently. Unfortunately, these drugs are still not approved for depression as far as I know. Google and you will see lots of interesting articles and studies. Obviously you probably wouldn't want to experiment without oversight by your doctor. I had some scopolamine laying around from a cruise that I couldn't take many years ago, so I decided to see what it did for me if anything. I talked to a doctor first to be sure it wouldn't hurt me.

 

[Truthfrees]

MOD HAT ON

Please read the rules for posting in this forum:
1. http://www.christianforums.com/threads/must-read-christian-apologetics-statement-of-purpose.7918236/
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If your post is missing it's for violating one or more of the forum rules.

MOD HAT OFF

 

[dcalling]

IMO, when you hear some claim, they are certain of gods existance, it is driven by a deep need, to reassure onself and is a defense mechanism, to try and overcome deeper doubts.

Wonder what are those deeper doubts

Consider this, we humans are able to construct more and more complex machines, yet we can't create something that can create. Look at all the so called AIs, all fake, just ask any computer science majors. If we, the ones with intelligence can't create intelligence, how does nature create intelligence out of random?

 

[DogmaHunter]

Bruh, faith and trust are synonymous.

The greek word for "faith" is 'pistis', which is defined as this in Strong's Concordance:

pistis: faith, faithfulness
Original Word: πίστις, εως, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: pistis
Phonetic Spelling: (pis'-tis)
Short Definition: faith, belief, trust
Definition: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

The way the religious use it, "faith" seems to be more synonymous with "hope" rather then trust.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

We use faith in every part of our life. We put faith in things we have NO idea about, but 'hope' will work and is true and right. For example, taking a plane ride requires faith...faith that the plane won't crash, the pilot is adequately trained, and everything will arrive on time. You have faith every time you get in your car that you'll arrive at your destination. When you read a science textbook or article, you put faith that the information contained therein is true, accurate, and isn't out of date.

This appears to be an equivocation. I don't need "faith," in the religious sense, to ride in an airplane. Rather, I base my judgment of the likelihood of a safe flight on evidence from prior experience and knowledge about air safety. Moreover, my confidence changes in response to new information. So if I encountered the pilot at the bar an hour before the flight, and he appeared intoxicated, then I would revise my judgment regarding the probability of a safe flight, while also alerting the relevant authorities.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

Wonder what are those deeper doubts

Consider this, we humans are able to construct more and more complex machines, yet we can't create something that can create. Look at all the so called AIs, all fake, just ask any computer science majors. If we, the ones with intelligence can't create intelligence, how does nature create intelligence out of random?

Who said it creates intelligence "out of random"? That doesn't make sense.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

Bruh, faith and trust are synonymous.

The greek word for "faith" is 'pistis', which is defined as this in Strong's Concordance:

pistis: faith, faithfulness
Original Word: πίστις, εως, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: pistis
Phonetic Spelling: (pis'-tis)
Short Definition: faith, belief, trust
Definition: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

You are conflating several senses of the word "faith." Given the OP, we are talking about faith in the religious sense.

 

[Hammster]

You are conflating several senses of the word "faith." Given the OP, we are talking about faith in the religious sense.

I don't think that changes anything. Why do we have faith in God? Why do we trust in God?

Same thing.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

I don't think that changes anything. Why do we have faith in God? Why do we trust in God?

Same thing.

Doesn't trust depend on belief, in that you must first believe in the existence of the entity your purport to trust?

 

[Hammster]

Doesn't trust depend on belief, in that you must first believe in the existence of the entity your purport to trust?

The OP assumes that God is real.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

The OP assumes that God is real.

That's not the way I read the OP.

 

[Hammster]

That's not the way I read the OP.

And the question isn't to you.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

And the question isn't to you.

As I read it, it's a general question, not directed to anyone specifically.

 

[Hammster]

As I read it, it's a general question, not directed to anyone specifically.

Based on the context of the forum, it's directed to Christians.

 

[Hawkins]

The question is simple. Why do Christians have faith?

The analogy is that;

There's a message saying that there's bomb in your house. Some people have died in order to bring this message out. We are now spreading the message the best we can because we have faith that it is true. In the end, it is your own life so it's all up to you to make a decision to leave or to stay.

We have faith because we trust those direct eye-witnesses who chose to die for what is said. We have faith because we feel and perceive that God is working inside us, and to build our faith.

 

[SeraphimSarov]

The OP assumes that God is real.

I do?

 

[SeraphimSarov]

We have faith because we trust those direct eye-witnesses who chose to die for what is said.

What of people who have died for other religions?

We have faith because we feel and perceive that God is working inside us, and to build our faith.

Are not feelings and perceptions entirely subjective? How can they be trusted? Indeed, when I was part of the Orthodox Church, we were taught that feelings could be deceptive and not to trust them.

 

[Hammster]

I do?

The way it's phrased on a Christian site, it's reasonable to make the assumption that the original post assumes that God exists.