Please define "faith"?

Question

This is a serious question and not an attack on anyone. I fully understand the Dictionary definition of faith, so please don't bother giving it. The problem is, whenever someone says to me that I know so and so, or I believe such and such, my response is, why? Usually, the answer I get is because, and then there is some proof provided. When it comes to religion the answer is either I read it in the Bible, or I just have faith. I have studied the Bible, I have read books pro and con, I have spoken with religious authorities and have found no proof to substantiate the things claimed in the Bible.

So, all that remains is faith. How does one get this faith? Why would I take anyone’s believe at face value without asking for proof? Other than your religious writings, what evidence do you have to substantiate your faith? Please share your insight.

To answer " faith in christ" your back to the Bible,answer my question, why do you have faith?

I really appreciate all of the answers so far.

Please understand I am not looking for a definition of faith, rather how faith is obtained (what makes you believe, what you believe?) Something, or someone, must at some time have convinced you to believe, I assume you are all rational beings and would not believe just anything. This question isn't just for Christians, please jump in if you have a real believe in, even the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

To answer "francina i" do you actually believe your analogy is valid? I know that I will get a paycheck; faith has nothing to do with it. If the company I work for is solvent I will get my paycheck, I have the power of the state to assure this. I can prove the existence of the state and my employer. My question is, how can you proof that your faith isn't some form of delusion?

Answer 1

To quote a great movie "Faith is belieiving in something when common sense tells you not to."

I grappled with this for MANY years and completely understand your point! The only thing I have come to understand is that...I will NEVER, EVER understand it and this is okay for me. There are people that must question everything...and they never find an answer...and sometimes they are comforted and sometimes they are not. Then there are people that stop questioning at a certain point and just accept whatever they are told...like the answer "Just because" (which is NOT an answer). They get this faith by NOT questioning and simply accepting without every answer laid out for them.

In the aspect of religion...you are required to dismiss common sense. There are too many questions that don't have answers that require you to rely heavily on "faith." If you cannot rely on faith then religion is NOT for you. This doesn't mean you can't be spiritual...but not a part of a religious organization. If you have religious faith you are accepting the unanswerable for the comfort that religion often provides to people. I personally find no comfort in believing in something not logical in my mind...but that is fine if others do.

Answer 2

First off, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,the evidence of things not seen". Hebrews 11:1. That's from the Bible you think so little of.

Secondly, I don't know what books you have been reading. But, the facts exist that there is more information available about the Crucifixion of Jesus, than about the life of Julius Caesar.

All the places named in the Bible have already been found. In stead of criticizing the Bible, you should read it again with an open mind and heart.

You stated that you have not found proof to substantiate the Bible. Explain to us, how it is that our planet Earth rotates on its axis at more than 16 miles a second, yet there is no sensation of movement! The planet is somewhat round, yet no matter where you go, you are still walking upright!

How do you explain the absence of stars over the North Pole?

Answer if you can.

Answer 3

My understanding is that one acquires faith when one's parents tell them as an innocent trusting child that Christianity is truth. When I was a kid my dad told me he smoked "herbal cigarettes". I believed him until I was about twelve, when I was properly educated on the subject.
From the time we're born we quickly learn to trust our parents absolutely. After all, if it weren't for our mother feeding us we'd be dead in a matter of days. So when our parents tell us that Christianity, for example, is the one true faith we want, very badly, to believe it. So we do. Generally people raised as Christians are exposed to Christianity without any alternative for at least several years, and in modern society in such countries as the USA and Australia, where I live, there is widespread public support for Christianity, which means that people don't have to question their faith. In fact this is actively discouraged. Just the other day I passed a church with a sign out the front saying "trust God without terms."
To put it simply, people usually get their faith as children or during some other period of vulnerability, when they are told by a figure they trust that a certain religion is true. The reason they take these beliefs at face value without asking for proof is that they trust the person so much and they want so desperately for what they are being told to be true.

If you want some evidence for this, just look at what the other people answering this question have said about their own experiences:

"I just knew I was missing something in my life.
I did not know what. But trust me I looked everywhere"

"...all that's there at the beginning is a commitment to the "God is real" idea, even if it is no more than a DESIRE for him to be real, without any evidence that he is"

Scary, no?

Answer 4

Check it out, I am a woman with a great deal of "faith"
It has nothing to do with religion,reading the Bible (although the Bible is way cool)

It has to do withYOU. YOU are the only one that can say how much "spirituality" you have NO ONE CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOU HAVE INSIDE YOU!!!

Spirituality is an awesome "feeling", when you have belief in a higher power, when you know a Holy Spirit is in YOU. EVERONE is different in thier own Spirit.

I would love to hear from you and dicuss this further.

Now, You tell Me, what is spirituality? Your faith is just that, knowing(without a doubt) there is something out there to honestly feel is in YOU!!!

For me, it is Father ,Jesus His Son, And the Holy Spirit that lives in lil' ol' me.

Believe me when I tell you, this faith has not always been there. I searched for most of my 51 years on this planet to recieve my faith.

If YOUR faith is not mine, I still will accept you for who you are. THAT, my friend is what it's all about. Faith in other human beings out there that still believe people are good. I can see you are, just by seeing the question you asked.

This is the first time I answered one of these. YOU caught my eye.

I truly hope to hear from you!!

Answer 5

One time in my life i was doing so bad I didn't think that life was worth all that. I couldn't follow no plans to work myself out of that mess. So I was in it for a long time, other who had the same messy life began to do better and as time passed they were really do great not just with monies but in life general... When i would talk to them they all said the same thing that they follow a plan. So my faith comes from waiting on the plan to let things unfold itself and every sense then i do have faith. I hope you are getting this.

Answer 6

Here I go again with faith:

Analogy: Your go to work expecting a paycheck right? why? you were told you would get one at the end of the week. You continue to go to work because you believe it to be true. right? So you are believing in something you cannot yet see but hope to receive right? Hence the scripture "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" GOT IT? read this over until you get it.

Answer 7

According to Dictionary.com,

1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
4. The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith.
6. A set of principles or beliefs.

Answer 8

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The assent of faith is "by no means a blind impulse of the mind." Faith is a grace, a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by Him. Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him and he must have the interior help of the Holy Spirit who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth. Faith is certain, more certain than all human knowledge because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie. Faith seeks understanding, it is intrinsic to faith that a believer desires to know better the One in whom he has put his faith, and to understand better what He has revealed, a more penetrating knowledge will in turn call forth a greater faith, in your hearts.

Answer 9

You're looking at deep, deep denial. It's a defense mechanism vs. fear. Since they've never learned any critical thinking skills, reasoning ability, rationality, or science and have all their decisions forced on them by others, parents, priests and bibles, the "reality" of the world is the thing they are trying to hide and escape from through their "faith." They're saying, "This I feel with my senses is an illusion, and the dreams, hopes and feelings in my mind is what is real." It is contrary to common sense, and a very poor philosophy, leading to a sick world where life is meaningless because the rewards of heaven are for those who obey without thought. Religion is the denial of life.

Answer 10

For me faith is believing what I do not know and cannot see. It's like the scene in Indiana Jones where he has to step out onto the bridge, but he cannot see the bridge. Faith is believing that when your 16 year old whom you think is a good kid takes your car out and you trust with everything in you that they will make the right decisions. I think that life without having faith in anything would be very very sad.