How do you define "faith"?

Question

My opinion on the word "faith" is:

"Closing your mind to truth, and believing anything told to you"

http://www.atheistnation.net/

Answer 1

Faith.... is the vampire slayer character played by Eliza Dushku in Buffy!

Answer 2

Faith is believing what you cannot see or touch or otherwise sense or explain. You cannot prove something, you take it on faith. Those things in life that we do not understand but accept as being true are taken on faith.

I cannot prove that I have a soul, but I believe without doubt that I do. That is an example of faith.

In my opinion, faith is really quite different from what you expressed. Faith is based on what a person believes to be truth. If a person closes their mind to truth, then they cannot have faith. One must accept a concept as being true before they can have faith in it. As for the second point, true faith is not believing something that someone told you. Faith is undertaken after serious consideration. True faith is the result of much examination and testing; does this idea match the other things which I believe to be true? Does this idea meet the requirements which I personally have for being logical, realistic and acceptable to me? Etc.

Believing something to be true is a step towards faith, but I believe that true faith, especially in the religious sense, is deeper than that. True faith happens at a spiritual level, not an intellectual level. I may not have done a good job explaining this, but that's how I feel.

The question was a good one, although your sarcasm was a little harsh.

Answer 3

There is only ONE TRUE FAITH.
Eph.4:4-6
There are many religions.
Yet THE FAITH was delievered to the saint once and for all time.
If you do not have the same FAITh as Abraham you have the wrong one.
So what proof did Abraham have to show the Creator He believed? Read it for yourself in Gen.26:5.
Do you keep the Creators Law?
If not you may want to read 1 Yahchanan ( John ) 2: 2-6 to see if you really believe the Creator.


Obahawk

Answer 4

The Greek word translated as faith is actually faith/believing.

From the dictionary , the noun faith:
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. See Synonyms at belief, trust.
3.Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
4.often Faith Christianity 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.

This is what faith is and it what your mind is closed to.

Answer 5

Nah....your definition is for words like, "desperation" and "gullible." Faith is something else. Faith is a feeling rather indescribable, really. It's a feeling of assurance. Whereas desperation MAKES you fervently want to believe anything, true faith doesn't allow that. However, in order to have faith, at least for me, I have to lay aside the arrogance of thinking I can control everything by myself. I can't believe that I can explain the mind of God, or show definitive, tangible proof one way or another as to God's existence. Once I let go of all that and open myself up....that's when I can sense God's place in my life. It's not merely saying, "I believe such and such." It's allowing yourself to open yourself to possibilities. Probably why the Bible says you must come to God much as a child.
Faith is not something you will find if your hardened against believing in it. Hence, you don't understand Faith. I pray that someday you will.

Answer 6

Dear TheMicrowave: Faith is not an end result to be achieved. It is actually only an intermediary step. It lies between Belief and Certainty. Once you Know or are Certain, faith is not needed !

When we believe something to be, we believe it is most probably true. "I am willing to believe this." But someone or something can suddenly convince us otherwise. Therefore, beliefs are subject to change and can be altered.

Faith - the Intermediary step - requires a certain effort. Faith is a tool by which "we hang in there" when our eyes or experiences are telling us something different from which we put our faith in.
Appearances or circumstances can shake our belief, so the tool by which we retain our belief is to "hold tight" without knowing for certain, and continue to believe that which we cannot prove.

The step of Faith is necessary because it teaches us to have patience. Faith is a mental energy ; it will carry you through to the final conclusion of a situation : Perhaps, a promise made by the Holy Spirit to you which has not yet occurred, and time is passing without His promise appearing.

Eventually, "locking" into Faith will bring you to that point of time when something occurs that bolsters your belief - still more. Eventually promises are kept. Eventually instructions from Jesus present success to you. Through the patience of Faith you begin to reap a harvest.

That harvest brings you to "Knowing" or, Certainty. The proofs made to you during your waiting time of Faith have now become your Certainty as they appear in your life.

Belief is change-able, but Knowing is an unshake-able rock. It is unmove-able, unalter-able by any outside influences.

So, the transition from Belief, through the mental energy of Faith, becomes Certainty. Now you no longer need Faith. You simply Know. This is an advanced level of learning.

Microwave - if Faith closes your mind to truth and makes you believe anything told to you - it isn't the truly faith. We believe something due to a deep, inner thought process we have gone through about the thing. It's our own process and judgement about a thing. Faith is only a mental stance you "lock into" until what you believe can actuate into your life : Some experience, some gift promised, some prophecy - that occurs that was part of your believing. When this happens you move into knowing and Certainty.

When someone tells you they have Faith, (they believe without proof) they simply state they have personally arrived at a conclusion in the deepest part of their minds because, to them, it "rings true." If they do not have sufficient Faith, their minds can be changed.

Do you see the intermediate step of Faith and its value? It allows time for life to present to them - what they felt they believed in. Then they can move on to Certainty and Knowing.

Answer 7

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


I'm slightly inclined to agree with you, but I've always loved this verse and I think that it definitely has some truth. I may not have faith that God exists or that there is a kind and benevolent God, but I do have faith that my family and friends love me, and that I will succeed at the goals I have set for myself.

Faith doesn't have to be about religion.

Answer 8

Faith is that which allows you to be at peace in the eye of a storm.
Faith is the power in the mind of the caterpillar that transforms it in to a thousand colors.
Faith is that which allows you to perceive the beauty all around you.
Faith is the knowledge that you are alive even when you are lying lifeless
Faith is the supreme power that liberates us of all fears and shows us the divine glory of the Creator
Faith is the beautiful, winding path that leads us back home to enjoy an eternal life in the mansion of God

Answer 9

Hello themicrowave... :)

I say this with Love and respect.. :)

You have faith there is no God..
Is it because you believe what others have told you..have you closed your mind to search for the Truth..

I have faith that there is God..
Because I did not close my mind, I found the Truth..and the Truth set me Free..

In Jesus Most Precious Name..
With Love..In Christ.. :)

Answer 10

I wouldn't say closing your mind to truth and believing everything told to you. I would more say is to endorse a belief, normally religious, without questioning its validity. Most people that believe in religion are resonable, for religion gives a rudimentary, though not necessarily true, value system in life and a hypothesis for the way the world originated.

Answer 11

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.

You have a very warped idea of the word. But thats what lack of education does to people.