You can believe in anything through faith, even when there is or is not evidence/proof for or against it.?

Question

Isn't this good enough reason not to take peoples faith and beliefs too seriously.

Answer 1

There is very good reason to stay away from faith. It is very much like gambling. You are taking significant steps in life "just in case." Even devout believers who never think of it as "just in case" are still doing the same thing... they just happen to be sure that their wrong answer is the correct one.

Evidence is the only way we know to quantify something. A lack of evidence usually means a lack of what ever it is you are looking for. Imagine if detectives followed a trail of faith rather than a trail of clues and evidence? How often would they find the true culprit?

Answer 2

For lack of time, I will be brief.

We have two belief systems revelation and science. For Christianity, the reveal knowledge is contained in the [Christian] bible, the word of God spoken by the prophets. This is something you believe or you don't believe.

Science is based on observation. It is observed knowledge that uses the scientific method to form theories that explains the fact. There is no belief, only what man see.

Faith is believing without reason, without any observation to support the belief.

For example from the bible we learn that God existed before God created all the we can observed. This means there are no facts (an observation made by men (note plural) independent of location. Hence science is incapable of proving or disproving any about God, no reason at all.

So what about the bible? Is there a proof of God within its pages? No. God is assumed by the reader.

Now to your question with its details: Faith requires revelation that is believed without any reason. Sometimes this faith seems absurd. You can't argue belief.

Answer 3

That's the whole point of faith. It means to believe without evidence. I have faith that my children will grow up to be good people. Whether that will really happen or not depends on how I raise them and their own decisions. I have no proof that they will be good people, but I have faith based on myself and my husband, but in reality, who knows what could happen to them and what influences might break the teachings and principles that I try to instill in them.
I have faith that the Bible is God's word and therefor believe everything written in it is for our guidance. I don't think it's right for someone to say they have faith in some scriptures, but not others, because to me that would just disqualify their belief in the Bible entirely.
Anyhow, I agree with what someone else mentioned - as long as they know what they're getting in to, it's really up to the person where they will put their faith. Some put their faith in scientists that someday there will be a cure for death - it hasn't happened yet, but does that disqualify us from taking science too seriously?

Answer 4

I'm okay with people who believe things through faith, as long as they're aware that's what they're doing.

It's FAR more honest than believing things and then falsely claiming to have evidence or proof for those things.

I suggest to the atheists (like myself) that we stop being so upset about faith and focus our criticisms instead on the people who simply lie in support of their religious beliefs.

As far as taking things seriously, of course one person's personal faith is not the kind of thing that should convince another person. But if a person holds religious beliefs based in faith and acknowledges that it is faith and not evidence that supports his or her beliefs, I'm more than willing to take that person seriously as a thinker. It might even persuade me to consider the beliefs - something that faithless lying about having evidence never will do.

Answer 5

Sure, why not. Remember, it was easier to believe in Santa and clean your room than it is to try getting through the malls after Thanksgiving to get that "perfect" gift, right?

Remember the Hithchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which "42" is the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything, but nobody knows how that answer was reached?

Likewise, "faith in God" is the Christian answer to everything, but none of them can realistically justify how that answer came to be.

Answer 6

I need more reason than that to throw out an beleif

Answer 7

I don't believe in anything. I'm not sure about anything. I'm not sure what my name is, my gender, who god is, how old I am, and who you are.