The purpose of faith in a god?

Question

Most people with faith when cofronted with questions of gods existence will say ,"Yes his exitence can't be proved, but niether can you disprove his existence.".
Of course this is true, observation can only provide theories, not fact- we come up with a theory and untill it is disproven it remains "fact", the longer the theory goes unproven the more likely it is to be fact, and when discrepancies are noticed we can either modify the theory or come up with a new one that takes into account new knowledge.
Now here's the problem- if the "truth" as seen by religous people is based completely on faith and we should accept it as truth, there are all sorts of "facts" about the origin of the universe and life that we could take as fact even though no observations have been made to make them appear even remotely likely.
In light of this should we not throw away our established religions and construct a new view of our purpose in this life- one which promotes continuation and development

(continued)... of our species without hindrance devoid of all the fighting and arguing between different sects?
After all that is the whole idea behind evolution and instinct isn't it?

Answer 1

You are right, the purpose of any social construct is to aid society with the development of thier culture and knowledge, if this construct is searationist or technophobic the society won't develop and stay stuck in the dark ages.

I think what you are proposing is basing our society on observations made of life forms in general- every species must have the instinct to survive and procreate otherwise there will be no future generations, to develop further the human species must advance technologically to adapt to the rise in population(unless culling of the population is decided upon).
You are right to question beliefs. The truth is to find the truth we must not make wild guesses and decree them to be truth, but wait until there are observations made which suggest a certain area of research may be sensible- there are no such observations that make it worthwhile looking into the existence of a god in the same way as there are none that sugest we should believe there is life on the moon.
It is interesting to note that the christian mentalists who have replied are not sticking up for other gods and religions which are all just as true and viable as thiers- also atheism is just as viable and equally as provable and unprovable, they seem to have very small, closed minds.

Answer 2

Take the small matter of procreating Within some 270 days, the original cell that was created within the mother as a result of her union with the father grows into a baby made up of trillions of cells. That original cell has within it the instructions needed to produce more than 200 kinds of cells. Following those marvellous instructions, which are beyond human understanding, these cells of stunning complexity develop in just the right order and manner to form a new living person! Who, would you say, is the real maker of the baby? It is surely the One who created life in the first place. Parents, you well know that it is not because of any brilliance on your part that you have produced such a precious little bundle of life. Only a God of infinite wisdom could be responsible for the miraculous formation of a new living human.— read Ps. 139:13-16 Surely something such as this would be enough evidence that god exists

Answer 3

Throwing away established religions will not change the view of the religious though. No matter what you do, even to the point of making it outright illegal, you will not change personal beliefs just because you made it illegal. Alcohol was illegal at one point, it sure didn't stop people from drinking. Or better yet, look at how the Church treated scientists when they found new information... did this stop the information? *shrug* Wiping something out of the public "eye" only strengthens those who believe in it. And the more you fight it, the more some will say "See? They're persecuting us... therefore, we MUST be RIGHT!"

Personally, I don't see any reason at all to throw it away... only Extremists on both sides use the Science vs Religion argument to the point of saying that one or the other MUST be Absolutely true and the other Absolutely False. Many of us with beliefs in a Higher Power (I'm Pagan, BTW) do not have a problem with what science puts out as theory &/or fact. It certainly doesn't affect my personal beliefs and my personal beliefs in no way stand in the way of further scientific study... in fact, I encourage it. I do see a lot of the Extremist Religious people ignoring it all together, while still using science every day... especially medicine.

Of course, science doesn't make observations to make them appear to be likely... Why would it?????? These are personal beliefs... not scientific studies. Totally different realm of study. You would do better to try it from a philosophical angle, than an empirical scientific one. Science doesn't need to even look at such things in order to advance... there's simply no reason to even mix the two in that way.

Answer 4

"and when discrepancies are noticed we can either modify the theory or come up with a new one that takes into account new knowledge."

That is the purpose of science, to find the truth, even if it has to disprove it's theories. People find that science must be wrong since it is correcting itself so often. Religion will also correct itself as science forces it to retreat and this is completely detrimental to religion as it should never be wrong, being passed down from an omniscient creature. Most people will agree with this theory and think that it also applies to science, but that is not the case. Science does not claim to be infallible.

I know this in no way answered your question and I forget what it was now, but you just got me thinking a bit.

Have a nice day.

Answer 5

The reason we have faith in a God is because He is working on our lives every second of every day, and Christians have a personal relationship with Him. Thats what true Christianity is about, not just saying right there is a God, and thats it, but talking with Him, praying to Him, asking His help, and forgiveness, and all these things. This is the purpose of faith. Without faith we are nothing. I cannot have faith in something if I personally have no reason to, or no proof that it exists. I know God not only exists, but is my best friend and Saviour all in one.
Other things mentioned about the origin of the universe, I think you will find a lot of people actually DO take them as fact, as is quoted on here so very often, even though they are only basing this on what they read in the media, or what the latest scientist has discovered.
If faith in God was that easy, everybody would be doing it, but its not!! You aren't going to start believing in God because somebody else says "Eureka He's real!!" You are going to want evidence of it yourself, and once a person has that evidence, they cannot deny it. That is the purpose of faith.

Answer 6

You confuse subjection's with facts an idea or theory is subjective until proven. in over 6000 years man has not been able to create a government or religion capable of continuation and development in a peaceable manner. Man is only capable of envy, strife, lust, destruction as a means of attaining what another race or neighbor or nation has that they want. God the Father Almighty has provided the vehicle of supreme development and achievement, which is the Light, the Truth and The Way Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior. Follow Him and you won't have a "theory" you will have faith born of experience that will give you hope in this world and salvation in the next.

Answer 7

The fact that a thing is unprovable doesn't mean it's not true. There are many people who have experienced the results of God in their life, even though they can't prove it. That may throw a kink in the attempt to establish a new religion.

Answer 8

There is the historical Jesus, there are records of this in the ancient Roman historical documents. Jesus rose from the dead, many witnessed this, and died horrible deaths as witness for their believe. Great signs and miracles occurred, these were seen and not just believed through faith. It is difficult to describe to an unbeliever what a believer feels within themselves. It can be described as a certain, joy and hope. Of course one feels down, at times which is only human. There is so much to say, and it is no mystery, only a great assurance. I would say that it is better to go through life believing in God, than going through life not believing, then finding at the end there is one! The first step I believe, is to learn about the historical Jesus, then go from there.

Answer 9

Absolutely, mankind has picked up the background radiation from the "big bang " this along with other proven theories leaves no excuse for belief in the supernatural nonsense peddled by preachers of all and any hue. The theory of relativity , Darwinism, etc............. these are real provable truths...., many more, to much to mention.

Answer 10

the purpose of the faith is to lead a spiritual life in which God intended us to do.

the common error in most peoples logic is the mistake of sacred texts with spoken opinion, like the origin of the universe and the amount of time that it took to create, many people have voiced there opinion but is in fact just that.

on your not of scientific evidence, I humbly admit this is true, but I submit also that it is science that has been trying to take gods place, as was seen in the well written tale of Frankenstein, if one was to mix philosophy with science, one would come to the conclusion that there must in fact be a being of higher intelligence, called God.