"Belief is based on faith, it has nothing to do with reason". Somehow I understand that statement.
The problem I have with it is this: We have a lot more 'reason' now than a couple of thousand years ago. Back then they knew less than we know now. The earth was still flat in those days and only a few thousand years old. We have a lot more answers now to many questions. Not all, but we are on our way.
Did the people 2000 years ago also say "I believe out of faith, not out of reason"? Or is it safe to say that in those days the Bible provided them with "reason and answers"?
No offense to believers intended, but I do think it's harder these days to fight against reason than 2000 years ago. I know most believers embrace science and reason, but my real question is about how you deal with this.
Do you think you have to do a harder job at 'keeping the faith' than a person had 2000 years ago, simply because your own mind has to beat a lot more reason nowadays?
2006-11-30 12:07:55 · 9 answers · asked by Thinx 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I am reminded of a quote about love...
"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."
Having religious faith is like being in love. It's emotional, and has very little to do with reason, and that's OK so long as no one is hurt - just like love.
2006-11-30 12:20:35 · answer #1 · answered by Snark 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
To believe something, and to have faith in something are all different things. We believe things with our minds. Faith is not just of the mind but of the heart as well. Love is like this, a subjective fact whose existence cannot be proven but whose reality is nevertheless very real.
One of the most common arguments against faith is this: if you cannot see it, touch it, or feel it with your senses, you cannot know it exists. This argument is valid, but only within the realm in which proof operates, the realm of science, not the realm of life. Science is not reality but a tool with which to explore a portion of reality. There are many other portions to which it does not apply. The scientific mind, can have little to say about the phenomenon of 'knowing'.
To experience something is to know it. To experience something deeply is to know it with a degree of certainty that gives it more power and influence over our lives than other things. Here is the point that all spiritual life strives for and the point of purification as well: to go beyond both faith and belief into knowing - to bring each of us to the point of experiencing God in a way that is so real that it will be impossible to deny.
I don't think it is harder now in 'keeping the faith' than 2000 years ago. Christianity is a reasonable faith! Science fits in with the Christian faith as after all it is a study of God's creation! But Christians beyond reason to faith and knowing. Knowing something, then, can change our relationship to everything in our life. This knowing takes us past faith and belief into certainty!
2006-11-30 12:57:20 · answer #2 · answered by thundercatt9 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
On the contrary, I think.
To believe that NOTHING or NO ONE in the ENTIRE COSMOS that we know of, or have discovered thus far, CAN ever BE SMARTER, or be MORE INTELLIGENT [or technologically advanced], or be MORE CREATIVE, or even have MORE WISDOM THAN MAN doesn't seem quite that plausible and IS NOT REASONABLE AT ALL for me.
But that's just my own humble opinion...
Peace be with you.
2006-11-30 12:35:04 · answer #3 · answered by Arf Bee 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Faith is the excuse for ignorance and if ignorance is bliss, religionists must be having never-ending explosive orgasms.
2006-11-30 12:45:32 · answer #4 · answered by iknowtruthismine 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Faith Faith.. Faith says Bible Scripture...
2006-11-30 12:09:29 · answer #5 · answered by cork 7 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Faith and reason aren't contradictory, I've found that God's wisdom in the Bible is typically beyond anything a person has come up with, that's been my experience anyway. I don't have to suspend reason to have faith. God wants me to use reason, that's why He gave me a mind. He knows that when I use reason based on biblical principles, I'll be on the right path to understanding more.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. This means that to have wisdom, you must first have a reverence and respect for God and His authority, to do otherwise is foolish.
2006-11-30 12:12:40 · answer #6 · answered by STEPHEN J 4 · 0⤊ 6⤋
I'm surprised they don't walk around with smoke coming out of their ears by now.
(Good question; sorry to answer like that. I'm a screwball.)
2006-11-30 12:13:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2006-11-30 12:11:20 · answer #8 · answered by Robert K 5 · 0⤊ 5⤋
Can I just have my purple frog wellies and call it a day??!!?? LOL!!!
2006-12-01 06:42:32 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋