Isnt faith unreliable?

Question

People believe in the truth of religious doctrines that are neither founded upon nor defended by logic, reason, evidence, or science, yet these people obviously use logic etc. in going about other issues. Isnt faith an unreliable guide?

Answer 1

Of COURSE it is. For further reading on the subject, I direct you to "The End Of Faith" by Sam Harris.

http://shopping.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&p=the%20end%20of%20faith%20sam%20harris&fr=ush-ans&cop=mss&fr2=tab-web

Answer 2

No. Whether you believe in religious faith or not, the interesting thing about it is that the basic principles of it have always been the same which makes it a very reliable guide indeed. For example the 10 commandments have never changed in thousands of years. The belief in God hasn't changed. When you think about the 10 commandments, which are the guides of conduct for the faithful, they are very reasonable & clear. If people who believe were able to live by all of the commandments (but we're only human) the world would be a much better place. Unfortunately, law enforcement wld be out of business.

The precepts of faith, therefore, are probably the most reliable there has ever been or will be & whether you agree or not no one who makes an attempt to follow the commandments can't go wrong in making a better life for themselves or those around them.

Answer 3

The western European system of thought is largely based on Aristotle's concepts which include: A cannot be A and not A at the same time. Christians who know and believe the Bible have learned to live with, if not become comfortable with paradoxes. Faith is not founded upon evidence, or it wouldn't be faith. But faith on it's own IS unreliable. If your faith isn't in God, it's dead.

Answer 4

It is unreliable for several reasons. One, almost all believers KNOW that they are right. It doesn't matter if they are Buddhist or Christian, Voodoo or Shinto, they KNOW. With so many people knowing, the most probable conclusion is that none of them really know.

Second, people are wee little creatures that are too proud of themselves and their ability to understand things beyond this three dimensional life that they live. People can barely understand their own world and their own lives. They cannot possibly KNOW much about what lies outside.

Third, even though they say they have faith, Christians, for instance, use logic to figure their faith out. They take scriptures and interpret them. They answer every question posed to them about their faith and their god, even though they really can't know many of the answers. But they hate to say they don't know. They pile up precept upon precept until they have a jumble of doctrines and beliefs that must be supported by a jumble of scriptures.

And then, confusing faith for knowledge, they go out and harrass people who do not believe as they do because they KNOW and no one else does.

And blah blah blah.

Answer 5

Can science and faith live together and get along? Absolutely! In fact not only do they get along but I think they are intertwined. Not only does science allow for faith but it proves all that we believe in. Christianity is not a brainwashing religion, it does not empty your head of logical things to fill it full of unicorns, big foot, and aliens. I admit though there are some Christians that do accept whatever they are told blindly, both good and bad, but so do those that believe only in science (hence unicorns, big foot and aliens...) So the question now is: just how does science mix with faith.

First, science proves that what we believe is not just fairy tales or legends but actual events that happened at some point in time. Archaeological and anthropological discoveries are made practically everyday that back up the events, place, and people that the Bible presents to us. Never has an archaeological discovery disproved the Bible. Scientists that study ancient texts show that the Bible is a reliable document with more copies with fewer errors than other widely accepted factual historical documents. Secondly, science is a part of our world. It is in everything and makes up everything. Science is a part of creation and what God uses to physically hold creation together. A Christian cannot dismiss science as not useful because it makes up everything that is visible. Without science the believer could not believe because there would not be any evidence or anyway to convey (i.e. by writing, by nature, by speaking) that which we believe. Lastly, faith is apart of everything just as science is, even for the non-believer. We all have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow, that the theories we believe in our true, and that whatever religion we believe in is true. Faith is a part of human nature.

Non-Christians: I urge you to investigate the claims that you make before you make definitive sounding statements, rather than accepting what you have heard on the news, read on the Internet, or heard a friend say. It's so easy just to go with the flow and say "yeah, what he said." I'm not trying to get you to believe in Christianity just to think for yourselves. The rhetoric of scientists can be just as dangerous as the rhetoric from Christians.
Christians: Brothers and sister, our faith is not one of blindly accepting what we are told. We don't have to be afraid of science because it is a part of God's creation. Everything we believe is provable.

Answer 6

If faith [in God, the supreme one] is truly the guide then no. But when religious faith is superceeded by humanistic ideology, then yes it is unreliable, and quite frankly arrogance in the face of the God that one is proposing to serve.

These two things [faith and human instinct] are often mingled together and the results are always fringe groups of folks proporting superiority of some type.

Answer 7

Not at all my friend. Faith is based on the logic that you only have so much control over you destiny and that you can rely on a power that is higher than you are to fullfill your needs, desires and wants.

True, most religious groups do use logic to argue their point but they don't have much of a choice. You can't use oranges to describe an apple!

The only religion that truly relies on faith though would have to be Christianity. It demands a certain level of faith throughout the process.

I hope I answered your question to your satisfaction.
Love Dahlia

Answer 8

While you say has some truth to it...there are different kinds of faith.

Besides...logic, reason, evidence, and science is not infallible either. Are they not also unreliable? Especially in areas not undestood and known yet. Logic, reason, evidence, and science once said going to the moon was impossible.

~ Eric Putkonen

Answer 9

Yes, but a person needs exercise a certain amount of faith all the time. Life is full of uncertainties and risks.

The real problem comes when people want to ignore massive amounts of evidence to the contrary of what they believe, or when people refuse to be open to new information or to rethink their ideas in light of new evidence.

Answer 10

It may not include science (though sometimes can).. but it does include logic, reason, and evidence. Would you like to pose a question of faith and see if someone can use logic, evidence or reason to believe it? If you want, you can even email me if you dont want to ask here.

Answer 11

if faith is real then why would we need health insurance? by buying health or any kind of insurance you are directly faithless in god SHAME ON YOU CHRISTIANS DISOBEYING YOUR ALLMIGHTY GOD
"james 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.
Mark 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Matthew 6:25-34. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."
I HOPE HE DOESNT SMITE YOU FOR THAT