Surely belief through faith alone is really make believe, don't people really make believe in God?

Question

People should really be saying that they make believe in God not that they believe in God, the difference is subtle but what a difference it makes to everyone's understanding of the nature of this type of belief.

stevepg82: I agree with part of what you say...quote ("It's up to us, as intelligent individuals, to choose weather or not to believe." unquote
But I would rather say it is up to us to whether to believe on faith alone (make-believe) ... Or whether to believe what we can find real evidence for (belief with proof).

ringo: I disagree, I think belief and the nature of different kinds of belief can be discussed, debated and compared.

Answer 1

Make believe has no part of my faith. I know with 100% certainty and clarity that God exists, created the universe and all people. He doesn't make mistakes and he answers prayer. Best wishes.

Answer 2

Every Christian that believes has some kind of proof (ask any) so we really don't make believe. However, sometimes it is hard to prove it to others (people like you) that do not want to try for themselves. Then after we know that God is a proven reality, faith is having an assurance that God always works for our best, even when bad things happen to us, and that He is still out there even when we don't hear from Him for a while, and that events in history will happen exactly how He said in the Bible, and that He will accept us with open arms after we die because He promised. Why can we be sure of those thing? We know who God is and we trust Him that's why I would say we are happier than any unbeliever in the world.

Answer 3

In science, seeing is believing and in religion believing is seeing! I'm not sure how that fit's but I like it anyway. I have to ask though, why is it important for you to know how or why other people believe in G-D? Isn't the absolute truth only what you believe to be true? Belief through faith alone "is" the reality of it. It's not a question to be debated, there is no collective answer, it's more of a decision you make. And once you do, I believe it should be forever.

Answer 4

you have many questions. you're describing your disbelief. in case you have not got faith that a e book which took over 1500 years, written via 40 different authors is a pretend then this is your decision. one area of think of roughly are all of the prophesies, which there are over 3 hundred interior the bible, that got here genuine alongside with the beginning, dying and Resurection. Or data that got here out in history that grew to become out to be genuine. guy concept the international became flat 2 hundred years in the past. Why might the prophet Isaiah make the fact, "He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth"? Do you think of Isaiah found that the international became around on his own, or did God motivate that fact? Sorry relating to the quote yet I project you to seem at it and are available up which incorporate your own answer, Isaiah 40 vs 22. The Bible is a history e book this is being shown genuine further and extra everyday via archeologists that have made discoveries that have on no account disproved the bible. You take care of human emotion to describe God. It on no account works. via the way, there are a number of faiths interior the international, and somebody gave an answer that anyone of them ends up in God. With all of the various doctrines available of the various religions, which one is genuine, and which God is the actual one? one that has 1500 years of certainty, hundreds of witness's, one that crushed dying, or one that has are available in a dream or inspired concept. undergo in suggestions devil is the Angel of sunshine and could take you into the darkness with a chuckle. If Christians are incorrect, what do they lose? in the event that they're appropriate, what do you lose? each little thing.

Answer 5

For me there are 2 kinds of faith. Faith in something that has been proven over and over. Like I have faith the sun will rise tomorrow. Do I have an absolute guarantee? No, but the foundation of that faith is strong.

Then there's blind faith. That's when you believe in something, but have no real reason to... and maybe a lot of reasons not to. This is the type of faith I see in theists. They believe in their religions, despite all of the glaring inconsistencies, because, in the end, they really, really want to; and they just choose to ignore anything else.

Blind faith is without foundation. Blind faith makes you a slave to anyone with an idea. Blind faith does not take courage, it takes willful ignorance. Blind faith is not a virtue.

Answer 6

Well, this brings up something very interesting, though I wouldn't have worded it quite the way you did.

Behaving as if something is so....

We humans do this all the time, in every moment of our lives. Have you ever gotten on to an escalator that isn't moving and had a shock? Or been horrified when someone "suddenly" betrays what you thought of them? Or been upset when a mechanical device doesn't do what you expect?

We behave "as if" all kinds of things are true, and constant, and real.

There's a pretty important question implied here that, I think, not many people ask themselves about their religious beliefs.

"If I behave as if this is so, what effect will that have:

* on my personal life?
* on my relationships with others?
* on the world at large?"

Real belief isn't an intellectual entertainment of an idea - it's behaving as if what you believe is so

If you behave "as if" your religion is so - if that religion's description of human existence is so, and that religion's description of "God" is so, and if that religion's understanding of our relationship with "God" is so....

Will behaving as if this is all "so":

* Lead to a more compassionate world?
* Lead to more humane treatment of others?
* Lead you to live more lovingly? Or judmentally?
* Lead to community and equality, or exclusion and heirarchy?
* Lead to the maximum freedom for individuals or coerce people into conformity?

* and so on.

It's an interesting thing that we have far more power over our "reality" than people seem to think, and that power is in behaving as if something were so.

If I behave as if my sister is a controlling and pushy person, my reactions to her will cause proof that I'm right. If I behave as if my hubby were untrustworthy, he'll start to withhold things from me, thus causing my belief to be proven..and the smallest thing withheld will only confirm my belief.

If I behave as if the world is a horrible place I'll get justification for that. If I behave as if people are generally friendly and helpful, I'll get justification for that, too.

****
My Mom, for whom I have tremendous respect, has told me that she is a Christian not because she's confident that it's the only truth, but because her understanding of Christianity and the message that her Church teaches leads her to live a life that is better than it would be if she were not a Christian. She has told me that she needs, in her darkest moments, the message of love and forgiveness that she gets in her Church. She has told me that she doesn't know if she would be willing to give as much to others if she didn't think that that was what "God" wanted of her, because it sometimes goes against her inclination.

**
As George Carlin put it:

"Religion is sort of like a lift in your shoes."

If it makes you walk straighter, great. But don't tell me to wear your shoes, and let's not go around nailing lifts to the feet of other people.

**
further:

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."
The Buddha

Answer 7

Tell me then, what isn't faith? Is it not true that "faith" is just another word for "believe" in which case, I have faith that I am typing on a keyboard. This is what I believe, but what if my mind is tricking my senses of sight, touch, and sound to "simulate" what it would be like to type on this keyboard? What then, can be considered "proof" for one to have faith?

A magician can do a card trick, or make things disappear and reappear. These tricks appeal to our sense of sight, and maybe even sound. So in this case, because we can "see" something, does it mean that we should believe? The same goes for that which can not be seen, therefore, our whole life, from start to end is based on nothing, but faith alone.

It's up to us, as intelligent individuals, to choose weather or not to believe.

Answer 8

LOGICAL CONCEPT OF GOD

My first question to the atheist will be: "What is the definition of God?" For a person to say there is no God, he should know what is the meaning of God. If I hold a book and say that ‘this is a pen’, for the opposite person to say, ‘it is not a pen’, he should know what is the definition of a pen, even if he does not know nor is able to recognise or identify the object I am holding in my hand. For him to say this is not a pen, he should at least know what a pen means. Similarly for an atheist to say ‘there is no God’, he should at least know the concept of God. His concept of God would be derived from the surroundings in which he lives. The god that a large number of people worship has got human qualities - therefore he does not believe in such a god. Similarly a Muslim too does not and should not believe in such false gods.

If a non-Muslim believes that Islam is a merciless religion with something to do with terrorism; a religion which does not give rights to women; a religion which contradicts science; in his limited sense that non-Muslim is correct to reject such Islam. The problem is he has a wrong picture of Islam. Even I reject such a false picture of Islam, but at the same time, it becomes my duty as a Muslim to present the correct picture of Islam to that non-Muslim i.e. Islam is a merciful religion, it gives equal rights to the women, it is not incompatible with logic, reason and science; if I present the correct facts about Islam, that non-Muslim may Inshallah accept Islam.

Similarly the atheist rejects the false gods and the duty of every Muslim is to present the correct concept of God which he shall Insha Allah not refuse

THEORY OF PROBABILITY

In mathematics there is a theory known as ‘Theory of Probability’. If you have two options, out of which one is right, and one is wrong, the chances that you will chose the right one is half, i.e. one out of the two will be correct. You have 50% chances of being correct. Similarly if you toss a coin the chances that your guess will be correct is 50% (1 out of 2) i.e. 1/2. If you toss a coin the second time, the chances that you will be correct in the second toss is again 50% i.e. half. But the chances that you will be correct in both the tosses is half multiplied by half (1/2 x 1/2) which is equal to 1/4 i.e. 50% of 50% which is equal to 25%. If you toss a coin the third time, chances that you will be correct all three times is (1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2) that is 1/8 or 50% of 50% of 50% that is 12½%.

A dice has got six sides. If you throw a dice and guess any number between 1 to 6, the chances that your guess will be correct is 1/6. If you throw the dice the second time, the chances that your guess will be correct in both the throws is (1/6 x 1/6) which is equal to 1/36. If you throw the dice the third time, the chances that all your three guesses are correct is (1/6 x 1/6 x 1/6) is equal to 1/216 that is less than 0.5 %.

Let us apply this theory of probability to the Qur’an, and assume that a person has guessed all the information that is mentioned in the Qur’an which was unknown at that time. Let us discuss the probability of all the guesses being simultaneously correct.

At the time when the Qur’an was revealed, people thought the world was flat, there are several other options for the shape of the earth. It could be triangular, it could be quadrangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, octagonal, spherical, etc. Lets assume there are about 30 different options for the shape of the earth. The Qur’an rightly says it is spherical, if it was a guess the chances of the guess being correct is 1/30.

The light of the moon can be its own light or a reflected light. The Qur’an rightly says it is a reflected light. If it is a guess, the chances that it will be correct is 1/2 and the probability that both the guesses i.e the earth is spherical and the light of the moon is reflected light is 1/30 x 1/2 = 1/60.

Further, the Qur’an also mentions every living thing is made of water. Every living thing can be made up of either wood, stone, copper, aluminum, steel, silver, gold, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, oil, water, cement, concrete, etc. The options are say about 10,000. The Qur’an rightly says that everything is made up of water. If it is a guess, the chances that it will be correct is 1/10,000 and the probability of all the three guesses i.e. the earth is spherical, light of moon is reflected light and everything is created from water being correct is 1/30 x 1/2 x 1/10,000 = 1/60,000 which is equal to about .0017%.



The Qur’an speaks about hundreds of things that were not known to men at the time of its revelation. Only in three options the result is .0017%. I leave it upto you, to work out the probability if all the hundreds of the unknown facts were guesses, the chances of all of them being correct guesses simultaneously and there being not a single wrong guess. It is beyond human capacity to make all correct guesses without a single mistake, which itself is sufficient to prove to a logical person that the origin of the Qur’an is Divine.

SCIENCE IS ELIMINATING MODELS OF GOD BUT NOT GOD

Francis Bacon, the famous philosopher, has rightly said that a little knowledge of science makes man an atheist, but an in-depth study of science makes him a believer in God. Scientists today are eliminating models of God, but they are not eliminating God. If you translate this into Arabic, it is La illaha illal la, There is no god, (god with a small ‘g’ that is fake god) but God (with a capital ‘G’).

Surah Fussilat:

"Soon We will show them our signs in the (farthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all things?"

[Al-Quran 41:53]

Answer 9

Make believe is make believe. Faith entails courage so it goes way beyond that. People who believe in something that are just playing make believe don't offer their lives for it in defense of the faith.
I Cr 13;8a

Answer 10

But we do find our evidence once we believe.You are like the early surgeons who refused to believe in bacteria because they had not seen them, though the laws of cleanliness in the Bible dealt with them.