If you admit you believe on faith?

Question

Then you understand that it takes a leap of faith to follow your religion.

Why would you think someone else was bad for not taking that leap then?

There are all kinds of issues that could go into it. What if the person was let down a lot as a kid and didn't have faith in anything?

What if they were just really into science and had never been interested in spirituality.

Would those things make them a bad person, or destined for a fiery abiss?

You admit there's a leap of faith involved, right?

By faith I mean, you believe without proof.

Kit, I mean you believe based on faith.

Answer 1

At first it may seem a "leap of faith" to believe, but once someone takes that small step, the facts are that it is not a leap at all.

I am a Christian rationalist of the order of Augustine and Calvin. My rational system does not exalt the human mind as autonomous; instead, it affirms Biblical revelation as axiomatic. Divine revelation of Holy Scripture is a rational revelation. This revelation is internally self-consistent, non-contradictory, and non-paradoxical. A rational Christian reasons from revelation, not to revelation or apart from revelation. My Christian faith is intellectually defensible.

Persons that are trying to be good and somehow lay claim to eternal righteousness will be found wanting before a just and righteous perfect God.

Sin is “any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God” (1Jo_3:4; Rom_4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom_6:12-17; Rom_7:5-24). Sin is not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offense against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties.

God forgives all sins except the one sin that denies Him. This sin ascribes to God what Satan has done, in that a person blasphemes the Spirit God that has been sent to call a person to righteousness. By saying with full knowledge "I do not believe", a person has in effect participated in the very first lie told in Eden.

Some will argue that God is unfair to judge those, including non-believers, that have tried to live a good life. Using an argument of "fairness" ignores the perfect attributes of God and lacks an understanding of the philosophical arguments of perfection.

In order to understand why just being "good" is insufficient; you would need to understand the concept of a perfectly holy and righteous being. Such a being would hate ALL sin and would be bound by the being's perfectly just nature to render judgment for the unjust. Just as we expect justice in this world, albeit imperfect at times, so does this being, God. Fortunately, a perfect being like God will render perfect justice, too.

While it is hard to hear, there are none righteous in the perfect God's eyes.

So how is a perfect God's demand for justice for sin reconciled with our own imperfections? Here we find that God came up with a perfect solution. He became flesh, lived a perfect life, and acted as our representative in God the Father's court of justice. There He was judged and crucified, carrying all the past and future world's sins with his crucifixion. God the Son, Christ, became our sin bearer and we need only acknowledge that sacrifice to be made "justified" in God's eyes and in God's demand for justice for sin.

Think of it this way. Your son does something like breaking a neighbor's window. Yet your son is too young to be made to pay for his crime. Society demands that the parent then act in the son's role and pay for these crimes. Likewise, God the Father allows God the Son to be humankind's representative. Christ paid the price for us all; it is deposited there in the justice bank of God. We need only claim our "share" of that account's balance and present ourselves to God.

In summary, a perfectly just being, God the Father, requires that sin be punished. In the Old Testament, such punishments were the slaughter of an innocent animal, accompanied by prayers of adoration and contrition to God the Father. These lawful rituals drove home the point to mankind that there are consequences for bad behaviors. These lawful rituals also foreshadowed a more significant means of reconciliation before God the Father’s demand for justice. A perfect being, Christ, willingly went to His death. A perfectly just God the Father, knows that the Son’s death is not justice, for the Son was sinless. Therefore, the perfectly just God the Father credits anyone who will claim the Son’s death as payment for their sins.

Answer 2

First, I don't think badly of anyone who has a problem embracing faith or who has doubts. All Christians were at that point at some time in their lives. So we should all remember what it was like to take those first tentative steps of faith. My focus should not be on judging a person for a lack of faith but rather helping them find it.

Whether we realize it or not, we take things on faith everyday. Even a person who has had many disappointments in life or the science oriented. Think about how many atheists embrace the Big Bang theory. There's no real proof that the universe began that way, many intelligent theories but not hard evidence. Yet many people take that theory almost on the level of fact. And the definition of faith is belief without fact. Just as an aside, I have studied science for many years and I have no problem reconciling it with religion. To me it would take more faith to believe that the universe sprung into existence from nothing through a series of random, coincidental events than it does to believe there is an intelligent Designer behind it all.

The key to helping those without faith is often showing they already possess faith in other areas of life.

Answer 3

To follow your religion means that you still are in the process of actually understanding faith. Faith is like pregnancy, one cannot say I am 20% pregnant. However you can say I am pregnant or I am not. It is a funny thing to put forward as an example, but this is the easiest way to understand. True faith is when you transcend all problems to no problems. In order to achieve this scriptural reading is a necessary route to faith.

To me personally religion is for followers, Faith is for believer. No person in true faith would criticize another, they would only speak in truth and in love. And more importantly, they would never look at this world in strife or judgment but in love and hope

Answer 4

First you need to define faith.

I believe a lot of things without proof. For example, when I take my car to a mechanic I trust, and he tells me I need new brakes, I believe him with a moderate amount of certainty without proof. There are innumerable things that I haven't personally investigated and proven that I believe with varying degrees of certainty. At the other end of a scale, if I were a juror on a murder trial, I would want lots of proof to hold a belief of guilt.

My problem with religion is that it's belief in extraordinarily unlikely claims with almost no supporting evidence -- logical or physical. The claim, for example, that not only does the universe have a creator, but that creator is intimately concerned with our sex lives seems like a ridiculous claim. As such, it should require a lot of proof. No evidence at all is offered to support it, however.

So I make no such "leap" of faith across a chasm of poor evidence.

Answer 5

Faith is the result of a personal experience.

You can't take credit for it. You can't be blamed if it's never happened to you.

It's obvious we lack information pertaining to the big picture here. To me having faith means knowing that if this is the way God is choosing to reveal himself, or not reveal himself, then it must be the best way. Every person deserves care and respect and is doing the best they can with what they can see right now. Since we've all experienced being wrong in our lives, and we know we were not mistaken on purpose, and we just couldn't see it until suddenly we did, that we need to be very patient with ourselves and each other. Because it can happen again and again, finding that one has been wrong. If you keep on learning, it will happen again and again.

Answer 6

Notitia+Assensus+Fiducia=Faith
To have faith you need knowledge on the object of faith, to agree with the object of faith and to trust in the object of faith.
If you only know some facts about Christ, that's not faith. If you agree with the facts about Christ, that isn't faith yet. But when you trust your life (knowing the facts, at least the basic, and being agree) the you can say you have faith.

Answer 7

Of course, every person who accepts Christ, must take a leap of faith. If they dont, then yes, they will not make it to heaven. As simple as that. No matter what situation anyone has been in, if they want a true relationship with God, they will have to have faith that he is there, and that he can help them with whatever they are dealing with.

Answer 8

My faith is mine alone and not based on any particular religious belief system. There is no "out-there" in terms of a "heaven or hell" dichotomy...no outside to compare to...the All-That-Is fully embraces us without judgment (I know that's a hard one). If you want to "leap" into faith, you will find that the Universe is the ultimate 'safety net'...there are no hard landings...just learning, growing, being...hope that helps in your personal search!

Answer 9

take your hands off the wheel and let jesus steer ....??? Still have faith? Why is it I don't believe in people that claim a leap of faith it seems to me they are the ones afraid in fox holes ?atheist just accept the inevitable .

Answer 10

I believe in faith but not "on" it. I also believe in truth which in fact is God and our Savior Jesus Christ.