To those against faith?

Question

What about faith in mankind?

Or faith in yourself, your family or your friends?

I agree that blind religious faith terrible thing because by doing so a person throws away what makes him different from the animals. Namely his logic and reason, but I think we need to draw a line and say that faith in others, or even faith in ourselves is not only a good thing, but often necessary. Otherwise for what reason do we keep on going?

Do you agree or disagree with what I just said? And if you don’t mind please elaborate.

Answer 1

Even those who consider themselves atheits need "faith" to mantain their ideas.

Answer 2

If your point is that some species of "faith" are valuable, I agree. However, semantics are slippery. Faith (1) below is not faith (4) below. "Faith" can mean many things; for example:

1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief absent sufficient supporting evidence.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance, e.g. keeping faith with one's supporters.
4. Faith as in Christianity: The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
5. Mark Twain said, "Faith is believing what you know ain't so."
6. A "faith healer" tried to heal my arthritis, but failed. She said the fault was not hers; I just didn't have enough faith.

Finally, here's what Martin Luther had to say about "faith":

http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/luther-faith.txt

Answer 3

If I didn't have some amount of faith in the goodness of people, I'd have become a cynical hermit a long time ago. I'm not against faith, to an extent. But if you let your faith overtake what you know and can logically determine to be true, you're going to be in for a world of heartache.

For example, my mother has recently become addicted to afternoon small claims court shows ("Judge Judy", etc). Many plaintiffs end up there (and in front of less well-known judges across the country) because they allowed their faith in someone to override their good judgement. Alot of people will use the idea of faith in others against you ... for example, if a person hasn't been employed for 5 years and has no source of income, its probably not a good idea to loan them several thousand dollars ... even if you have all the faith in the world in their good intentions.

As far as faith in myself, much of that comes from logic and reason. I've determined that I'm a somewhat intelligent, capable human being ... and there's nothing really standing in my way of accomplishing anything (within *reason*) that I set out to do. I can have faith in myself that I will finish college and find a teaching job; having faith that I will fly if I jump off the roof is a totally different thing.

I'm not saying that faith doesn't have its place in our lives -- to an extent -- but we should never let it override our good judgement. Period.

Answer 4

I don't have a lot of faith in mankind. I don't have a TOTAL absence of faith in mankind, but I wouldn't really trust "mankind" farther than I could throw them. lol.
I have faith in (1) myself, because I have worked hard to make a good life for myself, so I have faith in myself, (2) My family and my friends, because they have proven themselves to me time and time again. I would trust them with my life, and I would trust them with the lives of my children. And that's saying a LOT.
Faith in people is different than faith in a "God". You can see, hear, feel, and interact with people. They're real. My family and my friends and I need each other, and we consistently MEET our expectations of each other. We reach out to each other.
I don't have faith in an invisible being that has not given me any legitimate reason to even believe it exists at all.

Answer 5

I believe in faith. I believe it comes in many forms. IT all depends on what faith you are talking about.

I have faith in myself to succeed in what I am doing and not let myself down.

I have faith in others to not let me down and to do the best they can do.

I have faith in mankind in that I believe all people are inherently good and they will do good.

I have faith in a supreme being who gave us free choice but will still help guide us if we ask and be there when it is needed.

Without a fith in something man can not live. Even athiests believe in something. They may not believe in a God-Form but they at least believe in themselves. Faith is a key element to belief. Without faith in something a man's heart and mind would collepse for not being able to trust, love, need, want, or live. Without faith in him/herself or faith in his/her peers no man can live a healthy life.

Answer 6

I have no problem with faith except when it is used to blindly follow something in which has no proof.

I have faith in myself, in my husband, my family, my friends, my community and humanity. I find it logical to have faith in those I know love me and are there to help me if I am in need. I believe in faith after reasoning.

Answer 7

I believe in faith

faith in God that he will guide me through my life

faith in mankind that we will all worship God in the end

faith in myself that I will know when God is calling me to do something.

faith in my family that they will support me like God would

faith that my faith won't fail me.