"Faith is believing something you know ain't true." - Mark Twain
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." - Benjamin Franklin
"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." - Thomas Jefferson
"Religions are all alike - founded upon fables and mythologies." - Thomas Jefferson
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government." - Thomas Jefferson
"In no instance have . . . the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people." - James Madison
2007-06-26 14:48:11 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
keri gee: Yea, and thanks for sharing them
2007-06-26 14:59:56 · update #1
As a virtue, faith ranks slightly below chastity.
CD
2007-06-26 14:52:03 · answer #1 · answered by Super Atheist 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Semper Fi
The farce of faith is that few people on earth, including the people you quote, know what faith is. There is certainly no working definition among Q&A users.
I assume you refer to "faith being held in high virtue" to mean blind subscription to the tenets of some religion. If I read you right, I would have to agree. I would agree because faith is not devotion to a set of tenets nor is faith a virtue.
Above is the Marine Corps Motto "Semper Fidelis" Always Faithful. Now faithfulness or fidelity is a virtue; but faith is not. It is this twist away from Christian teaching and back to pagan definitions of virtue that are the root of the constant bickering about faith and belief and logic and reason.
Virtues in many early tribes around the world tended to be divided by sex. For females the virtues were kindness and fidelity; for men freedom and bravery. Kind of hard to think that freedom was once a virtue? And here we are years later with a female virtue as the Marine Corps Motto?
So fidelity, faithfulness have been substituted by religious psychologists for faith. Faith however, according to the founder of the Chrisitian religion is a human ability; an ability which required belief before it could be utilized. The belief was to be based on something concrete. Now belief and faith are defined as two sky hooks.
I think it is a crime because people have not only been sold the idea that faith is a virtue but have been turned away from even considering what faith really is. Of course if they find faith they do not need organized religion.
Now I don't agree with Jefferson that religions are all fables and myth; despite the high level of superstition. I do believe that religions historically show as groups of people that form around the success of a leader; and continue despite the increasing mistakes of his followers.
2007-06-27 00:27:48 · answer #2 · answered by Tommy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Luckily Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson "shut the eye of reason" and fought for the resolution on Independency from Great Britian, to found a nation to gain religious freedom.
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was written in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson. It proclaimed:
"[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."
2007-06-26 22:33:59 · answer #3 · answered by guppy137 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Thus far man hasn't done a very good job of it. The brutality of this world is proof. The fearful events of the coming years will prove this even more so.
"God does not play dice with the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Thou shalt not kill." - God
God bless
2007-06-26 22:00:34 · answer #4 · answered by F'sho 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Faith is the evidence of things not seen, the substance of things hoped for. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Seek the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. He has promised that if you do so, he will come to you and you will find him.
2007-06-26 21:55:21 · answer #5 · answered by moondrop000 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, I don't get why faith would be considered a virtue. It makes no sense at all.
I recommend Sam Harris' "The End of Faith", if you haven't already read it.
2007-06-26 22:02:58 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
A crime? No. There are plenty of quotes from great thinkers that are favorable toward religion.
2007-06-26 21:52:07 · answer #7 · answered by keri gee 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋