What do Christians mean when they say the word "BELIEVE"?

Question

It seems to be used so abstractly by you and I never know exactly what definition you are using. I know what "believe" means when I use it, but sometimes when Christians use it, I feel like maybe you're using different definitions in different situations.

Is "believe" synonymous with "slap a Christian label on yourself"? Just being part of the club?
It seems like "believe" is used to describe what someone does when they simply belong to a particular religion, like a membership to a club.

Answer 1

believe -To accept as true or real:
believe -To credit with veracity:
believe -To have firm faith, especially religious faith.

Answer 2

Some use "believe" as if they're betting on the existence of something that is not yet knowable with confidence. That's all fine and dandy, but some people use "believe" as if they have it stuck in their heads that something is 100% fact when in reality, it cannot be proven, yet they teach it to others as a fact. This is called pushing one's beliefs onto another.

Believe in definition is having confidence in the truth, existence, or reliability of something while not having absolute proof that it is right.

Knowing and believing are two different things. I think that's where you think it as abstract as people unknowingly misuse these two words.

Answer 3

believe isnt the word that bothers me, to believe in something is personal, you as a person think that something is. I believe that the sky is purple, to me, in my mind, the sky is purple. To christians, they Believe god is real, to them, he is.

What bothers me is that they say that he is Truth.

truth by Definition
1. the true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth.
2. conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement.
3. a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like: mathematical truths.
4. the state or character of being true.
5. actuality or actual existence.
6. an obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude.
7. honesty; integrity; truthfulness.
8. (often initial capital letter) ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience: the basic truths of life.
9. agreement with a standard or original.
10. accuracy, as of position or adjustment.
11. Archaic. fidelity or constancy.
—Idiom12. in truth, in reality; in fact; actually: In truth, moral decay hastened the decline of the Roman Empire.

and well...the Christian god doesnt fall into any of those categories. It is the Truth to them because they once again, believe its the truth, but by definition, it cant be the truth. So all christians are wrong. Yay!

Answer 4

A perfect example of Christian disbelief in the holy scriptures is all the diseases that many of the Christians suffer from.

The Scriptures show that diseases are little bugs
(that science calls microorganisms) that are taken
into the body by sin. Simply put, sin is disobedience
to the Laws of Yahweh that would guide one away
from acquiring a bug that brings sickness or disease
into one’s body. These little bugs, acquired from
sin, can cause infection to begin in any organ of the
body, from the time the sin was first committed,
until much later in life. Different sins bring different
bugs into the body. The more sins committed, the
more deadly the organisms that are acquired,
mutated, and multiplied.

If they truly believed, they would be keeping the Laws like the example that the Savior Yahshua gave to them.

Yet they fall for Satan's deception.

you shall not surely die............

Answer 5

Your question is difficult, because "Christians" are not a homogeneous group, but have diverse perspectives not only on what it means to be Christian, but also on the precise meanings of the words we use. A quick scan revealed nine Hebrew and Greek words and roots that are translated "believe" in the King James Bible.

I suggest that for many Christians, "I believe" may be understood to mean "I know, despite having no empirical proof."

Answer 6

Belief is a psychological assent to the truth of a proposition.
Knowledge is belief that is at once justified and true.
Justification is the evidence and /or arguments to which the believer appeals in support of their claim to know.
Truth is the correspondence between a proposition and a fact.
Fact is information that is presented as objectively real.

I thought I'd share some additional info.

May your lights be green and your lines be short.

Answer 7

It is good to clarify this, because as a "believer," I suppose I use that term different ways. It is probably confusing for most people too.

Believing sometimes sounds like something that is easy to do, but I know that all believers can be unbelieving at times. For example, we may say that we believe that God watches over us and supplies all our needs ... and truly we do believe that, but we are not fully believing unless, we getting evicted and unemployed can happen without breaking a sweat over it. It is as though we believe, or say that we do, once we establish a conviction, but just as soon as we have it settled in our minds, our believing is put to the test ... and we demonstrate that we seldom have full conviction of our professed beliefs.

Look at it this way ... we believe, and also we walk in our beliefs and both are needed. Just like it is nice to be married, it is still needed everyday to experience and walk in that marriage ... as an ongoing experience of it.

I guess it is a complicated topic ... but I "believe" that you will find the answer if you continue to seek and ponder it.

Answer 8

True faith in something is a lot like watching a "Star Wars" movie. You know most of the stuff going on is patently impossible, and violates all rules of physics and logic, but what the heck, it's a lot of fun. Religion is a lot like that: You know, intellectually, it's ridiculous and impossible, but you suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy it. Mark Twain said it best (and I'm paraphrasing): "Faith is believing in something you know just ain't so."

Answer 9

Listen - it is a supernatural thing - the human mind cannot really comprehend it. I think that is what you mean.

When you make a choice to believe in Jesus Christ and His Holy Word - the Bible - you are allowing someone to take control of you - the Holy Spirit.

This can be hard - because the Christian is still human too - so you will be still sin. But the Holy Spirit will reside in you and you will be a changed person - for the better - you will have an abundant life on this earth and in Heaven when you die. I pray you find the Truth - Jesus Christ - and trust in Him and Him alone to save you. Blessings dear one.

Answer 10

In the Christian sense, the word Believe means to have absolute faith in.

Here is an example: If you look at a chair and say I believe that it will hold me up, and you don't sit in the chair; you haven't shown the belief of a person who actually sits in the chair. You may believe that it will support you, but you do not have the faith that it really will. Therefore it is not true belief.

When a Christian says they believe in Jesus, it means that they have given their life over to Jesus to have complete control over everything they do. We not only believe that Jesus can do it better than we have been able to, but we exercise that believe by surrendering to him to run our lives.

grace2u

Answer 11

Religions are very good at using words to mean things other than what is commonly understood.

For quite a while it was popular to say: God is fantastic, God is unbelievable, god is incredible... I agree..!

"Believe" is now in the same deep water. It's being used as a word meaning faith in god and it's being interpreted as infallible truth rather than a word that means "acceptance in spite of flaws and in the absence of evidence."

Belief is a lie of a different color.

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