faith or an inability to think for yourself?

Answer 1

OK. Everyone is thinking for theirself, now what happens?

Answer 2

Any religious belief is based on "faith". The person has weighted the evidence (that they want to examine) and leaped to conclusion. It may be a conclusion that God exist, or it may be a conclusion that he does not. Both are just as much an "act of faith".

A person who decides to be an atheist is no more "thinking for himself" then a person who decides to become a Christian (or any other religion). They have looked at ideas and theories developed by others over the centuries and simply brought into their ideas. There is nothing original or new in their arguements or believes.

Which brings up the real question, is it possible for a person the "think" without "faith"? The current method of solving problems (called the Scientific Method) involves first making a leap of "faith". You begin with an idea or hypothesis - which is an unproven belief that you want to try to support. You then study the evidence, gather data, look at results. run experiments, etc. until you either prove or disprove the theory. But the whole thing is done on "faith" that the theory is true.

The same holds true of religious beliefs. Those who believe in God have decided that he exist. Their lives are then invested in supporting that theory. For most, the evidence is there. (That is why over 80% of people at any time in history have a theist belief.) The support comes through answered prayer, the scriptures, the teachings of those who have taken the time to learn about God (priest, pastors, etc), and the writings of those over the centuries who have struggled with their own faith and found answers.

Every atheist I have ever meet goes back to the same couple dozen arguements against God. They have been around as far back as recorded history goes. Read Plato and the other ancient philosophers, and you will find them there. They even raised the question of evolution and whether it disproved a Creator God back 800BC+. They have not have a new or original idea in thousands of years.

But then, in the area of faith, God has been revealing himself to humans since he first created them. So all the arguements for his existence have been around "forever". So there are very few areas where a person could come up with a new idea - "think for himself".

About the best we can do is to study the evidence and arguements laid out for the tousands of years before us, and then make a leap of "faith" to our own conclusion of the existence of God. Every theist (and atheist) in the world has done that. That is how they "think on their own".

So "faith" is the act of "thinking for yourself".

Answer 3

The presence of mortals in this world is not by accident but by a divine arrangement. Nobody comes to life by his or her own accord. Only through the power of man made manifest in the conjugal action of both parent.

So faith makes you surrender totally to the power of this higher being. It is not the inability to think for yourself but the realization of the inability to do anything without higher power. Thinking for yourself is based on the openness between you and the higher being.

Answer 4

Let me ask this: what does it prove that you have asked this question? Do you feel witty? Better about yourself? Do you feel accomplished in some way by asking this? Or do you feel like you've got nothing better to do than insult people that you don't understand? Are you reflecting an inability to think for yourself by falling in line with the others who find it entertaining to insult honest people with honest beliefs?

Nobody fully thinks for themselves. It has nothing to do with faith. It is pure sociology. You asked that question because you share a commonality with others who lack faith. An inability to think for oneself is not equivalent to faith. You have no original thoughts. Nobody does. We all learn from our interactions with other people. We "stand on the shoulders of giants." The scientific facts that you believe in - have you done the experiments yourself, or do you rely on the testimony of others who you deem to be authoritative on the subject?

Don't project some kind of "I know it all" attitude and look down on those who do not necessarily hold to your beliefs. Your arrogance comes from ignorance, whether you want to admit it or not.

Answer 5

Faith in what? Faith for what? An inability to think for yourself, regarding what?

You must try to be more specific in your questions, so people can try and answer them logically.

Answer 6

It's a teeter totter, balanced by moderation.

IMO, the first sign of inability to think for oneself is when "faith" becomes based too heavily in terrestrial interpreters of faith, whether they're individual priests and pastors, or the groupthink of a church or organization.

"Faith" should be primarily a relationship between a person and his/her god. While it's fine to seek advice from and compare notes with other people, too much reliance on the interpretation of others detracts from the actual faith and leads to misguided followership.

Extreme examples: the Crusades, 9/11, Jim Jones, David Koresh. I think it's reasonable to assume that MOST people of faith wouldn't easily associate their faith with killing others or killing themselves. However, when they become too devout in following interpretors, suddenly they're ready to do either.

Answer 7

A bit of column A a bit from column Z & a lot inbetween.

A "leap of faith" is not an inability to think.

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Answer 8

I ask the same thing about people who blindly say, "evolution is fact, evolution is fact, no I can't prove it, but are all the schools wrong"

I would say an inability to think for their selves.

Answer 9

True Christianity encourages people to think.

If you do a search you will find in history that many Christian religions burnt Bibles.

Many even today do not use the bible much in sermons.

It is no wonder that there followers are alienated from God.

God invented humans with free will , a thinking brain and he expects us to use it wisely.

Faith in God is important , but with a thinking brain we can learn how to please him in a the way that HE approves of.

Fro more bible based info plz feel free to email me.

Answer 10

Blind faith is the inability to think for yourself.
You can have faith without it being blind.

Answer 11

inability to stop criticizing others for believing in some thing you do not understand