Very interesting question that needs your knowledge and ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

Question

Some people say that religious beliefs can be neither justified nor refuted by reason. However, while sometimes this claim is used as a reason for rejecting religious beliefs, at other times it is used to conclude that these beliefs are established by faith. To what extent is faith a legitimate basis for knowledge claims, in religion and different Areas of Knowledge?

Answer 1

I think you need to rethink your question.
There have been many reasonable scholars and philosophers that use religious beliefs as the basis for their reason.
I don't think anyone claims faith as a basis for knowledge.
Faith is not tangible. You believe or you don't.
The more scientist discover, our basis for knowledge, the more they believe that all the circumstances that would have to come together to randomly create this world and us would be to the point of improbable.
So how is faith at odds with reason?

Answer 2

Faith, like most words, has many definitions. You get the definition to use by the context. Faith is based on evidence. Sometimes we continue on a course, when we don't see immediate results or confirmation, suspecting from the evidence that we will get results. If we don't eventually see some confirmation, we lose faith and often rightly so. Just because some people have twisted scriptures or any other knowledge doesn't change the facts. We are clearly told, by the ancients, to "test inspired sayings", "try all things, hold fast to what is good (or fine)", to "reason", to get knowlege and understanding, to get wisdom, to "try Me", and to Paul, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable." In fact Chist advocated unbiased judgment and actually doing what he said leads to the absolute application of the scienitfic method far beyond what lesser scientists follow, because they start out with biased premises and rule out so much from the start, that there is hardly anything left from which to judge. Contrary to popular belief, the true and effective scientists, as a rule, don't rule out much, if anything. Narrow minded people, whether they call themselves 'religious' or 'scientific', are usually neither. I think most people know that. Quantum Physics is getting some interesting results that may imply that even 'miracles' follow laws, although we haven't found all of them yet. So I don't see faith as a basis for knowledge claims unless the claimer has evidence.

Answer 3

The meaning of faith is one's BELIEFS about how reality works - not facts, not the truth and certainly NOT knowledge. Beliefs cannot be established BY faith, they are synonymous. Beliefs are software programming and control perception and actions though most are imprinted at the subconscious. Religious beliefs are almost universally nonsense, psychological truth watered down over the centuries into drivel and an excuse for defensiveness and war.

We are socialized to accept that "faith" is a good thing, when it is extraordinarily dangerous as a replacement for knowledge, reason and spiritual (psychological) discernment.

Answer 4

Well...

If you was told by a friend that he/she was taking a trip somewhere in a month and didn't have the plane tickets yet, but would have them a week before the trip was to take place.

This friend told you the details, including the date, how long the trip would be, where, ect. Than your friend told you they wanted you to get the time off work so you can go and start making the plans, packing, ect. Than this friend told you they would pay for all the expenses and give you $500 spending money.

Would you believe your friend or wait until the last minute to see the proof and by then it would be too late to get the time off work and go?

Faith is sorta that way... You can't see it with your eyes, you can't touch it with your hands. Yet you believe it just the same.

Answer 5

Here are a few gems of supernal wisdom to peruse. Email me for more. These are non-copyright, fully in the public domain, and they may be shared.

Page-1115 Faith does not shackle the creative imagination, neither does it maintain an unreasoning prejudice toward the discoveries of scientific investigation. Faith vitalizes religion and constrains the religionist heroically to live the golden rule. The zeal of faith is according to knowledge, and its strivings are the preludes to sublime peace.

Page-1119 The reason of science is based on the observable facts of time; the faith of religion argues from the spirit program of eternity. What knowledge and reason cannot do for us, true wisdom admonishes us to allow faith to accomplish through religious insight and spiritual transformation.

Page-1124 Convictions about God may be arrived at through wise reasoning, but the individual becomes God-knowing only by faith, through personal experience. In much that pertains to life, probability must be reckoned with, but when contacting with cosmic reality, certainty may be experienced when such meanings and values are approached by living faith. The God-knowing soul dares to say, "I know," even when this knowledge of God is questioned by the unbeliever who denies such certitude because it is not wholly supported by intellectual logic. To every such doubter the believer only replies, "How do you know that I do not know?"

Page-1142 When reason once recognizes right and wrong, it exhibits wisdom; when wisdom chooses between right and wrong, truth and error, it demonstrates spirit leading. And thus are the functions of mind, soul, and spirit ever closely united and functionally interassociated. Reason deals with factual knowledge; wisdom, with philosophy and revelation; faith, with living spiritual experience. Through truth man attains beauty and by spiritual love ascends to goodness.

Peace and progress,
Brother Dave, a Jesusonian Christian Truthist
http://www.PureChristians.org/ Gospel enlarging website,
proclaiming worldwide the True Religion
OF JESUS and ABOUT JESUS and IN JESUS
Come and share !

Answer 6

I want to say some physics related theories were faith based but then again they may be more of a logical deduction thing. I have logically deduced that God must exist, this is faith but it is also science. Religion, however, is not synonymous with God.

Answer 7

I think the legitimacy of faith is backed up by behavior....
if you see a postive change in someone's life because of what they believe...then this speaks to the value of what they belief and the power it has to change them

Answer 8

A*star* to NBM's answer! Oh, the wars that 'belief systems' have caused. It may not matter in the "big picture"... who knows?
The unnecessary suffering our ignorance 'seems' to create is part of the movement, part of the good vs.evil scenario.

Ah...it has always been thus.

Answer 9

it is no longer 'faith' when you subject it as legitimate basis for knowledge. 'faith' manifests differently from logic.