EVERYONE -- Does the word "faith" indicate different states of mind when used in various contexts? If so, how?

Question

Does "faith" mean the same thing when one refers to "religious faith" as when one refers to "faith in someone's abilities" or does it mean something different?

Aw look, took a college course and now s/he's an authority on the word "faith". How nice for him/her. I once took a course on human psychology... does that make me an expert on human behavior?

Answer 1

Faith is accepting despite doubts. It doesn't matter the context.

Faith has no reference, no basis, no meaning, no purpose, without doubt.

Faith without doubt is blind faith and I'm not sure that's even humanly possible. Blind faith is another term for fooling yourself.

When you can know something with certainty, then it's not faith to believe it. For instance, you KNOW the sun will rise daily, it doesn't require faith. So, in that sense, the word "faith" can be misapplied and we'll still understand what was meant.

But where actual legitimate usage is concerned, faith is a choice to accept something despite one's doubts.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rational-Debate

Answer 2

I think there are 2 types.

Faith is good. It's basically just trust. I have faith that my car will start because it always starts, but I know that there may come a time that it won't. I have faith that the sun will rise, because it always has, but I know that someday this may not be true.

Then there's Blind Faith. Blind faith is when you really want something to be true, but have no real reasons to support what you want. It's wishful thinking, and it's pretty much what religion is based on.

Answer 3

Religious faith means "belief in god"

Faith in someone's abilities, means to trust in someone's abilities.

Different meanings, different concepts. The way of the English language

Answer 4

What the Atheists have a difficult time doing is removing the BS that they've built up against the word 'faith'. They only understand one meaning: Religious Faith. This is not an open - minded way to think! Look at all the other definitions! So what I attempt to do is expose them to the truth, some have already responded.

The TRUTH is: There is more than one definition to most words. And it is not a smart thing to assume that only one definition is allowable. By allowing their minds to open up a little and accept that the definition of faith is applicable to them as it is to anyone else who functions normally opens up even more things. Things like; you cannot function properly in normal everyday life without faith.

I learned about the of the meanings for the word 'faith' from a Philosophies of Education professor from Stanford University. It's not what people are squealing about! lol

So if they applied themselves SCIENTIFICALLY, they would stop twitching at the word!

EDIT: No r u randy, I use a thing called a dictionary. It's people like you who confuse the issue. Would you at least look it up?

Answer 5

Yes. It's a simple smear against the new administration's legislative agenda. Because Obama wants to have more government regulation in his agenda, conservatives attack him stating that he is a "socialist" when in reality, our current government is nothing like socialism at all. In socialism, everyone is declared equal to one another and are STRICTLY regulated by a small amount of elected officials. The government is breathing down your neck at all time and there is no free market for people to participate in.

Answer 6

Yes, religious faith is different. It basically means belief in the absence of evidence, or even in the face of evidence to the contrary. People sometimes say that about their spouses, but almost always when we have faith in someone else, or as in your example, someone's abilities, it is because we have ample evidence.

Belief in the face of evidence to the contrary is generally called delusion. Psychiatrists treat it.

Answer 7

The religionists have so thoroughly stretched and skewed the meaning of the word "faith" that it is beginning to become an unreliable and useless word. Over the years it has come to mean a variety of things, form trust to belief to the embodied reality of what one believes, that it is often mistranslated and misunderstood.

It's no wonder the god-believers are confused. They're being pelted daily by the language usage of propagandists. The more confused people are the more the religionist and his god are needed to sort things out, (....with more of the same falsehoods and confusion which are the root of the problem in the first place.)

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb62/Randall_Fleck/Monkey_signs_GIF.gif

[][][] r u randy? [][][]
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Answer 8

Of course it means something different. If you look up 'faith' in a dictionary you'll probably find at least half a dozen different definitions.

Answer 9

Faith does have bias you believe because you choose to. Faith is a acceptance with out certainty.

Answer 10

Yea. I guess it would. Like, "God I have faith this drug deal is going to go off without a hitch." Different from, "God, I hope this blood test doesn't show Cancer." Two different faith stances. Two different ends of the spectrum. Faith is used however we want to tweak it. Good or bad. It is our choice.