Why do people believe in things they cannot see?

Question

Faith without Proof = Delusion.

Answer 1

Yeah, that's crazy.

I've never seen the super-giant star Antares, so I guess it's a delusion to believe in it?

What you probably mean -- and I'm guessing -- is that people should believe in thing for which they have no proof.

I believe in God because I have had proof of His existence in my life ever since I was a little dude. If God had made Himself as plain to everybody as He did/does to me, there is not way there could ever be anything but believers in the world.

My proof, however, isn't empirical. It's inner. It's a knowledge I have that is different from other kinds of knowledge, like 2 + 2 is 4.

Answer 2

I think you are confused as to the nature of faith.
Belief without proof = faith.

Bear in mind that what you probably consider proof (i.e the evidence for physics) is evidence, not proof, and often is overturned later when more evidence is collected. Newtonian Physics was accepted as truth, proved beyond a doubt, then evidence showed it was wrong, and Einstein came up with a couple new theories that explained the new evidence. We now know that the General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Physics - 2 carefully tested and verified theories - contradict each other, so at least one of them is false. All math is based on "axioms" - irreducable truths that we take on faith. Why? Because we must start with something, some set of rules, that we can then apply logic and reasoning to. Exactly which axioms you accpet determines what you can prove, and we mostly choose the sets of axioms that yield the most useful results that correspond well with reality.
Check out Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, where he showed that no finite set of axioms can answer every question about numbers that is true. There will always be true statements about numbers that can't be proved by a given finite set of axioms. And good luck trying to work with an infinite set of axioms.

By it's nature, the scientific method can only deal with reproducible events, so much of what occurs in reality may NEVER be understood by science. Miracles really do occur all the time, and nobody can be sure why. Miracles can't be reproduced, so the scientific method can't easily be applied; at best perhaps it can nibble around the margins by (for example) looking for correlations between miraculous cures and behavior such as prayer, but the un-reproducable nature of miracles means they will never be easy to study.

Trying to live your life only believing in things that can be proved seems like at best a delusional project. In the end you'll end up substituting consensus from experts as the nearest thing you can get to proof, and now it's just a matter of choosing between scientific experts, who aren't interested in telling you how to live your life for the most part, or ethical or religious experts, who at least have thought about the implications in terms of how you might actually want to live your life and make your decisions.

Good question, though. Working through the consequences and implications of this question led me back to the Catholic Church, a result that astonished me, since I had decided to place my faith in logic and reason when I was a teen.

Answer 3

Grace & Peace to you from God & Son Unlimited.

Who has seen the wind? The law is not of faith!
Whatsoever is not of faith is sin: Rom 14:23; And
sin, when it is finished, brings forth death: Jam 1:15.
So start your faith-->hope-->charity never fails with grace,
unless you want hope to be hopeless, instead of hopeful.

You want proof "law worketh wrath",
just say "Peace and Safety" in law,
then "watch"(Mk 13:37) what happens.
It's forewarned in 1Thessalonians 5:3.
It's the "no escape" sort of "destruction",
and it comes "sudden", upon they sayers.
Problem is, they don't even see it coming.
So I would not recommend anyone say such.

I had a lawyer friend who said such.
He dropped dead at Home Depot.
He didn't make it past the check out.
Coroner said law attacked his heart.
All he was doing was buying flowers,
for wife plant, as she did every spring.
So it must have something he said,
according to Job 15:6 & Mt 15:11.

I had a doctor who told me I'd die,
if I did not obey his doctrinal laws.
I said doc, I put away childish laws;
and I'd watch what I say if I were you,
for it's not grace us to condemn ppl: Jn 3:17.
He died suddenly, from what he said I'd die of.
Funny thing is, he was as healthy as could be.
So, it must have been something the fool said.

I could go on and on about how it's the "evidence"
makes it "evident" that no man's justified by the law.

But if any man be ignorant, I let him be ignorant; And if
any man or angel tries to law me, I let him be accursed.
For it won't change the end that's notably already written,
but it will make what's evident even much more "evident":
that no man(adult) is justified by the law in the sight of God.
Why? The law is childish bondage, for children & servants.

His Grace --> Mercy ---> Peace with you all. Amen.

Answer 4

Everyone believes in something they cannot see. Some believe in destiny, aliens, God, etc. Why does man try to find answers for everything that happens. Science has tried so hard to prove that there is no God and they have failed. The smartest man on Earth stated that there has to be a God because the entire Universe could not have been just an accident. If science can't prove that there is no God then why not believe in him. Science has not proven that there are aliens or artificial life in the other worlds but people still believe. Why are they allowed to believe without being questioned and we seem to be harassed for believing in God?

Answer 5

We believe things we cannot see, because we have more than one sense (sight) with which to gather evidence. We can also gain evidence through hearing, touch, taste, smell and perception. We have six senses.

The Sixth: We perceive with our "hearts" and minds. This is the "evidence of things unseen".

Faith is not without proof. Evidence for faith comes through ALL six senses. It is possible for the sixth sense to be trained and strengthened, just like every other human sense.

That's what spirituality, religion, morality and faith do.

Answer 6

Sir inference based knowledge is without direct proof. If I can see smoke in the air, I can say that there will be fire.

Many things are based upon assumptions too. If we start looking for proof in every aspect of life then our life will be miserable. We need to rely upon the repository of knowledge by scientist and seers.

Have a non-critical, unbiased and inventive mind of a scientist. Prior to an invention, a scientist doesn’t have any logic to prove his work, but even then he is fully dedicated and committed to his work, which eventually makes him successful.

Answer 7

If you one day saw what you believe, then you would have no reason to have faith in it's existence. You would then KNOW that it exists.

There's a fine line between believing and seeing. It takes more to have faith in something you can't see than to have faith in the existence of something right in front of you.

"Blessed is the one who has faith in what he cannot see." -the Holy Bible

Answer 8

The truth is with in us. We as human were born whole and complete, lacking in no way. If you like to read you should check out a book by Eckhart Tolle called the power of now. A very interesting and informative book that may answer many more questions then the one you just asked.

Answer 9

You believe and put faith in things which you cannot see everyday, yet you don't have enough faith or common sense to see God in life all around you. How sad!

Answer 10

Yeah - good question. I kinda wonder if you can show me a test tube full of your intelligence. If you can't see it, according to you ...

(Faith without Proof = Delusion). Good point you make here.