Is faith just metaphorically closing your eyes and hoping?

Question

i believe we cannot know, their might be a god but we can only hope, some of us turn hope into faith but i cant do that. so all i can do is live my life and see what happens, i don't have a choice in the matter.

Answer 1

I think that your position is quite sound. You may enjoy reading:

Answer 2

Not hoping, but desperately wanting. Christians are so afraid, so dependent, so confused that they'll do anything to escape from this terrible reality ending in death. And what could be easier than simply embracing the stories they heard growing up and which their parents also find comfort in? It's a no brainier and that's the point.

Only a truly brave individual could ignore mysticism and embrace reason, leaving their family and security behind in favor of growing up.

Answer 3

To me faith is being open-minded and open-hearted ... and finding thereby ultimately that God can be experienced at a level more original than cognitive ideas or beliefs.

Contrary to many modern assumptions that faith is by necessity a "blind leap" kind of thing, contemplatives through the centuries have understood it to be a very practical, empirical matter.

Faith in that sense is a radical kind of honesty.
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Answer 4

The Catholic Church Teaches us in our Doctrine how to have faith, how to express faith and how to live that faith out in a way that is acceptable to God. The following three teachings are from the Catechism and discuss Faith:

The primitive community of Jerusalem, the disciples "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers."

Communion in the faith: The faith of the faithful is the faith of the Church, received from the apostles. Faith is a treasure of life which is enriched by being shared.

[Faith] In the one family of God: "For if we continue to love one another and to join in praising the Most Holy Trinity—all of us who are sons of God and form one family in Christ—we will be faithful to the deepest vocation of the Church."

But in order to have Faith we must study the Teachings about God and gain knowledge and understanding of His Way, His Truth and His Life in us. The section URL shown below is a beginning of the teaching on the Trinity.

You have a choice about how you live and about coming to Church to learn from priests and faithful teachers about God. You will get strength from studying and praying with faithful people. If you want to hear good teachers tune into EWTN internet television at www.ewtn.com. But you have to start at the beginning to gain the integrity of the understanding you need. I will pray for you. Jesus+ says knock and you will find, seek and the way will be opened up to you.

Answer 5

I think that's about the gist of it...;-)

Those who cleave to a belief in some kind of 'supreme being' do so not because they have, or need, to prove anything; that's why they call it 'Faith'...

It seems to me that if the rationality of one's mind does not allow one to suspend their disbelief enough to have 'faith' in something that cannot be proven to exist then, by this logic, one cannot receive 'benefits' from something that has not been proven, nor is given the 'belief', - to exist; you can't get something from nothing, - and you can't get something from something you believe in if that something is, in fact, nothing...:-))

In fact, having 'faith' (in the religious sense) in the existence of any god or gods would be pointless if, indeed, it were to be proven that any gods actually did exist,

By the way, I'm agnostic...

Answer 6

Faith is NOT belief without proof. That is not faith, that is superstition. You sat in a chair to type your question on a computer. Did you question whether or not that chair would hold you up? No, you never gave it a second thought because "faith" has to do with "trust". In other words, you had faith in the designers of the chair, the materials used to construct it, and the history that it has never broken when you placed your full weight upon it. Faith in God is based on those principles as well.

Yes, we have proof of God. It was provided by God Himself.
http://schnebin.blogspot.com/2007/04/proof-of-god.html

Faith is choosing to believe the evidence as given and not trying to rationalize it away to suit your own position. Hebrews notes the following regarding faith...

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for."
OK, materialists, what is a substance? It is something you can physically hold--it is a reality. The word "hope" is not "I hope my car won't run out of gas." but rather, in the Greek, it means, "I'm running out of gas, but there is a gas station--I now have hope." So faith is the reality of that which gives salvation.

"The evidence of things not seen."
Do you believe in atoms? Have you seen atoms? Why do you believe there are atoms? Because you have evidence. Evidence of things not seen. That doesn't make you a moron. That makes you a chemist and a physicist.

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Answer 7

Schneb's answer is good. I agree with him.

Faith to me is NOT "just hoping."
I believe through my faith in God. I trust Him to take care of me.....I do my part, He does His.

Answer 8

I chose to look and find the truth.
It is there. I have been working on something which I hope will unite us all.

Answer 9

no. He said come let us reason together. it is weighing all of the evidence and making a reasonable choice based on the evidence.

Answer 10

Yes! The difference between knowledge and belief is the difference between what one knows is true and what one hopes is true.