Atheists have faith.

[TransmutingSoul]

This OP was inspired by a response in another post.

What is it to have Faith?

I see that many that do not have a belief in God or a Religion, still have Faith. I see that many actions are based on morals that transcend this mortal world and are thus undertaken in Faith.

It could be seen that it is naught but a faith to take a stance that there is no God.

Could that be a coping mechanism, that those that choose this path will not be held accountable for their decisions, that they think they are free of the weight of this world, that they will live how they want to, die and that's it?

Does this free a person from considering that there may be deeper moral or ethical responsibilities, when all we have to use as boundaries, are the materialistic trends?

Personally I have faith and I am thankful that I will be accountable for the decisions I make and the weight of the world can be fully experienced and appreciated.

"All humanity must obtain a livelihood by sweat of the brow and bodily exertion, at the same time seeking to lift the burden of others, striving to be the source of comfort to souls and facilitating the means of living. This in itself is devotion to God. Bahá’u’lláh has thereby encouraged action and stimulated service."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 182

" Every person must have an occupation, a trade or a craft, so that he may carry other people's burdens, and not himself be a burden to others."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 3

Faith is a service to all we cross paths with, without faith, one can deprive themselves from such service. With Faith our heart longs to be of this service.

So I see an Athiest can have Faith when they too transcend their own desires and serve others in preference of self.

So that is the debate, but is it really a debate?

Do you give of yourself to others?

As this action is a fundamental Faith based moral decision, do you have faith that action leads to better outcomes?

Regards Tony

P/S Edited as the purpose is to explore our actions against faith, it is not to bash an atheist. Sorry it was not well worded.

 

[Nakosis]

This OP was inspired by a response in another post.

What is it to have Faith?

I see that many that do not have a belief in God or a Religion, still have Faith. I see that many actions are based on morals that transcend this mortal world and are thus undertaken in Faith.

I also see that it is naught but a faith to take a stance that there is no God. I see it is somewhat a coping mechanism, that those that choose this path will not be held accountable for their decisions, that they think they are free of the weight of this world, that they will live how they want to, die and that's it. It appears that It frees them from considering that there may be deeper moral or ethical responsibilities, when all we have to use as boundaries, are the materialistic trends.

I have faith and I am thankful that I will be accountable for the decisions I make and the weight of the world can be fully experienced and appreciated.

"All humanity must obtain a livelihood by sweat of the brow and bodily exertion, at the same time seeking to lift the burden of others, striving to be the source of comfort to souls and facilitating the means of living. This in itself is devotion to God. Bahá’u’lláh has thereby encouraged action and stimulated service."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 182

" Every person must have an occupation, a trade or a craft, so that he may carry other people's burdens, and not himself be a burden to others."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 3

Faith is a service to all we cross paths with, without faith, one can deprive themselves from such service. With Faith our heart longs to be of this service.

So I see an Athiest can have Faith when they too transcend their own desires and serve others in preference of self.

So that is the debate, but is it really a debate?

Do you give of yourself to others?

As this action is a fundamental Faith based moral decision, do you have faith that action leads to better outcomes?

Regards Tony

You say what it is to have faith but how do you define faith.
Whether I agree with you depends on how you define it.

 

[John53]

You're just twisting the definition of faith and/or don't understand what an atheist is.

 

[The Hammer]

faith

/fāTH/
noun
1.
complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

 

[Trailblazer]

This OP was inspired by a response in another post.

What is it to have Faith?

I see that many that do not have a belief in God or a Religion, still have Faith. I see that many actions are based on morals that transcend this mortal world and are thus undertaken in Faith.

I also see that it is naught but a faith to take a stance that there is no God. I see it is somewhat a coping mechanism, that those that choose this path will not be held accountable for their decisions, that they think they are free of the weight of this world, that they will live how they want to, die and that's it. It appears that It frees them from considering that there may be deeper moral or ethical responsibilities, when all we have to use as boundaries, are the materialistic trends.

I have faith and I am thankful that I will be accountable for the decisions I make and the weight of the world can be fully experienced and appreciated.

"All humanity must obtain a livelihood by sweat of the brow and bodily exertion, at the same time seeking to lift the burden of others, striving to be the source of comfort to souls and facilitating the means of living. This in itself is devotion to God. Bahá’u’lláh has thereby encouraged action and stimulated service."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 182

" Every person must have an occupation, a trade or a craft, so that he may carry other people's burdens, and not himself be a burden to others."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 3

Faith is a service to all we cross paths with, without faith, one can deprive themselves from such service. With Faith our heart longs to be of this service.

So I see an Athiest can have Faith when they too transcend their own desires and serve others in preference of self.

So that is the debate, but is it really a debate?

Do you give of yourself to others?

As this action is a fundamental Faith based moral decision, do you have faith that action leads to better outcomes?

Regards Tony

From my vast experience posting to atheists day and night for about nine years, in my opinion atheists have faith in themselves in that they are self-reliant. I used to be that way even as a believer but I finally learned that I cannot FULLY rely upon myself, sometimes I need God to bail me out of the mess I am in....I now rely upon that most of the time. I try to take the necessary steps in order to make that possible, but sometimes I am unable to do so and I have found that God will often assist me in doing what I need to do.... Can I ever prove that? Hell no!

 

[John53]

faith

/fāTH/
noun
1.
complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

1a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty lost faith in the company's president
b(1) : fidelity to one's promises
(2) : sincerity of intentions acted in good faith
2a(1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God
(2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b(1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof clinging to the faith that her missing son would one day return
(2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction especially : a system of religious beliefs

 

[Unveiled Artist]

You say what it is to have faith but how do you define faith.
Whether I agree with you depends on how you define it.

We don't have faith "in" anything we don't believe exists.

Just as I don't have faith to believe I can fly because I know gravity prevents me from doing so.

Likewise, I don't have faith to believe in a deity because the reality I understand it doesn't involve beings/deities/entities that has a hand in creating the universe. I see the opposite.

 

[Subduction Zone]

This OP was inspired by a response in another post.

What is it to have Faith?

I see that many that do not have a belief in God or a Religion, still have Faith. I see that many actions are based on morals that transcend this mortal world and are thus undertaken in Faith.

I also see that it is naught but a faith to take a stance that there is no God. I see it is somewhat a coping mechanism, that those that choose this path will not be held accountable for their decisions, that they think they are free of the weight of this world, that they will live how they want to, die and that's it. It appears that It frees them from considering that there may be deeper moral or ethical responsibilities, when all we have to use as boundaries, are the materialistic trends.

I have faith and I am thankful that I will be accountable for the decisions I make and the weight of the world can be fully experienced and appreciated.

"All humanity must obtain a livelihood by sweat of the brow and bodily exertion, at the same time seeking to lift the burden of others, striving to be the source of comfort to souls and facilitating the means of living. This in itself is devotion to God. Bahá’u’lláh has thereby encouraged action and stimulated service."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 182

" Every person must have an occupation, a trade or a craft, so that he may carry other people's burdens, and not himself be a burden to others."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 3

Faith is a service to all we cross paths with, without faith, one can deprive themselves from such service. With Faith our heart longs to be of this service.

So I see an Athiest can have Faith when they too transcend their own desires and serve others in preference of self.

So that is the debate, but is it really a debate?

Do you give of yourself to others?

As this action is a fundamental Faith based moral decision, do you have faith that action leads to better outcomes?

Regards Tony

As other have pointed out you need to define what you mean by "faith". Some Christians try to claim that faith is evidence, but of course they can never support that claim. There sort of faith appears to be an excuse more than anything else.

By the way, if you try to claim that faith is evidence for your beliefs you will probably fail as badly as Christians have done when they made that claim.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

You say what it is to have faith but how do you define faith.
Whether I agree with you depends on how you define it.

I have not really defined faith fully, I never have really considered it in the past.

Maybe Faith is an action that is greater than self, that is more than a need of this material world.

Regards Tony

 

[TransmutingSoul]

You're just twisting the definition of faith and/or don't understand what an atheist is.

I have no definition of Faith, so how can I twist something I have not defined?

How many things do we do that have a level of faith attached?

Regards Tony

 

[TransmutingSoul]

faith

/fāTH/
noun
1.
complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

Well faith is a part of life after all.

Then we can ask, what is complete trust?

Regards Tony

 

[John53]

I have no definition of Faith, so how can I twist something I have not defined?

How many things do we do that have a level of faith attached?

Regards Tony

It's kind of pointless if you have no definition of faith, we may as well speak in different languages.

Depends how you define faith. I have faith my car will start later today when I walk into the garage but there has been the odd occasion when my car hasn't started. Is that what you mean?

 

[TransmutingSoul]

We don't have faith "in" anything we don't believe exists.

Just as I don't have faith to believe I can fly because I know gravity prevents me from doing so.

Likewise, I don't have faith to believe in a deity because the reality I understand it doesn't involve beings/deities/entities that has a hand in creating the universe. I see the opposite.

So do you see we all have the ability of Faith, that all we need to know is if it exists?

So we fly because we see a aircraft exists, we have faith it will fly?

Regards Tony

 

[TransmutingSoul]

It's kind of pointless if you have no definition of faith, we may as well speak in different languages.

Depends how you define faith. I have faith my car will start later today when I walk into the garage but there has been the odd occasion when my car hasn't started. Is that what you mean?

Go deeper, why do you help others in their time of need?

Regards Tony

 

[TransmutingSoul]

As other have pointed out you need to define what you mean by "faith". Some Christians try to claim that faith is evidence, but of course they can never support that claim. There sort of faith appears to be an excuse more than anything else.

By the way, if you try to claim that faith is evidence for your beliefs you will probably fail as badly as Christians have done when they made that claim.

I base my Faith on the Person's, the Lives and the Messages of all the Messengers.

I have Faith they were as claimed.

Regards Tony

 

[ChristineM]

This OP was inspired by a response in another post.

What is it to have Faith?

I see that many that do not have a belief in God or a Religion, still have Faith. I see that many actions are based on morals that transcend this mortal world and are thus undertaken in Faith.

I also see that it is naught but a faith to take a stance that there is no God. I see it is somewhat a coping mechanism, that those that choose this path will not be held accountable for their decisions, that they think they are free of the weight of this world, that they will live how they want to, die and that's it. It appears that It frees them from considering that there may be deeper moral or ethical responsibilities, when all we have to use as boundaries, are the materialistic trends.

I have faith and I am thankful that I will be accountable for the decisions I make and the weight of the world can be fully experienced and appreciated.

"All humanity must obtain a livelihood by sweat of the brow and bodily exertion, at the same time seeking to lift the burden of others, striving to be the source of comfort to souls and facilitating the means of living. This in itself is devotion to God. Bahá’u’lláh has thereby encouraged action and stimulated service."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 182

" Every person must have an occupation, a trade or a craft, so that he may carry other people's burdens, and not himself be a burden to others."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 3

Faith is a service to all we cross paths with, without faith, one can deprive themselves from such service. With Faith our heart longs to be of this service.

So I see an Athiest can have Faith when they too transcend their own desires and serve others in preference of self.

So that is the debate, but is it really a debate?

Do you give of yourself to others?

As this action is a fundamental Faith based moral decision, do you have faith that action leads to better outcomes?

Regards Tony

Atheist : a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

I am an atheist and have faith that i will live to see my children fledge the nest.

I have faith that my husband loves me.

I have faith i all sorts of things. I simply do not have faith in god or gods. Oh and by the way. Im a human being too

 

[John53]

Go deeper, why do you help others in their time of need?

Regards Tony

It feels good, it's the right thing to do, maybe if I show someone kindness they might return it. It's probably an instinct we've evolved, we're herd animals and doing something that aids my tribe is good for survival.

 

[Heyo]

I have no definition of Faith, so how can I twist something I have not defined?

By equivocation. If you don't have a consistent definition you run into the possibility that you use different definitions on different occasions.
My "faith" that the earth will keep on turning so that I see the sun tomorrow in the east is based on 21686 instances of that being so with no counter example.
That is completely different to, say, someone having faith that the constellation of stars will predict events in politics.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

This OP was inspired by a response in another post.
What is it to have Faith?




I see that many that do not have a belief in God or a Religion, still have Faith. I see that many actions are based on morals that transcend this mortal world and are thus undertaken in Faith.
I also see that it is naught but a faith to take a stance that there is no God. I see it is somewhat a coping mechanism, that those that choose this path will not be held accountable for their decisions, that they think they are free of the weight of this world, that they will live how they want to, die and that's it. It appears that It frees them from considering that there may be deeper moral or ethical responsibilities, when all we have to use as boundaries, are the materialistic trends.
I have faith and I am thankful that I will be accountable for the decisions I make and the weight of the world can be fully experienced and appreciated.

"All humanity must obtain a livelihood by sweat of the brow and bodily exertion, at the same time seeking to lift the burden of others, striving to be the source of comfort to souls and facilitating the means of living. This in itself is devotion to God. Bahá’u’lláh has thereby encouraged action and stimulated service."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 182

" Every person must have an occupation, a trade or a craft, so that he may carry other people's burdens, and not himself be a burden to others."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 3

Faith is a service to all we cross paths with, without faith, one can deprive themselves from such service. With Faith our heart longs to be of this service.

So I see an Athiest can have Faith when they too transcend their own desires and serve others in preference of self.

So that is the debate, but is it really a debate?

Do you give of yourself to others?

As this action is a fundamental Faith based moral decision, do you have faith that action leads to better outcomes?

Regards Tony

Seems as if an atheist has faith that there is No God.
Since it can Not be proven there is No God then it is the exercise of 'faith' in the non-existence of God.

Does make one wonder since we don't see anyone trying to convince or fight over the existence of Santa Claus because everyone knows Santa does Not exist, then why do atheists try to convince others over something that 'they' know is Not real ?

 

[Nakosis]

I have not really defined faith fully, I never have really considered it in the past.

Maybe Faith is an action that is greater than self, that is more than a need of this material world.

Regards Tony

Greater than self? So you want to live up to an ideal?

Faith seems to be absolute trust maybe? Absolute trust in God?

I don't really have absolute trust is anything. I have a degree of trust based on past success.

I no longer have an idea of something greater than myself. I've come to accept that I am what I am without trying to judge what I ought to be.

I trust that I will overcome the obstacles I face in life but know there is no guarantee. Perhaps faith makes you feel like you have a guarantee?
I'm ok without the guarantee or at least without the need to feel like I have one.