Can You have Complete Faith in God and Simultaneously Believe You Could Conceivably Be Wrong?

[ChristineES]

Is it possible to have complete and total faith in God and yet simultaneously believe you could conceivably be wrong? Why or why not?

If not, is there no significant distinction between faith and belief?

If so, is there a significant distinction between faith and belief? And if so, what is it?

I think so. I am a very strong theist, but I also know that humans are not infallible. I believe I am right to believe in God but there is also that tiny voice in the back of my head speaking to me "you might be wrong". It isn't strong enough to be doubt.

 

[Me Myself]

I'd argue it. You're equating a positive statement with a negative one. Since when does a negative statement require acceptance of faith as a belief?

since when has it not?

It`s not the same to say "No one is using blue shirts in your house right now" than to say "I dont know if anyone is using blue shirts in your house right now"

It is also diferent to say "I think no one is using blu shirts in your house right now"

Very different statements.

 

[Katzpur]

Is it possible to have complete and total faith in God and yet simultaneously believe you could conceivably be wrong? Why or why not?

I'm wondering if the reverse is true for anybody. Is it possible to be absolutely convinced that God does not exist and yet simultaneously believe you could be wrong?

 

[Me Myself]

I think so. I am a very strong theist, but I also know that humans are not infallible. I believe I am right to believe in God but there is also that tiny voice in the back of my head speaking to me "you might be wrong". It isn't strong enough to be doubt.

doubt
Pronunciation: /daʊt/
Translate doubt | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
noun
[mass noun]
a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction:


Technically speaking it is (maybe a very tiny) doubt.

As long as some part of you feels uncertain about it, it enters under the definition of doubt.

 

[George-ananda]

Not all beliefs are. I'd go so far as to say most beliefs are not based on reason at all. Now, they may or may not be based on evidence, but that evidence is highly likely to be emotional or psychological in nature, and not fact or knowledge based. Not all evidence is created equal.

For a rare time we somewhat agree. I try to always maintain an objective open-minded skeptical nature (challenging my beliefs with all information). An objective mind weighs the quality and quantity of the evidence.

 

[arthra]

Is it possible to have complete and total faith in God and yet simultaneously believe you could conceivably be wrong? Why or why not?

If not, is there no significant distinction between faith and belief?

If so, is there a significant distinction between faith and belief? And if so, what is it?

If you have "total" faith in God then you are a pure, evanescent soul and humble so in my view any wrong would be on our side..the human side that is not the Divine side.

 

[Me Myself]

All our beliefs are based in emotion.

Even reliance on "objective" evidence in some areas come from the emotions of trust that such a method inspires us.

Make no mistake, we are emotional creatures first and foremost.

 

[InChrist]

All our beliefs are based in emotion.

Even reliance on "objective" evidence in some areas come from the emotions of trust that such a method inspires us.

Make no mistake, we are emotional creatures first and foremost.

I'm not sure that I totally agree with this. Humans are very emotional and often beliefs are influenced by emotions, but Jesus demonstrated by His example of submitting His will to the Father that the will was of utmost importance. He even instructed the disciples to pray to God the Father..."your will be done". So I believe even more vital than emotion is what one chooses to believe with their God-given gift of human will using their mind over emotion.

 

[Pegg]

Is it possible to have complete and total faith in God and yet simultaneously believe you could conceivably be wrong? Why or why not?

If not, is there no significant distinction between faith and belief?

If so, is there a significant distinction between faith and belief? And if so, what is it?

yes it is entirely possible.

the reason is because faith and belief are two different things.

Faith is an expectation that God will do what he says. If you trully believe that God will act on what he says, and if you live in harmony with the things he asks of you, then that is faith.
Noah had faith in God and it prompted him to build the ark because his faith assured him that God would bring the deluge just as he said he would.
Faith also prompted Abraham to leave his home and travel to a distant land because his faith gave him the assurance that the promised land would become the property of his offspring just as God said it would.


Belief on the other hand can be wrong. Noah may have believed that the flood would only last a few days, he may have believed that more people would have listened to him and been saved.
Abraham may have believed that he would see his offpring in the promised land in his own lifetime, he may have believed that the nations occupying the land would leave without a fight. He surely never expected that his offspring would end up as slaves in Egypt for 400 years.



This is the difference between faith and belief. Having faith that God will do what he has promised is not a belief....its a frame of mind.

Believing usually pertains to the 'details' of how something might happen. Those details are what we conjure up in our own minds, so of course they can be wrong. God does not reveal every detail of how he plans to act. He gives us an outcome of what will be..... but we have to wait and see how the events pan out. Sometimes we jump to wrong conclusions about those events.... but our faith is still strong because we still know that God will do what he says he will do even though we dont know how he will do it.

 

[Me Myself]

I'm not sure that I totally agree with this. Humans are very emotional and often beliefs are influenced by emotions, but Jesus demonstrated by His example of submitting His will to the Father that the will was of utmost importance. He even instructed the disciples to pray to God the Father..."your will be done". So I believe even more vital than emotion is what one chooses to believe with their God-given gift of human will using their mind over emotion.

There is no dichotomy. Will is to emotion what a current is to the ocean.

yes it is entirely possible.

the reason is because faith and belief are two different things.

Faith is an expectation that God will do what he says. If you trully believe that God will act on what he says, and if you live in harmony with the things he asks of you, then that is faith.
Noah had faith in God and it prompted him to build the ark because his faith assured him that God would bring the deluge just as he said he would.
Faith also prompted Abraham to leave his home and travel to a distant land because his faith gave him the assurance that the promised land would become the property of his offspring just as God said it would.


Belief on the other hand can be wrong. Noah may have believed that the flood would only last a few days, he may have believed that more people would have listened to him and been saved.
Abraham may have believed that he would see his offpring in the promised land in his own lifetime, he may have believed that the nations occupying the land would leave without a fight. He surely never expected that his offspring would end up as slaves in Egypt for 400 years.



This is the difference between faith and belief. Having faith that God will do what he has promised is not a belief....its a frame of mind.

Believing usually pertains to the 'details' of how something might happen. Those details are what we conjure up in our own minds, so of course they can be wrong. God does not reveal every detail of how he plans to act. He gives us an outcome of what will be..... but we have to wait and see how the events pan out. Sometimes we jump to wrong conclusions about those events.... but our faith is still strong because we still know that God will do what he says he will do even though we dont know how he will do it.

Beliefs form frames of mind.

You have presented no difference so far. From the definitions you have provided, faith seems to be a subcategory of belief, or even a conglomerate of beliefs. For example:

You believe the bible is the word of God
You believe in what the bible says because you believe God is truth
You believe this because the bible says it.

3 beliefs among many that end up forming your "faith".


Moses believed in God. He believed because he had visions, and chose to believe this visions were not allucinations. From believing they were not hallucinations he assumed maybe they were truth and acted accordingly.

 

[ChristineES]

doubt
Pronunciation: /daʊt/
Translate doubt | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
noun
[mass noun]
a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction:


Technically speaking it is (maybe a very tiny) doubt.

As long as some part of you feels uncertain about it, it enters under the definition of doubt.

Thanks for the English lesson.

I just don't see how, if in the back of my mind I have very slight misgivings on occasion how that constitutes as doubt. If it was, then I'd be agnostic, which I am not.

 

[Me Myself]

Thanks for the English lesson.

I just don't see how, if in the back of my mind I have very slight misgivings on occasion how that constitutes as doubt. If it was, then I'd be agnostic, which I am not.

take it as you may.

It`s one of those weird technicism of language I`ve noticed happen with religion and agnosticism.

By definition, we would all be religious agnostics.

Then again, as far away as that would be to common understanding, it is very clear or common to understand that a doubt is a doubt. any "this may be false" voice in your head is a doubt. That`s what it is, it`s what it`s called.

you can very well have a definition different than common understanding of the word doubt, but a lot of christians have little doubts, I`ve understood that to be common and understood. Mother Theresa was full of doubts.

there is also something called "The dark night of the soul" where doubt is at it`s highest.

In any case, some dobut is normal, is what makes us human.

 

[Thief]

Is it possible to have complete and total faith in God and yet simultaneously believe you could conceivably be wrong? Why or why not?

If not, is there no significant distinction between faith and belief?

If so, is there a significant distinction between faith and belief? And if so, what is it?

Faith is like the cornerstone of a foundation.
Everything else is built from that starting point.

I suppose....
Belief is what you hold in perception....even as you read this.
Faith is that portion of you that has made a decision.

Could you be wrong about your belief?
In terms of religion....yes.

Could you be wrong about believing in Something Greater than yourself?
Never.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Or the other way around, that they accept their Beliefs on faith instead of fact.

Okay...

Thank god you're not making the rules . . . statements are neither positive or negative until you assign that meaning to them.

Rubbish. I am NOT using positive and negative as pseudonyms for 'good' and 'bad'
Positive statement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Easy Notes-English Grammar: POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENTS

Theists have no evidence that god exists, atheists have no evidence god doesn't exist . . . they both lack evidence yet believe they are correct.

No evidence that god exists. And yet not believing in God has the same validity as believing in God? That is some messed up logic. You believe in the celestial teapot?

Of course I would, until I visit that planet I don't believe you, I also wouldn't know if you were wrong.

Of course you wouldn't know. I'm an atheist. That doesn't mean I can prove there's no God. It means I see no reason to believe in a God. It would be both reasonable and rational to say I don't believe there are blue aliens on the third planet in the closest galaxy. Maybe there are, but I have ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to believe it. Until I do, I don't believe it. That's all atheism is.

Let me ask you this . . . I bet you think the world is round? How do you know? Because of pictures people have shown you? Because of what people have told you? Maybe they're lying? The fact is, until you personally go up high enough you will never know what shape this planet is.

Rubbish. It was hypothesised that the earth was a sphere long before ANYONE had been high enough to see it. The fact that it's a sphere (for all intents and purposes) has then been independently verified to the point that doubting it is not only irrational, it's ridiculous.

If you want to limit your knowledge strictly to only the things you have personally verified for fear of a conspiracy theory, be my guest. I'll stick with rationality.

Believe Nothing, Question Everything

Question? Sure. Don't take contrary positions as some sort of misguided attempt to prove superior intelligence though.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

since when has it not?

It`s not the same to say "No one is using blue shirts in your house right now" than to say "I dont know if anyone is using blue shirts in your house right now"

It is also diferent to say "I think no one is using blu shirts in your house right now"

Very different statements.

Sure. I would concede it depends on the nature of the negative statement. If I said, for example, that I have no reason to believe anyone is using blue shirts in your house right now?

Meh...the analogy is pretty loose. I wouldn't expect to be able to tell if anyone in a house was wearing a blue shirt. It equates to me disbelieving in a deist style God (non-interventionist).

I do disbelieve in a deist style God, but would readily admit that there is no way of proving or disproving the existence of such a being. I'm almost apathetic about the concept in truth.
But an interventionist God is different in a sense. More like I have had coffee with you every morning for ten years. Every day you've worn a red shirt. I'm about to meet you today. I don't believe you're wearing a blue shirt. I haven't seen you, I can't prove it. I am predicting based on personal experience.

 

[Titanic]

This has always been 'my' definition of agnostic (though most will argue) that both theists and non-theists (atheists) are in the same boat in that they have accepted their faith as belief.

I am a non-theistic Luciferian, I don't believe there to be gods and devils, I have my own Belief System in place and this is what I 'believe' is the Truth. However, I have enough sense to realize I could be wrong about all my beliefs as they are non-evidenced (as all are).

Being an Agnostic means neither believing nor disbelieving in deities. An Agnostic Theist is what your describing. Look it up if you do not believe me. Its not hard.

 

[sojourner]

I'm wondering if the reverse is true for anybody. Is it possible to be absolutely convinced that God does not exist and yet simultaneously believe you could be wrong?

Yes. It's called "agnosticism."

 

[garrydons]

if we have a complete faith in God. It simply means, we have faith according to our heart. Since God knows our thoughts and what is inside our heart, a just God will not allow us to be wrong. in other words, we can never be wrong once we have that complete faith in God. the Bible says "Seek and you shall find" and "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free"

 

[StarryNightshade]

I do.

I believe in God, but admit that I could be 100% wrong. Sorry for generalizing, but it appears not many theists do and most atheists I've met have never admitted that they could be wrong as well.

 

[Reverend Rick]

But you are assuming that if the God of the Bible does not exist, no other God exists. If some other God exists, he might punish you after you die.

Good point, I realise I may be wrong.