Does Belief in God Require Faith?

[George-ananda]

I voted 'No'.

For me reason, logic and evidence are used for belief in God/Brahman.

Faith implies an intuitive jump that I would not be comfortable with.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Do you think a person can believe in God, yet not due to faith, or is faith the only way?

Believing in the existence of something which has no empirical evidence which supports its existence invariably requires faith. Unsuprisingly, it appears that many people are confused about what faith is in terms of belief.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Belief, by its very meaning, requires faith.

EDIT: Unless you use the term "God" to be a cover for something mundane like the universe or the phenomenon of consciousness. Then you're just playing with dictionaries.

 

[nazz]

Do you think a person can believe in God, yet not due to faith, or is faith the only way?

A person can know God exists but if they merely believe they need faith

 

[Enai de a lukal]

Belief, by its very meaning, requires faith.

Don't you mean the other way around? Or do you mean belief in God specifically? Faith, by definition, is a variety of belief- but not all beliefs are faith.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Don't you mean the other way around? Or do you mean belief in God specifically? Faith, by definition, is a variety of belief- but not all beliefs are faith.

To hold a belief is to have faith in it, to be "faithful" to it.

 

[Enai de a lukal]

To hold a belief is to have faith in it

I guess, in a sense, but that's sort of misleading. Faith, in the relevant sense, is a propositional attitude- a way that one may be disposed towards a proposition or claim; just as one may doubt that X, suspect that X, believe that X, one may have faith that X- which is to say that several conditions are met-

1. One believes X
2. One does not have rationally sufficient reason for believing X
3. One would be disapppointed should X turn out to be false.

In that sense, clearly there are many beliefs which are not faith- if I believe I have cancer, then condition 3 is not met; I do not have faith that I have cancer. If I believe that the morning star is the evening star, because I learned this in school, then condition 2 is not met; I do not have faith that the morning star is the evening star, I have good reason for believing this.

 

[George-ananda]

Belief, by its very meaning, requires faith.

If I have the 'belief' that a water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom would that be called 'faith'?

 

[ChristineES]

It would depend on which definition of faith is used. But, no, the most common definition of faith doesn't necessarily mean belief, as well.

 

[ChristineES]

If I have the 'belief' that a water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom would that be called 'faith'?

I don't think the words "faith" or "belief" can really apply in scientific discussions. Things proven are natural law and things not proven are undergoing extensive experimentation.

 

[Sha'irullah]

Semantical arguments, the true sign that a person has no basis for what they preach.

Faith traits back to the old Latin word fides and a later French variation. Faith means trust and you do not have to trust god as I said before.
This is why we use the term faith in regards to the integrity of one's character or morals.
Faith does not mean an irrational trust in something, it just means trust.

Atheists like using this semantical arguments simply because a vast majority of them do not even attempt to understand semantical arguments when it does not work in their favor. Even Richard Dawkins addresses this failure for crying out loud.

Belief on the other hand implies favoritism to a person, thing or ideal of some sort.

Scientist have a strong belief in their work for example as they believe that objective evidence determines truth. That is a belief, belief is not irrational nor rational. Evidence is not the nature for belief although it can be.

 

[idav]

If I have the 'belief' that a water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom would that be called 'faith'?

Do you have the same amount of faith in science and religion? I trust that humans have observed these atoms and have done tests that verify it. There is nothing but faith to say that god made these atoms and put them together, something like that can't be "known".

 

[Gjallarhorn]

If I have the 'belief' that a water molecule is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom would that be called 'faith'?

Iffy...I would say yes, since scientific "truth" is still based on the problem of induction.

Definitely a better belief though.

 

[Falvlun]

the christian concept of faith is 'trust' 'confidence' and 'persuasion' ...thats what makes it different to belief.

I believe in the President of the united states. But i dont have a trust or confidence in anything he might plan to do or accomplish...im not persuaded that he will succeed therefore i can't claim to have faith in him...but i can believe in him nonetheless.

I wouldn't say that you "believe in" the President, then. I assume you meant that to mean "I believe that the President exists"? "Believing in" something implies something more akin to faith and trust, in my book.

 

[Falvlun]

I do believe that faith is required for belief in God. I don't translate "faith" as simply "trust" or "confidence". I translate it more like "belief in something despite or without evidence."

Yes, I realize that people do claim evidence, personal evidence, for the existence of God. But, I suspect that belief that God exists, or the desire for God to exist, is at root of interpreting something as "God" rather than not-God.

 

[Sha'irullah]

I do believe that faith is required for belief in God. I don't translate "faith" as simply "trust" or "confidence". I translate it more like "belief in something despite or without evidence."

Yes, I realize that people do claim evidence, personal evidence, for the existence of God. But, I suspect that belief that God exists, or the desire for God to exist, is at root of interpreting something as "God" rather than not-God.

There is no evidence that disproves god ya know. Also faith is required for a personally active deity who alter the physical world.

 

[Falvlun]

There is no evidence that disproves god ya know.

So?

Also faith is required for a personally active deity who alter the physical world.

I agree.

 

[That one dude...]

Just taking the first definition in both cases:

faith |fāTH|
noun
1 complete trust or confidence in someone or something

belief |biˈlēf|
noun
1 an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists

I suppose one can believe in a god without having faith in it, but then what's the point of their belief?

 

[Thief]

I voted....yeah.

Simply put.....you know how to follow.....or you don't.

 

[Enai de a lukal]

Semantical arguments, the true sign that a person has no basis for what they preach.

Not at all. Dismissing "semantical arguments" generally indicates a willingness to tolerate sloppy and slipshod reasoning and imprecision, and a lack of familiarity with important ideas and distinctions.

Faith traits back to the old Latin word fides and a later French variation. Faith means trust and you do not have to trust god as I said before.

The origin of the term is irrelevant here, as is other senses of the term; the OP asks whether belief in God (presumably meaning belief that God exists) requires faith- the OP is concerned with faith in the sense I already mentioned, faith that such-and-such is true. Faith, in this sense, is simply a belief in the absence of sufficient reason.

This is why we use the term faith in regards to the integrity of one's character or morals.
Faith does not mean an irrational trust in something, it just means trust.

Actually, that is exactly what faith means in this context. We are talking about 2b-

Full Definition of FAITH

1a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty
b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions

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

Atheists like using this semantical arguments simply because a vast majority of them do not even attempt to understand semantical arguments when it does not work in their favor.

A blanket statement with no basis.

Belief on the other hand implies favoritism to a person, thing or ideal of some sort.

Belief is a propositional attitude. Faith, in the relevant sense, is a particular type of belief; namely, one that is not properly justified.