Faith

[Trailblazer]

We have to have faith in more than God in our daily life.
Yesterday I put my faith in my veterinarian and she came through.
Faith is trust.

 

[Trailblazer]

Faith is trust in information from a trustworthy source. Information on things we don't have access or proof (for now).

I think faith is when we cannot have absolute certainty but have reasons to trust.

 

[PearlSeeker]

I have faith my wife will pay all the bills.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Hello, I would like to gather some thoughts on faith. What do you think that faith is? How have you seen it in your own life? How have you seen faith in others lives?

Trusting in something without skepticism. For example,taking a chance of loving another despite being hurt in the past. Making a spiritual conviction your life would be based on without knowing where it would lead.

Taking a gamble or going out ones comfort zone...maybe to make oneself a better person and grateful.

 

[Moonjuice]

We have to have faith in more than God in our daily life.
Yesterday I put my faith in my veterinarian and she came through.
Faith is trust.

I think there is a difference between faith and trust. You trusted your veterinarian because she is trained to know how to handle your cat. Your trust is based on evidence. A) This person has 8 years of advanced education, you know this, so you have evidence that you can trust that she has the necessary education to treat your cat. This is why you took your cat to her in the first place, and not your car mechanic. B) This doctor has a successful business dedicated to the care of animals. If she didn't know how to care for animals, one would have to assume the business would not remain open. C) If you have ever taken your animals to that vet before, then you have a history of care where the trained vet has done a good job. Your trust in the vet has nothing to do with "faith" it has to do with evidence. In my mind, that is not faith. It seems that faith is only required when there is a lack of evidence to establish trust.

 

[Psalm23]

I tend to value beliefs based on faith less than beliefs based on evidence as far as incorporating them into my own belief system. In my experience, beliefs I've formed on faith in the past have been more prone to failure as far as understanding reality goes.

For example, when I was a teenager, there was one experience where I felt an evil presence looking in at me through a window when I was staying at my brother's place. It was too dark to see out that window, but my thoughts immediately went to this being an evil demon. I began praying to god and trying to cast out that demon from my presence, and after a time, I felt that evil being leave and wander off.

I found out a few years back that this "demon" was actually a known meth head who was known for looking into peoples homes to see if they were there before he'd try to break in and steal their stuff. He was arrested after he broke into my brother's neighbor's home that night, turns out.

There was a lot of fear in my beliefs about the supernatural, though, and I believed demons were an active part of existence and could possess objects. I threw away a lot of my stuff (like Magic the Gathering cards) because I thought that demons were using them to manipulate my life in a negative way.

Since giving up the belief in demons, my life has stopped being a fearful existence. It's weird to look back at the person I used to be and see just how different he was to me now... Now that I think about it, cutting out faith has done a lot to help me out on a personal level. I don't really see a reason to go back to that.

As for the faith of others, I don't mind as long as they don't try to influence others because of their faith. Worshipping one's god in private is one thing, but picketing a soldier's funeral like what the folks at the Westboro Baptist Church do is especially despicable. That's my take, at least!

Sorry to be so negative about it. I guess faith just hasn't left much of a positive impact in my life!

That’s really creepy that he was looking in your house. I think I would be freaked out too. Good to hear that he was caught.

I have had times feeling uncomfortable with looking in mirrors in the dark at night. I may have been concerned about seeing something scary like a bad spirit. Now I don’t expect to see anything jump out at me.
If you ever heard of the legend of Bloody Mary, it is probably very similar to the fear of looking at mirrors at night.

 

[SigurdReginson]

We have to have faith in more than God in our daily life.
Yesterday I put my faith in my veterinarian and she came through.
Faith is trust.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you there, @Trailblazer. Faith exists in the absence of good evidence.

If you had the choice to take your animals to two different vets, one was a certified vet and one wasn't, which one would require more faith for you to bring your pets to them?

There's a reason we trust professionals to handle our issues, and faith doesn't have much to do with it. I don't know about you, but before I do anything that has long term implications (like medical care) I do plenty of research to make sure these people are more trustworthy than the competition.

 

[idea]

Deep faith is something that has to be earned. I have faith in what has proven itself.
Faith is also a choice to be an optimist, to focus on what is good in others rather than live in fear.

Faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to evidence, otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.

 

[SigurdReginson]

That’s really creepy that he was looking in your house. I think I would be freaked out too. Good to hear that he was caught.

I have had times feeling uncomfortable with looking in mirrors in the dark at night. I may have been concerned about seeing something scary like a bad spirit. Now I don’t expect to see anything jump out at me.
If you ever heard of the legend of Bloody Mary, it is probably very similar to the fear of looking at mirrors at night.

Oh for sure. I believed bloody Mary was real then, though I believed she was a demon pretending to be a ghost. My family still has fears of demons, and it's a little unsettling sometimes. Last time I saw my aunt, she was talking about how her granddaughter talked back to her one time, and she was convinced that an evil spirit had made her do it... It's kind of an unhealthy way to think.

I don't really have any problems with religious beliefs or belief in the supernatural per se, but it's really important for us to utilize Occam's Razor when we have questions about such things. Faith has it's value, but so does skepticism.

 

[Psalm23]

Oh for sure. I believed bloody Mary was real then, though I believed she was a demon pretending to be a ghost. My family still has fears of demons, and it's a little unsettling sometimes. Last time I saw my aunt, she was talking about how her granddaughter talked back to her one time, and she was convinced that an evil spirit had made her do it... It's kind of an unhealthy way to think.

I don't really have any problems with religious beliefs or belief in the supernatural per se, but it's really important for us to utilize Occam's Razor when we have questions about such things. Faith has it's value, but so does skepticism.

What is Occam’s Razor?

 

[Wildswanderer]

Faith is the evidence of things unseen.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” or: “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.”

 

[Trailblazer]

I have faith my wife will pay all the bills.

My husband also has faith that I will pay all the bills, since I always do.
He wouldn't know what to do with money if it hit him in the face.

 

[Trailblazer]

I think there is a difference between faith and trust. You trusted your veterinarian because she is trained to know how to handle your cat. Your trust is based on evidence.

My trust in the Messenger of God I believe in is also based on evidence, even though it is a different kind of evidence.

15 Types of Evidence and How to Use Them

 

[firedragon]

Faith is a word we associate with various things and it changes according individuals. My father told me he has faith in me. I have faith in my bank, but that's because I have done my research on the industry as much as I can. Another person has faith in the same bank but has no clue what the other banks are like. Faith is a word Atheists use to make slugs out of theists while they have faith in something which they will deny. Sometimes people have faith that they dont belong to a faith.

This thread might be a great way to get insight into what others define their faith. Thanks a lot.

 

[firedragon]

My husband also has faith that I will pay all the bills, since I always do.
He wouldn't know what to do with money if it hit him in the face.

Both of you are very lucky. God bless you.

 

[Trailblazer]

I'm gonna have to disagree with you there, @Trailblazer. Faith exists in the absence of good evidence.

I never said that it didn't.
Sometimes Faith exists in the absence of good evidence.
Sometimes Faith exists in the presence of good evidence.
Sometimes the Faith is because we have no evidence.
Sometimes the Faith is because we have good evidence.

There's a reason we trust professionals to handle our issues, and faith doesn't have much to do with it.

I have to disagree with you on that. I trust a particular veterinarian because she has earned my trust so I have faith in her. Owing to experience with her over the years, I also know that she is very competent as well as caring. Another veterinarian could be just as qualified on paper but I would not trust him or her just because of that.

 

[Moonjuice]

My trust in the Messenger of God I believe in is also based on evidence, even though it is a different kind of evidence.

15 Types of Evidence and How to Use Them

I should have specified "good evidence" rather than just evidence.

 

[Link]

To me faith is to believe in proofs even if they are not physical proofs, there are hidden signs (beyond physical senses) and reasoning testifies to a lot beyond physical.

 

[Trailblazer]

I should have specified "good evidence" rather than just evidence.

Who determines what constitutes good evidence? Who specifies that?

 

[Moonjuice]

Who determines what constitutes good evidence? Who specifies that?

We do. As you know, in America we have laws in our country regarding what we are going to accept as evidence in our court system. I assume the reason why we do not allow any and all evidence to be considered is because we do not want to include "evidence" that does not reliably lead to truth. This is why evidence like hearsay, for example, is not admissible in court and why we do not consider it reliable. If a guy tells a guy who told a guy who heard it from a guy, who heard it from a lady who is neighbors of your cousin, of course you can't trust it to be accurate.