Is Faith Blind?

[tariqkhwaja]

Assalamualaikum.

I believe a major problem with Theists the world over is their belief that reasoning does not go with faith and that faith is blind. So, for example, many Muslims talk about "Eman" or "Faith" or "Strength of Faith" simply to be the ability to believe in that which is unseen and whose existence and correctness can not be proven. Muslims conclude this from the Quranic statement of "belief in the unseen". However, the unseen may be proven and the Quran consistently reminds us by telling us "will they not ponder" or "will you not ponder".

I would agree that the truth is not as evident as the sun is during the day. A certain degree of "covertness" exists preventing its clear recognition. However, this mist is there to distinguish the honest from the dishonest and is removed for those who put sufficient effort in search of the truth.

The Promised Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, explained this phenomenon in his book, The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam. Explaining the Quranic verses 102:2-9 he stated:

In these verses God Almighty has clearly set forth that for the wicked the life of hell begins in a covert way in this very world, and if they would reflect they would observe hell in this very life. Here God Almighty has indicated three types of knowledge, namely knowledge by certainty of reason, knowledge by certainty of sight, and knowledge by certainty of experience. This might be illustrated thus. When a person perceives smoke from a distance his mind conceives that smoke
and fire are inseparable, and therefore where there is smoke there must be fire also. This would be knowledge by the certainty of reason. Then on a nearer approach he sees the flames of the fire and that is knowledge by the certainty of sight. Should he enter into the fire, that would be knowledge by the certainty of experience. In these verses God Almighty says that knowledge of the existence of hell as a certainty can be acquired in this life through reason, its knowledge through the certainty of sight will be acquired in Barzakh, the intermediate state between death and judgment, and on the Day of Judgment that knowledge would become a certainty by experience.​

 

[Vasilisa Jade]

Is faith blind? I think it can be very blind. The degree of blindness varies. Have you watched Silent Hill? I loved the illustration of blind faith in that movie, it was gnarly. The best example of blind faith I can think of that explains how I view it is "faith healing," or whatever the heck it's called. There is a doctor 5 minutes up the road, your daughter is in excruciating pain and dying of some curable disease, but yet you wait for God to heal her. If it doesn't happen your faith wasn't strong enough. That is blind faith. You are so blinded by your "faith" that you cannot see the blessing right under your nose, it must be the devil tempting you to stray or some nonsense... Saying a prayer and giving a blessing and having faith in the potential assistance it can offer is rational faith, blind faith is just relying on God for everything instead of helping yourself... being lazy. That's my opinion.

I know in Islam there is complete submission to Gods will, but I honestly don't know how that would work into the scheme of helping yourself v.s. God helping you or a combo of both, so don't take any offense. I wasn't referring to the Islamic nature of submission, since I don't know much about it, but moreso thinking of extremely fundamental christian variations.

 

[cardero]

Is Faith Blind?
Not necessarily, but that doesn't mean that every person is going to have the same eye glass perscription.

 

[MEMNOCK]

I think that blind faith is a large problem with the world as we know it. People just believe what they read in a book(no names mentioned, take your pick), and then declare that its the truth and to hell with making any effort to understand GOD. Blind faith is what the name implies....blind followers...The world doesn't need programed robots, it needs human beings to open their minds and spirit to their own universal path... I don't know why im ranting, human beings are herd animals....well, I can dream can't I...

 

[YmirGF]

The Promised Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, explained this phenomenon in his book, The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam. Explaining the Quranic verses 102:2-9 he stated:

In these verses God Almighty has clearly set forth that for the wicked the life of hell begins in a covert way in this very world, and if they would reflect they would observe hell in this very life. Here God Almighty has indicated three types of knowledge, namely knowledge by certainty of reason, knowledge by certainty of sight, and knowledge by certainty of experience. This might be illustrated thus. When a person perceives smoke from a distance his mind conceives that smoke
and fire are inseparable, and therefore where there is smoke there must be fire also. This would be knowledge by the certainty of reason. Then on a nearer approach he sees the flames of the fire and that is knowledge by the certainty of sight. Should he enter into the fire, that would be knowledge by the certainty of experience.​

Allusion rejected. The simple fact of the matter is that where there is smoke, quite often there is no fire, therefore this amusing illustration fails on that count alone. To state, "where there is smoke, there is fire", is a demonstration of inherent ignorance.

This ignorance is clarified in the final portion of the text.

In these verses God Almighty says that knowledge of the existence of hell as a certainty can be acquired in this life through reason, its knowledge through the certainty of sight will be acquired in Barzakh, the intermediate state between death and judgment, and on the Day of Judgment that knowledge would become a certainty by experience

Any person who promotes belief in the reality of "hell" is unworthy of any further serious investigation of their opinions.​

 

[tariqkhwaja]

Allusion rejected. The simple fact of the matter is that where there is smoke, quite often there is no fire,

Yes, exactly, half glass full or half glass empty. The point being that the smoke gives enough reason to believe there might be a fire. It gives enough reason for further investigation. In this world there is enough reason for the existence of God, heaven and hell. Enough, at least, to encourage further investigation into the possibility.

 

[Nehustan]

Having been reading Mishkat Al Anwar this moring I am minded of the 'veils' hadith...

"God has seventy veils of light and darkness; were He to lift them, the august glories of His face would burn up everyone whose eyesight perceived Him"


...so I'd put that blind is better metaphorically as opposed to blind rather in actuality. The juxtaposed position is that one who claims to have 'seen the light' is likely to be be blinded in one way or another. When it comes to a claim of anything other than a subjective truth it may indeed be an a pardoxical metaphor, 'And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?'

 

[gnostic]

There is a doctor 5 minutes up the road, your daughter is in excruciating pain and dying of some curable disease, but yet you wait for God to heal her. If it doesn't happen your faith wasn't strong enough. That is blind faith. You are so blinded by your "faith" that you cannot see the blessing right under your nose, it must be the devil tempting you to stray or some nonsense... Saying a prayer and giving a blessing and having faith in the potential assistance it can offer is rational faith, blind faith is just relying on God for everything instead of helping yourself... being lazy.

Very astute example.

I think faith is blind, when the person have enormous faith in religion or god, but lack common sense..or even more importantly lack of sense of reality.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Yes, exactly, half glass full or half glass empty. The point being that the smoke gives enough reason to believe there might be a fire. It gives enough reason for further investigation. In this world there is enough reason for the existence of God, heaven and hell. Enough, at least, to encourage further investigation into the possibility.

What is the [sufficient] reason for the existence of heaven and hell?

 

[darkendless]

Very astute example.

I think faith is blind, when the person have enormous faith in religion or god, but lack common sense..or even more importantly lack of sense of reality.

Faith also becomes blind when a person allows religion to distract them from the reality of decision making, especially when one uses the bible to make decisions for themselves, rather than using their own judgement based on the situation.

 

[tomspug]

Blind faith is as you put it so plainly, faith without reason. However, it is a common misconception that faith REQUIRES a lack of reason. That is simply not true.

Just because someone is a skeptic doesn't mean that they have no beliefs. They may constrict OBSERVATION to nothing but the facts, but there are plenty of skeptics that "believe" in morality, God, the soul, etc. When it comes to faith, reason is a matter of believability. If there is less proof or more proof is no measure for the degree of faith. In fact, it is easy to imagine that someone who believes something, who then encounters a situation that supports their beliefs, INCREASES in faith because of it.

So reason, then, is irrelevant to faith. Faith is a matter of personal conviction and how one chooses to deal with that conviction. That is all.

 

[shahid]

Of course faith is blind. The Holy Quran says that the Holy Prophet Muhammad was the LAST prophet despite this Tariq believes in the advent of another prophet. If faith was not blind he would not believe this!

 

[Charity]

I believe that blind faith is when there is no sufficient evidence or reason for believing that something will happen. That is what faith is in reality. Belief without tangible evidence.....Only a few people would not use common sense along with their belief....Myself believing that if someone is sick that God will heal them, but it may in all probability be by the use of a physican and medicine as part of a miracle through belief in God.....
Anyone can believe that there will be a positive outcome in a situation when all the odds are in our favor, but faith, or "blind faith" when there appears to be no hope in sight.

 

[tariqkhwaja]

Of course faith is blind. The Holy Quran says that the Holy Prophet Muhammad was the LAST prophet despite this Tariq believes in the advent of another prophet. If faith was not blind he would not believe this!

Man, what answer can I give to that? Please go to http://www.religiousforums.com/foru...only-finality-prophethood-muhammad-peace.html and have a look at why reasoning dictates that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) can be followed by Prophets. If you do not understand some argument that I made let me know there.

 

[tariqkhwaja]

Anyone can believe that there will be a positive outcome in a situation when all the odds are in our favor, but faith, or "blind faith" when there appears to be no hope in sight.

Nope. There should be some backing for that faith. There should be some reason. If there is a reason only then faith can be truly strong.
See human nature has been found to be such that it yearns for reasons. A lot of the world is turning Atheist simply because Theists do not have reason. These Atheists are, in that sense, honest. The stealer who steals but says he believes in God. If he really knew Someone would hold him accountable would he have stolen? If a police man is standing over you would you dare steel under his nose. Only if you are smart enough. Would a child who truly loves his mother disobey her when she is watching. He might not disobey her even when she isn't watching.
Human nature demands reason. So it is reasonable to accept that God who is supposed to love us provided enough reason. Our lack of faith in God is visible through the amount of times we act against our beliefs. The firmer the faith, the firmer the act. The blinder the faith the greater the hypocrisy.

 

[Charity]

If the doctors tell you that your loved one is dying and that there is no hope, or no chance for survival. Therefore you really have no basis, no reason to believe that they will make it.....But you keep up the faith and claim the promises of God. You keep holding on to that faith and miracleously your loved one survives.....Therefore your faith sustained you.......Blind faith sustained you, because you did not have even a thread of hope to hang on to............

 

[tariqkhwaja]

If the doctors tell you that your loved one is dying and that there is no hope, or no chance for survival. Therefore you really have no basis, no reason to believe that they will make it.....But you keep up the faith and claim the promises of God. You keep holding on to that faith and miracleously your loved one survives.....Therefore your faith sustained you.......Blind faith sustained you, because you did not have even a thread of hope to hang on to............

No you did have a thread of hope. A thread of reason. And that thread is past experiences or prophecies or dreams from God where many others were fulfilled. That is the hope you have ... that God has more power than all the doctors in the world. And that hope is strengthened due to your past experiences when God saved you from the stickiest of situations.

Prophets and their companions went through such turmoil and suffering. What made them stay on their path? Blind faith? Of course not. The Prophets and their companions had already experienced or seen miracles. They had experienced revelations. And experienced prophecies come true. And this past experience that showed Divine interference is the reason.

The Quran says about the hypocrites:
"And when a party of them said, 'O people of Yathrib, you can possibly make no stand against the enemy, therefore turn back. And a section of them even asked leave of the Prophet, say, 'Our houses are exposed,' whereas they were not exposed. They only sought to flee. "

And, yet, about the believers:
"And when the believers saw the Confederates, they said, 'This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us; and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth.' And it only added to their faith and submission."

Unfortunately, most Theist clergy would have you believe that revelations and miracles are no more. Those clergy have not experienced these things so they try to fend the masses away from them. But I tell you the truth that if you pray to God and humbly beg Him to show you such signs that you may have stronger faith then He will. The God that used to speak still speaks and the God that used to show miracles still does. Evil has not reduced its presence, then why should goodness?

 

[Embrace]

Blind faith? Believing in something profusely although no evidence supports it?
Yes that is blind.

 

[darkendless]

Unfortunately, most Theist clergy would have you believe that revelations and miracles are no more. Those clergy have not experienced these things so they try to fend the masses away from them. But I tell you the truth that if you pray to God and humbly beg Him to show you such signs that you may have stronger faith then He will. The God that used to speak still speaks and the God that used to show miracles still does. Evil has not reduced its presence, then why should goodness?

My problem with miracles and faith is people see what they want to see, they hear what they want to hear, they attribute fortune to God's will and they continue to pray for lost causes. Thats how blind a lot of faith is.
I would confidently say that 75% of people who claim to have had a God vision lied, or saw only what they wanted to see in their dreams.
I would also confidently say miracles are what you make of them, they just don't happen without reason.

 

[blackout]

Faith can either be
blind with eyes wide open,
or blind with eyes wide shut.