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Is Faith reasonable?
- Thread starter Daviso452
- Start date
Thief
Rogue Theologian
Man became spiritual somewhere along the way.
Proving it seems the problem.
Soul?...spirit?...ghost?...anything at all beyond this breathing we do?
Seeing other things, and ourselves slip back into the dust can be rather...
down.
But we have dreams, and in our dreams we still see the people we know.
In our waking memories, we still abide by their influence.
Are they dead?...all together?....the same for each of us?
I say, Spirit first.
Someone had to be first.
Then the question...was He made as we are made?
Did the First have embodiment as we do now?...if so...is He dead?
Most people, in the hope of continuance say... 'yeah...Spirit First'.
I agree.
If all spirit is of substance, no more than chemistry....it is finite.
I see too much infinity over my head to believe we are finite.
Proving it seems the problem.
Soul?...spirit?...ghost?...anything at all beyond this breathing we do?
Seeing other things, and ourselves slip back into the dust can be rather...
down.
But we have dreams, and in our dreams we still see the people we know.
In our waking memories, we still abide by their influence.
Are they dead?...all together?....the same for each of us?
I say, Spirit first.
Someone had to be first.
Then the question...was He made as we are made?
Did the First have embodiment as we do now?...if so...is He dead?
Most people, in the hope of continuance say... 'yeah...Spirit First'.
I agree.
If all spirit is of substance, no more than chemistry....it is finite.
I see too much infinity over my head to believe we are finite.
Gharib
I want Khilafah back
if a skeptic expects to learn about white blood cells and what not which is part of science simply for believing without actually studying about white blood cells, then they have lost touch with reality.
Faith and religion is a spiritual guide to help man understand the purpose of life. nothing that wee see on earth exists except that it serves a purpose, even white blood cells serve a purpose, so what makes man think that he has no purpose?
Faith and religion is a spiritual guide to help man understand the purpose of life. nothing that wee see on earth exists except that it serves a purpose, even white blood cells serve a purpose, so what makes man think that he has no purpose?
Skwim
Veteran Member
What it is? An uncommon reliance on a belief
The reasons for it? In regards to religious faith, I believe it comes down to the comfort/security it yields.
How it compare's to a skeptic's idea of "evidence"? I doubt that skeptics have a different idea of evidence, but for those relying of faith there is a need to dismiss evidence that's contrary to it. So while a skeptic regards all evidence for what it is, the faithful filter it all through their faith, which sometimes excludes evidence they would otherwise accept.
dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
Faith and reason are two different spheres. Faith is believing in what you cannot experience with the five natural senses, while reason/science is accepting what can be experienced with the five natural sense. Faith deals with unknowns and uncertainties, while science/reason deals with knowns and certainties. This does not mean that they have to be mutually exclusive. But there's very little crossover, if any at all.
Friend of Bill W
Member
Can I ask why blind faith is considered a virtue by some religious types?
Yes, faith is reasonable. It's also reasonable to want to not do something because you believe it to immoral, to believe in someone who did you wrong in the past and has since apologized and changed his or her ways, to love those those who don't love you, and to gaze at the beauty of a sunset or sunrise.
backwateru
Member
I love & live by faith. I don't think there's anything I can do without having to exercise some amount of faith.
I also love & live by evidence; there's no way to gauge my successes without it.
Well there is a difference between faith and fideism, which people tend to miss. What faith really entails is inferring what is true based logic upon reaching the end of what science knows and what logic can help truly understand. If you believe that all things need a cause, you can eventually infer that Spirit, God, or something else exists, even though it cannot be scientifically proven and logic really cannot aid us in understanding what cannot be understood.
Fideism, on the other hand, is when someone does not care about and even goes against logical and scientific evidence in their beliefs. To the fideist, what they believe does not need any validation, that defeats the purpose. Kierkegaard is a good example of a fideist I believe. Some are so against firm in their fideism that you could give them a sound argument against their beliefs and back it up with scientific proof, and it will not change them.
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Skwim
Veteran Member
By considering it a virtue assures a person that what he is doing is correct. It's a psychological mind trick of sorts.
I would venture to say the reason or a reason for faith is: hope.
A person can find meaning and purpose in life, but only the Bible holds out real and everlasting hope for now and in the everlasting future.
Jesus concept of faith was not credulity [blind faith],
but faith based on the evidence he found in the Hebrew OT Scriptures.
Jesus supported his faith by prefacing his statement with the words,
"It is written". - Written in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Jesus used logical reasoning on Scripture as the basis or foundation for his faith. Thus, Jesus had firm confidence or trust in Scripture and Jesus was faithful to what he learned.
Just as a farmer that plants corn has faith that corn [not peas] will come up.
Or, like the faith we have for our next days plans because we know the sun will rise in the morning.
People have faith and trust in a loving father because through experience one has accumulated enough evidence in that person's good character that you become confident or have faith that he will not let you down.
Jesus had faith or confidence that God would resurrect him. -Acts 2 vs31,32.
We can have that same trust or faith that we too will be resurrected.
- Acts 24v15
I see faith as a decision to trust something or someone despite a lack of knowledge as to whether that thing or person is right/true.
As for whether or not it is reasonable, depends on the context imo.
It may not seem reasonable for a person who has had no spiritual experience to believe in God.
But it may seem reasonable for a person who has had mystical experiences to have belief in God.
This is a very simple example.
I personally think that having some evidence is important. But having evidence is not the same as having proof. This is why I consider it reasonable to have faith or belief in ghosts, for example, if the individual has some experiences that completely convince him of the existence of ghosts. But I would not consider it reasonable to believe in ghosts, for example, if the individual has had no profound experience and maybe just likes the idea of them.
I hope that makes sense.
dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
I have a question, and it might seem redundant or rhetorical, but, would anyone ever actually admit to having blind faith as a good thing? Don't most people believe that their faith can be validated, in some sense, by reason?
Me Myself
Back to my username
Actually, I actively fight those who think that way. I was one of them once, around my teens.
The way I see it, faith that needs validation is not faith, because faith has nothing to do with reason. You cannot "explain" color blue, you can see it. I see faith as a kind of sense, one of the less developed one of most of us humans.
Faith is blind, but should not be a blindfold. Eyes are def, but they do not plug your ears. Faith is blind, but shouldn´t close your eyes.
Ultimately, faith really should open one´s eyes. be it of the heart, the spirit or of whatever you may want to call it. Faith is about opening up, not closing.
That´s what I see of faith at least
The way I see it, faith that needs validation is not faith, because faith has nothing to do with reason. You cannot "explain" color blue, you can see it. I see faith as a kind of sense, one of the less developed one of most of us humans.
Faith is blind, but should not be a blindfold. Eyes are def, but they do not plug your ears. Faith is blind, but shouldn´t close your eyes.
Ultimately, faith really should open one´s eyes. be it of the heart, the spirit or of whatever you may want to call it. Faith is about opening up, not closing.
That´s what I see of faith at least