Is Faith reasonable?

[URAVIP2ME]

Faith that is blind is not faith but credulity.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

If someone denies something scientific, based on nothing more than what they believe, then that's blind faith. Hypothetically, if someone's religion taught them that the sky is green with pink polka dots, and trees grow babies, then there are people who would vehemently deny the truth. Faith is about spiritual matters, reason is about physical matters. Like I said earlier, though, this doesn't necessarily mean that faith and reason can't coexist, or even crossover from time to time. But they really have no business dealing head on with each other.

 

[bigbadgirl]

Faith is the belief in things that are unprovable, un-scientific, and/or fiction. There is nothing wrong with it. It simply exists among weak people.

 

[1137]

Faith is the belief in things that are unprovable, un-scientific, and/or fiction. There is nothing wrong with it. It simply exists among weak people.

That's quite immature, not to mention hypocritical. Are you claiming that you have no faith, or that you are weak?

 

[Tiberius]

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?

What is the purpose of a rock in the middle of the ocean floor? What is the purpose of an asteroid orbiting a star in a galaxy millions of light years away?

You see, one can look at a white blood cell and see what it does and determine its purpose. One can see that it functions as part of a larger organism, in which each part has a specific role to play, and it does nothing but that role.

Yet Humans don't act like this. The process by which we determine the purpose of a white blood cell doesn't give us any information when we apply it to Humans. Either the technique is flawed (which is not a conclusion supported when we consider that the technique has given us a great deal of information about the universe), or Humans don't have a purpose in the same way that a white blood cell does.

 

[Prophet]

Blind faith is a paradox. The concept of faith has it held up as an unshakable belief in the truth. Unshakable, indeed! To be fully confident of a belief by blinding yourself to all evidence to the contrary is the fundamentalist version of faith, and it is hypocrisy.

True faith is much different. It is an unshakable knowledge of the truth experienced by those who enter the unitive state. All that you've ever experienced, thought, and known will fit together. When I experienced this, I forgot all about my belief or doubt in God. I only realized a few days later I had met God there for the first time when I also realized that I had no questions left for Him.

May you all find the answers to all of your questions as well.

 

[Asking]

I am starting this thread as a means of discussing the concept of faith; what it is, the reasons for it, and how it compare's to a skeptic's idea of "evidence."

What is it? The belief that an idea is true before it's been verified.

Reason? Individuals rarely have time to subject an issue to detailed study before making a decision. Add to this social pressures to align with a particular view point and very quickly people build a worldview which is based on a series of questionable assumptions. As far as I'm concerned all people do this but the worldview they create varies and in the cases of those strong religious and/or political views they are more confident in their assumptions about the world and possible have more of them

Comparison to skeptics idea of evidence? The problem with evidence is that it's not always as conclusive as it's made out to be and can often be interpreted in different ways depending on an individuals viewpoint. That said as long as a skeptic is aware of the limitations of their evidence and also their own theoretical biases then this problem can be somewhat aleviated.

The main difference between faith and evidence is that faiths standards are pretty low. A person with faith in something doesn't need confirmation because they know it's already true which opens the door for all sorts of rubbish being accept as true. It's also nigh on impossible to change the opinions of people who rely on faith because evidence doesn't mean anything to them when it comes to their beliefs.

Granted some people use the word evidence liberally and what they consider to be good evidence is not but at least with those people you can demostrate the faults with their evidence. You can't engage someone in this fashion when it comes to faith based beliefs.

 

[Thief]

Faith is the belief in things that are unprovable, un-scientific, and/or fiction. There is nothing wrong with it. It simply exists among weak people.

That's a poor assumption.

Granted, some people think in a shallow manner...and that is a weakness.

However, poor logic is also a weakness...that leads to poor assumptions.

 

[Gharib]

What is the purpose of a rock in the middle of the ocean floor? What is the purpose of an asteroid orbiting a star in a galaxy millions of light years away?

You see, one can look at a white blood cell and see what it does and determine its purpose. One can see that it functions as part of a larger organism, in which each part has a specific role to play, and it does nothing but that role.

Yet Humans don't act like this. The process by which we determine the purpose of a white blood cell doesn't give us any information when we apply it to Humans. Either the technique is flawed (which is not a conclusion supported when we consider that the technique has given us a great deal of information about the universe), or Humans don't have a purpose in the same way that a white blood cell does.

i didn't imply that out purpose is the same as that of a white blood cell, nor is it the same as that of a rock or an asteroid.

are you telling me that rocks and asteroids have no purpose? do volcanoes, which we consider destructive, have no purpose?

i am not aware of anything that exists which doesn't have a purpose. if you know anything to the contrary tell me and if your reasoning is sound i will change my view.

 

[obi one]

I am starting this thread as a means of discussing the concept of faith; what it is, the reasons for it, and how it compare's to a skeptic's idea of "evidence."

I think one would have to define faith. The faith of Abraham is the faith of acting on what one believes. The faith of the average "Christian" would be something more etherial.

I would think the better discussion would be one of the comparison of belief versus evidence. By the current scientific point of view, the observer and measurer of evidence, has an affect on the data taken. Also, in the scientific realm, as speed is a measurement of time, and time varies with speed, especially in the range of the speed of light, then where are your constants in taking evidence?

As for belief, there are too many different beliefs to list and compare, at least in an acceptable forum format. Most beliefs being somewhat false, but the summation of the testimony of Yeshua, is to do to others as you would have done to you. If you find fault with this belief, then that is fine, but it would be hard to compare this type of belief with a "skeptics idea of "evidence"".

 

[bigbadgirl]

My faith is trust but verify. No verify, no trust, no faith. I have faith only in those things which exist, and I can verify that they exist or have existed. There are religions that teach that this world is only an illusion, yet I have found no evidence to support it. But at least I am still looking.

 

[waitasec]

religious faith is ultimately unfounded confidence...

 

[Thief]

religious faith is ultimately unfounded confidence...

That will be believable, AFTER you stand up from your dead body to repeat it.

 

[Sunstone]

That will be believable, AFTER you stand up from your dead body to repeat it.

You have no evidence for your claim, though.

 

[Thief]

You have no evidence for your claim, though.

And as always ....faith requires no proving.

I suppose you don't believe in the afterlife?

 

[St Giordano Bruno]

All depends what you mean by faith as the word can have many different meanings. If you just mean a personal confidence any anything like for instance a certain computer device or a power tool then it perfectly reasonable, but if you mean the basis of a religious dogma or a synonym of a specific religion then it could be anything but reasonable.

 

[PolyHedral]

That's quite immature, not to mention hypocritical. Are you claiming that you have no faith, or that you are weak?

It's entirely possible that he has no faith as he has described it.

That will be believable, AFTER you stand up from your dead body to repeat it.

One day, they woke me up, so I could live forever...
It's such a shame you think you need to be divine to be immortal.

 

[rusra02]

I am starting this thread as a means of discussing the concept of faith; what it is, the reasons for it, and how it compare's to a skeptic's idea of "evidence."

According to the Bible, "Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities, though not beheld." (Hebrews 11:1) The expression "assured expectation" refers to a guarantee that leads one to believe, as if a written guarantee is given. "Evident demonstration" conveys the idea of evidence that demonstrates the truthfulness of something.
Thus faith is not credulity, but based on realities and concrete evidence for those realities, even if not beheld. For example, people have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow, that summer will come, etc. based on the evidence that they will, even though these things have not yet happened.

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[waitasec]

And as always ....faith requires no proving.

I suppose you don't believe in the afterlife?

and how is that any different from...?

religious faith is ultimately unfounded confidence...

 

[Thief]

and how is that any different from...?

Belief is foundation.

You don't have any.