Definitions of Faith.

chic

chic

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Do you have faith? Have you lost your faith? Has you left your faith? Has your faith left you? How do you define "faith"?

I think Maureen O'Hara said it best in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" when Natalie Wood, who played her little daughter, suffered a crisis of faith - "Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to."

maureen natalie miracle.jpg
 

In 1 Corinthians 13 the apostle Paul spends a lot of time talking about Love - what it is and it isn't, what love does and what it does not.

That passage is often read out at weddings.

Most people are familiar with these verses

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
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While he also mentions faith and hope in this chapter, in the end this is all he has to say about them

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
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So, what is faith? It is not synonymous with belief. I think it is more like trust in something intangible. Little children tend to trust their parents instinctively. This is the first stage of faith.

Later in life some of us develop faith in ourselves, in our own capacities and judgment, others place their faith in their acquired wealth. Jesus told a parable about the rich man who spent all of his life accumulating a huge stockpile of grain, hoping to live comfortably for the rest of his life. He built huge granaries and filled them but he died as soon as the work was finished. His faith was misplaced.

Every time I sit in a plane about to take off, or I am about to be given an anaesthetic before an operation, I close my eyes and talk to God for a couple of minutes. I give thanks for my life and express my faith that whatever the outcome, all will be well because I have faith in the goodness of God.

Sometimes I'm not sure what I believe about God; that has changed over the decades and there was a time when I believed that God was purely imaginary. What I do know is that I choose to place my faith in the goodness of something that I don't really understand. This anchors me and gives my existence purpose.

So there you are - my take on what I think and personally experience faith to be.
 

I define faith as belief without evidence. Sometimes it's belief despite evidence to the contrary of what is taken on faith.

I was raised in a Catholic home, but there were some non-religious family members, and a bunch of engineers in the family as well. So, while I was sent to mass and Sunday school every week, I was also exposed to other points of view from a young age. During high school I started to wonder if the church was just an empty shell, a fancy facade behind which was nothing. By freshman year at college, I had consciously rejected faith as a path to knowledge.

Show me some evidence or go away.
 
I don't think I ever had faith in an omnipotent billions of years old supernatural being.

As a child I did believe the stories in the bible. Then as I got older & began questioning different things my view of the bible stories changed. No reason to post the various things that I questioned. I'm comfortable with what I believe.

My oldest son is an ordained minister so I don't talk to my sons about religion, what they choose to believe or not is up to them.
 
oldaunt said:
From all I have seen of the hypocrisy (!) of "Christians", I have absolutely NO faith in the religion.
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Does something like a Russian Orthodox priest that promotes the invasion & killing of innocent Ukrainians & lives very well due to the support of Putin fit hypocrisy.


Russian Orthodox leader backs war in Ukraine, divides faith​

https://www.washingtonpost.com › world › 2022/04/18

6 days ago — Patriarch Kirill has angered many priests by echoing the language Vladimir Putin uses to justify the Ukraine invasion.
 
Capt Lightning said:
Faith is like a blind person looking in a dark room for a black cat that isn't there - and finding it!
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oldaunt said:
From all I have seen of the hypocrisy (!) of "Christians", I have absolutely NO faith in the religion.
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I raybar:
I Show me some evidence or go away.
_____________________________

Once I die, if nothing is there, then I'll have lost nothing.

Once I die and there IS something there, then I'll have everything to gain.

Hmm:unsure: guess I'll keep my faith. Looks like I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I've seen plenty of evidence for my faith but I understand that we all have varying degrees of "sight"...by choice.

I also believe I'm not a "hypocrite".
I'm not perfect but I'm always trying.
I'm improving as time goes on.

In the end I still won't be perfect but I'll be a little closer and worthy to be with Jesus
Every time I fall I'm lifted up and my faith grows stronger.
I love the unbelievers and it would be nice if they could accept me with kindness ❤️
 
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Beware of zealots who claim to know the one true path to eternal life, those who believe it is their duty to tell you how you must live your lives, for I have been convinced that after seven plus decades of life we must each one of us ultimately find our own way to personal salvation. I have long ago concluded that with so many religions (and sub-religions etc. within), that they can't all be right, so they must all be wrong. Except for what they may all have in common--have moral and ethical standards, be a good person and most of all be good to others (aka the golden rule). I would also add, contrary to many of them, that one should be non-judgmental and non-dogmatic. That is my faith, and as Lara says "I have nothing to lose and everything to gain."
 
chic said:
Do you have faith? Have you lost your faith? Has you left your faith? Has your faith left you? How do you define "faith"?
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I define faith as a belief in something for which there is no rational or scientific proof.

I have faith in people, many of my friends and family, I have faith that they are good people. Without needing proof.

Guess there are other things. Like the US dollar, rationally I know currency is illusionary, only value is what people give it. And I have faith that for the foreseeable future people will continue to accept our dollars. I am sure I could add to this list.

Probably not quite the question you were asking...
 
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Alligatorob said:
I define faith as a belief in something for which there is no rational or scientific proof.

I have faith in people, many of my friends and family, I have faith that they are good people. Without needing proof.

Guess there are other things. Like the US dollar, rationally I know currency is illusionary, only value is what people give it. And I have faith that for the foreseeable future people will continue to accept our dollars. I am sure I could add to this list.

Probably not quite the question you were asking...
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Nevertheless, a good answer. Faith is not something that only applies to religion. Faith is an attribute of the human race and it begins in infancy because it is innate.. As the child grows, so faith develops in the same way that intellect does, with recognisable stages of development. People familiar with Kohlberg's work on stages of moral development may be interested in Fowler's work on stages of faith development.

In short, we are all born with something that is a human attribute. How developed faith becomes depends on our life experiences and to some extent where we choose to place our faith. In some people faith is highly developed and in others it is stunted, but religious or not, we all have faith in something.
 
Knight said:
Does something like a Russian Orthodox priest that promotes the invasion & killing of innocent Ukrainians & lives very well due to the support of Putin fit hypocrisy.

Russian Orthodox leader backs war in Ukraine, divides faith​

https://www.washingtonpost.com › world › 2022/04/18

6 days ago — Patriarch Kirill has angered many priests by echoing the language Vladimir Putin uses to justify the Ukraine invasion.
Click to expand...
That's departing from "faith" and focusing on "church". Churches have historically, supported war.
 
Faith is just not a religious term though the OP's use is narrowly in the religious sense.

A strong or unshakeable belief in something, especially without proof or evidence.
A conviction of the truth of certain doctrines of religion, especially when this is not fully based on known certain facts, science, or reason.

As a child in a Christian family, I had faith. As a teenager unable to adequately understand what might be religiously possible while seeking earthly pleasures, I lost certain faith, with one foot in Hell another in Heaven. As a middle aged adult, I studied the subject enough to regain enough faith to choose to believe again despite lack of certainties. I purposely chose to act as though I believe strongly because the gift of positive loving eternal life is of greatest importance to this otherwise mortal organic being that values life and existence.

As a senior, I have even more Christian faith now because given recent advances in AI science, I would argue within the vast universe and infinite past time, it is almost certain we humans are not the only intelligent lifeforms ever to reach a technical science level. And since we are likely just years away from creating a likely singularity level AI that could self evolve beyond, such would have already occurred on other worlds. And once such occurred, it would if not physically destroyed, be essentially immortal. The further question is how knowledgeable, powerful, and interstellar could such an entity become given physical realities of time, space, matter in a universe of galaxies as we find ourselves in?

This person leans towards believing such an entity I refer to as UIE's would tend to appear like god's to primitive humans and that was indeed reflected in primitive scribblings in our Bible. Even if our god does not have [magic like] powers promoted by theological philosophers: omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, if such a limited ultimate entity of goodness and love can possibly give me eternal life, I don't care what one calls it god or whatever. Such a would be THE ultimate gift in the universe to any mortal organic being that values life and existence.
 
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Warrigal said:
So, what is faith? It is not synonymous with belief.
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True

James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. That's fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear.

Prayerfully studying The Word creates faith in God
It can be picked apart by the pessimist
But for those looking, seeking.....the depths are profound

Faith in people, fellowman?
That's the toughie.
It's an ugly world.
I've found it best to instill faith in our fellow men by example
I've only found that thru study
I've seen it change folks
Even incorrigible me
 
chic said:
That's departing from "faith" and focusing on "church". Churches have historically, supported war.
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I was looking at the priest as promoting faith. A faith that what Putin was doing was sanctioned by that omnipotent supernatural being that has a plan for everyone.

If true that churches support war then faith that omnipotent supernatural being that has a plan for everyone surely is anti moral.

If a dictionary definition of faith is what was anticipated I could have copied that. I took this thread as wanting to look at how faith is used to justify actions by mankind.
 
Warrigal said:
In 1 Corinthians 13 the apostle Paul spends a lot of time talking about Love - what it is and it isn't, what love does and what it does not.
That passage is often read out at weddings. Most people are familiar with these verses While he also mentions faith and hope in this chapter, in the end this is all he has to say about them.
So, what is faith? It is not synonymous with belief. I think it is more like trust in something intangible. Little children tend to trust their parents instinctively. This is the first stage of faith.

Later in life some of us develop faith in ourselves, in our own capacities and judgment, others place their faith in their acquired wealth. Jesus told a parable about the rich man who spent all of his life accumulating a huge stockpile of grain, hoping to live comfortably for the rest of his life. He built huge granaries and filled them but he died as soon as the work was finished. His faith was misplaced.

Every time I sit in a plane about to take off, or I am about to be given an anaesthetic before an operation, I close my eyes and talk to God for a couple of minutes. I give thanks for my life and express my faith that whatever the outcome, all will be well because I have faith in the goodness of God.

Sometimes I'm not sure what I believe about God; that has changed over the decades and there was a time when I believed that God was purely imaginary. What I do know is that I choose to place my faith in the goodness of something that I don't really understand. This anchors me and gives my existence purpose.

So there you are - my take on what I think and personally experience faith to be.
Click to expand...
Warrigal said:
In 1 Corinthians 13 the apostle Paul spends a lot of time talking about Love - what it is and it isn't, what love does and what it does not.

That passage is often read out at weddings.

Most people are familiar with these verses


While he also mentions faith and hope in this chapter, in the end this is all he has to say about them
Click to expand...
(See below)
Warrigal said:
So, what is faith? It is not synonymous with belief. I think it is more like trust in something intangible. Little children tend to trust their parents instinctively. This is the first stage of faith.
Later in life some of us develop faith in ourselves, in our own capacities and judgment, others place their faith in their acquired wealth. Jesus told a parable about the rich man who spent all of his life accumulating a huge stockpile of grain, hoping to live comfortably for the rest of his life. He built huge granaries and filled them but he died as soon as the work was finished. His faith was misplaced.

Every time I sit in a plane about to take off, or I am about to be given an anaesthetic before an operation, I close my eyes and talk to God for a couple of minutes. I give thanks for my life and express my faith that whatever the outcome, all will be well because I have faith in the goodness of God.

Sometimes I'm not sure what I believe about God; that has changed over the decades and there was a time when I believed that God was purely imaginary. What I do know is that I choose to place my faith in the goodness of something that I don't really understand. This anchors me and gives my existence purpose.

So there you are - my take on what I think and personally experience faith to be.
Click to expand...
I doubt anyone will ever top the post you've given here, and the passage you've so rightly highlighted as the most important aspect to consider either, (if anyone had beaten it I'd guess many people would have acknowledged such wisdom, not least your good self). :)
 
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