And why are we expected to pick up on it? Am i going to hell because i don't have faith that God exists? Maybe I want to believe he exists, but I just don't. Because how could I? Does he expect us to be stupid and lose our sense of logic long enough to say, "I have absolutely no proof or evidence, but i know that God exists"? I value other people's happiness more than my own, and I try to be the best person I can be. Yet some religions would still tell me that I'm not going to achieve salvation because I don't have faith. I know that all religions are not like this, but with my experience most chirstian denominations tell you that you MUST have faith and you MUST keep it strong. If you have to actively force yourself to believe something then your just being naive They tell you to keep your faith strong by reading the Bible, praying, and going to church (among other things). Well if you tell a child to read books about an imaginary friend, and to sit down and talk to that imaginary friend every once in a while, and then you stick him in a room full of other people who also believe in that imaginary friend while they all listen to some guy preaching about the imaginary friend.... then yeah, we would call this child's "faith" a "complex"... looks pretty assanine when you take this whol religion thing out of context huh? i realize this example isn't totally relatable because of course a child would crack at much less, but I'm just saying that in the environment religious people put themselves in, of course they are going to develop "faith". But I'm fairly certain this phenomena is more related to muscle memory than and spiritual connection. Please tell me if this is just me missing something that's right in front of me. Otherwise, it seems like having faith in a totally intangible person is just going against the intuition that God supposedly gave us in the first place. RELIGIOUS NUTS: READ THIS I know that amidst the chaos of trying to not masturbate your tiny penises and the utter rage you are experiencing right now, your mind may become overloaded and you will probably want to resort to profanity and yelling. BUT instead of that, please just simply tell me WHY you believe in God in a calm and concise way. I would really like to have an open-minded discussion here rather than a "let's fuck shit up" type of thing. Anyway, enough typing. I'm excited to hear what GC has to say. (And btw of course I meant nothing by the jokes, I'm just trying to compensate for my own... short... comings. GET IT? AHAHAHA i KILL myself) EDIT: I know i kinda went all over the place here but im sure you know why that is
There are some gems in there. The majority of Christians do not follow the words of Christ very well. Many Christians are afraid to question their beliefs in order to find truth. This is not the long and narrow path to heaven. Traditionally speaking, as most people of the world are not of God, God's true "people" must be few and far between; Lonely and not fitting any stereotypes that skeptics or atheists can speak of.
Faith was accurately defined by Richard Dawkins as the "great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence." You say that you don't fit the stereotype, but in fact, you do. Every religious person fits the bill as someone who is credulous and irrational. You all believe in something without a shred of evidence. You lack the basic fundamentals of skepticism and critical thought when it comes to religious matters. If you didn't fit the stereotype, you would not value faith as a means of understanding and deeper inquiry. You wouldn't value baseless assertions and contrivances of the superstitious mind.
imo, it all comes down to people being afraid of nothingness after death so humans made up religion to give them a false sense of comfort.
Faith is what you want it to be.... It is the belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing... I think you know whats right for you, cause you get that sense of belonging and you know your purpose. For me thats being catholic, but thats just me. But hey, what ever floats your boat you should follow gut. Whether its being Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, or even Atheist...
I think it is more nuanced than that. It could have been used by people to facilitate their own means to political power. It was our first attempt at understanding the world. Our first attempt at philosophy, of "science" (I use that word generously here), and of "history" (again, loosely attributed). Religion also encompasses regional concepts of moral codes and precepts. It creates a communal bond between people, and so, could have been a way to establish tribe identity. It has become greatly enlarged by globalism, as can be observed by AutisticParrot's remark that with a particular faith, "you get that sense of belonging and you know your purpose" among a larger group of people, like Catholics. It could also give people hope or at least console those who are afraid of the unknown, as you've said.
I never said anything about ME. What I want to know is: what makes everyone think the evidence for a God is even comprehensible? Why is the idea of God compartmentalized and bastardized to something that sits in a chair just beyond the O-Zone layer? With all the interpretations of God, his unknowableness, his otherworldliness, his esoteric descriptions, his paradoxical nature, his everpresent ephemeralness, why do you expect to find mineral traces or footprints? If you pay attention to the mythologies, it is quite obvious why there would be no scientific proof for YHVH (Two people will read this. One will say ''anyone who listens to this is ignorant and not willing to see past their blindness''. The other will say ''anyone who listens to this is ignorant and not willing to see past their blindness''. Who are either of these people to say the other is wrong?)
God doesn't fit in the box so it's no surprise you haven't found him there. JK. What is a 'religious person'? Connotations, connotations, connotations. It begins with recognizing how ambiguous you really can't help but be. But throw away your own for the standard and something is lost. Experience without mental filtering brings a feel to everything that could certainly be described as divine. Saying all 'religious people' believe in something without a shred of evidence seems to fly a nice red flag. What is evidence? You can't prove that anything exists. All you have are electrical signals that your brain interprets. I could say that all scientists have their heads stuck within the results they want and while I might be right in even the majority of cases, I would still be lying. Many church raised people may blindly believe. Many people might have simply stumbled into something that strikes them as similar to others' descriptions of divine experiences. Would they tend to call themselves religious do you think? I don't. My religion is observation if you like to think of it that way. Any description or statement misses the mark. Simply. Any belief (which is what you are thinking of when you think 'faith') is a veil over your metaphorical eyes. Definitions are beliefs. You don't have to suffer at all for the rest of your life. Nothing mandates that. Do you read me?
What is the basis for your faith? Not trying to sway your beliefs, I just wanna get inside your head.
So... you believe that there is a God because you think the evidence that there is one is: God is your savior? God exists because... God is the Savior of the World... which makes him God... So... *repeat* At least you were honest when you admitted to circular reasoning being the basis of your belief. Most people aren't as humble. So, the basis of your faith, is, by your own admission, indoctrination. You often don't find Christians who are this truthful. The sad thing is, I don't think you understand the scope of what you said.
It was hard for me to explain it. What I meant was that Christianity/God/Jesus has been apart of my life since I was a child. I wasn't forced to believe in God; it was my own choosing.
It was a part of my childhood too. I was raised as an indoctrinated Christian and went to a private Christian school for 10 years. I believed on the basis of my own choosing because that is all I ever knew. That is a moot point.
in respone to the OP... faith - 8 dictionary results –noun 1. \tconfidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability. 2. \tbelief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact. 3. \tbelief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims. 4. \tbelief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty. 5. \ta system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith. 6. \tthe obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith. 7. \tthe observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles. 8. \tChristian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.