So, eh...I've been going to church quite a bit recently, so far purely out of an educational aspect since I like learning new things and I didn't know much about this particular religion.

I got a friend who is a Jehovah Witness and he tells me that I cannot see religion through logical eyes, in that he says that you just have to have faith. And here we come to my complication...How does one, well, simply give faith into something they do not fully understand? Much less handing that faith over to an entity that may, or may not exist? I compare it to giving a bum $100 and hoping it is used for something good, but knowing full well it will not be.

I'm trying to understand faith, I've never had faith...And since starting my voyage of learning about this new religion I've come to understand that it almost entirely is set on faith. I wish to learn about this, faith, and how/why it works?

Faith is not magical, it doesn't just automatically make things happen, or anything of that such. Faith is belief. Faith isn't secluded to God either. Faith is believing without seeing. This applies to must to most science and almost the entire "history" of the world.

That is why I do believe faith is held so strong by God. Because you're CHOOSING to believe in him and or follow his instructions. You're not being forced, he's not there with a gun to your head. If one chooses, it makes them much happier then if it was forced upon them. Man "the human race" choose to turn away from God and disobey him, thus why he makes us place our faith in him and come to him if we wish to have a relationship.

I know that faith doesn't just magically make things happen, this is not what I am trying to accomplish. The faith I am talking about is secluded to God, due in part to the subject of this thread, therefore I need not know what other forms faith take because they do not apply to the subject.

That is besides the fact that you are talking about two completely different "Faiths." One, the full belief of the doctrines of a religion or religions...The other is complete trust or confidence in someone or something, I have this one fine. The other one I struggle with, now that we have that out of the way...

It isn't that I view myself as being forced, I really want to make the choice...I'm just not comfortable with the notion of placing the same faith that I have in family and a few friends into an invisible giant in the sky, see? I'm trying to understand faith more or less, and apply it to my life as I see fit...So far I got Buddha, but that really isn't faith in a religious sense, but more of a close friend faith.

I have faith. CowboyGH has faith. Lets liken it to riding a bike. At one stage of your life you knew people rode bikes, but you couldn't. You step out in faith because you saw it was possible to ride a bike. You fell off a few times, but mastered the art.

Ah, but you're trying to separate God from secular things. The terms for God/religion mean the same as when used for secular topics. Faith is faith, what you believe. I'll give a couple examples -
- Where you there on the moon when Neil Armstrong stepped foot on it? Or do you accept that he did on faith?
- Where you there when Columbus sailed the seas, even existed, and discovered America?

No, all the above is taken on faith. Taken on faith these things actually happened and taken on faith what is said about them. You need not to answer the questions really, just hypothetical to make the point I'm trying to make.

Faith in itself does not purely pertain to God. Faith can be, and is applied to anything and everything. Two people get married because they have faith they will stay together for ever and never separate from one another. The list could go on and on.

Unless I'm not catching exactly what you're asking, I ask that you please elaborate on exactly what you seek with asking.

Ok, if this was me all that stuff it really wouldn't have helped.

I have faith in lots of things.

I have faith in my husband, because I know him, I know he loves me and will be there for me.

I have faith in my parents because they have always been there for me.

For me my faith in God is exactly the same.

Firstly I believe totally that he is real, I never question it. I think that is the main thing, if you are not 100% sure that God is there, you cannot have faith. Then it is just a maybe.

My faith in God is sometimes shaken, not that he is there, but what sort of God he actually is.

Does he love me, yep i believe he does, so I have faith that he want's what is best for me.

Will he change my life and make everything better.. Nope I don't actually believe he will. Simply because he gave us free will, so he is not going to change every bad decision I make or that someone else makes that may effect me. So I don't have faith that he will give me money or fix everything I ask him to.

I do believe that he can use things that happen in our lives to make us stronger if we let him. I have faith that he is with me when things are going wrong and that I can find comfort in his strenght. However I don't know how this happens I just seem to be able to find peace from believing this, that is part of my faith, trusting that he is there with me and that I can make it through.

I look back through my life and know that my faith, ( My belief in God and knowing that he is with me) has made things so much easier, not him actually doing anything. But the faith to let things go and not hold on to anger, upset, to be able to forgive without questioning, to be able to love easily, to not be upset if I don't have something, or things go wrong and to love getting up every morning, knowing that whatever happens I know that things will be OK.

Bummer but after saying all that I still don't know where it comes from, perhaps it is just having the ability to believe.

Bummer hate it when I double post

The bible tells us to become like little children. They simply trust and believe. Not that complicated at all. You can also pray to have your faith increased.

Faith is a concept that we all use to alleviate worries, fears, and concerns in matters of which we feel inadequate or incapable of controlling.

Many examples appear in this thread similare to:
People can have faith that their relationships are sound and that home is a place of safety.
Children can have faith that their parents will protect them from harm and provide them with the necessities.
People can have faith in medicine, as evidenced by the placebo effect.
People can have faith in a just world, one in which reciprocation always equalizes and people get what’s coming to them.

Notice that none of these things are assured and not all people have such faith – but even in the most devastating of situations (think about genocide (Sudan), and war ridden Middle East, and others in Africa living without shelter, little food, and no clean water)people can still have faith that ‘someone’ will see their plight and send help.

But when we can’t control our environment, when our efforts to understand situations fail to provide 'comforting' answers, we must find relief from stress of worry, guilt, and fear because if we don’t we let it rule our lives. We can become depressed, or violent, incapable of thinking rationally or compassionately and sometimes succumb to a sense of utter helplessness.

Faith is necessary because it allows us to set aside (ignore) the worries and fears, that are always there, so that we can act (do what we need to) in order to survive and contribute to the survival of our loved ones, our society, and humanity itself.

But faith in the continuance of our physical realities (people, medicine, the sun, or in any of the observable natures of our universe) can be betrayed, war happens, people get sick and die, bad things happen to good people, and climate can be destabilized by the presence of humans. So what prevents people from becoming depressed, or violent, incapable of thinking rationally or compassionately and succumbing to a sense of utter helplessness?

Whether it’s due to attaining knowledge about a variety of things or to nurturing, culture, or other experiences or a combination of these things, some people feel self-assured and more in control of their own destiny and less encumbered by worry or fear of naturally occurring events while others prefer to place their faith in something outside of their control such as spirits, angels, and all manner of supernatural forces.

However, there can be (and is) an unfortunate side-effect of faith in the supernatural and it stems from the creatively devised doctrines that most often accompany such faith. In the attempts to understand the interaction between the supernatural and the natural world, people assign natural qualities and characteristics to the supernatural and then they must conform in some way with the ‘created’ mind and thoughts of that supernatural 'other' which is thought to control the natural world.

Unfortunately, that kind of faith does not free people of their worries, fear and guilt; instead, they become prisoners of their faith; what they fear most is that they will betray their own faith. Instead of setting aside their incapacitating concerns, they limit their freedom by being forced to act in accordance with a doctrine of faith. Instead of feeling responsible for their actions, some people who are bound to a religiously acquired doctrinal moral code have eliminated guilt on many levels and often tend to think irrationally and can be hostile toward the actions of others who are not living up the letter of their own limiting doctrinal moral codes.

There is a reason why faith is necessary, but faith in the supernatural can be dangerous to self, society, the environment, and ultimately the survival of the human species.

So what do you think we need to do to eliminate the need for the kind of faith that can lead to devisive and destructive tendencies; how can we build a sense of 'self-determination' while continuing to instill a sense of responsibility for self-behavior and compassion for all the physical others that share our physical reality?

Beautiful illustration of faith!



Your faith is a GIFT from God.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves:
it is the GIFT of God:"
Ephesians 2:8


And I know some are uneasy when scriptures are quoted,
but this is to be understood
by those who have faith in God...

Faith initially comes by hearing the Word of God!!!
Romans 10:17

[Christ]
"In whom ye also trusted,
after that ye heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation:
in whom also after that ye believed,
ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 1:13"

I believe that God is so pleased with our faith
that it pleases Him to grow our faith,
we get better at trusting Him
and He helps us to thrive by that faith.

The Lord gives understanding.
We are not to rest on our own limited understanding of "faith".

We will not obtain understanding by our own ability.

Faith is trusting
that God is true to His Word and promises,
that His wisdom is beyond our comprehension,
and that ALL Power is in HIS hand.

Faith is trusting that salvation is only in Jesus...
"the author and finisher of our faith"

Awesome!

But without faith it is impossible to please HIM:
for he that comes to God must believe that HE is,
and that HE rewards them that diligently seek HIM.

divisiveness and destruction will not be eliminated as long as billions of humans share the same earth,,,

faith is very personal and very subjectively come by, so I dont believe there is a specific faith 'type' that can be eliminated

nor will the need for faith, in whatever subjective forms we each find it,,,

faith is very personal, so Im not sure how anyone can explain it in a manner that is general or all encompassing

for me, my religious convictions are not merely 'faith' founded,,,they are (for me) realistically sound

its similar to when I was younger, I was told I could rub the balloon on fabric and it would 'magically' stick to my hand

before I saw it for myself, I took it on faith, but then it WORKED and my faith became substantial

where my religion is concerned, I have consistently had those same experiences,,,where things were warned as reaping unhealthy or less than desirable end results,, I have seen over and over that they do just that,,,,

after having so much of my religious teaching validated by my personal and life experiences and observations, my faith in the totality has only become more 'logical' to me,,,,

my faith in God is similarly logical because of the complexities of life itself, it is illogical to me to believe it all a huge timeline of coincidences

and I have always 'felt' God with me,,,,,like a memory thats always there, ,,,,,if that makes sense,,,

It is a personal thing, but faith generally covers only the core beliefs- when you start believing the wacky stuff then it isn't faith anymore. Be careful of faith and people of "faith"- these people often post "absolute proofs" about their faith, which generally consist of logical fallacies. For example, the guy who tried to show proof in g-d by example of a banana- he failed to realize that the bananas we eat are man-made mutations and do not occur in nature. If you need proof, then you don't have faith, do you?

I hope you continue to seek the truth.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
1Thessalonians 5:21,

IDK, I've been losing my faith for a while and now I'm trying to figure it out. I was born and raised Christian and have always believed in what I was taught, but IDK anymore.

I wish you the best and truly hope you find what you are seeking and that it is true.

man made bananas? interesting?

r u sure thats what everyone eats?