Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm hoping, probably naively, that this won't turn into a bun fight.
So, I've not Googled the meaning of religious faith but I will just share some of my thoughts here.
There are a lot of religions in the world. They can't all be right, can they?
Surely if what a person of faith believes is true, that particular faith must be true for everyone?
After death we can't all be shooting off to different places, can we?
I haven't read about this but a friend of mine (autistic) has a special interest in faith and reads reams of books.
He is particularly interested in Shamanism and I find that quite fascinating.
I find ancient and 'Tribal' religions of great interest.
I'm agnostic.
However, I'm not sure which fence I sit on as all the major religions have something to offer but some of them have caused a lot of death and suffering too over the centuries.
My husband believes that the world was created by aliens. Is this a faith too, even if not a religious one?
People sometimes talk as though they know that their faith is true.
However, how can it be as the word 'faith' is explicitely saying it's a belief.
It can't be proven as what happens after death can't be known.
Also even if historical figures such as Jesus did live (and there is evidence that this is true) it's our interpretation of their signficance that is pertinent.
Hence the word 'faith'.
If you have a faith, please share why you believe if you care to.
Please also just share your thoughts on this.
Thanks.
As a very comfortable atheist, I would describe faith as "unnecessary" At best, it's believing in silly stuff without evidence or good reasonAt worst it's excuse-making for beliefs untethered from reality and an open door for conspiracy theories and the like.If it's a question of live with or without, I say "let it go" much more happiness, freedom and flourishing awaits you that way. If it's a question of why do people believe in what they do. Stumps me. People believe all sorts of weird things and not always for clear, logical reasons. I've read about funerary procedures from other cultures, ancestor worship, mono and pan-theism. Arguments of philosophers and theologians. None of them have ever demonstrated that gods and deities and born from that human need to create a deity which we do on the regular throughout history. It would be very odd if one of those turned out to be real when all others are fictional. I find the history of how the bible was written by whom when and why to be intensely fascinating - which betrays it's origins as a very terrestrial book* cut through with the kind of factional human disputes and manipulations that undercut the idea that it is revelatory with divine ideas.*for instance in The Gospel of John when Pilate interviews Jesus after his denunciation by the Pharisees, the author goes out of his way to paint the two figures as alone. Pilate even leaves and goes outside to converse with the Pharisees.This is the famous scene that contains fabulous lines like "What is Truth" and "My kingdom is not of this Earth" But how did the author of John's gospel know that's what they said?It's not like there was a roman stenographer recording the exchanges in shorthand Latin, nor was John hiding behind the conveniently large flowerpot with a papyrus and quill. Jesus was dead a matter of hours later - and Pilate is then recalled to Rome John being the last of the gospels to be written (about 80 years later after the execution) so how on earth did the author of John know what words were said?Logical problems like that litter the the bible.I once tried reading the Qu'ran - it was so dull. I switched to a book about computational mathematics for relief.