Originally Posted by
Blackwater
1. I'd have to disagree with you here. Faith is NOT belief in spite of "insufficient evidence." It is belief with evidence that comes right up to "proof," but not quite the whole thing. It is belief based on past positive experience that indicates that even though we may not fully understand, it is nevertheless true. It is most definitely NOT belief without facts or reason. We who believe have many, many reasons to have faith in the things that we are told, but fail to understand sufficiently to "know" conclusively that they're true. But we believe them anyway. And the curious thing is, the more we study and discuss, the more we come to understand, and occasionally, we have an epiphany or a revelation that seems to come all by its own self, and come to finally understand things that before, had mystified and been opaque to us. This is the fruit of complying with Christ's admonition to "study to show thyself approved." Only when we've sincerely, diligently and humbly studied, and kept our minds open, can we truly understand some of the more obscure teachings of Christ. Even the newcomer can glean quite enough to sustain them for a while, and carry them to Heaven, but there will always be a benefit of long life, and constant and persistent study and observation. This isn't a huge difference between us, but it's enough to warrant a little clarification. And as to faith being equated with "facts," they ARE facts to believers, but will and can never be equated with "facts" with unbelievers, because faith requires a substance that unbelievers simply cannot possess. And that's conviction, and experience that constantly supports our faith. Have you ever seen a miracle? I have. PM me and I'll tell you about it if you wish. But it's a given that the profane will NEVER accept anything to do with faith as a "fact," just as you state. So what does that make the price of beans in Idaho????
2. You make a significant point here, and you're a good student of typical human behavior. But let us never forget that what we're talking about here, is human behavior, and NOT the Bible's influence on them.
3. SOME people believe as you describe, but they can't really be called "Christians." They're just pretenders, most likely who join a church for the purpose of social interactions or other considerations. So please, let's not really deal with them as if they were real, true Christians.
4. Yeah, it IS a good philosophical tool, but it's so very much more than that when it comes to Christianity. As to its not being suitable for "everyday decision making," that couldn't be further from the truth. First you describe the obvious difference between "faith and facts," and then you demean faith in following statements, and now, you minimize its effect and benefit to all of us by relegating it to a simple "tool" that we use to "control the masses." That is such a limited view, it really can't be dealt with on a forum like this due to a lack of space to really get into the depths of this matter. But everyone has to have something to believe in. I'm not sure what your "thing" is, but so be it. And God be with you, my friend.