Faith is NOT belief without evidence. Agree?

Question

We have evidence. We have the Bible. We have the Holy Spirit which gives us a feeling that is undeniable. Faith is not belief without evidence. The evidence may be emotional and in the heart, but it IS evidence.

What do you think?

Answer 1

I have 7 books that tell me Harry Potter is real. And they were all written by the same person.

Answer 2

Ok, the bible is riddled with errors and contradictions. Not exactly a good piece of evidence. It is evidence that early man were story tellers. That is pretty much it.



You have a holy spirit? Show me some photographs of this holy spirit? How do you confirm that a holy spirit exists? Please give more evidence that what the UFO people give, such as something that can actually be seen or observed.



If you consider your "evidence" to be evidence then it is possible, if you were on a jury, to send someone to death row just because you know in your heart that person is a killer even though all physical evidence points away from that conclusion.



Also, what is there that makes your religion the true religion. There are hundreds of different religions. All of them have pretty much the same amount of evidence. What is the evidence that shows the the christians were right and the aztecs were wrong? You holding up a bible? Umm, the aztecs recorded their beliefs too, so they have an equivalent piece of evidence to back theirs up. What about the ancient Egyptians? They recorded their beliefs as well. So, that should be considered evidence that their religion is correct. However, that would contradict your religion which means that one of them has to be wrong. What makes more sense is that both of them is wrong. Evidence in the form of a story written in a book without physical evidence backing it up is not evidence.

Answer 3

1. We have the Bible- Circular- God is real, because it says so in the Bible, how do we know the Bible is true? It says so in the Bible. With only a book for evidence with almost no outside proof- you have nothing but a circular argument.



2. You mean endorphines? I can have a religious experience with some mushrooms and a couple bowls- brain chemistry can make you feel all sorts of things... with or without drugs. Again- no gods included.



3. When you feel an emotion, it is IRRELEVANT in an argument. I can tell you that I felt Marilyn Monroe giving me a full body massage... but I can't show you something I felt- thus it is not evidence that can be backed up... testimonial at best.



Sorry... if you had evidence or proof, you wouldn't NEED faith.

Answer 4

The Bible isn't evidence.



As for the feeling, yes, it's evidence. But drawing the conclusion from that feeling that there's a super-being that created everything and listens to you, etc. is faith.



There's no evidence for those conclusions (or the conclusions go way beyond the evidence).



As for me, I have never had any experience that I interpret as a "Holy Spirit" so I have no evidence at all.



There's another way of looking at it, though. If you think of evidence as public (as fingerprints are something the cops can show the jury in a trail, for instance), then, no your FEELING isn't evidence, as you can't show me those feelings, or in any other way directly share them (I can't feel, hear, see, or smell your feelings).

Answer 5

The bible is actually better evidence AGAINST the validity of your religion than for it. The book is full of inconsistencies, contradictions, misinformation, and nastiness.



Other religions claim to have things that give them feelings that prove their religion is true too. Your feelings are no better than theirs. So, obviously, that is pretty crappy evidence. In fact, its not evidence at all.



Also, a lot of Christians that claim to have those feelings are nasty, mean people who are bigoted, ignorant, and hateful. So, apparently, those feelings may even be associated with some unpleasant, ungodly entities - rather than any "good" god.



Your faith is not belief without evidence. Your faith is actually belief DESPITE evidence.

Answer 6

Agree totally.



I don't DO blind faith.



Marooned: Not true. You might want to take some time to actually study the prophecies written in the bible and then look at the historical evidence of their fulfillment, A case in point: The prophecies in the Book of Daniel. This book was accused by many of actually being a book of history not of prophecy. Why? Because the prophecies came true with such accuracy. Interestingly enough fragments of the book of Daniel were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which predate the events that Daniel wrote about by close to 100 years. Another is the dismissal of Pontius Pilate as a real historical person. Turns out archaeologists have discovered evidence of his real existence as well.



As far as the dictionary definition of faith is concerned: Well you're talking apples and oranges. That is indeed an accurate definition when you are talking about humans dealing with humans. We are imperfect, fallible. Another way to put it is someone saying "trust me" when they have not given you any reason to do so.



Not true with faith in God and his Word.

Answer 7

This is how I define faith. This is also known as the realist or rational view of faith.



1) Faith is commitment or trust in a person, God, in the case of religion, on the basis of knowledge.



2) Faith is fully compatible with the normal operation of reason.



3) Disagreements have to be resloved along the normal lines (meaning using reason the same way we would with any other issue).



The act of faith is always the result of knowledge. Faith is not a kind of knowing, it is based on knowing. Faith is not an operation of reason, but it is compatible with reason. Faith is an act of trust based on knowledge.

Answer 8

Yes. I have mountains of evidence, from my own experience of God's faithfulness. This kind of evidence could never be presented in a court. That is what I love about being a Christian; your relationship with God is intensely personal.

Answer 9

Clearly it's 'evidence' enough for you so enjoy. No one is saying you can't believe anything you like based upon whatever you might call evidence.



If a third hand translation of documents most of which no one knows the author of is evidence enough for you then who am I or anyone else for that matter to tell you that it isn't?

Answer 10

There is more evidence than that.

Get some Josh McDowell books.

I'm guessing you are not from the West b/c we don't appreciate God much here in the West.

Sometimes I wish I was as desperate for Him as I used to be but I'm afraid of having those consequences for my actions back.

Answer 11

Not real evidence.



I can point to moby dick and claim that whales hold feelings of revenge, but am I basing that belief on real evidence or an emotionally written fictitious book.



Same applies to the bible.



One man had a bad experience while whaling and figured that whales have revenge emotions, other men saw lightning, and rainbows and stars and disease and figured there must be a being controlling it all.

Answer 12

"We have evidence. We have the Bible"



How about "Faith is belief without having the foggiest idea what evidence is"?

Answer 13

You are completely wrong.



Faith can refer to a religion, or to believe in one or more deities. It has two general implications which can be implied either exclusively or mutually:



To trust:

Believing a certain variable will act or has the potential to act a specific way despite the potential influence and probability of known or unknown change.

To have faith in ones spouse that he/she will keep a promise of commitment

To have faith that the world will someday be peaceful

To have faith in a person to pay you back

To have faith is to be full dependant on the Will of supernatural forces or deities.

To believe without reason:

Believing impulsively, or believing based upon social traditions or personal hopes

In either case, Faith is based upon the interpretation of the intangible (feelings, emotions, etc.) instead of the physically tangible and is primarily associated with religion in modern times.

Answer 14

Lets just say that as far as need for proof goes, my standards are a bit higher than simple faith or the bible.



Liesel.

Answer 15

The Bible is no more evidence than my answer is evidence of the contrary... evidence means SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

Answer 16

but faith is also not only based on emotional feeling and the decision to believe what you want to believe. you have to have evidence why you believe if you want to be taken seriously.

Answer 17

No, the definition of faith is belief without proof or reason. Emotion is not proof and not reason.



That doesn't make faith bad, or "less" than other things. It's faith. It is what it is.

Answer 18

Faith is health.



We are healed from the effects of sin.



But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5



Healing is the proof that something, medication, therapy, a procedure, etc. has done what it was promised to do.

Answer 19

I agree partially.

Faith is built on evidence.

However, the evidence is not a feeling.

Its concrete facts that would stand up in a court of law.

Answer 20

Emotions are not evidence. Many religions have their respective holy books, they are not evidence.

Answer 21

Not evidence. Sorry.

Answer 22

I agree.



we Christians have evidences for God's existence such as fulfilled biblical prophecy, Jesus' resurrection, the Transcendental Argument, the entropy problem, etc.

Answer 23

I think you have disregarded every dictionary ever written. Just because you would like to interject your personal feelings into the word does not mean you are correct. Sorry, I cannot agree with you.



Merriam-Webster definition of faith:

b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof

Answer 24

From what I've seen, faith can be belief *despite* evidence.

Answer 25

You have faith in the men who wrote the bible. You have faith that you've been told the truth. Your faith is entirely in men, and there is no evidence they were right.

Answer 26

I half agree. Faith is not belief without evidence. Faith is belief INSPITE of contradictory evidence actually

Answer 27

I have a bridge in brooklyn that I'd like to sell you. Somebody wrote me a deed too it, and I feel in my heart that it is mine. Cash please--In God I trust-all others pay cash.

Answer 28

lol.

just the opposite.

feelings, rhetoric, allegory, belief, abstract ideas are not evidence of anything other than your imagination.

Answer 29

yup

without evidence all you have is faith

and faith is all christians have

the bible isnt evidence, it was written over 2000 years ago by who-the-hell-knows, it hardly serves as proof

Answer 30

I totally agree...Shalom

Answer 31

"Faith is believing what you know ain't so"

-- Mark Twain

Answer 32

I don't agree.

Answer 33

yes i have the spirit...faith is in things Unseen but we Know He is there....He answers prayers...