Question:
What is so good about faith anyway?
?
2008-02-23 01:06:01 UTC
I just was told that Jesus doesn't visit us anymore, because then it wouldn't take faith to believe in the dude.

Can somebody please explain what is so awesome about faith anyway? And please, explain it like I'm 5 years old, because I have no grasp of the entire concept.

I don't have faith, can't find it, it isn't inside me. I'm completely faithless. Which also means according to some religions I'm basically doomed. It's not my fault that I'm doomed, because I simply was born faithless. But that's all besides the point.

I'm honestly trying to understand what is so good about faith, that everybody has to be judged in the end on whether they had it or not.
21 answers:
anonymous
2008-02-23 01:30:55 UTC
Hey, I like what Heron By The Sea said :) That kinda makes sense. I actually do have faith in people.



edit: Oh geez, our little Cindy is kinda cute in her own weird way.



((((Cindy)))) Wake up, hun! :)
Sarah
2008-02-23 09:58:26 UTC
Faith is belief and trust in God; knowing that God is real, even though we can't see him.



Take the wind for instance. Can you see the wind? No we can't but we can see the effects of the wind.



We can 't see God but we can see all he created. We can read his word and see how everything fit together. We can read prophesy and see how it came to be true



Faith cometh by hearing and hearing from the word of God.



Romans 1:17 - For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."



Romans 3:22 - This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,



2 Corinthians 5:7 - We live by faith, not by sight.



Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.



Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.



James 2:26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.



1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.



May God help you as you seek faith.

By the way, we will be judged on what we did on earth. Of coarse we have to have faith in God and that Jesus was God's Son.



Good question

A star for you
native woman
2008-02-23 09:31:01 UTC
The bible tells us that Faith is the only thing we have pleasing to God. It is the only way we can show him true love and faithfulness or loyalty to him. What is so great on a personal level about faith is what it does internally for you. Faith can get you through things you never imagined you could make it through, the darkest times in our lives. You say you are faithless, does this mean you totally do not believe in God or Jesus? Everyone who comes to him "has a measure of faith given to him". Don't let others fool you though because even strong Christians can have wavering moments of fear or doubt, it is what you do with it that counts, do you hang onto it or cast it aside and stand on what God tells you? You are not saved by a feeling, it doesn't matter if you "feel" saved, you are saved by simply accepting Jesus as fully God, that he came as fully man and died to save you, and ascended to heaven IN THE BODY he lived and died in. He had to leave us (at least physically) because only a totally sinless sacrifice could atone for the sins of mankind. the only thing sinless is God himself. But God has this whole master plan worked out. It is hard to spell it all out quickly like this and hard for us to fully grasp, but God knows far better than we do what it will take to make things right in the end. Jesus is not gone from us though, and he has sent the Holy Spirit to help us alongthe way, While Jesus said he would go and prepare a place for us, and simply await the word of his Father for the day that all will finally be set in motion to be made right. I sincerely wish you the best of luck and hope this helps some. I know that it is alot to grab ahold of at first.
Saraswati666
2008-02-23 09:23:14 UTC
Don't know, I'm in the same boat as you. I grew up in an agnostic house and a non-conservative area of the States, so I guess I didn't have my fair share of indocrination, nor did anyone make me feel like I was missing out on something because I didn't believe in something particular.



When I was about 9, someone (who moved to New York City to my school) told me I should pray when I want something good to happen. So for a month I tried it, and for a month I didn't, I noticed it actually didn't make a difference. That's when I realized it was a sham and went back to the belief when I want something, I have to have the right attitude and motivation to get it.
Lillith
2008-02-23 09:29:13 UTC
I'm going to quote from the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy:



"Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mindboggingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof of the noneexistence of God.



The argument goes someting like this: 'I refuse to prove that I exist,' says God, 'for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.'



'But,' says Man, 'the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It couldn't have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED.'



'Oh dear,' says God, 'I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly vanishes in a poof of logic."
shalhevet613
2008-02-23 09:26:06 UTC
I don't think faith is better than not having faith. I think everyone has their own style, who cares if yours is different from mine? But I won't deny it has some great benefits, at least for me personally.



It gives me routine in situations where routine is helpful, not boring. It gives me a set way to express something without having to come up with things on the spot. In really sorrowful news, it gives me a way to go about recovery.



If my father died tomorrow, I'd know to carry out his funeral ASAP and begin sitting shivah. After that, I'd go back to work and things like that, but I would still avoid a lot of festivities for thirty days. For a year after that I would still be considered mourning and be expected to say kaddish every day for 11 months (the last month of the year of mourning is more stepping back into the world fully again).



It's not the solution for everyone, needless to say. Still, while I don't believe in after-life, and I don't really worry so much as to whether God is real or not - since I like Judaism anyway - it's so very nice have that practice there. When I was a little kid I used to wonder what I would do if my parents died so much that I'd cry myself to sleep (I have an anxiety disorder, to make this clear, so I would obsessively worry about things that really weren't much in my control).



I don't pretend that there's evidence for God, or that I believe there's an afterlife, but I can say to have certain things embedded into routine has been good for me. I like spontaneous decisions - drives, para-gliding, sky-diving, SCUBA, and a lot of other things - but some every day things are good as well. Not to mention having an entire day where I'm expected to chill every week and just read, go to synagogue, and relax.



For some people, it's poison. But I think most psychologists also agree a routine is good. But it's how you use it more than the tool itself. Is it an enabler, or is it an opiate? I've used it to be an enabler to make situations I used to not have any control over imagining a lot more bearable so that I don't worry about it even half as much as I used to - because I'd have a course of action that gives me an expected routine in situations where I might not have been able to come up with them. Some people I know use it as an opiate. Which can happen with any belief (or lack thereof); a person has to know when it goes from being that enabler to an opiate that might lessen their ability to live to the fullest, or to sedate them from noticing a crisis (e.g. - "We don't have to worry about the environment, God will provide" - which I know fully to be **** and have never pretended deities would save the planet from human destruction).



Of course, this has more to do with ritual than faith. I believe, but I don't believe incessantly. If God was proven utterly false tomorrow, as I say, it wouldn't really matter to me, I still like Judaism.
gigi
2008-02-23 09:16:46 UTC
Faith is much like hope. It is believing that something is going to happen even if it is against all odds. It is praying for something and then believing as if you have already received it. Acting like you already have it. Knowing that it is already yours. It is as if you were a little girl standing on the steps and you see your daddy several steps down the stair way, you leap, just knowing that your daddy will catch you. Having that kind of trust, just believing that he is going to make sure he catches you and you don't fall. As a child you leap off the steps into his arms, never even once stopping to think that he might not catch. In your mind, you are already caught by your daddy. That is faith. Just knowing that no matter what, you are already being protected by God. I hope this helps.
single eye
2008-02-23 09:33:02 UTC
Is having faith the most important thing in the world to you right now? If not, come back and ask this question again when it is. Any half-hearted attempts will prove futile.
scifiguy
2008-02-23 09:24:48 UTC
Faith is claimed to be a virtue because once you can convince someone that it is virtuous to have faith, you can then use faith to justify absolutely anything.



It is so much easier to get people to accept your opinion when you don't have to actually explain any reasons for it.



That is why faith is popular. And also why it is immoral.



Since faith can be used to justify anything, it should never be used as justification for anything. Any belief that cannot withstand a thorough investigation is probably wrong.
Wired
2008-02-23 09:14:18 UTC
You were born faithless? I just answered a question where one guy said "people are born atheist".



You people sure have all your bases covered, huh?



Gee, I wish I had that much faith that there was no judgement in the end.
Heron By The Sea
2008-02-23 09:25:38 UTC
I have a different understanding of faith than what you have described. You probably do have faith, as I define it anyway. To me, faith is mostly trust. It must be based on evidence, or it is blind faith, and I do not give any merit to blind faith. In fact, blind faith is very dangerous.



Here is what I think faith is:

Let's say you have a friend who always comes to your aid when you need them. They have never let you down. Now, again, you need them. Let's say you are broke down on the side of the rode. You call them. You have faith that they will either come to your rescue, or send some kind of assistance to you. You have this faith because of past evidence. They have always come through for you in the past. Chances are, they will come through again now. You do not KNOW that they will, but you have faith that they will. They are someone you can trust. They are someone you can put your faith in.



For many people, faith in God is not so different. They feel that God has always come through for them in the past, and they therefore trust that he will continue to come through. This is not blind faith, because it is based on the evidence of the past. Whether the evidence is being interpreted correctly is another matter.



This kind of faith is important to have, because it helps in our social relations and in our peace of mind. People who are trustworthy deserve to be trusted and not looked on with suspicion.



Some people are taking this concept and stretching way beyond its purpose though. They are taking this reasonable concept of faith, and trying to apply it to things that it should not be applied to. For example, some people misunderstand and think that it is meritorious to put faith in all manner of things unseen - things for which there really is no evidence.



I see absolutely no merit in having faith in something for which there is no evidence. And I therefore would never consider you "doomed." You see no evidence and so you don't have faith. That is no different from not having faith in a person who never ever comes through.



Let's say someone is always late. You would be silly to rely on them to be on time. The evidence is against them.

But, you could say it is good to have HOPE. You can hope that they will one day get it together and start arriving on time for important things. Perhaps you have faith that they will do so. That is not so bad, because in this case, you are just showing that you have hope for human beings and their capacity to change.
dazzled47
2008-02-23 09:18:18 UTC
My best guess that with out faith we have no soul? our eyes are the windows to our soul,I have looked deep in to many eyes and saw nothing just an emptiness.And others I have seen deep pain.I seem to attatch to peoples pain maybe because I'ts all I've ever known but I need that to be here where I am today.Free.
Nancy Boy
2008-02-23 09:13:37 UTC
While I cant relate to faith on any ethreal plane or anything... faith in things in this world has many uses... For example, I have absolute faith in my wife. She informed me of El Paso BBQ. Now I have always had a bit of an aversion to certain types of foods and the places that serve them. But she swore on project runway the place was so good... and me having faith in her words agreed to go. It is now my favorite of places and I whine to go there every saturday... So you see? Even faith has its proper place...



;-p



Sorry I am hungry tonight so everything will somehow relate to food.... mmmmmmmmmm bbq babies...
cotterall&elaineadams
2008-02-23 09:16:09 UTC
It has to do with one's world view, often based on nihilism and cynicism in certain circles, and for others, a recovery from a certain darkness.
anonymous
2008-02-23 09:18:20 UTC
Certainly not being Christian !!!!! A belief in something that is not real (( Fairytale )) The only faith i have is in the friends i have that are real !!!
MMMMJJJJ
2008-02-23 09:25:54 UTC
may god bless u always.1.u need to believe in god 100%truely.he has given u all .that a person has.u do have a brian to think. u do have fillings to fill, u still have desire to fill your hunger.some times u. need to be alone .to think of god. eg.the stars ,moon, sun....that god has created.they all are folowing gods will, with faith. thks god bless u,.
ZER0 C00L ••AM••VT••
2008-02-23 09:13:11 UTC
I've always wondered the same. Apparently it's reeeeeally important that we all have faith, but... I don't know why it's so gosh darn important.
anonymous
2008-02-23 09:11:58 UTC
thats just it, you dont want to grasp it like a 5 year old
anonymous
2008-02-23 09:09:49 UTC
Where did you come from? Your Mommy you say Marky.



Where did she come from, and all your relatives from the beginning of time?



Someone created the first man.

His name is God.

He loves you.



How do you know He is real you ask?



Marky say Jesus I want you to show me you are real.



I want to believe but I dont think i have faith.



Say Jesus prove to me that you are real.



And guess what Marky



Jesus loves you so much that He will prove to you



that He is real.



Because Jesus wants your love more than



anything else.That is why He came down from heaven



and was crucified on the cross for your sins.



It will happen if you talk to Jesus like that Marky



That is what you call the faith of a mustard seed



The smallest seed in the whole world.



I will pray for you little Marky.



OK Marky I prayed for you and here is what Jesus said:

_______________________________________

"I will help Marky have faith in Me if He wants Me."

_______________________________________________

That is what Jesus said.I wouldn't say such a thing if it were not true Marky.
rsc_kumar
2008-02-23 09:24:30 UTC
yeah! welcome your need. you have to scared to any of onething. fearing makes faiths. read or research about religions then you understand. or just keep trust on any of onething firmly which you scared about it.

you are nothing!

everything done by someone!

we are just acting!

understand it first!

then, you can......
anonymous
2008-02-23 09:11:34 UTC
"What's awesome about faith, is that with faith you know everything will be OK"



Read: faith is a delusion, which leads people to believe things will be OK when actually they aren't.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...