NationStates Jolt Archive

What does the word 'Faith' Mean to you?

just an open question to everyone

Faith is the belief in something that has no proof to exist, but believing in it anyway.

The motivation to believe in something that is in itself a psychological construct is Faith

Ok now that youve just made faith to scientifical,
i belive its a need for your soul to find higher meaning in life...
im sorry for the dissageement you have made a very nice point
but it just seems too rational

To put it in one word:

EVERYTHING.

Faith is something you believe absolutely, which your actions are based from it.

Ok now that youve just made faith to scientifical,
i belive its a need for your soul to find higher meaning in life...
im sorry for the dissageement you have made a very nice point
but it just seems too rational

I'm sorry for an actual rational answer
Maybe I could give wrong ones then?

But what'd be the point of that?

To put it in one word:

EVERYTHING.

I agree, in fact I couldn't put it better if I tried, and believe me I have.

faith is anything and everything

Faith is to have weakness.

Only the weak minded need to believe in that wich they cannot comprehend.

To submit to a fairy tale in order to cope with thier puny existance.

Faith is to have weakness.

Only the weak minded need to believe in that wich they cannot comprehend.


It takes a very strong mind to believe in something that you cannot fully comprehend. Faith isn't about needing to grab onto something to help you cope. My faith is about believing in the one God who I know exists, with whom I have an intimiate and personal relationship. To deny my faith now would be just as silly as to deny that my parents, my friends, my brother all existed.

Faith is to have weakness.

Only the weak minded need to believe in that wich they cannot comprehend.


It takes a very strong mind to believe in something that you cannot fully comprehend. Faith isn't about needing to grab onto something to help you cope. My faith is about believing in the one God who I know exists, with whom I have an intimiate and personal relationship. To deny my faith now would be just as silly as to deny that my parents, my friends, my brother all existed.

I disagree.....faith is willfully giving up your free thought, to ingest whatever dogma you subscribe to.

But that's where you're wrong, I've been a Christian for almost five months now and sure, I go to church every Sunday, I go to Christian Union every Wednesday night but that doesn't mean I'm being indoctrinated and accepting everything I'm told. My faith is very personal, it's something that I feel only God can fully teach me about, I'm given so many chances to hear his Word and listen to how others interpret it and it's up to me to challenge their opions and decide what is really true, I admit here I'm waffling and not really explaining myself well, but I'm very tired so excuse me

But that's where you're wrong, I've been a Christian for almost five months now and sure, I go to church every Sunday, I go to Christian Union every Wednesday night but that doesn't mean I'm being indoctrinated and accepting everything I'm told. My faith is very personal, it's something that I feel only God can fully teach me about, I'm given so many chances to hear his Word and listen to how others interpret it and it's up to me to challenge their opions and decide what is really true, I admit here I'm waffling and not really explaining myself well, but I'm very tired so excuse me

Your exscused.....

But I still think that when you need to have a faith in something "higher" than yourself....it is a weakness of character.
You need "God" or whatever the case may be..to "show you the way"....
Thats an inability to rely on your own free thought and beliefs.
Your swallowing what the church feeds you.
Weakness begets need...need begets answers.....thus religion, and "faith"
..to explain that wich has no answer.

well I guess we have to agree to disagree but I want to make one thing clear I am not simply swallowing waht the church feeds me, I've heard several things the last few weeks that I really have not agreed with and I have made a conscious decision not to accept certain things.

Also I'd like to point out that when I found God I wasn't looking for answers, I was quite happy in my life the way it was but He reached out and touched me and revealed Himself to me in a way I could never have expected. I'd lived the past 18 years of my life as an agnostic/atheist feeling that I didn't need any more answers

I can see being a Pagan where those who have a problem with the Christian idea of "faith" and allude it to a crutch that a person would need...dogma and its corresponding theology to diminish personal analysis and use of one's own abilities so I ponder what the atheists and other non-believers think of we Pagans...here I am..sitting at a top of the line..modern 21st century computer..who in a months time will go home to my reservation..lite the ceremonial fire with wood and corn taken from the villages of my tribe, and watch as the AniWodi (the sorcerers/sages/healers) of my people divinate over a deer tongue on how the next year will be...and you know what...I believe in it..as surely as I type here and use my brain to comprehend how this wonderful computer works...I have a belief unquestioned with a culture that is millenia old...I walk the Valley of the Winds back home and listen to the Gods breathe....see them move in the form of the rabbit..the deer..the wolf..the eagle..

What is faith to me?....It is the sum of all that I am...and yet it stands apart from me, separate merely waiting to be called when needed.

I can see being a Pagan where those who have a problem with the Christian idea of "faith" and allude it to a crutch that a person would need...dogma and its corresponding theology to diminish personal analysis and use of one's own abilities so I ponder what the atheists and other non-believers think of we Pagans...here I am..sitting at a top of the line..modern 21st century computer..who in a months time will go home to my reservation..lite the ceremonial fire with wood and corn taken from the villages of my tribe, and watch as the AniWodi (the sorcerers/sages/healers) of my people divinate over a deer tongue on how the next year will be...and you know what...I believe in it..as surely as I type here and use my brain to comprehend how this wonderful computer works...I have a belief unquestioned with a culture that is millenia old...I walk the Valley of the Winds back home and listen to the Gods breathe....see them move in the form of the rabbit..the deer..the wolf..the eagle..

What is faith to me?....It is the sum of all that I am...and yet it stands apart from me, separate merely waiting to be called when needed.


How do I view it?

I see it as much the same as Christianity, but from my very limited knowledge of your religion, I would wager that it comes from a more practical origins.
Does that make any sense or am I blathering?
I tend to have more respect for Native Americans who hold tightly to thier traditions, than modern Christians who preach on, but do not practice what they preach.....

I'll say this...Id much sooner sit quietly and watch one of your services than a Christian one.

I can see being a Pagan where those who have a problem with the Christian idea of "faith" and allude it to a crutch that a person would need...dogma and its corresponding theology to diminish personal analysis and use of one's own abilities so I ponder what the atheists and other non-believers think of we Pagans...here I am..sitting at a top of the line..modern 21st century computer..who in a months time will go home to my reservation..lite the ceremonial fire with wood and corn taken from the villages of my tribe, and watch as the AniWodi (the sorcerers/sages/healers) of my people divinate over a deer tongue on how the next year will be...and you know what...I believe in it..as surely as I type here and use my brain to comprehend how this wonderful computer works...I have a belief unquestioned with a culture that is millenia old...I walk the Valley of the Winds back home and listen to the Gods breathe....see them move in the form of the rabbit..the deer..the wolf..the eagle..

What is faith to me?....It is the sum of all that I am...and yet it stands apart from me, separate merely waiting to be called when needed.


How do I view it?

I see it as much the same as Christianity, but from my very limited knowledge of your religion, I would wager that it comes from a more practical origins.
Does that make any sense or am I blathering?
I tend to have more respect for Native Americans who hold tightly to thier traditions, than modern Christians who preach on, but do not practice what they preach.....

I'll say this...Id much sooner sit quietly and watch one of your services than a Christian one.

Oh pshawwww.....you'd come just for the barbecue party afterwards lol

I can see being a Pagan where those who have a problem with the Christian idea of "faith" and allude it to a crutch that a person would need...dogma and its corresponding theology to diminish personal analysis and use of one's own abilities so I ponder what the atheists and other non-believers think of we Pagans...here I am..sitting at a top of the line..modern 21st century computer..who in a months time will go home to my reservation..lite the ceremonial fire with wood and corn taken from the villages of my tribe, and watch as the AniWodi (the sorcerers/sages/healers) of my people divinate over a deer tongue on how the next year will be...and you know what...I believe in it..as surely as I type here and use my brain to comprehend how this wonderful computer works...I have a belief unquestioned with a culture that is millenia old...I walk the Valley of the Winds back home and listen to the Gods breathe....see them move in the form of the rabbit..the deer..the wolf..the eagle..

What is faith to me?....It is the sum of all that I am...and yet it stands apart from me, separate merely waiting to be called when needed.


How do I view it?

I see it as much the same as Christianity, but from my very limited knowledge of your religion, I would wager that it comes from a more practical origins.
Does that make any sense or am I blathering?
I tend to have more respect for Native Americans who hold tightly to thier traditions, than modern Christians who preach on, but do not practice what they preach.....

I'll say this...Id much sooner sit quietly and watch one of your services than a Christian one.

Oh pshawwww.....you'd come just for the barbecue party afterwards lol

That too!

Im not one to turn away free food!

And I'll betcha a dollar you guys wouldnt try to "save my soul" afterwards either!

And I'll betcha a dollar you guys wouldnt try to "save my soul" afterwards either!

My mother who was AniWodi would tell you that Truth is like a river, one source...many branches..into streams..then creeks...til it stretches everywhere..I accept your truth as that which is revealed to you. Why should I try to force my truth to become yours? My people believe the way they do because they believe that they were given a glimpse into the Devine a peculiar way..no two people will see the same thing in life, why should faith act differently?

And I'll betcha a dollar you guys wouldnt try to "save my soul" afterwards either!

My mother who was AniWodi would tell you that Truth is like a river, one source...many branches..into streams..then creeks...til it stretches everywhere..I accept your truth as that which is revealed to you. Why should I try to force my truth to become yours? My people believe the way they do because they believe that they were given a glimpse into the Devine a peculiar way..no two people will see the same thing in life, why should faith act differently?

I can respect that.

You owe me a dollar :D

And I'll betcha a dollar you guys wouldnt try to "save my soul" afterwards either!

My mother who was AniWodi would tell you that Truth is like a river, one source...many branches..into streams..then creeks...til it stretches everywhere..I accept your truth as that which is revealed to you. Why should I try to force my truth to become yours? My people believe the way they do because they believe that they were given a glimpse into the Devine a peculiar way..no two people will see the same thing in life, why should faith act differently?

I can respect that.

You owe me a dollar :D

Put it on my tab

And I'll betcha a dollar you guys wouldnt try to "save my soul" afterwards either!

My mother who was AniWodi would tell you that Truth is like a river, one source...many branches..into streams..then creeks...til it stretches everywhere..I accept your truth as that which is revealed to you. Why should I try to force my truth to become yours? My people believe the way they do because they believe that they were given a glimpse into the Devine a peculiar way..no two people will see the same thing in life, why should faith act differently?

I can respect that.

You owe me a dollar :D

Put it on my tab

Duly noted.

Faith is believing that something exists or will happen despite logical uncertainty. Faith is, metaphorically, jumping out of a plane, knowing that your parachute might possibly fail; faith is voting for a candidate, knowing that many campaign promises are never fulfilled; faith is believing in God, knowing that despite what you have seen with your own eyes and heard with your own ears, your mind could be constructing delusions.

Faith is, in short, believing in something that cannot be proved with 100% certainty. I have faith that all life evolved from the earliest chemical precursors, despite the fact that there is still uncertainty and doubt to that effect; I also have faith that a loving and personal God oversaw this creation.

That's faith to me.

Faith is to have weakness.

Only the weak minded need to believe in that wich they cannot comprehend.


It takes a very strong mind to believe in something that you cannot fully comprehend. Faith isn't about needing to grab onto something to help you cope. My faith is about believing in the one God who I know exists, with whom I have an intimiate and personal relationship. To deny my faith now would be just as silly as to deny that my parents, my friends, my brother all existed.

I disagree.....faith is willfully giving up your free thought, to ingest whatever dogma you subscribe to.My faith believes in Open Hearts, Open doors, and Open minds. How can believing in open minds be giving up free thought?

I can see being a Pagan where those who have a problem with the Christian idea of "faith" and allude it to a crutch that a person would need...dogma and its corresponding theology to diminish personal analysis and use of one's own abilities so I ponder what the atheists and other non-believers think of we Pagans...here I am..sitting at a top of the line..modern 21st century computer..who in a months time will go home to my reservation..lite the ceremonial fire with wood and corn taken from the villages of my tribe, and watch as the AniWodi (the sorcerers/sages/healers) of my people divinate over a deer tongue on how the next year will be...and you know what...I believe in it..as surely as I type here and use my brain to comprehend how this wonderful computer works...I have a belief unquestioned with a culture that is millenia old...I walk the Valley of the Winds back home and listen to the Gods breathe....see them move in the form of the rabbit..the deer..the wolf..the eagle..

What is faith to me?....It is the sum of all that I am...and yet it stands apart from me, separate merely waiting to be called when needed.Even though your faith is far apart from mine, they have a common link. Faith is waiting to be called.

And I'll betcha a dollar you guys wouldnt try to "save my soul" afterwards either!Neither would my, Christian, faith. The saving of a soul is only done by God not by any man. It is a thing that is just between a man and his God.

And I'll betcha a dollar you guys wouldnt try to "save my soul" afterwards either!Neither would my, Christian, faith. The saving of a soul is only done by God not by any man. It is a thing that is just between a man and his God.

Now that is just plain hogwash....I'll remember you said this the next time Christian missionaries come on to my reservation...you guys have already done huge damage to our culture....Indian christian churches abound on some reservations..luckily the youth of our tribes have been steadily reverting to traditional cultural mores and leaving a christian faith that had been forced onto them in decades past.

Oh heck...I'll let you know the next time Jehovah's Witness come knocking on my door you said this.

faith begins with a seed of thought, a willful desire, to provide an explanation of things which cannot be absolutely known by that person; either because a (more)complete definition must be made by a future perception(perceived through whatever sense or source) or because a (more)complete definition of a thing or idea is not yet within the scope of that person's prior observations.

For instance, if (just for the sake of a decent example) Russ finds that his pen is missing and sees Joe with a pen that looks like it, he might believe, therefore having faith, that the pen was his and that Joe took it or in some other manner ended up with it in his hand. Joe, knowing that he bought the pen, took it out of its package and had consecutively found it in whichever locations he might have placed it between uses (having faith, of course, that the pen itself was not taken and replaced with Russ' pen while he was not looking), might explain to Russ the existence of that particular pen from his observations. In so doing, Russ' faith might be disproved to Russ (for to Joe it is likely disproven as a matter of course), however, if Russ was prone to disbelieve Joe because of the fallacy of prior observations, he may still believe that it was his pen for whatever reason(s) he might come up with.

The above may be an example of a simple existence of faith, however, it is more of an occurrence of faith than the faith that people speak of when they speak of God. This faith is one of varying degree. One can have a little or a lot. One person can have a little when she gets on the subway car, and a lot when she prays for her enemy's understanding and compassion. That faith can increase or decrease depending on the day and on her mood...it may be less when she has been unrighteous in her thoughts or actions, and more when she has been righteous. Faith in God is also not without proof, for proof in faith is acceptance of whatever was given from the Lord. If a person of faith asks of Christ, that person knows that their petitions are heard by God. When they receive what they have asked for, their faith is that it came to them by God's will, by whichever means it was made manifest in their presence. A person without faith may see that reception as a natural occurence, and may do their best to completely explain it through the definitions imposed upon them by their own perceptions(once again by any sense or source), the definitions themselves being necessarily incomplete; no man knows everything about anything, only that which is presently available to him to know about anything. A person of faith can be safely skeptical of those incomplete definitions, and in doing so, practice their faith. And in practicing their faith make it perfect.

But all this, of course, is one man's definition and not even complete for himself in its expression. Peace. Don't take the mark.

Faith is to have weakness.

Only the weak minded need to believe in that wich they cannot comprehend.

To submit to a fairy tale in order to cope with thier puny existance.
To have Faith is to have courage. To stand strong in the face of oppression requires far more courage than those who go about proclaiming how great they are. For in the end, only God is above all, and all will answer to Him.

faith is a necessary evil, a reality of the limitations of human ability. i must have faith in the validity of the evidence that Africa exists because i have not yet been able to visit Africa. i must have faith that gravity is mathematically sound because i haven't yet studied enough to follow the proofs on my own. however, faith should not be granted on the basis of "revelation" or mere tradition; one should only have faith as a temporary necessity, and only for things that you COULD test, if you wanted to.

faith in things for which there will never be evidence is pointless, and a weakness of the mind. there is so much in the world to be fascinated by and to construct one's life around, and there is no need at all for superstition or faith in irrelevancies. putting one's faith in such things results only in missing out on the true beauty of one's existence.

well I guess we have to agree to disagree but I want to make one thing clear I am not simply swallowing waht the church feeds me, I've heard several things the last few weeks that I really have not agreed with and I have made a conscious decision not to accept certain things.

Also I'd like to point out that when I found God I wasn't looking for answers, I was quite happy in my life the way it was but He reached out and touched me and revealed Himself to me in a way I could never have expected. I'd lived the past 18 years of my life as an agnostic/atheist feeling that I didn't need any more answers
Stand strong in your faith and beliefs. There are many whose souls are darkened by their own reason. Their non belief blocks out the sunlight of the spirit and they would drag you to that dark place. It does take courage to have faith, but that faith can set you free.

I too was lost but now I am found, and life is far better than I ever dreamed. So hang on to faith, and pray for the scourges who would tempt you to believe their truths.

As one of the two mentioned in the example given by Ve-Or, i am impressed and humbled both by your memory (sheesh) and a fair expression of that situation. It is a relatively sound interpretation of the topic, in my opinion.
Also in my opinion, i am truly impressed by the beauty and eloquence used by a few folks on this topic, like High Orcs and Berkylvania, on this post and others, especially on this post though by Salisha.
And to Bottle, some kind of faith must have been involved in the quantification of any society's beginnings on this planet. Before anyone's Code from mountain or dungeon, someone had to have or possess a faith that had not to be ignored, else no one could have imagined and followed through into the phases of history we've been privy to, the results now of hopes dreams aspirations and faith of some type or another. Couldn't all have been iron fist, and even if it was, a creature as humankind doesn't respond always in the kindest fashion to change or even sameness, static, stagnation. What would genius and invention/innovation be without faith (necessity?), and what would we be now without genius?

Personally i feel that most of the idea of faith is in here somewhere, this post ... also though, it is resonance.

Faith is a center of gravity, a deep taproot for motivation and strength.
If you have depth, if you are motivated, if your self has a core, you have faith.
You may need to explore that aspect of yourself a bit more in order to understand it better.

Faith is to have weakness.

Only the weak minded need to believe in that wich they cannot comprehend.

To submit to a fairy tale in order to cope with thier puny existance.

He loves you anyway, even despite the fact that you don't believe in Him :D

what are things defined by if not by their perceived environmental effects? the effects of faith can produce good results or bad results. the strength(and center) of the gravity isn't constant if the faith is not a proponent of truth. for if one perceives his own faith to support lies, then he knows that his perceptions and aspects of his faith must be questioned. one person's faith in an all-knowing, all-understanding principle can not be disproven except that the person claims to be the embodiment of it, capable of communicating its knowledge and wisdom in entirety. and then, to disprove the person would not necessarily disprove the principle, only that the person(or group of people) was incorrect in assuming he was the embodiment of it.

Faith?
Faith is relying on the belief that you can submit an assignment in the last 5 minutes that it's due, amoung everyone else doing the same thing, with a printing system based on a Mac, from an operating system you don't trust, on a proprietory format you don't trust...

I did that last Wednesday.

Faith?
Faith is relying on the belief that you can submit an assignment in the last 5 minutes that it's due, amoung everyone else doing the same thing, with a printing system based on a Mac, from an operating system you don't trust, on a proprietory format you don't trust...

I did that last Wednesday.

No..I'd call that Devine Intervention...not faith...lol