Posted by David Naughton on January 04, 1997 at 14:13:32:
In Reply to: Definition of faith? posted by Stephen Charchuk on January 03, 1997 at 23:20:25:
: I've been having an involved discussion on a BBS about the concept
of faith. In all of the dictionaries that I've ever read it basically
says that faith is the unquestioning belief in something, usually a
religion. The problem is that many on this BBS say that it isn't
unquestioned. What do any of you think faith is if not unquestioned
belief?
Here are two definitions of faith given by Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary: 1) Belief in God, revelation, or the like; . . . esp.
orthodoxoy in theology; in a practical religious sense, trust in God.
2) Complete confidence, esp. in someone or something open to question
or suspicion. I believe that I have seen the definition you describe
before, but it wasn't in this particular dictionary. Definition 2 is
similar, but not quite the same as, unquestioned belief.
It would help to ask the other people in your discussion what they
mean by faith. If by faith they mean definition 1 above, they may
be simply stating that their belief in God is unquestioned. If this
is the case, it would be more productive to ask what evidence
convinces them of God's existence than to argue about what faith means.
People often change the meanings of words in popular use, and for us
to tell them that their definition is wrong can sometimes make us
appear arrogant and condescending. Also, it is especially helpful to
ask theists to define their terms. This reminds them that the
burden of proof is on them, and that they must explain themselves
clearly if they are to have any hope of convincing a skeptic. For
example, I have often argued with theists who mean by faith that "I
know in my heart that God exists." In response I ask, How can we know
anything except by sensory perception? How can you tell that this is
not just an emotion you feel about the idea of God, rather than an
emotion somehow implanted in you by a "supernatural" being? What do
you mean by "supernatural"? And so on. In this way, you can often
get theists who say that they don't believe anything without
question to admit that their beliefs require them to accept at least
one untestable idea for which there is little or no evidence. I hope
this helps!