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The underpinnings of organized religion are based upon faith. You can not prove or disprove the existence of a Supreme Being. There would be no organized religions without the tenets of faith to support the believers. All organized religion is based upon the acceptance of faith in the teachings and standards of a religion. On the other hand, spirituality is not based upon a certain set of rules and beliefs for a specific organized religion. A person can be an ethical, moral and spiritual person and not be a member of any organized religion.
I'm a Deist/Agnostic yet I consider myself to be a moral and ethical person. I do not require or accept the constrains of organized religion to lead a spiritual life, although Evangelicals and other hard core believers would have me think otherwise. As a humanist and freethinker I make my own decisions regarding ethics and morals. I do not require books and a bunch of old men to determine the spiritual nature of my life.
That's great, but faith and belief are not interchangeable, they are completely different entities.
Faith is a or thee substance of things hoped for. Which becomes the evidence of the hoped for thing which was unseen.
Belief is being and living according your understandings.
This is a rather confusing statement, could you please explain?
Faith is not a concept or attitude, it is a substance that is motivated by our thoughts.
It is the component part of everything that is. Hope and belief are its generators.
When God said, let there be light. The storehouse of Faith came to be, and all things were then made from it. When we have faith, it means we have the ability to create for the glory of God.
Thy Faith hath saved thee....as Jesus said to the blind man, and the substance of creation repaired his sight. In order to command the light, we must have belief, and that brings faith, if we exercise faith, we are learning to use the element of creation, and God means creator. The greatest command of creation is "Let there be".
I was not asking for a definition of faith or what faith enables one to do, I was asking why God REQUIRES that we have faith in him? Why not show himself, why not let himself be known to us? What is the purpose of our not being able to fully prove his existence? To me, there is no purpose.
If there was NO doubt that God was there, that he created us and had a purpose for us, I could understand His (her, its) displeasure if we refused at least to acknowledge Him.
To punish someone who was born in a non-Christian country or who was confused by the multitude of Christian faiths or who simply did not believe due to lack of evidence, is hardly fair, and if God exists, he actually is the cause of all this confusion and strife through NOT unquestionably revealing himself.
I was not asking for a definition of faith or what faith enables one to do, I was asking why God REQUIRES that we have faith in him? Why not show himself, why not let himself be known to us? What is the purpose of our not being able to fully prove his existence? To me, there is no purpose.
If there was NO doubt that God was there, that he created us and had a purpose for us, I could understand His (her, its) displeasure if we refused at least to acknowledge Him.
To punish someone who was born in a non-Christian country or who was confused by the multitude of Christian faiths or who simply did not believe due to lack of evidence, is hardly fair, and if God exists, he actually is the cause of all this confusion and strife through NOT unquestionably revealing himself.
Through our faith in God we develop a relationship that grows stronger as see how faithful He is to us. I have all the prove I need to believe He created us and has a purpose for us Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have you says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope". Who said He punishes someone for being born in a non Christian country or someone who is confused, you didn't get that from the Bible. God is not the cause of confusion, doubt and questioning, that is the devil making people question God just like he did with Eve. 1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints".
Faith is not a concept or attitude, it is a substance that is motivated by our thoughts.
Thanks for the clarification. The wording of your post was in a Biblical context which confused my humanistic brain. As a freethinker, thoughts do not require faith, but faith requires thoughts.
Thanks for the clarification. The wording of your post was in a Biblical context which confused my humanistic brain. As a freethinker, thoughts do not require faith, but faith requires thoughts.
I was not asking for a definition of faith or what faith enables one to do, I was asking why God REQUIRES that we have faith in him? Why not show himself, why not let himself be known to us? What is the purpose of our not being able to fully prove his existence? To me, there is no purpose.
My point was, you are really asking about belief, faith does not prove or disprove God.
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If there was NO doubt that God was there, that he created us and had a purpose for us, I could understand His (her, its) displeasure if we refused at least to acknowledge Him.
He has shown himself in many ways, and also has put a seed of himself within us, if we choose not to acknowledge this, it is unbelief. Denying the obvious is spiritual blindness not faith. He is that still small voice within, be still, and listen, and you will need no one to prove God to you. God has shown himself many, many times, and still men say.... if only you told me, or showed me. Is it not enough that time stood still when Christ was crucified, that the majority of the world knows of Him and His advent? Even the Jews who were waiting for Jesus, doubted.
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To punish someone who was born in a non-Christian country or who was confused by the multitude of Christian faiths or who simply did not believe due to lack of evidence, is hardly fair, and if God exists, he actually is the cause of all this confusion and strife through NOT unquestionably revealing himself.
Religion has nothing to do with seeking God, the kingdom of God is within us.
No matter where one is born, God is with them. Labels don't make belief. We all are given a knowledge of God, the question is, do we choose to listen to it or not.
Granted some have it beaten or discouraged out of them, and there is mercy for those that are offended, and judgement for those that offend, especially children.
Thanks for the clarification. The wording of your post was in a Biblical context which confused my humanistic brain. As a freethinker, thoughts do not require faith, but faith requires thoughts.
Yes, and emotion (energy in motion). Which is the heat that germinates the seed.
Is it not enough that time stood still when Christ was crucified,
And you know that is true because...? Prove it to me and I will believe. If you cant, you cannot blame me for unbelief or agnosticism.
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Denying the obvious is spiritual blindness not faith.
Saying something is obvious when it is patently obvious that it is not obvious is blindness.
I was a Christian for some 40 years. I regularly prayed to God in sincerity and longed with all my heart for him to 'speak' to me. Didnt happen. No little voice inside. If there is a God, which I doubt now, because of my lifes experiences, He abandoned me, I did not abandon Him.He was NOT 'faithful' to me. When I finally suffered a breakdown in my 40's, He was not there for me. I know of many like myself. Where does that leave us?
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