Faith

[Sevivon1913]

Hello,

I've looked everywhere for a definition of "FAITH" and found nothing very other than "it can't be defined. A non-believer (!) cannot understand it." Could someone please answer this....

What distinguishes the unique notion of Christian "FAITH" from mere belief/knowledge? In other words, what is it, how do you get it, and how do you know you have it?

Thanks,
Sevivon1913

[Shadow Phoenix]

Hello,

I've looked everywhere for a definition of "FAITH" and found nothing very other than "it can't be defined. A non-believer (!) cannot understand it." Could someone please answer this....

What distinguishes the unique notion of Christian "FAITH" from mere belief/knowledge? In other words, what is it, how do you get it, and how do you know you have it?

Thanks,
Sevivon1913

Hello Sev! Let's look at your question.

If you mean the Christian faith itself, I do believe there is some kind of inside knowledge that helps to understand it like any other belief. You can tell someone what it's like to fall in love, but the best way for them to find out is for them to fall in love.

Faith as belief though is more a kind of trust. It is trust in what has shown itself to be true. Faith is never meant to be a blind leap. Instead, it's meant to be built on rational grounds.

Hope this helps!
Apologiaphoenix

[Sevivon1913]

Hello Sev! Let's look at your question.

If you mean the Christian faith itself, I do believe there is some kind of inside knowledge that helps to understand it like any other belief. You can tell someone what it's like to fall in love, but the best way for them to find out is for them to fall in love.

Faith as belief though is more a kind of trust. It is trust in what has shown itself to be true. Faith is never meant to be a blind leap. Instead, it's meant to be built on rational grounds.

Hope this helps!
Apologiaphoenix
Thanks for the reply, ApologiaNick :-)

Does that mean faith is impossible without rational grounds to begin with?

If so, does that "justify before God" people who reject faith, based on their rationale? It seems like a Christian and a non-Christian are only distinguished by faith (which is only possibly by the reaching of different conclusions). In other words, if you reject "faith" based on what you understand to be your full utilization of reason/rationality, and are not therefore consciously rejecting Christ according to own understanding, then are you still doomed?

Or are such people merely self-deluded?

Sevivon1913

[Shadow Phoenix]

Thanks for the reply, ApologiaNick :-)

Does that mean faith is impossible without rational grounds to begin with?

If so, does that "justify before God" people who reject faith, based on their rationale? It seems like a Christian and a non-Christian are only distinguished by faith (which is only possibly by the reaching of different conclusions). In other words, if you reject "faith" based on what you understand to be your full utilization of reason/rationality, and are not therefore consciously rejecting Christ according to own understanding, then are you still doomed?

Or are such people merely self-deluded?

Sevivon1913

Hello Sev. Let's look at this closer.

In the Christian framework, the belief is that the more rational a man becomes, the more likely he is to accept the Christian claims and get closer to what God has said in Christianity. Indeed, most of the times when I deal with non-Christians, I often find buried behind an intellectual argument is an emotional situation. In my own struggles in my Christian walk, the times when I am not living in rationality is when I am letting my emotions overrule my reason.

The definition of faith though seems to be merely belief. The biblical promise is that if you do seek, you will find. My honest answer is that if someone does not find, it means that they were not seeking. Now you say if you reject it base on what you perceive to be the full use of your rationality. The question is though, is that really your full use?

The Christian faith has answers for those who really want it, but I believe God has also made it in such a way that if someone doesn't want to believe, they have plenty of options out. There are consequences to each path though.

Hope this helps!