To the religious: Why do you have faith?

FireNexus · Post by **FireNexus** » 2003-01-30 03:08pm

I've never understood having faith. so, I'm asking every religious person I can: Why do you have faith, in order to better understand. So far, most have either said they don't know or that it gives them hope.

And to non-religious (atheists, agonstics, etc.): Don't answer. You'll just parrot what I would think, anyway. I want the viewpoint of the faithful, here.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-01-30 03:27pm

In my case, it comes from a situation I was in in sixth grade. I was at a relatively bad school, didn't have any friends. I was the stereotypical short, fat kid who was rather nerdy (I was 4'8" and 130 lbs) and I was the outsider. Under today's rather liberal definitions, I was verbally abused in school (my parents didn't know about this...I should have told them but didn't) and I was suicidal for about half a year. At the time I was an atheist, and one night I finally broke down and said "God, if you're out there, just show me some sign." The next week things turned around. I became the starting goalie on the soccer team (three people above me all quit at the same time), got the lead in two plays (one I hadn't even tried out for), and people began approaching me and trying to be friendly. It's just too much of a conincidence for me not to believe something was guiding the actions of that week.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-01-30 03:29pm

*want to say something ...*

*must exert self ... control ...*

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-01-30 03:32pm

Darth Wong wrote:*want to say something ...*

*must exert self ... control ...*

Lord Wong, C'mon the guy specifically asked fro BELIEVERS...we all know where you stand

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2003-01-30 03:36pm

I ought to dig up that example from awhile back where I explain why I have faith that there's a Cockatrice on my parent's roof, but I'm following Wong's example for now and staying silent (or just lazy).

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-01-30 04:28pm

Not going to say anything, because right now...in office...and have yet to have a single cup of anything today...thus my comment would revolve around either bitching or food.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-01-30 04:28pm

Darth Wong wrote:*want to say something ...*

*must exert self ... control ...*

If you have a response to my post, go ahead and PM me

. I usually don't talk about why i believe (it's still somewhat of a sore point), but I'll listen to whatever you have to say. I doubt it'll be anything I haven't heard before from atheist friends of mine, but I'm always willing to listen to another voice.

Or were you just commenting on the topic as a whole?

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-01-30 04:50pm

The Dark, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but are you just simply a Deist?

Grand Admiral Thrawn · Post by **Grand Admiral Thrawn** » 2003-01-30 04:53pm

Darth Wong wrote:*want to say something ...*

*must exert self ... control ...*

Control, control, you must learn control! (Oh the irony).

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2003-01-30 04:57pm

When I was Christian, I had faith mainly because of fear. Up until the fourth grade, I'd simply gone to Sunday School, but from fifth grade on, I was in Catholic school, so I was reminded every day that I was a horrible person by default who needed saving. It got to the point where I literally burst out in tears during class because the teacher told me that I couldn't go to confession because I hadn't taken a special class, so I had to live with all of my sins even longer. Not to mention that I was the only Catholic kid in class who couldn't confess, so I felt alienated as well.

Basically, I only had faith just in case there really was a God, so I wouldn't go to Hell.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-01-30 05:17pm

Wicked Pilot wrote:The Dark, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but are you just simply a Deist?

No, I'm a Methodist, but rather liberal even for us. I believe God still acts within the world. General Revelation may have started me looking for a God, but I believe fully in Special Revelation. The events I described were what started me looking at religion, but not the final formation of my beliefs (which are still being molded/shaped by learning theology).

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2003-01-30 05:39pm

I was a Christian when I was a little kid, just because adults told me there was a God.

Thankfully I learned to think for myself.

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2003-01-30 05:50pm

Fear and well all my problems were "solved".

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-01-30 07:31pm

I was raised Catholic Lite, had an atheist phase during middle school and the first half of high school, started to renew my faith a little bit near the end of high school and the beginning of college. Of course, then it came to my attention how much priests liked to assfuck little boys, and that was the beginning of the end of what little faith I had.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-01-30 07:40pm

Because I was indoctrinated as a child, probably. That and whenever I pray and such, things seem to go better. Whether this is just psychological or not, I don't really care. It works, and thats what matters.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2003-01-30 08:18pm

Darth Utsanomiko wrote:I ought to dig up that example from awhile back where I explain why I have faith that there's a Cockatrice on my parent's roof, but I'm following Wong's example for now and staying silent (or just lazy).

Please tell me more of this Cockatrice. Does it look like this

[/list]

Singular Quartet · Post by **Singular Quartet** » 2003-01-30 09:48pm

I forget who put this forward, but I believe it was called Anselm's Wager:

Basic fundamentals (Assumptions)
1: Either God does or does not exist.
2: In life, it matters not whether I believe in God or not.

the Idea of the wager:
1: If I don't beleive in God, and He doesn't exist, I go to Hell.
2: If I believe in God, and He does exist, I may go to heaven.
3: If I believe in God, and He doesn't exist, it doesn't matter.
4: If I don't beleive in God, and He doesn't exist, it doesn't matter.
5: Therefore, I should beleive in God, for it is in my best intrests.

I always found this to be humorous.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-01-30 09:53pm

It's Pascal's Wager.

Captain Cyran · Post by **Captain Cyran** » 2003-01-30 09:59pm

The Dark wrote:
Wicked Pilot wrote:The Dark, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but are you just simply a Deist?
No, I'm a Methodist, but rather liberal even for us.

This is true, the most easy going christian splinter group HAS to be the Methodists. I even know of other churches where Atheists are the head of the trustees. I see Methodists as the most accepting of all Christian groups, and probably the least blind faith group.

Go Methodists!

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2003-01-30 09:59pm

At first, it was because of fear of going to Hell. Now, I've matured past that, so I have lost some faith, but I still have some.

Singular Quartet · Post by **Singular Quartet** » 2003-01-30 10:03pm

The Dark wrote:It's Pascal's Wager.

Thanks.

Captain Cyran · Post by **Captain Cyran** » 2003-01-30 10:05pm

My faith, well, I'm a PK (Preacher's Kid, not Player Killer). But that hasn't effected my faith either way too much, but it's brought me much closer to religion than I probably would be (I believe in God, not so much in Jesus, and ESPECIALLY not the Bible, at least not most of it.). My dad and I get into a lot of theological disscussions, and he's also a very liberal Methodist, not as much as The Dark.

As for my faith, I'll think about that tommorrow and get back to you on it.

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-01-30 10:16pm

It doesn't give me hope.. it gives me more persecution than anything else. But having faith makes me feel good, makes me feel good about myself, and makes me think that I have some point in this place we like to call Earth. I don't know my role, not completely, I may never know that role.. but I know I'm meant to be here for a reason, and having faith is what brought me to that belief. If others don't agree with that, that iis fine by me.. It is just that I feel that faith gives me a sense of being, a sense of being real, knowing in my heart that there is something to look forward to.. knowing that there will be more ahead of me.. knowing that there is something that I will be doing later in life, as well as the next.

THEHOOLIGANJEDI · Post by **THEHOOLIGANJEDI** » 2003-01-30 10:30pm

Well Let me think... I am a deist, who overall got disgusted with so many aspects of Christianity. I don't think God interfers with our development, itdoesn't really make much sense to me why an omnipotent being would create us with a balance of positive and negative characteristics and blatantly interfere. Now as to why I have faith, well there have been some experiences in my life (I'll explain later) that I can't totally explain, and becoming an athiest is a little uncomfortable for me. Since I am a deist and a strong beliver in science and logic, there is little evidence that I find that contradcits the existence of God (as a deist, mind you). But I always keep in mind that maybe there is no god, as uncomfortable as it seems to me.

Frank_Scenario · Post by **Frank_Scenario** » 2003-01-30 10:43pm

I find it odd that quite a few former believers threw their hats in the rings. Anyway, I had a "leap of faith" sort of thing, which was then justified by personal experience.