Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

[Heka]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

I've noticed I'm plagued by uncertainty more than many of my pagan friends, and it can be a downer. Often, I feel like I'm the only one at a ritual who can't just open myself to "feelings", because I don't trust my own imagination. .

sames

/10char

[Yazichestvo]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

As a rule, I have very little faith, at least by one definition. I have never had the blind certainty that many religious people seem to have. I have, however, sometimes had experiences that made me consider a spiritual world to be a very large possibility. That personal estimation could be considered a kind of faith, but that's the extent of it for me. Provided that the divine does exist, however, I have a very strong leaning towards a certain interpretation of it- although even then, some beliefs are much more tentative than others.

I've noticed I'm plagued by uncertainty more than many of my pagan friends, and it can be a downer. Often, I feel like I'm the only one at a ritual who can't just open myself to "feelings", because I don't trust my own imagination. Every now and then though, something gets through. Maybe I'm lucky in a sense that I can keep both feet on the ground most of the time, but still get a nibble of that religious inspiration.

[Simatong]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

To me there are perhaps to kinds of faith that I focus on: Faith based on gut feelings, and faith inspired by proof but also requiring confidence. I will give an example.
I have faith (even though I sometimes have my doubts from time to time) that many scientists are wrong when they say I (my consciousness) will cease to exist once my neural activity has completely ended. I have no definitive proof to back this up, but my gut tells me that I will live on and that eventually I might even reincarnate.
The faith inspired by proof comes from the things that I have done successfully; casting successful spells, accurately translating documents, giving sound advice to my friends, etc. However, there are times, even with this proof, when I second-guess myself. I wonder if I can actually do these things on a consistent basis. It is at times like these that I have to have faith in my experiences and my abilities, believing that if I was successful before, I can and will be successful again. This is just one person's view of course.

[Heka]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

Donald Duck actually did that. :=L:

Clearly a prick.

[thalassa]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

Faith is a choice. You either choose to believe something or you don't. Since absolutely NO specific religion, path, or spirituality can proven AT ALL, faith is a tool for those who follow a path with hard rules. Without it, how else could you justify continuing down that same path, never once wavering?

I am much less defined. I have HOPE that the path I walk isn't utter horseshit but I have FAITH that, no matter what, I'll always put one foot in front of the other on the way towards the light. The shoes I wear and the map I follow are immaterial.

Well put!

[Gardenia]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

As others have said, I think of faith as believing in something that can't really be proven, at least when talking about it in a spiritual/religious setting. However, I sort of take this in a broader sense as, to me, also includes things like personal experiences, and scripture that can't be proven without pointing to itself. As an example, someone mentioned the Bible, but since the claims of the Bible (as a whole) can't really be proven without pointing to the Bible much of the time, then there is faith involved. Someone may believe in their personal spiritual path because of experiences they've had, but since those experiences can't be proven to others - even if they work as proof to the self - then there is faith involved.

So, for me, even though I have personal experiences, and my own little personal proofs, since I can't actually use those as proof to others, I'd say there is some faith involved there.

[Medusa]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

And he'll probably grab your arse when you go for a photo with him... *sigh*

Donald Duck actually did that. :=L:

[Skybyrd]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

Im not sure if i stole this from someone, or made it up, but this is the phrase i use: faith is belief in the absence of evidence, not belief in spite of evidence.

[Heka]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

I feel the same way. I want to go to Disneyland but I know the dude in the Mickey outfit is just some sleazeball making a buck.

And he'll probably grab your arse when you go for a photo with him... *sigh*

[Ophidia]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

I've never had a good grasp on faith or hope. I suppose the closest I get to having faith is knowing the sun will rise in the east or that spring will come after a long winter. There may be a day when the sun won't rise, or there may be a never-ending winter, but past events show that the expected outcome will be another sunrise or spring, at least during my lifetime. Or at least I expect the sun will rise in a few hours, given that it's midnight here and I haven't heard any stirrings of catastrophe. A lot can happen in the next 5 or so hours, though.

[Medusa]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

I like to believe that I do everything logically, and I work really hard at making my own beliefs make 'sense'.


But omgs all I want in life is faith. Those people that believe in something so feverently, and have such beautiful faith. I can't describe it, but it's beautiful, and I want it.

I just can't 'believe' it.

I feel the same way. I want to go to Disneyland but I know the dude in the Mickey outfit is just some sleazeball making a buck.

[Heka]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

I like to believe that I do everything logically, and I work really hard at making my own beliefs make 'sense'.


But omgs all I want in life is faith. Those people that believe in something so feverently, and have such beautiful faith. I can't describe it, but it's beautiful, and I want it.

I just can't 'believe' it.

[Bjorn]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

Faith is a choice. You either choose to believe something or you don't. Since absolutely NO specific religion, path, or spirituality can proven AT ALL, faith is a tool for those who follow a path with hard rules. Without it, how else could you justify continuing down that same path, never once wavering?

I am much less defined. I have HOPE that the path I walk isn't utter horseshit but I have FAITH that, no matter what, I'll always put one foot in front of the other on the way towards the light. The shoes I wear and the map I follow are immaterial.

[Louisvillian]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

To me, faith is having confidence in something (an idea, a person, an entity) without having a rational basis for doing so.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just not my cup of tea most of the time. Hence why I found it difficult to believe in the gods completely until I had actual mystical experiences of them. "Believe it when I see it" is my mantra.

[Poshi]

Re: Faith, how do you define it and how important or nessecary is it to you?

I too think faith is just a feeling. And in my case, I never ever ever do anything because I feel like it. That sort of nonsense gets me in trouble. So I like faith. But I don't follow it. I just side eye it closely as it tries to f me over for not thinking clearly.

That's very sensible of you. Unfortunately, I have a very difficult time being sensible about such things, and I find myself simply believing whether I like it or not. T'is a curse.