An Enlightened Approach to Faith

All these crypto-Jews are trying to cast seeds of doubt into those who might follow Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith in things unseen nor untouchable means you can not weight them, measure and then make a "logical" decision as she states.

Its all bogus what they write.

Believe in Jesus Christ, the God of the Heavens.

(((((((((((( Peace-Love-Rock-n-Roll-n-Wrap, Mitt ROMNEY, For Prez, 2008 Ya! )))))))))))))

Someone exercises faith when he decides he can become a doctor. After this decision, it is time to stop questioning. Faith is necessary to our everyday life. Questioning everything all the time leads to chaos, indecision, and failure. You have to believe in order to achieve secular, spiritual, athletic or political goals. Jesus said, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Once you have found it buy it and enjoy it. Buyers remorse is not a good thing.

That's why strong faith has to be regardless of any reward. Otherwise it's not belief, it's bribery. Too many religious organizations, because they are in the business of maintaining their power and increasing their numbers, rely on threats (Hell) and bribes (Heaven) to keep their members in line. I'm not absolutely sure there is a heaven, but if there is one, then righteous atheists must go there, too. Otherwise grace -- which is supposed to be a gift unsolicited by us, the receivers -- is meaningless.
Real faith must also involve a certain amount of logic: "Here are the things that science is not set up to explain."

Hi Viejta Del Oeste.

I agree with your comments.
The religious expect belief in God to get them everlasting life,instead of death.
Because such an idea defies credibility,faith has to be dragged in to give the idea some sort of plausibility, some sort of respectability.
The faithful even come to see it as a wonderful thing to suspend disbelief and make the leap of faith.How beautiful.How trusting.How holy. How virtuous to be able to turn a blind eye to reality and one's senses,and buy into magic.
It brings a tear to my eye.
I posted these comments on another thread,but they are also appropriate here.

Hi Viejta Del Oeste.

I agree with your comments.
The religious expect belief in God to get them everlasting life,instead of death.
Because such an idea defies credibility,faith has to be dragged in to give the idea some sort of plausibility, some sort of respectability.
The faithful even come to see it as a wonderful thing to suspend disbelief and make the leap of faith.How beautiful.How trusting.How holy. How virtuous to be able to turn a blind eye to reality and one's senses,and buy into magic.
It brings a tear to my eye.
I posted these comments on another thread,but they are also appropriate here.

Yo-Yo
The fear of questions is a hallmark of weak faith. Those who are secure in their beliefs do not see any dichotomy between faith and reason. For instance, science has pretty much established the fact of "how" we evolved from simpler organisms. Faith helps us with the "why".
Those who lose faith from pursuing questions either have a weak faith to start with, or are uninterested in the "why."

Hi Baroness

Aren't you concerned that this questioning puts you on the slippery slope to real doubt?
What if this "creative modern approach to religion",and all this questioning leads you to a place where faith and religion begin to look more like myth than reality?
What then Baroness? Would you ditch faith for reason if you discovered that faith was just a pipe dream after all,and had nothing more going for it than
frightened people wished it were true?
Are you that brave Baroness?

question - but not the unquestionable
discuss - within specific limits
ask - what you can do to strengthen your fith
answer - do not question, do not discuss
listen to others - of a common mind

The ancients did not deny the testimony of their senses. However, they did not make them the standard by which all else must be judged, either. That is the modern problem: the problem of AUTHORITY. In modernity, we were expected to question anything that was not "proven" by scientific method. When that authority obviously failed, the individual mind elevated itself to the position of authority.

The question is not one of gathering evidence or not. It is one of what kind of lens wil we use to examine what we've gathered.

respectfully,
Nick Gill
Frankfort, KY