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What do you have faith in?

I have had so many Christians or religious people ask this question after learning either that I'm not religious, or that I'm an atheist.

My response is (and has always been) - I believe in myself.

This is most often met with a look of disbelief and a comment or two about how self centered of a view that is.

Really? Is it really so conceited to have faith that I can overcome the obstacles in my life by working hard, making changes to my mindset and/or educating myself?

I certainly know that when it really comes down to it, I am the one and only person I can count on to have faith in me no matter what I'm facing - and that faith will never falter. Others will always have limits on how much faith they'll have in you, conditions that you must meet.

Airmid 4 Jan 13
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25 comments

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6

I believe in reality, I don't have faith in anything. To me faith is belief in something either without or in denial of evidence. I may misunderstand reality at times, and when there is evidence of this, I change my belief.

5

This is a loaded question. The word faith is used in 2 ways. The first is a synonym for hope or trust. You can have faith that people will do the right thing. It's based on some evidence or assessment that what you have faith in will occur. I think this is the meaning of your question. The second meaning of faith is belief in something in the total absence of evidence because you just "believe" that it is true. That's how religions use it. As for me, I avoid the word completely.

Inspiration! Going forward the answer will be with a question. thanks

5

I have faith in reality. It's been remarkably consistent for the last 68 years.

skado Level 9 Jan 14, 2018
4

Nothing. I'm incapable of it. I've tried.

"Faith" requires something I just can't manage. And I don't feel bad about it.

Idon't think "faithful" people are any better or worse than me--just different. It's all natural to the human experience.

But, boy, it sure sticks in my craw when people act condescendingly pitying toward me because of my position on faith...

I have confidence that the sun will rise tomorrow, not faith. I have confidence in my doctor, and if I don't i'll find another one. I guess I prefer the word confidence.

@Leutrelle same

4

I do not have faith. Faith is acceptance of an assumed truth without evidence. Faith and belief are equal. As human beings there are certain assumed truths upon which we all operate to avoid cognitive overload as we navigate our way through our reality. These are the mundane beliefs like the idea that the car will start in the morning. If it doesn't, that faith/belief goes down the tubes and we turn to solving the problem. They are beliefs of convenience.

What you are talking about is not faith. It is more properly known as confidence. We have to be careful with our confidence. We need to know our strengths and weaknesses. Our limits. With those things in place and a measured confidence, we can proceed through our world and all its traps with a confidence that will see us through. The picture you have painted for me says you have found that level of confidence that sees you through and gets you where you need to go. Keep on truckin', @Airmid

3

The problem is that "faith" is slightly ambiguous, and believers like to use that equivocation to their advantage, or are sometimes unaware of the different definitions, so it's important to clearly define it first.
Faith can mean trust and confidence which may well be reasonably justified by evidence, or it can mean trust and confidence based on nothing more than one's own wishful thinking.
I have plenty of the former and none of the latter.

3

I have faith in progress. We will continue to learn from our mistakes and improve our world.

3

Faith in nothing. Confidence in many things.

3

I don't really have faith in anything. Faith is a belief in something based on a lack of information, evidence, proof, or facts.

To be honest, Airmid, I don't really think (in my opinion) that you have faith in yourself either. You are probably well aware of what your capabilities are, what you are good at, what your skills and knowledge entails, and what your strengths are. So therefore, you don't need faith in yourself because you have many years of empirical evidence to base your conclusion on.

I think what you have is self confidence. 🙂

3

I have a general faith that I cultivate my skills, prepare in advance, have the right tools for the task, and it is not impossible what is being demanded I can manage to not make the problem any worse, haha.

2

I would use the word believe. I believe in my love for my kids and their love for me. I believe in good. I believe most humans function towards a higher good. I believe that I will grow old and die. or perhaps I should say hope there 😛

2

I don't use the word faith because of its loaded meaning. I also don't say that I believe in people, even though I understand what you mean.

2

Reality.

2

not I believe in myself but more I believe myself. I have no faith. just my thoughts.

2

Fact science that is proven. I friend that is religious that see my side of not believing that never pushes what he believes on me.

1

Myself

0

Reason Science Objective material reality. I agree we should reserve the term faith for beliefs held without sufficient evidence or in the face of contrary evidence

0

I do not have faith.

I have reasonable expectations in the things that I have some experience or evidence for.

Faith is gullibility. I see faith as a belief in something that you have no evidence for.

I believe that my van will start tomorrow morning - that is a reasonable expectation based on the fact that it has started every time I have tried to start it, it is properly serviced and it has plenty of fuel. I have sufficient evidence to believe that on the balance of probability that my van will start. I also know that the battery could fail in cold weather, but it is fairly new and should be ok.

I have faith that the pile of crap I am watching on fleabay that purports to be a classic bike, will be a real bargain. I have faith despite the fact that it has stood in a barn, has no history and was unreliable even when new that it will be easy to restore. I have faith because I believe the seller when he says it will easily pass an MOT.
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

0

My bed - my chairs - my talents - my sense of self and sense of what is real and what is not.

0

"For us believing physicists, the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." -Einstein
For now, I believe in physics, that we are creating our own universes/reality.

“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness." – Max Planck, theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory, 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics

0

I believe the only person I can count on to take care of me is me. My most valued quality in anyone is independence.

0

I have neither faith nor belief. Faith, as is often used, refers to believing something without evidence. Belief is quite similar, of course. I'd rather observe, evaluate, assess and decide what I'm going to do given a situation. I've learned to have 'faith' (ahem!) in my ability to look at each situation and be able to deal with it appropriately. The perceived downside is that in making decisions one runs into the potential for situational ethics (the chance of choosing to do the wrong thing). This is a problem for people who live life dogmatically and get their ethics/morality from a set of hard, often archaic, rules. I much rather answer the question "What's the right thing to do?" each and every time and think/act ethically rather than following an inflexible set of rules. Do I succeed every time? Well, no; but, I am comfortable with the fact that I'm not perfect and have plenty of practice making a fool of myself ...

0

I rely that reason and empiricism are the best way to learn truthes about the world and myself. I do not have faith that others may know what I am sure I cannot.

0

Peanut butter ~

Varn Level 8 Jan 16, 2018
0

I was eating chips and salsa when I read this. I concluded that I have faith that there is tomatoes in salsa (though I have employed no science in ensuring that is a fact). 😛

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