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What things do I have faith in?
November 17, 2013 at 7:35 pm
I have recently been told a few times by theists, that there are lots of things that even I as an atheist, have faith in. And every time I hear this, I deny it. I then usually proceed to ask them what I have faith in but have not received any answers. I made this thread so that theists can voice what they think atheists have faith in.
Just to make things clear, I define faith as: believing in something without any evidence.
I'm not really expecting any replies from theists but it would be fun if they did.
'The more I learn about people the more I like my dog'- Mark Twain
'You can have all the faith you want in spirits, and the afterlife, and heaven and hell, but when it comes to this world, don't be an idiot. Cause you can tell me you put your faith in God to put you through the day, but when it comes time to cross the road, I know you look both ways.' - Dr House
“Young earth creationism is essentially the position that all of modern science, 90% of living scientists and 98% of living biologists, all major university biology departments, every major science journal, the American Academy of Sciences, and every major science organization in the world, are all wrong regarding the origins and development of life….but one particular tribe of uneducated, bronze aged, goat herders got it exactly right.” - Chuck Easttom
"If my good friend Doctor Gasparri speaks badly of my mother, he can expect to get punched.....You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others. There is a limit." - Pope Francis on freedom of speech
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RE: What things do I have faith in?
November 17, 2013 at 7:36 pm
Silly theists confusing faith with Faith.
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
~ Erin Hunter
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RE: What things do I have faith in?
November 17, 2013 at 7:39 pm
(November 17, 2013 at 7:35 pm)Bad Wolf Wrote: Just to make things clear, I define faith as: believing in something without any evidence. According to your definition, I believe people change their username for sordid reasons.
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RE: What things do I have faith in?
November 17, 2013 at 7:50 pm
I find this to be a weird issue. I often get accused by (mostly) theists that I do not have faith in anything. And they say it in the tone that suggests therefore I must eat babies for dinners. But, I also get accused of having faith by them just to illustrate that their faith in their religion is not as crazy as I make it out to be because I do the exact same thing.
I actually don't have faith (as defined by you) in anything empirical. I have faith in a few people, that's about it.
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RE: What things do I have faith in?
November 17, 2013 at 7:54 pm
(November 17, 2013 at 7:39 pm)freedomfromfallacy Wrote: (November 17, 2013 at 7:35 pm)Bad Wolf Wrote: Just to make things clear, I define faith as: believing in something without any evidence. According to your definition, I believe people change their username for sordid reasons.
I'm not following you...
'The more I learn about people the more I like my dog'- Mark Twain
'You can have all the faith you want in spirits, and the afterlife, and heaven and hell, but when it comes to this world, don't be an idiot. Cause you can tell me you put your faith in God to put you through the day, but when it comes time to cross the road, I know you look both ways.' - Dr House
“Young earth creationism is essentially the position that all of modern science, 90% of living scientists and 98% of living biologists, all major university biology departments, every major science journal, the American Academy of Sciences, and every major science organization in the world, are all wrong regarding the origins and development of life….but one particular tribe of uneducated, bronze aged, goat herders got it exactly right.” - Chuck Easttom
"If my good friend Doctor Gasparri speaks badly of my mother, he can expect to get punched.....You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others. There is a limit." - Pope Francis on freedom of speech
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RE: What things do I have faith in?
November 17, 2013 at 8:03 pm
(This post was last modified: November 17, 2013 at 8:04 pm by Ryantology.)
My response to this dishonest argument from theists is that all faith is not equal. I have faith that many things will happen, but in every instance, the basis of my faith is that they have happened, that they are established facts. I have faith that my section of the planet will rotate into the path of direct sunlight every day because this has always happened. I know it's possible that I may die in my sleep tonight, but I have faith that I won't, because I never have yet. I don't have faith that my football team will win next week, but I do have faith that they'll still exist next week. I have faith in things that are certain, or very close to certain.
Having faith in something which is overwhelmingly likely to be true is not the same as having faith in something which has never been established to have happened at any point, ever. This gets even worse when you build a religion around a ridiculously unlikely assumption. Every object of religious "faith" only ends up constructing a scenario which is exponentially less likely to be true than the last. By the time you get to a complete dogma, what you have is faith in something that is a stone's throw away from completely impossible.
My faith is believing that the state lottery will still be played tomorrow. Christian faith is believing that you're going to win the state lottery every day for the rest of your life. It is in no way comparable.
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RE: What things do I have faith in?
November 17, 2013 at 11:53 pm
The problem is that theists have to modify what they mean by faith away fro religious faith. If by faith you mean an unprovable assumption, then sure I have that with regards to some things (solipsism is false, my perceptions of reality is somewhat accurate to what reality is "behind" those perceptions, etc.) But doing that redefinition will certainly make most believers get a bad taste in their mouth.
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RE: What things do I have faith in?
November 18, 2013 at 2:00 am
(This post was last modified: November 18, 2013 at 2:01 am by Godscreated.)
(November 17, 2013 at 7:35 pm)Bad Wolf Wrote: I have recently been told a few times by theists, that there are lots of things that even I as an atheist, have faith in. And every time I hear this, I deny it. I then usually proceed to ask them what I have faith in but have not received any answers. I made this thread so that theists can voice what they think atheists have faith in.
Just to make things clear, I define faith as: believing in something without any evidence.
I'm not really expecting any replies from theists but it would be fun if they did.
You go to bed with the faith you'll wake up in the morning.
GC
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
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RE: What things do I have faith in?
November 18, 2013 at 2:33 am
I go to bed every night (for night on 10 years, at least) without the faith.
I'm still here.
![[Image: CheerUp_zps63df8a6b.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i1118.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk619%2Fjcincain%2FArt%2520Vault%2FCheerUp_zps63df8a6b.jpg)
Thanks to Cinjin for making it more 'sig space' friendly.
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RE: What things do I have faith in?
November 18, 2013 at 3:52 am
(November 18, 2013 at 2:00 am)Godschild Wrote: You go to bed with the faith you'll wake up in the morning.
GC
Well, since I know I exist, and since I know the planet exists. And I understand how sleep works and my sleep/wake cycle. Also, I have gone to sleep and woken up thousands of times before. I would have to say no. I don't have faith in that
'The more I learn about people the more I like my dog'- Mark Twain
'You can have all the faith you want in spirits, and the afterlife, and heaven and hell, but when it comes to this world, don't be an idiot. Cause you can tell me you put your faith in God to put you through the day, but when it comes time to cross the road, I know you look both ways.' - Dr House
“Young earth creationism is essentially the position that all of modern science, 90% of living scientists and 98% of living biologists, all major university biology departments, every major science journal, the American Academy of Sciences, and every major science organization in the world, are all wrong regarding the origins and development of life….but one particular tribe of uneducated, bronze aged, goat herders got it exactly right.” - Chuck Easttom
"If my good friend Doctor Gasparri speaks badly of my mother, he can expect to get punched.....You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others. There is a limit." - Pope Francis on freedom of speech
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