I'm going to argue that literally everything we do is faith-based, and that understanding this can be of great benefit to us.
First, though, let me define my terms. I'm not defining "faith" as "believing in something for which there's no evidence." I use it more in behavioral terms: "Believing that something will happen though you have no direct control over it." Caveat: before I lube up for the ritualized ass-raping that anyone reading this far is already preparing for me, please let me ask you to read through to the end.
It occurred to me that I, a conscious agent, really don't know how my leg moves when I want it to move. I intend it to move, and it does. The same thing goes for remembering answers for a test-- I don't really DO anything at all, other than intend to remember and have it happen.
These are things that I do regularly. However, there are also things which are special for me: sometimes, when I'm playing chess, I see things I wouldn't normally see. I'm turbocharged, I'm "in the zone." The same goes for playing piano. I'm a competent amateur, and can play some pretty hard pieces, but SOMETIMES, once in a blue moon, I become brilliant-- the fingers fly 2x faster than normal, and I seem to feel almost every vibration of every note.
Why call it "faith?" Because it always, I mean ALWAYS, involves letting go of the conscious control of the body and mind, and settling down only to the intent and a kind of meditative immersion in the music (or the game or whatever). At these moments, I have faith that the mental powers that be will take over, and will produce the results I desire.
Here's the clincher. I believe that Christians have an advantage in this regard, and that this explains why you so often see athletes thanking Jebus for letting them catch that tricky touchdown or for shaving .2 seconds off their 100m time or whatever. They really do believe that what they want will be made manifest for them, and it turns out it is.
That it has nothing to do with Jesus, and very much to do with brain chemistry, doesn't matter to them-- they've found a way to suspend disbelief, and to access more fully the mental faculties which allow them to succeed.
I think anyone who wants to succeed in a skill-based or mind-based activity needs this kind of faith. Without having evidence, we have to believe that there lies in us some hidden capacity, waiting to be revealed to ourselves and the world. And we have to step out of the way to let the "powers that be," whether spiritual or just the wondrously complex workings of the human brain, take control over our actions.
Okay, I'm lubed up now, and ready for responses.
First, though, let me define my terms. I'm not defining "faith" as "believing in something for which there's no evidence." I use it more in behavioral terms: "Believing that something will happen though you have no direct control over it." Caveat: before I lube up for the ritualized ass-raping that anyone reading this far is already preparing for me, please let me ask you to read through to the end.
It occurred to me that I, a conscious agent, really don't know how my leg moves when I want it to move. I intend it to move, and it does. The same thing goes for remembering answers for a test-- I don't really DO anything at all, other than intend to remember and have it happen.
These are things that I do regularly. However, there are also things which are special for me: sometimes, when I'm playing chess, I see things I wouldn't normally see. I'm turbocharged, I'm "in the zone." The same goes for playing piano. I'm a competent amateur, and can play some pretty hard pieces, but SOMETIMES, once in a blue moon, I become brilliant-- the fingers fly 2x faster than normal, and I seem to feel almost every vibration of every note.
Why call it "faith?" Because it always, I mean ALWAYS, involves letting go of the conscious control of the body and mind, and settling down only to the intent and a kind of meditative immersion in the music (or the game or whatever). At these moments, I have faith that the mental powers that be will take over, and will produce the results I desire.
Here's the clincher. I believe that Christians have an advantage in this regard, and that this explains why you so often see athletes thanking Jebus for letting them catch that tricky touchdown or for shaving .2 seconds off their 100m time or whatever. They really do believe that what they want will be made manifest for them, and it turns out it is.
That it has nothing to do with Jesus, and very much to do with brain chemistry, doesn't matter to them-- they've found a way to suspend disbelief, and to access more fully the mental faculties which allow them to succeed.
I think anyone who wants to succeed in a skill-based or mind-based activity needs this kind of faith. Without having evidence, we have to believe that there lies in us some hidden capacity, waiting to be revealed to ourselves and the world. And we have to step out of the way to let the "powers that be," whether spiritual or just the wondrously complex workings of the human brain, take control over our actions.
Okay, I'm lubed up now, and ready for responses.
