Question about "faith"

[John 6IX Breezy]

Do these people who came to belief through experience, etc, have first-hand observation of the divine, or do they trust or have faith in others, such as the authors of the bible?

I think the Bible more precisely falls into the divine category. By that I mean it isn't an independent resource whose propositions you must trust in order to believe God exists. You have to first be convinced of it's legitimacy before you have faith in it. Keep in mind Scripture is the Word of God for the Christian. As such, God is the proposer, Scripture is the proposition, and faith emerges from that:

"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (1 Timothy 1:4)

But I'm sure there are individuals who read scripture and it appeals to their reason; it is self-evident in that sense. As for people's experiences, I suspect it is a spectrum. Ranging from those who believe they have had direct interaction with the divine, down to those who simply found religion to work in their personal life, it gives positive results.