Question about "faith"

[Simon Moon]

I reason from what I know of the definition of what a chair is and my experience with that chair that it will hold my weight if I were to sit in it. I also reason that from what I know of the definition of the Christian God is and my experience trusting in God that my life is better because of it.

Please demonstrate that the reason why your life is better, is actually due to an extant god, and not just your belief in a god, that may not exist.

I have a good friend I've known for decades. We started surfing together when we were 15. In his 20's, his life made a bad turn to drugs, alcohol, petty crime, and living on the street. Years later, he walked into a Hindu temple in LA, claims he saw the incarnation of a Hindu god, and instantly quit all drugs, got his life together and now he has a successful high end tiling business, a wife and 2 kids. To this day he's a practicing Hindu, and credits Hinduism for turning his life around.

So, is his drastically better life due to the actual existence of the Hindu god?

Please explain why not, and try not to use special pleading...

You're being disingenuous asking for physical evidence of the spiritual. Just because your materialist view adds requirements to your definition of faith doesn't mean I have the same hang ups. If you're being disingenuous and I'm a liar I guess we're just not going to get a lot accomplished hunh?

Not at all. But without physical (empirical) evidence, what should our justification to believe a god exists?

Is your god unable to find a way to convince me that he exists?

And let me add, I'll bet there are dozens of spiritual claims that you reject, precisely due to lack of physical evidence, just as we reject the same claims. People all over the world make claims about: Jinn, ghosts, zombies, voodoo, tarot card reading, seances, faeries, etc, etc, etc. I am sure at least some of these spiritual claims you reject for the lack of physical evidence.