Dualism

[Eilonnwy]

Okay, I'm jumping into the argument late but I believe (lol) that EvF says Belief can be based on knowledge or faith, but Fr0d0 says belief and faith are essentially the same thing? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I would like to point out an entry on Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faith

belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.

I've always understood faith to be specifically belief without proof, but belief itself can be based on proof and sometimes not.

Everyone has beliefs whether they base them on evidence/logic/faith. So to say that I personally have no beliefs because I'm an atheist is silly. While yes, atheism in it's simple form is a lack of belief in a god, I personally believe there is no personal god. I believe when I die I'm dead. I believe there are no ghosts. These are beliefs I have that I chose to base on evidence. I used to believe in the opposite of those things and I used to think I had evidence to believe in these things.

I would say belief is an overarching term but faith is specific for meaning "Belief without proof".