On Non-belief

[Tex]

It's not that there isn't proof out there, but we have to work for it.

If there was proof of the specific Christian creator of the universe, faith in that creator should not be necessary to find it (where is it said that God would completely conceal himself from every possible method of observation in order to test everyone's faith, I must have completely missed that part of the Bible). The only reason Christians assert that faith is necessary for proof is because there is no proof to be found, other than the worthless variety which results from confirmation bias.

The 'faith is necessary' idea was invented because it is the only way to possibly justify believing in a being which is in every way indistinguishable from any other character in fiction.

Strawman. You don't know Christianity. You're attacking an imaginary other-thing and calling it by the same name. If Christianity was a person, you'd be sued for slander.

"Faith" is a relationship, the main component being trust. When a child chooses not to touch the stove, the kid has demonstrated faith in his parents. When I am handed an English translation of Aristotle, I can have faith it is a good translation or not. Usually, I begin with trust. If the book seems iffy, then I'll go check the Greek and see if I am wrong or the translator is wrong.

Again, faith does not mean "I trust completely with no backing". We are not called to blind faith, but informed faith is encouraged because it strengthens.