"Faith" apparently has many different interpretations. The same is true for the bible. That doesn't make any of them at all valid. When faith is put into the realm of one's own religion, it will look different when viewed by Muslims, Jainists, Buddhists...you name it. When looked at objectively by those who don't care what the Bible (or any other religious text) says simply because there's no reason to waste their time with it, then all subjective reasoning is omitted, and people can start being rational about the subject.
Put into that light, everyone in some form or another has faith. Even Atheists have faith. That does not make them religious because faith is not inherently divine in origin. There is good faith, and there is bad faith.
Good faith is used when putting trust into something that has not yet occurred, but there is plenty of valid and factual reasoning involved to get someone to that point. Having faith that your dog will come when you call him/her is a great example. Having faith that green men live on Mars, conversely, is not, as there is no proof/evidence to the claim.
Bad faith can also be referred to as blind faith. In the world of religions, all faith in god is blind faith simply because people are putting their trust into something based on someone else's assertion. Said assertion has not been proven. Blind faith is dangerous; the reason for this is that it affects the way a person thinks in a radical way.
Those with blind faith "know" that their assertions are true, when in fact no proof has been shown to substantiate their claims. The end results are not always bad...in fact, much good can come from believing in a deity. But put one little bit of shit into your brownie mix, and you now have shit brownies. Some religious parties refuse to acknowledge any scientific medical discoveries, and so they neglect to take their ill and dying relatives in for emergency care. Such neglect is not their fault. Rather, it is the fault of blind faith - it has affected their mind, and, in some extreme cases, you can't reason logically with them because such arguments are superseded by their god's logic.
Conclusively, asking "what is faith" should only yield one answer. Having many different definitions of the word is erroneous - adding qualifiers to it is also a bad move on many religions, for it confuses those who are striving to know. Keep it simple; keep it logical.
Put into that light, everyone in some form or another has faith. Even Atheists have faith. That does not make them religious because faith is not inherently divine in origin. There is good faith, and there is bad faith.
Good faith is used when putting trust into something that has not yet occurred, but there is plenty of valid and factual reasoning involved to get someone to that point. Having faith that your dog will come when you call him/her is a great example. Having faith that green men live on Mars, conversely, is not, as there is no proof/evidence to the claim.
Bad faith can also be referred to as blind faith. In the world of religions, all faith in god is blind faith simply because people are putting their trust into something based on someone else's assertion. Said assertion has not been proven. Blind faith is dangerous; the reason for this is that it affects the way a person thinks in a radical way.
Those with blind faith "know" that their assertions are true, when in fact no proof has been shown to substantiate their claims. The end results are not always bad...in fact, much good can come from believing in a deity. But put one little bit of shit into your brownie mix, and you now have shit brownies. Some religious parties refuse to acknowledge any scientific medical discoveries, and so they neglect to take their ill and dying relatives in for emergency care. Such neglect is not their fault. Rather, it is the fault of blind faith - it has affected their mind, and, in some extreme cases, you can't reason logically with them because such arguments are superseded by their god's logic.
Conclusively, asking "what is faith" should only yield one answer. Having many different definitions of the word is erroneous - adding qualifiers to it is also a bad move on many religions, for it confuses those who are striving to know. Keep it simple; keep it logical.
