Question about "faith"

[Sal]

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.

If a god, from scripture, was so noble and good and did everything in his power to help and guide his people, in such a way that they led good, productable lives and had overall positive societal results, it would be true and a god to follow?

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This exists in modern times.

Let me present you, Superman. A noble, good, powerful Being, as recorded by DC comics of His nature and exploits, that He helped, guided and by being a role model inspired humanity to be on their best behavior, don'tca know.



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Oh? You don't have faith in Superman? I guess you have to just trust the Holy Scriptures of DC comics first, then, to come around. He is such a good Being, how can't you have faith in Superman? He's a source of great inspiration and good behavior of His faithful, sure this is proof enough of His existence, right? Their faith guides them on the Path of Righteousness and exemplary lives. Clearly living a heretical life and not believing in Superman makes the life of these atheists miserable without the guiding light of Superman.

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You see, I don't believe in the Christian god because I don't have faith in god, that's not the reason. My cognitive abilities are beyond and above faith itself. Faith is often presented as this, in my POV, as this sort of ability to "see" as in "a sense" into a unique realm. It's quite the opposite. The old canard analogy of a dark room is often used when comparing philosophy, metaphysics, theology and science, each an attempt looking for a black cat - but I think this illustrates the point, albeit crudely.

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