RE: Question about "faith"
September 20, 2020 at 12:19 pm
(This post was last modified: September 20, 2020 at 12:29 pm by John 6IX Breezy.)
(September 20, 2020 at 11:24 am)Angrboda Wrote: However, if they already believe in God prior to experiencing the writings, and have no direct experience with the divine, then what are they basing that faith upon? [...] I was specifically addressing the more common scenario wherein one lacks any direct experience of the divine, and therefore knows only of God through the writings of others, and perhaps some private speculation. What is their faith/trust based upon?
The short answer is that faith doesn't seem possible in this scenario (assuming we are on the same page; that faith means trusting something rather than believing something exists). One reason comes to mind:
Because in this scenario there are no propositions that need to be trusted.
The person has simply come to believe that God exists through private speculation, etc., but this God isn't communicating any propositions that need trusting. There are no actions that our subject needs to take on the basis of God's merit. Such as stepping on the Jordan and trusting God to part it (Joshua 3:15).
P.S. I'm assuming that by "writings of others" you are not talking about the Bible. You made a distinction between the two but the overlap is confusing.