The importance of faith

[Pacomia]

Same.

You can be religious and educated, and happy.

Like me.

I’d love to know how. Just no Jehovah’s Witness bullshit.

[Kannap]

Same.

You can be religious and educated, and happy.

Like me.

x2

[Geneviev]

Faith has also been part of the greatest things humanity has done. Science and arts were part of religion once.

No, science and art were often maligned and persecuted for making people question scripture.

Those cases were the exception, not the rule. The church encouraged learning when most of Europe was in the Dark Ages. It created some of the greatest architecture, art, and music in history. It didn't persecute those.

[Kernen]

Faith in religion isn't a useful value. People would be better off relying on themselves than a god of some kind.

[Pacomia]

You can be religious and educated, and happy.

Like me.

x2

Or you can be atheist, uneducated, and devoid of emotion.

Like me.

[Mzeusia]

The reasons you give for why faith is a good thing are exactly why it's bad. If every person is optimistic and think things will work out in the end, then nobody will do anything to actually make that happen. If your dog just ate a chocolate cake, you don't have "faith" in it automatically being healed and think "it's probably fine, things will work out!" You take it to the vet.

Someone with faith won't do either of those. Faith believes that you will be rewarded if you work for it, and that God created medicine to help people (and dogs).

He didn't bother creating medicine for quite a while, and even when he did, it wasn't very good for a long time.

[Pacomia]

No, science and art were often maligned and persecuted for making people question scripture.

Those cases were the exception, not the rule. The church encouraged learning when most of Europe was in the Dark Ages. It created some of the greatest architecture, art, and music in history. It didn't persecute those.

It sure did persecute the science part, though. You’re just describing culture.

[Senkaku]

I think you'd find a Calvinist would disagree on that point.

Maybe your faith, but the Christian Scientists take a different view.

Just because your faith may be benign doesn't mean everyone's is. Faith can be good for people, but often it isn't.



And so we seem to have arrived at a key insight: faith isn't necessarily good or bad; it just depends on what someone has faith in and what they use that faith to justify doing.


I always think of the joke about the preacher who drowns in a flood after rejecting rescue attempts and then when he goes to the afterlife God's like "I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what more did you want lol"

The Bible would not disagree.

Well, they would say it agrees and you're misinterpreting it. It seems like you're asking if faith is a good thing, people are making valid points, and then you're saying "but my faith hasn't made me do bad things," which, like, cool... but you're a sample size of one. And we haven't even started in on other holy books or religious traditions really.

Faith would be good for people if they are careful to not blindly trust things they are told.

Ah, a conditional statement! Unfortunately, people frequently are not careful to blindly trust what they're told by higher authorities, sooo... it seems the criteria for faith being an unequivocal and constant good to all people have not been met.

That's true. When used properly, though, faith is one of the most important things.

Everyone has different ideas of "proper use."

I think I tried to explain the concept that not everyone interprets religion the same way you do to you once in the past, right? I don't recall that really going anywhere and no one seems to be getting much traction with it here either so I'm gonna throw in the towel and head to bed lol

[Geneviev]

Faith in religion isn't a useful value. People would be better off relying on themselves than a god of some kind.

That would still be faith.

Someone with faith won't do either of those. Faith believes that you will be rewarded if you work for it, and that God created medicine to help people (and dogs).

He didn't bother creating medicine for quite a while, and even when he did, it wasn't very good for a long time.

Yes, but it is much better now.

[Pacomia]

Faith in religion isn't a useful value. People would be better off relying on themselves than a god of some kind.

That would still be faith.

He didn't bother creating medicine for quite a while, and even when he did, it wasn't very good for a long time.

Yes, but it is much better now.

Now, when religion is less common? Hmmmmmm...

[Kannap]

x2

Or you can be atheist, uneducated, and devoid of emotion.

Like me.

Sounds awful, the uneducated part the most. Ya boi believes in life-long education and learning.

[Vaukiai]

Most modern societies value logic and evidence more than faith. Faith is considered less valuable or a sign of being less educated or less intelligent. However, faith is one of the most underestimated virtues. Faith is not blindly accepting things written in the Bible, but trust that God will help you through difficult situations. It can help people through life because they can believe that something good will come to them and because it enables them to solve problems instead of focusing on the negative.

Considering the benefits of faith, should it be encouraged more in society?

I think faith is one of the most important things for people because it allows them to be more optimistic and have more hope. For those reasons, it should be valued by society and people should be encouraged to have faith.

What faith you mean???

Christian, muslim, pagan, ... ?

[Mzeusia]

Yes, but it is much better now.

Sure, but that's a lot of people he didn't care that much about.

Anyway, I don't think faith is important. In my mind, to go back to medicine, mankind created all that we have today and they didn't do it by having faith. Instead, they thought about things for a while, and made improvements.

[Kvatchdom]

Faith is important to me, but it is also individual. It shouldnt be encouraged or discouraged.

[Pacomia]

Or you can be atheist, uneducated, and devoid of emotion.

Like me.

Sounds awful, the uneducated part the most. Ya boi believes in life-long education and learning.

So do I, but it’s not seeming to work. I’m still dumb as rocks.

[Rojava Free State]

Faith in what? People need faith in something but faith in God is downright misplaced.

[Kannap]

Sounds awful, the uneducated part the most. Ya boi believes in life-long education and learning.

So do I, but it’s not seeming to work. I’m still dumb as rocks.

Keep trying, I suppose. I'm still pursuing my first degree.

[Petrolheadia]

Why have the middleman in heaven, if you can truthfully believe in you and other people being able to solve your problems?

That's not how this works.

That's not how any of this works.
*Facepalms*

Worked for me.

[Geneviev]

Yes, but it is much better now.

Sure, but that's a lot of people he didn't care that much about.

Anyway, I don't think faith is important. In my mind, to go back to medicine, mankind created all that we have today and they didn't do it by having faith. Instead, they thought about things for a while, and made improvements.

You could say they needed to have faith that what they were doing wasn't completely wrong.

Faith in what? People need faith in something but faith in God is downright misplaced.

Why?

[Cekoviu]

No, science and art were often maligned and persecuted for making people question scripture.

Dude, get educated.

You're hugely uneducated on this matter if you believe that.

There was a time like that but it does not inherently represent religion as a permanent institution.

Churchgoers are constantly maligning science. It may not be institutionalized in the manner that it used to be, but it's certainly not coming out of nowhere.

[Cekoviu]

Faith in what? People need faith in something but faith in God is downright misplaced.

Why?

Because you're placing faith in something that doesn't exist.

[Mzeusia]

You could say they needed to have faith that what they were doing wasn't completely wrong.

Yes, I agree with that. I guess I was singling out faith in god and just calling it faith, although it's not the only kind of faith. It is faith in god and religion that I find unimportant.

[Petrolheadia]

Faith in what? People need faith in something but faith in God is downright misplaced.

Why?

Because it just makes you think things will work out, instead of looking for a way to work it out. I'd say that my agnosticism is one of the things pushing me to improve myself.

[Geneviev]

Most modern societies value logic and evidence more than faith. Faith is considered less valuable or a sign of being less educated or less intelligent. However, faith is one of the most underestimated virtues. Faith is not blindly accepting things written in the Bible, but trust that God will help you through difficult situations. It can help people through life because they can believe that something good will come to them and because it enables them to solve problems instead of focusing on the negative.

Considering the benefits of faith, should it be encouraged more in society?

I think faith is one of the most important things for people because it allows them to be more optimistic and have more hope. For those reasons, it should be valued by society and people should be encouraged to have faith.

What faith you mean???

Christian, muslim, pagan, ... ?

Faith in anything.

[Petrolheadia]

No, science and art were often maligned and persecuted for making people question scripture.

Dude, get educated.

You're hugely uneducated on this matter if you believe that.

There was a time like that but it does not inherently represent religion as a permanent institution.

How can we trust an organisation that had a time like that in the first place?