Why would you need faith if you had no doubt?
70My perspective
I am not sure where you are coming from in your own spiritual journey, so let me say up front that this is a Biblical Christian perspective, although I am certainly by no means the official spokesperson for what "Biblical Christians" believe.
Faith = no doubt
The Bible says in Hebrews that faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. (NIV, emphasis added by me) So, a quick answer to your question is, you don't "need" faith if you have no doubt, because, then you already have faith! We actually already have faith in a lot of things that we don't realize. You don't go around wondering if gravity is going to hold you to the Earth so you don't go hurdling off into space. You have no doubt that gravity will keep working. Yet, you can't see gravity. You see the effects of gravity, and you know it's always worked for you in the past, but how can you be sure it's still going to be there? You hope it will be. And so, you're sure of what you hope for, and certain of what you cannot see. You have faith in gravity. For me, I am sure that God exists, and he loves me (and everyone else). One could look at this from another perspective and say, "Well, you hope that is true, but you can't be sure". But, I am sure. I have no doubt. This is because of faith. Faith is not unnecessary because I have no doubt, rather, I have no doubt because of faith. I cannot see God, but I am certain God exists. I have no doubt. Again, this does not mean I don't need faith, but instead, that I have it.
Being sure of what you hope for
I'm sorry if this is over-stating my point, I just wanted to present it from a couple different angles. Futher on in chapter 11 of Hebrews it says without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (NIV) Notice that the author of Hebrews says that you need faith, because you must believe God exists. Not just think maybe he exists, or just hope he exists, but be sure of what you hope for, and be certain that God whom you cannot see, exists.
The faith of science
As I mentioned before, we have faith in a lot of things that we don't even realize. To believe that evolution theory explains the origin of humans requires faith. Evolution origin theory, or "chemical evolution" theory, suggests that life came to be from a "primordial soup" of non-life billions of years ago. Spontaneous generation, or the idea that life can come from non-life, was disproved in the 1860s by Louis Pasteur, considered by many to be one of the greatest biologists ever. It may surprise some to know that Pasteur's study on the matter was driven by his belief in God. So the idea of spontaneous generation, renamed "abiogenesis" by evolutionists, is something we cannot observe ourselves. We cannot see it, but we are to believe it once happened billions of years ago. Evolutionist scientists hope it is true so that they can "show" that God is unnecessary. They are sure of what they hope for, and certain of what cannot be seen. They have faith in evolution.
Where is your faith?
Basically, it is not really a question of if you need faith. We all have faith. The question is where you place your faith. When the Bible talks about faith, it is talking about faith in God. Even if you don't have faith in God, your faith is placed somewhere. There is so much in our lives, that if you really thought about it, you'd realize you can't actually be sure about it, without being certain about something that you can't really see. So then, the real question is, where should you place your faith? I know what my answer is. My faith is in Jesus, who I have faith is God, who I have faith came to Earth out of love for his creation, and I have faith died for the sins of his creation, and I have faith rose from the dead, proving he conquered death.
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I don't think that trust necessarily replaces faith, again, I would say that trust comes from faith. You may not always be compelety sure, and this is something that I meant to point out, also. The Bible says that we are all sinners, and that includes Christians. While I am certain of God's existence, or at least say so with my mouth, I often do not act this way. The Bible also says that faith without works is dead faith. I also want to clarify that all one needs is faith to be forgiven of their sins, but without acting out my faith, my faith does not help anyone else. But, anyways, to get back to what you were saying about the child. The only way a child would jump is if they had at least some hope the firemen would save them. Although the burning building seems to offer no hope of survival, it's hard to jump if you think there's a chance the fireman won't catch you. When you say trust, that to me says you're acting on faith that the firemen know what they're doing, even though you've never seen them in action to know for sure if they're good at their jobs. Yet you act as though you're sure of what you hope for (they'll catch you...), and certain of what you haven't seen (...because they know what they're doing). The Bible also says to trust in the Lord, and I would say that this is interconnected to faith. It is faith that leads to the trust. I also, by the way, do believe that Jesus IS God in actuality, and I believe this is a Biblical principle. In fact, I was already thinking of making a hub about it before, and now I definately will. I agree that Jesus is the Savior, but the Bible also says no one can save us but God. That is just one reason I feel that Jesus is God. And while I agree that we cannot ever have tangible "proof" that Jesus saved us until our time on Earth has expired and we find out what's next, my faith, my belief, my proof comes from the fact that following God's word has never led me wrong. It's not easy, and certainly seems strange to this world, but it has always led to blessing for me. We don't know where the wind comes from, and we can't see the wind, but we see the trees moving and sometimes feel our house shake (at least if your house is as old as mine!), but we can't actually see the wind. We see its effects, and believe that it is wind that is causing that. Jesus said it is the same with his Spirit. You can't see the Spirit, but I have seen people whom I have never met before, and knew that they knew Jesus because I could see the joy in their hearts and I could feel the Spirit inside of them from the Spirit inside of me. We can't ever be certain in a worldly sense, but because of the Spirit inside of us, we have belief in what we cannot see. And not to split hairs, but I also want to point out that it is not a matter of if God/Jesus *will* do what he promised, but for those of us who live after the time the Messiah was on Earth, it's a matter of if he *did* do what he promised. If Jesus really did rise from the dead, then it is completed, and death is conquered. And I believe that he did, although I wasn't there to see it myself, we do have reasons to believe it is true. See my hub called The Case for Easter. Thank you so much for your questions, because it really makes me think about what I believe and what the Bible says.
You make very good points, I am tempted to ask if you are jewish, I like reading hebrew stories because it usually revolves around the meanings of the words and I like that.
Anyways, so then trust is an actical of faith. I can agree with that. You mentioned that you believe Jesus is God. I can see how people can come to this conclusion, I think that it is a pretty good test of faith to consider the possibiblity that God did come to Earth in man clothes.
However I question it because in the bible I read, that Jesus is pretty repetitive about having only One God, which would presumably be the Father, His God and our true God. It in a sense makes me think that Jesus had a duel purpose, but that is another hub.
So, then faith and doubt and trust is sorta like adrieneline? In respects that, if the body did not produce adrenieline, that we are more likely to die because of our inability to react and trust (or not) that the outcome is right?
This is a really great Q:A.
While I am not "Jewish" in that I am not of Hebrew origin in a worldly sense, I believe that Jesus of Nazareth continued the line of King David, descending down through Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, and that I have now been welcomed in to Jesus' family, so I believe that in my Christian faith, I am adopted into this line. I realize that may be offensive to any Jewish readers, and I am sorry in that I do not want to offend, but I will state my beliefs over trying to not offend. I do want to make it clear that I have great love for my Jewish brothers and sisters, and I want to show due reverance for the fact that YHWH chose them to be the start of his light in his creation.
That being said, I would absolutely agree that Jesus is VERY clear that there is exactly ONE God. Jesus also makes many statements that, by his enemies' own admissions, would make him equal to God. Jesus never backs down from these statements. But to be equal to God would mean to be God. And there's only one God. So Jesus was then claiming to be that one God (again, that promised hub that he really did claim this is forthcoming). This leaves three possibilities: (1) Jesus was crazy. Seriously. I mean completely Froot Loops bonkers. This dude actually thought he was on par with God. While he might have been sincere, he was also sincerely nuts. (2) Jesus was a liar, and really, lower than any demon of hell for the lies he told. While knowing he was not God, he made claims that only God could make. He then asked his disciples to trust him with their lives based on these claims. If neither of these is the case, then it must be that... (3) Jesus is God. One and the same. For a non-insane, non-lying man to claim that he is equal with the one and only infinite being leaves no other option.
While I'm not sure what you mean by "dual purpose", Jesus' humanness is also upheld in the Bible, meaning that he, while on Earth, was both man AND God. But unlike Hercules of Greek tradition (half man/half "god"), Jesus had to be fully both. For Jesus to be any part non-human would mean he didn't truly experience the suffering of man, and then he can't truly relate to us in our time of greatest need. For Jesus to be any part non-God would mean he was then compelety non-God (you can't be partially infinite, it's an all-or-nothing gig), and then unable to save us from our sins.
I would tend to agree with the adrenaline analogy so long as the "sorta" is in there. Adrenaline is something God put in our bodies so we can react faster and perform better in "emergency" situations. It takes energy normally used for things like digestion (not as important in an emergency), and redirects it to the brain and muscles. So, in the sense that God set up ways for us to be saved from our brokenness, I would agree that faith and adrenaline are two of those ways. A major difference in my mind is that adrenaline helps us survive the physical, but faith is vital to survive the spiritual.
"For Jesus to be any part non-human would mean he didn't truly experience the suffering of man, and then he can't truly relate to us in our time of greatest need."
That's my point, then Jesus had to one hundred percent human for him to truely understand the suffering of man. If he was God, then he couldn't truely relate to us in our greatest time of need. It makes him 100% human and 100% full-of the Spirit, and a true testament of God. Nothing is 100% God but God- if Jesus is any part man, then He is not God.
John 20: 21
Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." After saying this, He breathed on them and said, " Recieve the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain any, they are retained."
Plus, just because Jesus said that no one can forgive a sin but God, and Jesus forgives many people of thier sins, doesn't mean Jesus doesn't know God well enough to know that if he found a reason to fogive them, then so too would God find a reason to forgive them. So we were given every bit of power to forgive sins, but we are not God, but can become 100% full of Spirt, and 100% human, which makes us just like Jesus.
I think that faith is pretty much embodied in the phrase "Let go, and let God". In followong this simple principle, I have never fallen without finding a safety net. As far as having faith in what you cannot see, I may never have seen His face, but God's presence has been evident in so many aspects of my life that it is impossible not to believe.
I like your discussion on potentiality. i think we all have faith. we also all have doubt. like a right arm and a left arm. so perhaps we can realise them both, use them both. that is kind of how I see it.
Your comparison of Gravity is not valid. I can see the effect of gravity everywhere I look. I can measure acceleration due to gravity. Gravity does not require faith. God requires faith because we cannot measure the effects of his presence. We do not know for sure if something prayed for was due to Gods answer or something that would have happened anyway. Experiments where people have tried to measure the effects of prayer have been inconclusive. Google "The Harvard Prayer Experiment"
Perhaps you should read more about Louis Pasteur really proved and if any progress has been my in the last 150 years. Try reading http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/abioprob/spontaneo
Just because you are certain, does not mean that you are right. There are many people who are just as certain about their religious claims which are completely contradictory to your own. You cannot all be correct. Either many of you are delusional (or just plain wrong)... or all of you are. What makes you so certain that it's you who has it right and that the claims made by other religions are the delusional ones? Are you discounting their close, personal testimony of their experience with Allah or Brahma? If so, why should I not discount your personal experience with Jesus or Jehovah or Yahweh?
I have complete faith in God above. His spirit guides me and tells me things before they happen
sandra rinck 4 years ago
thats pretty good. I am tempted to replace the faith as it pertains to Jesus with the word trust. In that I have faith, but still have doubt, but my faith is amplified by doubt.
Like being a child stuck at the top of a burning building. below is a fireman, saying jump. The child is scared because it's not mom or dad. Will this person catch me? but considering burning in a fire or taking your chances on someone who will save you. You close your eyes, pray, and trust = faith, that that person will catch you.
So in a sense, I am absolutly possitive that there is God, it goes without saying, with me that is. But because Jesus is not God in it's actualality, God being my mothe and father, Jesus to me is like the fireman, the Savior. be it that I am uncertain as to whether or not He will do what He promised He would do, I put great faith and trust in him because I have to trust him otherwise I would burn up in the fire.
Do you think it's the same as you suggested?