Is "Faith in God" in all religions?

[Shem Yoshi]

A quote from another thread

Faith, on the other hand, is totally unreliable in that it can lead one to believe in what is false just as readily as what is true. Think of all those who have total faith in gods other than the one you have faith in.

Many people come with arguments against faith saying that faith would lead us to believe in ANY god. And though the concept may be defined as to trust in something, to believe in something, I am utterly unconvinced that Faith in gods apart from Christianity is a prevalent concept.

That would make it a straw-man to say faith is cheap because all religions say to have faith in their god... We dont know that any religions say that apart from Abrahamic sources.

The the word "faith" is rooted in the original Hebrew...

"The Hebrew word emunah (אמונה, pronounced “eh-moo-nah”) is understood in English to mean “faith” or “belief”."
source

It's origins is biblical... It's origin is founded in faith in the God of Israel....

I dont believe any of the primary sources of Greco-Roman myths talked of having faith in their gods (like Homer) even in different words. I dont think any of the primary sources of the Egyptian Gods suggested to have faith in their gods...

Surely "salvation through grace by faith" is solely Christianity. There is no where else that teaches that...

I am not sure that any other religions ask for "faith" in their gods...

Subject for debate
Is "faith" in any other religion apart from Christianity?

Is "Faith" cheap because all gods ask for faith?

[Thomas123]

There is good and reasoned debate here.
Shem Yoshi, OP "Surely "salvation through grace by faith" is solely Christianity. There is no where else that teaches that..."

I share deep reservations about this along with other contributors , here. You sell this stuff as requiring additional attachments that other religions do not need???

Faith is a simple human thing!

Faith begets confidence if it is well placed.

People lose faith when they are let down!

I have great faith in my mechanics, one who fixes my drive on, and the other who fixes my car.

Faith in God should be more refined than the above.

1. You do not enquire or ask questions off God, regarding His/It's purpose.
2. You concern yourself with your own confidences.
3. You extend gratitude and praise to your God

A formalized religion of any sort creates their own,agreed structures for these processes. These structures should protect the integrity of God within their religion, otherwise their doctrine becomes their God. They should move people towards understanding and they should encapsulate joy and gratitude. imho!

This is where the problem starts. Take for example, Shem Yoshi"s Christianity. Their doctrines are invasive inquisitive and ,very often totally delusional about God. It is a prescriptive description of God that is carved in stone. It shows no ' laissez faire ' attitude that would signify real faith in their God.

Imagine that I go to my mechanic with a list of instructions! In Christianity they were burning people on earth to save God the 'tidy up' later. Where I come from, Shem Yoshi ...
People vote with their feet!
Thanks!

[brunumb]

Sidebar:

lose
1. be deprived of or cease to have or retain (something).
2. become unable to find (something or someone).

loose
1. not firmly or tightly fixed in place; detached or able to be detached.
2. (of a garment) not fitting tightly or closely.

You're welcome.

[TRANSPONDER]

[Replying to Thomas123 in post #21]

I think that's a good point.

Suppose there is a god (or gods), how do we know which religion is the right one? Faith ("revelation") is often cited, but there are immediate problems with variations in denomination and doctrine, which brings me to your point - man (yes, Man gets the blame for this one) appears to be continually in danger of imposing his own ideas, wishes and values on the religion - supposing it's the right one and that there is even a god. The Faithful (depending upon how much they have to validate) have a lot to validate.

Faith clearly fails simply because they differ over their 'revelation' (1) --sorry, it has to be a digressive footnote....They will (I'd guess) fall back on Faith if the debate got too hot, but if they differ (I have seen some doctrinal arguments here as well as before) one'Faith' has to be in error. So Faith is clearly not a reliable tool for getting at what's true.

One Faith -view might be the right one, but Faith does not tell you which it is. I'd say evidence and reason (which the Faithful do use , but to support the Faith, not to critique it).The faithful might say that dilutes Faith which is what saves, not Works ( we knew that ) and they would rather trust their particular faith. Fine, but that is not going to be an argument for those who doubt and question.

As the saying goes: "When you agree between yourselves (God or doctrine), get back to us."

(1) I am sure they think that Faith establishes a conduit to 'God' who then downloads Truth into their heads. That explains everything, about their denial, their damning of others who disagree as being 'in darkness' and the whole reversed burden of proof -thing.

[POI]

You are amusing this idea that all things that are not proven require faith in them, however you just pick and choose what is proven and what isnt... and you pick an concepts of god arent proven, however skepticism tells us nothing is proven...

Your statement is flawed. Here's a quick test. Will yourself to believe your skin is made of chocolate pudding. You cannot pick/choose to be convinced. You either are or you are not. I guess you could apply faith anyways, but you would have to do so --- in spite of being convinced otherwise.

Like many of your other responses, you like to muddy the waters. You would need to elaborate what you mean by 'skepticism'. In this case, I'm 99.99999% sure my skin is not made of chocolate pudding. I guess this makes me a "skeptic"

misusing and misunderstanding Faith to apply to foolish things, is not what faith is. The truth of the matter is, you dont find faith in any of these things, because it doesnt exist in any of these things...

And yet you were the one who states we must use 'faith' for everything, in a attempt to muddy the waters. But I will still do you a big solid. I will grant you everything you say, even when you change it --- to taste. Here, you want to compartmentalize a special kind of exclusive faith. A faith which is only reserved for Christians. Okay. Your specific brand still falls under the same definition Brunumb already provided. I told you why, and you responded in nothing to refute my response.

Please try again, or accept defeat.

[POI]

I am not convinced they were acting in faith... And i know that 'salvation by faith through grace' is not seen anywhere else but in Christianity, or places that take it from Christianity. It is a Christian concept. That there is nothing apart from faith that saves... no actions, nothing... there is no where else that teaches that... That is Faith in God... That is what Faith in God is. No where teaches that. Faith is a Christian concept.

Salvation is an irrelevant distraction. It may pertain to Christianity only, but that does not mean that faith is uniquely Christian.

faith
noun: faith

1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
2. strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.

I have no doubt others have borrowed the idea of Faith to mean other things that what it is meant to be used for. However it's origin is Abrahamic and solidified in Christ. It is Faith in the Christian God, and no other places have matched its original definition. The definition of Faith in God is not found anywhere else... No other religion is in likeness of the Christian faith.

"Let's define “faith.” The Hebrew word emunah (אמונה, pronounced “eh-moo-nah”) is understood in English to mean “faith” or “belief”. But it is often also translated as “faithfulness.” And yet, it describes much more than just believing a statement about God. It reveals a life of full reliance upon Him."
https://firmisrael.org/learn/meaning-of ... upon%20Him.

Brunumb's provided bolded definition still looks to apply, all-the-same. It's continued conviction, despite having a lack in proof.

"He rewards the faith of those who passionately seek Him." Heb. 11:6

Except that I passionately sought after Him for decades, to no avail.... Thus, as the given definition applies, I would need to still continue seeking God, even after 30+ years of failure. Hence, my conviction should STILL remain, in spite of mounting demonstration/proof to the contrary. Even though God also wants a relationship with the ones who seek him?.?.?.?.? So, what's my reward for passionately seeking him? 30+ years of failure, leading to doubt?

So yea, as I told you, in another thread, it's why apologists can argue unfalsifiably. An apologist can simply tell me God does not give me proof (in communication) because it would ruin my faith. ....Those clever ancients, for creating such a failsafe claim.

I argued for the impossibility for you to understand an all knowing God by your limited understanding. You could never know what God will do. Therefor to loose belief, by your knowledge, seems unreasonable...

You are creating your own special argument here. One I never made. I merely doubt he exists, because in the 30+ years of attempted communication, I have not felt God has ever made contact with me. I doubt you possess abilities, above and beyond my abilities, and yet you still believe God exists. I would imagine you have had <experience(s)> which lead you to be convinced God is real. I have not had any such experiences.

Thus, what experience(s) did you have? And by what mechanism was used to discern these were communication(s) from God? "Faith", other?

[Shem Yoshi]

I am not convinced they were acting in faith... And i know that 'salvation by faith through grace' is not seen anywhere else but in Christianity, or places that take it from Christianity. It is a Christian concept. That there is nothing apart from faith that saves... no actions, nothing... there is no where else that teaches that... That is Faith in God... That is what Faith in God is. No where teaches that. Faith is a Christian concept.

Salvation is an irrelevant distraction. It may pertain to Christianity only, but that does not mean that faith is uniquely Christian.

faith
noun: faith

1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
2. strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.

I have no doubt others have borrowed the idea of Faith to mean other things that what it is meant to be used for. However it's origin is Abrahamic and solidified in Christ. It is Faith in the Christian God, and no other places have matched its original definition. The definition of Faith in God is not found anywhere else... No other religion is in likeness of the Christian faith.

"Let's define “faith.” The Hebrew word emunah (אמונה, pronounced “eh-moo-nah”) is understood in English to mean “faith” or “belief”. But it is often also translated as “faithfulness.” And yet, it describes much more than just believing a statement about God. It reveals a life of full reliance upon Him."
https://firmisrael.org/learn/meaning-of ... upon%20Him.

Brunumb's provided bolded definition still looks to apply, all-the-same. It's continued conviction, despite having a lack in proof.

"He rewards the faith of those who passionately seek Him." Heb. 11:6

Except that I passionately sought after Him for decades, to no avail.... Thus, as the given definition applies, I would need to still continue seeking God, even after 30+ years of failure. Hence, my conviction should STILL remain, in spite of mounting demonstration/proof to the contrary. Even though God also wants a relationship with the ones who seek him?.?.?.?.? So, what's my reward for passionately seeking him? 30+ years of failure, leading to doubt?

So yea, as I told you, in another thread, it's why apologists can argue unfalsifiably. An apologist can simply tell me God does not give me proof (in communication) because it would ruin my faith. ....Those clever ancients, for creating such a failsafe claim.

I argued for the impossibility for you to understand an all knowing God by your limited understanding. You could never know what God will do. Therefor to loose belief, by your knowledge, seems unreasonable...

You are creating your own special argument here. One I never made. I merely doubt he exists, because in the 30+ years of attempted communication, I have not felt God has ever made contact with me. I doubt you possess abilities, above and beyond my abilities, and yet you still believe God exists. I would imagine you have had <experience(s)> which lead you to be convinced God is real. I have not had any such experiences.

Thus, what experience(s) did you have? And by what mechanism was used to discern these were communication(s) from God? "Faith", other?

You can read some of my story here.
viewtopic.php?t=40342

[TRANSPONDER]

[Replying to Shem Yoshi in post #26]

I read it.I would not be surprised to read a similar story for someone who had a different religion. None of the faith that pushed you to act as you did shows that it is true. None of the experiences that you hint at having had show them to be anything more than you belief in them.

[Shem Yoshi]

[Replying to Shem Yoshi in post #26]

I read it.I would not be surprised to read a similar story for someone who had a different religion. None of the faith that pushed you to act as you did shows that it is true. None of the experiences that you hint at having had show them to be anything more than you belief in them.

The truth is, you know nothing beyond your personal experience. You can doubt or believe anyone you want but you have nothing more than what you experience, and one fact I'll have you know, no one has experienced what I have.

[brunumb]

[Replying to Shem Yoshi in post #26]

I read it.I would not be surprised to read a similar story for someone who had a different religion. None of the faith that pushed you to act as you did shows that it is true. None of the experiences that you hint at having had show them to be anything more than you belief in them.

The truth is, you know nothing beyond your personal experience. You can doubt or believe anyone you want but you have nothing more than what you experience, and one fact I'll have you know, no one has experienced what I have.

Despite everything you say you have experienced there is nothing that demonstrates that any God is involved at all. Once one becomes so deeply invested in any sort of belief, it is very easy for self-delusion to take over and run the show.

[Shem Yoshi]

[Replying to Shem Yoshi in post #26]

I read it.I would not be surprised to read a similar story for someone who had a different religion. None of the faith that pushed you to act as you did shows that it is true. None of the experiences that you hint at having had show them to be anything more than you belief in them.

The truth is, you know nothing beyond your personal experience. You can doubt or believe anyone you want but you have nothing more than what you experience, and one fact I'll have you know, no one has experienced what I have.

Despite everything you say you have experienced there is nothing that demonstrates that any God is involved at all. Once one becomes so deeply invested in any sort of belief, it is very easy for self-delusion to take over and run the show.

I have Faith in God... That said, despite everything you said, you certainly have not shown there isnt a God involved