Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Why faith?

Really, why faith? What does faith mean (not just dictionary definition)? What is faith? Why is there faith? What are the benefits of faith? Why can god not exist without faith (as asked by a previous question)?

Seriously folks, I'm just trying to wrap my brain around the faith thing. Don't take offense by the question.

Update:

MT: I understand you're making a generalization, and that's fine... BUT we can all see from space that the Earth is round. No scientist will refute that.

14 Answers

Relevance
  • zero
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Faith is a necessary aspect of human society. It is akin to hope and/or love. I have faith that my friends have got my back, I have faith that my husband is a good man, I have faith that my government is doing the best it can for me.....wait, what did i just say?!? :)

    Anyway, the problem (if you wanna call it that) is when people start putting faith in the supernatural. Things start getting messy then.

  • 1 decade ago

    First of all, faith may be more important then we may ever imagine. I mean I can't know what's in God's mind only if He discovers me. So the true reason faith is so seriously demanded from as, may be other then that we assume.

    Some may say it's just manipulation method. It seams so at first glimpse.

    But... if we take the time to think about it then we may come to realize that faith stands at the base of learning. For instance we believe earth is rounded because our sources (scientists) told us.

    Faith is needed for a normal life also. Example: when walking, you believe earth will not collapse under your feet. You believe that so strongly you even don't bother questioning this. So faith is involved in the learning process and we use it in our daily life whether we are religious or not.

    Further more, if God will do something great for you (yet He already does) and you don't believe God did it, who you will believe did it? Don't you think God will feel abandoned if you thank others or things for what He does? And you and I would do the same.

    Here are just some reason faith is important, there for sure are more. What about you find them?

  • 1 decade ago

    Faith isn't that complicated actually. Many Protestants make it sound that way. When you say to your friend "I have faith in you", that is the same faith Scripture talks about men needing to have in God.

    Think for a second of what the Scriptures claim - that you must work out your salvation with fear and trembling before God, that faith without works is dead, that we are growing into the likeness of Christ. None of this is possible if you do not trust God to lead you. Without trust, there can be no obedience. Without obedience there can be no progress. Without progress, one cannot become Christ-like.

    So, the whole faith alone argument; that is a terrible lie. You need faith to conquer sin, but even if you believe in God, trust in Him, have faith in Him, if you do not cooperate with Him nothing will ever happen. First, you trust that God can and will help you, then you obey. Faith and works, they work hand in hand.

    However, God does exist without our faith, to clear that up. God existed before us, we are his creation, He is not our creation. He does not need us in order to go on living, we need Him to go on living. It is the reverse of what you have been told. Despite what each person believes relative to another, there is one Truth that will impose itself on everyone and everything, despite what they think or believe to be true. Just because this truth hasn't yet revealed itself in plain sight before all doesn't take away from the ultimate reality of its existence, which remains independent from the creation.

    So why faith? We need it in order to achieve obedience to God so that we may begin the process of defeating our sins and becoming Holy as we once were. The benefits of faith are the defeat of death through the conquering of sin (since death entered the world through sin). Faith exists so that we may be rescued from eternal enslavement to the passions.

    Source(s): The Orthodox Church, The KJV Bible, The Desert Fathers, The Early Church Fathers.
  • lady
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    faith isnot seprated from god,faith is to beleive that there is one god who created the world,to believe in his prophets,his books ,his angels and the judgment day

    simply we cannot believe in god wizout faith,we need to feel that there is a superior power and this power is the faith,the faith that there always a lord that will never let u down and will help u whenever u need his help,will always care for u even more than u care for urself,

    if there is no faith that there is a lord who will punish u when u disobey him( he will forgive u whenevr u ask for his forgivness) and will reward u whenever u will obey him then this world will be a jungle which full of animals that have no rules or limits,our love and fear from god which are represented in faith is the thing which make us go on for best life and the best hereafter in the heaven.

  • How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
  • deacon
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago

    Hebrews 11:1-3 (King James Version)

    King James Version (KJV)

    Hebrews 11

    1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

    2For by it the elders obtained a good report.

    3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

    Ephesians 2:8

    For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

    Ephesians 2:7-9 (in Context) Ephesians 2 (Whole Chapter)

    Source(s): KJV
  • 1 decade ago

    Faith is the trusting and believing in God, not JUST God, but yourself too. He doesn't need someone of little faith but of GREAT faith you can conqure the world! God tests you in life so, don't ALWAYS blame the devil for things if they dont go the way YOU want them. Because it shouldn't be more of you and less of Him, it should be ALL of him and NONE of you! But God is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the one who builds it up. Without faith you can't be anyone in life. You have to walk in it, talk with it, speak it, and believe in it. Speak postive and trust me, you will have a better life, because the devil likes to put everything in a negative way...period.

    Source(s): I go to a holy ghost filled, fire preaching, speaking in tounges, God worshiping, full of the holy ghost church. New Beginings Worship Center. =-p Remeber, "You might be and the End of your Rope, But your not at the End of your Hope!"
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    do you drive faith in car 5,000 parts in a car you have faith it will go and stop you have faith in 1,000s of drives to do the right thing drinking talking on cells TeX ing eating putting on make up reading while driving that's a lot of faith so what a muster seed of faith in a GOD the whole world believes in the sun the moon rain air faith in GOD breath health love faith in our fellow humans is hard faith in GOD is easy bible holy land holy people holy spirit inside of you faith full your luv dad

  • Hogie
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    No offense taken.

    Faith is believing and trusting God to do as he says he will do, regardless of how impossible it may seem.

    It was faith that was rejected by Adam and Eve, and it was faith that was restored (in a sense) to all mankind through Christ.

    Jesus declares that those who place their faith and trust in him will receive eternal life. If he indeed is God, then he indeed can perform it. His proof was the resurrection from the dead, as attested to by eye witnesses.

    Those who place their trust and faith in God are those God can work with.

    .

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Faith is the belief in something without evidence, or in the face of contrary evidence. As such, it is the ultimate evil: it is the deliberate rejection of the essence of one's humanity -- the ability to apply logic to evidence and come up with valid conclusions.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I think that you need to have faith b/c we can't explain everything that happen in the bible and God didn't want us to know everything. The benefits are that you have a good relationship with God.

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.