How should we respond to those who say that having faith is a bad thing ?

All a sinner does is tainted, infected and infested with sin.

The only means compatible with salvation therefore is faith and even that has to be given by God.

To claim that is not mentally sound is to demonstrate their own unsoundness of mind.

Atheists in particular show their astounding foolishness and inability to think when they pretend the issue is of the mind. The issue is a moral one and of the heart.

All have moral awareness, which is why they want to deny God because of their sin.

Unbelievers have always been in the world and the fact Christians and Jews are still being persecuted proves unbelievers and haters will do what ever is necessary to silence them.

As far as being `mentally sound`` is concerned, majority of all American presidents were believers, including present day Barack Obama & wife, who aattended Rev. Wright``s church for over a quarter of a century. Gandhi and many other renowned men were people of faith. Even the premier scientist Einstein was a believer and is quoted as saying, ` God does not play dice with the universe.` So, you`re in good company where your mental stability is concerned. `

Don`t let narrow minded people undermine your own belief, but more important, stand on ``The Rock of your salvation `` for strength and confidence.

Faith is just trust without proof or evidence to give you a reason for that trust. To claim that such blind trust is more noble than somebody who demands proof before belief could occur is just weird and at least as insulting as it is to be told that I will go to hell because I do not accept that the bible is true (especially in the face of all the evidence that it is not).

When faith can be unswayed by a moutain of evidence which directly contradicts the thing that people have faith in, then yes it is a bad thing. It physically holds back the chance for people to raise their consciousness and see the universe for its true beauty and non-Created magnificence.

Having faith isn't a bad thing. It is bad to have faith in an explanation that is much less simple and much less plausible than another suggestion. Like assuming that the Bible is true rather than simply considering that it was written by false prophets.

I have no problem with you believing in your faith, but religions tend to have some sort of a problem with the philosophy I currently follow which has no effect on anyone except the way I live my own life. If you keep it to yourself, fine, but I don't like it when religious people absolutely insist on debating.

Just tell them that they obviously dont understand or have the capacity to experiance faith and are therefore knocking what they dont understand which is unfortunately one of the baser human qualities, to attack that you dont understand. But hey, if you cant get into the party you'd be annoyed with those inside who all seem to be having a good time so dont be harsh on them

"we should let it make us all the more determined to tell others of the Goodness of God that we live under on a daily basis"

and here we finally have proof of hell.

If you require no evidence, how can you know that what you believe is true?

If you were born in Iowa, you are a christian. If you are Iraq, you are a muslim. If you are born in India, you are a hindu.

It sounds to me like the best you can hope for is the dumb luck to be born in the right place.

I would say, "why bother getting up in the morning if one has no faith that you will be alive past noon?".

We shouldn't. We do not have to answer to the non believers. We have to answer to God. Jesus told his disciples to tell people of him, and if they did not listen, to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them and move on. He never said argue and fight with them and try to convince them they are wrong. Just pray for them and move on to those who are willing to hear the truth.

For those that say that believers are mentally challenged are just ignorant of the facts. The majority of the science shows that people of faith are less likely to suffer from mental problems than non believers.

Yes He is a good God, wonderful, mighty, glorious!!

http://www.gallup.com/poll/144980/Religious-Americ...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Very religious Americans in the United States are less likely to report having been diagnosed with depression over the course of their lifetime than those who are moderately religious or nonreligious. This relationship between depression and religion, based on an analysis of more than 550,000 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index interviews, is statistically significant after controlling for major demographic and regional variables.

Very religious Americans are also less likely to report experiencing the daily negative emotions of worry, stress, sadness, and anger than are their moderately religious and nonreligious counterparts.

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20050526/g...

May 26, 2005 (Atlanta) -- Going to church is good for your mental health.

A new survey of nearly 37,000 men and women shows that people who regularly attend church, synagogue, or other religious services are less likely to suffer from depression and other psychiatric illnesses than those who don't.

"The higher the worship frequency, the lower the odds of depression, mania, and panic disorders," says researcher Marilyn Baetz, MD, of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

The best thing you can do is keep your faith private and personal, which is as it should be. If you are shoving it people's faces, you cannot expect them to remain silent about their opinion of it.

That is simple logic.