Is faith inherent or personal?

[cacian]

A) Can you be born with a faith or do you learn to believe as you go on living?In other is faith a natural process and if so where do those who don't have faith fit in?

b) Is it important to have a faith in a god?

I personally think faith is a personal act and comes from within.
I am not sure you can teach someone to believe and so it is up to the individual whether they acquire a faith. any faith or not.
In the grand scheme of thing I don't consider it essential nor proliofic not to have faith because people are and will always be different, which makes life easier and more interesting, and so are/will our faiths andeelings.
It is better to have a mix of feelings faith or no faith then to live amongst samy people samy faith.
That is my opinion.

[Pendragon]

Faith must come from a total conviction in what one believes. Thus it must be personal.

[cacian]

Faith must come from a total conviction in what one believes. Thus it must be personal.

Agreed Pendragon in other words faith transcends religion.

[Pendragon]

Indeed. Religion is a set of values, based on belief in God's word. Faith is accepting those values as part of your life. You go beyond what is expected and your works express your faith.

[Varenne Rodin]

Hm. I have faith that someone who hasn't run me down in their car every day on my morning hike for the last year and a half won't try to run me down tomorrow. I have faith that my direct tv will usually be working because I paid for it and it frequently does work. Sometimes faith comes from common sense. I don't know if faith in delusion or mythology is genuine. There may be an earnest campaign to force and embrace that faith, but it's unsubstatiated and therefore foolish. I have faith that the sun will bring mankind new days until it dies or some monstrous tragedy befalls our little blue speck in the universe.

[mal4mac]

Religious faith is a dangerous thing - look at all the religious wars and witch burnings in previous centuries. Once you believe in heaven and that only a certain elect, faithful few will get there you give yourself permission to crash planes into skyscrapers or go on crusades - if you die you go to heaven, and if you kill a few heathens that's all to the good! The same can happen with secular faiths, like communism or fascism. One great thing about the best modern literature, from Nietzsche to Roth, is that it assumes that God is Dead - let's keep him that way!

[cacian]

Religious faith is a dangerous thing - look at all the religious wars and witch burnings in previous centuries. Once you believe in heaven and that only a certain elect, faithful few will get there you give yourself permission to crash planes into skyscrapers or go on crusades - if you die you go to heaven, and if you kill a few heathens that's all to the good! The same can happen with secular faiths, like communism or fascism. One great thing about the best modern literature, from Nietzsche to Roth, is that it assumes that God is Dead - let's keep him that way!

Anything religious is dangerous.
Faith has nothing to do with it.
Modern literature vents too much when it goes on about a god that does not care back at them.
It is well and good to try and persuade others and themselves that a God is dead in the same breath that The Smith Album goes on about the Queen is dead or the sex pistols lyrics on the fachist regime god saves the queen type of remarks but at the end of the day this type of rambling does not affect my judgement on life.
What is not said or mentioned however that this God might not give a damm whether they think at all.
I think literature that try to sound literate about something they have no control over rather dim.
It does not tell me anything about me and therefore it is just that dim.

[cafolini]

Faith is not personal because we don't live in vaccuo. We are social animals who constantly share hope and faith. Faith is neither inherent, although as a need it is intrinsic and unavoidable. But it is not a matter of religion, although some people choose to place it there and that's fine. But the same people engage in hundreds of activities where they have faith independently of their religion.

[miyako73]

Inherent. It stems from fear, doubt, and wondering. The ironic logic of uncertainty is to believe.

[ShadowsCool]

The only faith I have is for myself and God.
Everyone else will be tested and fail.

[Paulclem]

The only faith I have is for myself and God.
Everyone else will be tested and fail.

Don't you think that's a very pride-ful thing to say? I thought pride was a great sin.

Why would everyone else be tested and fail? Or are you just winding us up? :biggrin5:

[ShadowsCool]

Don't you think that's a very pride-ful thing to say? I thought pride was a great sin.

Why would everyone else be tested and fail? Or are you just winding us up? :biggrin5:

I didn't think it was prideful. What I was saying was, you can only count on God and one's self. Everyone else will let you down. I don't literally mean everyone, but most people. And besides, no one is perfect, least of all me.

[Polednice]

It depends what is meant by "inherent".

In one sense, it is inherent in that we most likely evolved a propensity for religious belief, which is why it appears uniformly across times and cultures. This is biological rather than metaphysical, however.

In another sense, and more importantly, our evolved (dis)ability to see divinity in the world does not give rise to any coherent concept of god - there are thousands and thousands of gods that people have come up with, most of them mutually incompatible. Thus, the idea of a true god is not inherent; they are all most probably a fiction.

[miyako73]

You're not sure about "inherent" and "objective". Are you sure you're in the right forum?

[Polednice]

You're not sure about "inherent" and "objective". Are you sure you're in the right forum?

I didn't demonstrate any uncertainty about "inherent" - on the contrary, a recognition of multiple possible meanings. As for "objective", its definition is clear, but its application to literature is not. I might as easily argue that someone who thinks it is justified to apply it to literature has arrived at the forum prematurely. :)

[miyako73]

I like that comeback. You're in. :) I can't wait to read your thoughts. Maybe you can expound more on the biology of belief for others who haven't heard of neurotheology or spiritual neuroscience.

[Polednice]

I like that comeback. You're in. :) I can't wait to read your thoughts. Maybe you can expound more on the biology of belief for others who haven't heard of neurotheology or spiritual neuroscience.

I'm glad I have your approval! :D Yes, even though I found the forum for the sake of literary discussion, I am rather partial to religious debates... ;)

[miyako73]

No, I don't approve here. I just want to be mesmerized by how people think. And I think I can learn from you.

[cacian]

I didn't think it was prideful. What I was saying was, you can only count on God and one's self. Everyone else will let you down. I don't literally mean everyone, but most people. And besides, no one is perfect, least of all me.

Should you really count on God though?
Shat guarantees do you have?
I would agree yes do count on yourself for God is nowehere near reality as you are.
Just saying like:biggrin5: