Is it possible to define faith in a simple, logical, unambiguous way?

losthobbit

I was wondering if it's actually possible to define what faith is in a simple, logical, unambiguous way.

I have a theory that words which cannot be defined in a simple, logical, unambiguous way do not really mean anything specific, and therefore should probably be avoided.

I know there have been books written on this subject, but I think that anyone who has to write an entire book to define a simple word like faith, does not really understand what it means.

I tried getting a definition out of someone once, and so he quoted straight out of the bible: Hebrews 11:1...

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Of course this is a very ambiguous definition, so it doesn't solve my problem:

Does this verse mean that every single thing that blind people are sure of is faith? Of course not... so, let's try to find a more accurate definition...

Here's a nice one from dictionary.com:

"belief that is not based on proof"

Sounds good, but if one thinks a bit, one might realize some problems...

1. It is not based on proof. This means that if you can prove what you believe in, you don't have any faith.

2. What about if there's no evidence at all... is that faith? Believing in something with absolutely no evidence, is what I would define as stupidity, and therefore not faith.

3. What about if there's evidence, but it's not conclusive? This seems to be a good definition... so if there's any kind of evidence, and that evidence makes you anywhere between 0.00001% sure, or 99.99999% sure then you have faith? Well this conflicts with "being SURE of what we hope for...", because being sure, means being 100% sure.

4. Lets say that #3 is the correct definition, and the bible definition is not quite correct, but you are only 40% sure... this probably means that you are 60% sure that it is not true, therefore you don't really have faith, so perhaps faith means you have evidence to show that it's between 50.00001% and 99.99999% certain.

5. Lets say the above is true, ...e.g. you have evidence which makes you 60% sure, ... therefore you have faith. Someone comes along and gives you evidence against your belief which is 20% certain. Weighed up, this could make your belief drop down to 40%, which means you are uncertain, and no longer have faith.

In order to solve my problem with understanding faith, I used to define it as having enough evidence that you act on that evidence. For example, if you are 1% sure that Jesus exists, and you are baptised because of it, then you have acted in faith, and therefore you have faith in Jesus. Of course this conflicts both with the bible definition and #4 above.

Another concern about the definition of faith is that it is personal. This means that evidence in favour of what a person believes is usually accepted, and evidence against is rejected. I believe that this can also be defined as closed-mindedness, or stupidity.

Presuming that faith could be open-minded and unbiased, would mean that it is the most likely outcome of evidence which has been thoroughly investigated and tested by intelligent, open-minded individuals. Obviously that is not faith... that is science.

And so this leaves me to think at the moment that faith can be defined as follows (and feel free to share a better definition):
Faith is the delusion, that although one does not have enough to evidence to be 100% sure, one is sure anyway.

tec

Faith is the delusion, that although one does not have enough to evidence to be 100% sure, one is sure anyway.

That seems kind of leading... using the word delusion, at least to me. A better definition, imo, is this:

Faith is the choice, that although one does not have enough evidence to prove a matter, one does have enough evidence to be 100% sure of that matter, themselves.

or, taking out the choice aspect:

Faith is the belief in something or someone that is not yet proven.

Seems simple enough to me.

Tammy

losthobbit

Thanks for that Tammy.

2 questions for you:

1. I don't understand your first definition -> How does one choose to be sure? Isn't being sure the result of one's understanding of evidence, rather than a choice?

2. Regarding your second definition, would you say that faith is being 100% sure, or can one be 70% sure, and still have faith?

trevor

Faith is hope and promise. It only becomes a delusion once it is proven to be placed in something that fails to deliver. Until then it’s

the way most of us find the courage to move on through life.

tec

I don't understand your first definition -> How does one choose to be sure? Isn't being sure the result of one's understanding of evidence, rather than a choice?

We make choices of where to put our faith all the time. I choose to trust the govt (okay, not many people make that choice, lol). I choose to trust my spouse. I choose to trust my children. Etc. All of those are based on evidence, and sometimes emotion. But if you read all of what I wrote, I did add:

one does have enough evidence to be 100% sure of that matter, themselves.

As for the second, I would say that it is 100% sure. Less sure is weaker or little faith. "Oh ye, of little faith"

I agree with Trevor that hope is definitely a part of faith, but it is still being sure of that hope, for yourself.

Tammy

thetrueone

Faith only becomes delusional whenever the appearance of opposing evidence that creates a contravening opinion.

Faith is the confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, concept or thing. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The English word is thought to date from 1200–50, from the Latinfidem or fides, meaning trust, derived from the verbfidere, to trust. [ 1 ]

The term is employed in a religious or theological context to refer to a confident belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. It may be used to refer to a particular religious tradition or to religion in general.

Since faith implies a trusting reliance upon future events or outcomes, it is often taken by some people as inevitably synonymous with a belief "not resting on logical proof or material evidence." [ 3 ] [ 4 ]

Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true, [ 5 ] belief in and assent to the truth of what is declared by another, based on his or her supposed authority and truthfulness. [ 6 ] Informal usage can be quite broad, and the word is often used as a mere substitute for trust or belief'.

NomadSoul

Faith is a type of perception of reality. Perception changes, but reality is a constant.

sabastious

The light from the sun takes ~8 minutes to get to earth. If the sun is destroyed we won't know for 8 minutes.

I can only guarentee the sun being available for the next eight minutes. Anything after that is faith.

-Sab

NomadSoul

It takes .001 seconds for a nerve impulse to travel to your brain. If you instantly die, I can only guarantee you will be alive for the next .001 seconds. After that is faith.

losthobbit

By "delusion", I meant that the person is deluded that the certainty is 100%, when in fact the certainty is less than 100%... I'm not referring to whether the object of faith is actually true or not.

Confusing stuff.

I like:

Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true...

Although it ignores the "without proof" definition.

I also like:

Faith is a type of perception of reality. Perception changes, but reality is a constant.

The sun thing seems to make sense... however:

I know the sun exists, but don't have proof, because the evidence I have is 8 minutes old. In other words, I am deluded into thinking that the probability of the sun existing is 100%, when in fact the evidence in my mind suggests that it is only 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999%... although, now that I've brought that evidence to my conscious mind, I now only believe that the probability of the sun existing is 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999%. I am therefore not 100% sure, and don't have faith???

Same goes for the spouse hypothesis... I believe that my wife is not cheating on me. Based on the evidence that I know of, there might be a 99.999% chance that it's true. My belief would therefore not be 100%, but 99.999%. I could choose to trust her, unlock her chain and let her out of the house for a little while, and not worry, but does that mean that I have faith? Not necessarily, because the evidence in my mind tells me that there is a 0.001% chance that she could cheat on me. I would have to be deluded to believe that there is a zero percent chance that she will cheat on me.

Lets say that I didn't know that light has velocity. I could then prove that, because I can see the sun, it exists. I have proof, therefore no faith... right?

Is it possible to define faith in a simple, logical, unambiguous way?

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