| | The [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] [[Gary Habermas]] wrote: "Double-blind [[prayer]] experiments: where people pray for others with a terminal illness. Habermas admitted that most such experiments have not worked, but the three that he knows of that have indeed worked were cases of orthodox Christians praying for the sick."<ref>[http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-apologist-10-reasons-for-the-fall-of-atheism-106531/ Christian Apologist: 10 Reasons for the Fall of Atheism] by [[Gary Habermas]]</ref>]] | | The [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] [[Gary Habermas]] wrote: "Double-blind [[prayer]] experiments: where people pray for others with a terminal illness. Habermas admitted that most such experiments have not worked, but the three that he knows of that have indeed worked were cases of orthodox Christians praying for the sick."<ref>[http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-apologist-10-reasons-for-the-fall-of-atheism-106531/ Christian Apologist: 10 Reasons for the Fall of Atheism] by [[Gary Habermas]]</ref>]] |
| − | '''Faith'''<ref>Etymology: a very early English term dating from 1200-50, based on the Middle English term "feith" (Anglo-French fed, Old French feid, feit, Latin fidem, accusative of fidēs meaning trust, akin to fīdere meaning to trust).</ref>, in most contexts in the New Testament, the word translated "faith" (Greek word pistos) means trust, trustworthiness, faithfulness, [[confidence]] or belief about something unseen, such as the achievement of [[God]]'s will. Also, the website Bible Odyssey notes: "By the late first or early second century, Christians were beginning to stretch the meaning of pistis to describe the distinctive nature of their relationship with God and Christ. When the Letter of Jude exhorts a Christian group “to contend for the pistis that was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3), it may be using pistis to refer to a body of teaching or even the “new covenant” in Christ."<ref>[https://ww.bibleodyssey.org/articles/faith-word-study/ Faith (Word Study)]</ref> | + | '''Faith'''<ref>Etymology: a very early English term dating from 1200-50, based on the Middle English term "feith" (Anglo-French fed, Old French feid, feit, Latin fidem, accusative of fidēs meaning trust, akin to fīdere meaning to trust).</ref>, in most contexts in the New Testament, the word translated "faith" (Greek word pistis) means trust, trustworthiness, faithfulness, [[confidence]] or belief about something unseen, such as the achievement of [[God]]'s will. Also, the website Bible Odyssey notes: "By the late first or early second century, Christians were beginning to stretch the meaning of pistis to describe the distinctive nature of their relationship with God and Christ. When the Letter of Jude exhorts a Christian group “to contend for the pistis that was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3), it may be using pistis to refer to a body of teaching or even the “new covenant” in Christ."<ref>[https://ww.bibleodyssey.org/articles/faith-word-study/ Faith (Word Study)]</ref> |
| | Faith goes beyond [[materialism]] to include beneficial use of the underlying unseen reality. The existence of [[infinity]] implies the existence of the infinite power of faith. [[Jesus Christ|Jesus]] taught that a person with even a small amount of faith can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). | | Faith goes beyond [[materialism]] to include beneficial use of the underlying unseen reality. The existence of [[infinity]] implies the existence of the infinite power of faith. [[Jesus Christ|Jesus]] taught that a person with even a small amount of faith can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). |