Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Faith

2010-06-17T15:53:09Z

Relative:

[[Image:Faith.jpg|right]]
This Conservapedia entry focuses on the Christian concept of Faith.

'''Faith''' is a confidence or trust in the achievement of God's will, even though unseen and unexpected by non-believers.

Faith embodies more than belief. Faith elevates one's being, while belief is limited to a mental state or emotion. Faith implies a [[causation|causal]] role by the believer in an outcome<ref>For example, the Biblical [[Peter]]'s walking on water based on his faith.</ref> or in overcoming a personal fear. Faith also implies advancement or accomplishment rather than wrongdoing, while belief implies neither.

Faith plays a central role in overcoming [[addiction]]. Virtually everyone is plagued by one or more addictions, and faith enables overcoming those weaknesses. Similar to this is faith's key role in overcoming [[recidivism]]. This role is unique to Christian faith and has not been shown with regard to other religions' belief systems or to secular humanist ideologies.

Faith is also helpful in overcoming fear, such as fear of public speaking, appearing on [[television]], or standing up to a [[bully]] or unpleasant situations. Jesus reprimanded the [[Apostles]] for their faithless fear: "The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We're going to drown!' He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?' Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm."<ref>Mt 8:25-26 (NIV)</ref>

Lack of faith can lead to fear, anxiety, depression, lack of confidence and sometimes death. A lack of faith can be very harmful, leading to self-destructive behavior. Faith can be described as the power to ignore the [[devil]] and all his antics.

Often faith inspires extra initiative or effort, adding confidence that it will yield the desired good result. "Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on," and Jesus cured him.<ref>Mark 2:4</ref>
==Frequency==
[[File:Belief-god.jpg|thumb|550px|Financial Times (FT)/Harris Poll among adults in 5 countries in 2006]]

==Expression==
A classic statement of faith in the [[Bible]] was by the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] centurion of [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%208:5-10;&version=49; Matthew 8:5-10], who expressed his confidence that [[Jesus]] could cure his beloved servant from a distance without even seeing him. [[Jesus]] repeatedly emphasized the importance and value of faith to his disciples.

Faith is expressed in [[Greek]] using the term ''pistis'', and in [[Latin]] using the term ''fides''. Faith is mentioned in 229 verses in the [[New Testament]] ([[KJV]]), but only twice in the much larger [[Old Testament]] ([[KJV]]).<ref>http://www.crosswalk.com</ref> In attempt to convert [[Jews]] to [[Christianity]], [[Paul]] described [[Abraham]]'s willingness to sacrifice his beloved son [[Isaac]] to [[God]] as an act of faith, though the [[Old Testament]] did not describe it with that term.

Faith is strengthened by prayer ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jude%2020;&version=9; Jude 20]). For those who strengthen their faith, [[Jesus]] promised "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."<ref>John 14:12 (NIV).</ref>

Life itself may be the manifestation of God's faith. Decay and death may be the manifestation of a lack or denial of faith.

==Biblical examples==

Perhaps the greatest description of faith is Hebrews 11. It states: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."<ref>Hebrews 11:1 (NIV).</ref>

[[Paul]] indicated that faith itself is a gift of the [[Holy Spirit]]. 1 Corinthians 12:8-9 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit

As discussed above, a potential reference to faith is [[Genesis]] 22 where [[God]] tested [[Abraham]] by commanding him to sacrifice his only son [[Isaac]]. As Abraham prepared to do what God commanded -he was stopped.
Genesis 22:12
"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." 

==Martin Luther on Faith==

Luther in his Table Talk papers writes this thought provoking and rather difficult passage on faith:

"This is the acme of faith, to believe that God, who saves so few and condemns so many, is merciful; that he is just who, at his own pleasure, has made us necessarily doomed to damnation, so that he seems to delight in the torture of the wretched and is more deserving of hate than of love. If by any effort of reason I could conceive how God, who shows so much anger and harshness, could be merciful and just, there would be no need of faith."

==The Moral Basis of Biblical Faith==

The biblical expression of faith is belief in what God reveals to man to be so. Since New Testament times, that means belief in what God reveals to be so concerning Jesus Christ. There is a steady progression through time of what God reveals and so belief also finds expression in progessive content and emphasis. What God reveals to Adam, to Noah, to Moses (and through them), to the prophets, to the Ninevites, to Simeon and Anna, Mary, to the Apostles, differ in content and in emphasis, but the culmination of the content of faith is the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The moral basis of faith is the positive response of belief, and the obedience of one's life to the requirement implied by the revelation. That is why Adam (and his generation) was not required to belief what Noah was, Noah not required what Abraham was, Abraham not required what Moses was. Moses not required and his generation what Isaiah was, until the time of Jesus. Neither were they allowed less, each one, as if they were of a previous generation and a previous revelation.

The moral basis of Faith continues on in effect, content and emphasis, since the time of the Son of God on earth. That is why the "good man" is required to believe in the Son of God preached to him, as He, the Son of God, is the source of his goodness, and the forgiver of his badness, through His sacrifice on the cross; the "bad man" required to believe in Him who bore his sin, through His sacrifice on the cross; the "gentile", wherever found, of whatever stage, required to live up to what is given him by his conscience and whatever good has come to him through his culture, and believe in the light God is actually giving him, and in the Jesus being preached to him, but not required to believe in and practice the Law of Moses; the Jew required to keep the Law given him, and then to despair at not having fulfilled it, and believe in the Son of God being revealed to him; the infant respond, as infants can, and not as adolescents and adults are required, each in his own order, until the greater revelation comes, and separation from the dominance and protection of the elders; and why an embryo aborted is required to respond as only an embryo can, which God alone knows, and not be required to be at the level of response he would have been moments and days and months and years later, if he would have been let live - saved - though the embryo would never have known how - by the Cross of the sin bearing Savior, who knew him well and loved him. "to him whom much has been given, of him much will be required."

==The natural and the supernatural aspects of Faith==
Faith is a gift from God that may be viewed two ways. One is clearly an intrusion or at least and introjection into our ordinary lives. Under this aspect, we see it as pure grace. "For by grace are you saved through faith, and this is not as a result of your deeds, It is God's gift and not something from ourselves". Our response, is from the extremity of our situation and as a clear product of something outside ourselves - the new word of God, the message concerning Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Even the ability to hear and understand is given to us from above, "Faith comes by hearing, and "hearing" itself, comes by the Word of God". And thus we call out, from the depth and from consiousness, for salvation. " Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord, will be saved/"

The other aspect of Faith is not by intrusion or introjection, but by infusion and irradiation. This too is of the grace of God. Whereas the first aspect had come to us at our extremity from without, this aspect comes to us from within and around, pervading the so-called natural structures that we experience every day, that are so supportive of stability, confidence, trust and hope. Good parenting, solidity of home and provision, loving faithfulness among friends as we grow, continual exposure to the truth of the Word of God (and truth is always therapeutic), strengthens our faith, and our expectation for the continuing faithfulness and involvment of a loving and good God. Faith seems so natural, so in accord, with our experience, that we could even be surprised that it could have been otherwise. Here we experience, most often, not a crisis of faith, but the need to give ourselves more fully to Him in whom we are believing. Under this aspect, God is to be appreciated and acknowledged for being our good and heavenly Father. The Old Testament presents us with the reality of this aspect of faith. Amidst even the miraculous events as the parting of the "Red" Sea, and the many deliverences Israel experience so beyond their natural ability to effect, little is said, is acknowledged consciously, of the quality of faith itself. It is air that a fish is most conscious of, not his home in the water.

==Faith: the Access to Reality==
Christianity demands Faith and insists that Faith be turned into sight. "Do you believe, Thomas, because you have seen. Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe." Throughout the New Testament, this theme occurs, belief in Jesus, belief in the Heavenly Father, belief in the readiness of God to still waves, cause you too to walk on water, to return a dead girl back to her grieving, believing mother, to see small insignificant things as a seed grow, as if miraculously of itself, into a startling display of fruit to eat and protection for birds, all of this, with only the sky to limit, comes into our lives, according to Jesus, if we have Faith. Reality is gained by the exercise of Faith, a reality unattainable by the ordinary means frequented by men.

But this reality attained, so extraordinary in this sordid and marred sin-infested world, is seen to be the "normal" reality of the Kingdom of Heaven, just waiting to enter in. Entirely right in the presence of the Kingdom of God and the King Himself for the dead boy to get up from his bier to run to his mother, entirely right that that adultress be pardoned, strengthened, challenged, and hold her head up high once again, entirely right the demons come out of the tormented boy to be commanded to go to the place that God has prepared for them, all entirely right at the entrance of this new reality of the Kingdom of Heaven among us, and the King Himself, Jesus. The overwhelming of reality, by Reality.

As God is palpable in Jesus, so the Reality of the Kingdom of God is palpable, and can be seen, on this earth. The entrance to the Garden was by faith, but the reality of the garden is as tangible as was Jesus eating fish with his disciples after he got up from the dead. As much as the New Testament presents Faith as the entrance to the Kingdom, so does it insist that Faith, perhaps not fully in this world, shall turn to sight in the end... and on the way. "It is not apparent what we who are called the children of God shall yet be, but we know that we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He really is."

==Faith as a virtue==
[[Image:Konrad Witz – Petri fiskafänge.jpg|thumb|right|210px|The 'walking on water' episode, which both showed and tested St Peter's faith (painting by Konrad Witz).]]
[[St Paul]] identified faith, [[hope]] and [[love]] (or [[charity]]) as the three greatest [[virtue]]s that are central to Christianity, and this idea is repeated and elaborated upon throughout Christian tradition. Faith is put first because it provides the foundation upon which the other two are built: a faithful heart and mind cause one to have hope, and hope causes one to have love for God and one's fellow man.

In [[Dante]]'s [[Divine Comedy]], [[St Peter]] is most identified with faith. This is appropriate, since he was the 'rock' on which the Church was built, just as a Christian life must be rooted in faith. Peter's great faith is shown in Matthew 14:28-31, when he is briefly able to walk on water until doubt enters his mind.
{{clear}}

== Uniqueness to Christianity ==
Christianity is unique among religions in that its followers are defined by faith rather than by adherence to a prescribed code. St Paul makes this distinction clear in Galatians 3:24-25:
{{cquote|The law was a kind of tutor in charge of us until Christ should come, when we should be justified through faith; and now that faith has come, the tutor's charge is at an end.}}
That is to say, whereas [[Judaism]] required (and still requires) its followers to obey the law, Christianity begins with faith, and any moral or ethical decisions must follow from that. In this regard, Islam has much more in common with Judaism than it does with Christianity: the word 'Islam' itself means 'submission to God'.

==Other Definitions and Religions==

Outside of [[Christianity]], faith is misused as a synonym for "belief". The [[Merriam-Webster]] dictionary, for example, includes this definition of faith: "a system of religious beliefs."<ref>http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/faith</ref>

Alternatively, faith often refers to a "firm belief in something for which there is no proof" or evidence.

In the [[Koran]], the concept of submission to [[Allah]] is mentioned 11 times, while the concept of faith in Allah is mentioned only once.

Etymologically, the word 'faith' is closely linked to the concept of "fidelity," which emphasizes commitment to something or someone, specifically [[Christ]]. Thus, faith is often understood to mean 'loyalty' to a particular view of [[divinity]]. Yet, faith can also be envisioned more broadly as a trust in [[providence]], as it entails an active role for the believer himself for advancing good.

The literary critic Harold Bloom distinguishes Christianity from the other two dominant monotheistic religions in his book Agon by contrasting them with Gnosticism:

"Gnosticism polemically is decidedly not a faith, whether in the Christian sense, pisits, a believing that something was, is, and will be so; or in the Hebraic sense, emunah, a trusting in the Covenant. If religion is a binding, then Gnosticism is an unbinding, but not for the sake of things or persons merely as they are. Gnostic freedom is a freedom for knowledge, knowledge of what in the self, not in the psyche or soul, is Godlike, and knowledge of God beyond the cosmos. But also it is a freedom to be known, to be known by God, by what is alien to everything created, by what is alien to and beyond the stars and the cosmic system and our earth."

Faith is emphasized in Christianity but is unrecognized by the worldview of [[Philosophical Skepticism|philosophical skepticism]].

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:religion]]
[[Category:philosophy]]

== External links ==
* Holding, James Patrick, [http://tektonics.org/whatis/whatfaith.html Fallacious Faith]
*[http://jesuschrist.lds.org/SonOfGod/eng/finding-faith-in-christ/video/finding-faith-in-christ Finding Faith in Christ], video at ''JesusChrist.lds.org''

Talk:Faith

2010-06-15T17:53:29Z

Relative:

== Reversion ==

I notice the revert basicly leaves out the entry I made concerning Christ words about a Roman Pagan Centurion and his faith. Guess Christs own opinion on the matter is not good enough.

I completely disagree, Any religion requires faith. --[[User:TimSvendsen|TimSvendsen]] 15:46, 2 February 2007 (EST)

Good point tim, while most religions might not actually use the term faith, the concept is quite widespread.

--[[User:BenjaminS|BenjaminS]] 15:57, 2 February 2007 (EST)

Tim and Ben, you don't support your claims with anything. "Faith" is unique to Christianity, and the term is not genuinely used by other religions.

:That's moronic. Very simply defined, the English word "faith" means belief in the existence, truth, etc. of anything in the absence of definitive proof. For instance, I have faith that my family will come home tonight, because I think that they will. I do not have faith in gravity; I know from experience that it works, and I have some small understanding of the mechanism by which it does so (I don't however, know the cause, but then, no one does.) Faith is not uniquely Christian by virtue of the fact that other religions exist. If their followers lacked faith, those religions would be gone. Calling it something else, or even not referring it at all does not change it's nature; is sin a uniquely Christian concept?

The powerful Greek language was essential to express the concept of faith. Not even English can describe it well.

'''pivstiß''' is the Greek word for faith, and it takes Strong's version many words to explain it:<ref>http://bible1.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=4102&version=kjv</ref>

1. conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
1. relating to God
1. the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ
2. relating to Christ
1. a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
3. the religious beliefs of Christians
4. belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same
2. fidelity, faithfulness
1. the character of one who can be relied on

----
It is false to claim that faith is only a christian concept. Other religions may not call it faith, but they still have it. For example: a muslim suicide bomber is not going to bomb anything if he does not have faith that it will send him to heaven. --[[User:TimSvendsen|TimSvendsen]] 10:59, 4 February 2007 (EST)

'''Sources:''' <references/>

==American Heritage Dictionary==
says:

'''faith,''' noun: 1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. 2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See synonyms at ''belief,'' ''trust.'' 3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters. 4. often '''Faith''' ''Christianity'' The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will. 5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith. 6. A set of principles or beliefs.[http://www.bartleby.com/61/84/F0018400.html]

In other words, according to one dictionary, anyway, the word has more than one meaning. It is not being misapplied in the phrase "the Muslim faith," it is simply a different meaning of the word. This article, presently, would seem to be about the fourth meaning. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 18:37, 3 February 2007 (EST)

::Neurocat's posting was misleading in claiming that "The concept of faith exists in nearly all major religions. Faith is mentioned in the New Testament, the Old Testament, and the Koran. Faith is also a well established part of so-called "New Age" religions, such as Wicca."

::Faith, historically, was uniquely Christian. The entry demonstrates that. Others may try to make faith synonymous with belief, but that is not its original meaning. Muslims "submit" to Allah rather than have faith in Allah. The very reason for an entry here is to be precise. Broader (and less precise) colloquial meanings can be found elsewhere.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:36, 20 February 2007 (EST)

:::How can they submit to Allah if they lack faith in his existence and intrinsic "better-ness?"

::If the page is to describe Faith as a "historically uniquely Christian" term, there should be some evidence provided to that effect. Otherwise, the page is less accurate, not more precise. Since the American Heritage Dictionary does not say that definition #4 is more valid than any other, there is no reason to assert that the other definitions are less accurate.

:::Neurocat, please sign your comments with the signature icon (second from the right in the row of click-on boxes).

:::A dictionary merely reflects common usage and, increasingly, political correctness. An entry here called [[Merriam-Webster]] criticizes some entries in the dictionary. You are free to post anti-Christian views but only if you support them with references. If you think there is a Muslim "faith in Allah," then you need to support your view or else the page will be reverted. By the way, the Koran does not support your view. It calls for "submission to Allah." The term "faith" is not a synomym for belief or submission.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:55, 20 February 2007 (EST)

::::I take exception to the word "merely." It's hardly a trivial job. And one of the reasons I like to cite the American Heritage dictionary here is precisely because, while not politically conservative, it was created in opposition to what was seen as the overly-permissive and overly-descriptive Merriam-Webster. A dictionary is a good starting point. Any group of people that has a sort of private definition of a word that does not match what is generally understood, it is going to be counterproductive to use that definition in discourse with others outside the group.

::::AHD says that "faith" has five meanings. People who refer to "the Muslim faith" are not wrong, they are just using meaning number 5. The article needs to be clearer on this point. For example, it could open by saying "Christian faith is a unique concept that means trust or complete confidence in something unseen. Although the word "faith" can be used to refer to any body of beliefs, other religions do not have any concept equivalent to Christian faith."

::::To insist on "faith" has having only meaning number 4 would be like insisting that the British naval power during the Napoleonic era was equal to the number of foot-pounds per minute exerted by the force of the wind on the combined area of all its sails. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 13:34, 21 February 2007 (EST)

::::So Christian faith is unique to Christianity? That statement is so self-evident as to be utterly moronic. It's like saying Buddha is unique to Buddhism.

:::Can you then please post a reference that cites that the original usage of the word "faith" is Christian? If you are going to call the dictionary into question as a source, you cannot selectively choose which entries you believe and which you do not believe. If you wish to cite a specific dictionary entry as incorrect, you must support that with fact. Perhaps it would be better to clarify that, in your view, the "original" meaning of the word "faith" is Christian, but current modern usage is different. After all, you do intend this to be a factual, unbiased conservapedia, not a collection of unsubstantiated right-wing beliefs. True? --[[User:Neurocat|Neurocat]] 09:48, 21 February 2007 (EST)

:::I added a common dictionary definition of faith, with reference link, to clarify the issue for readers. Furthermore, the first line of the entry seems to be unclear - if the word Faith descends from a Latin word meaning "to trust", how can the original meaning be purely Christian? Certainly the Greeks and Romans used the term to describe something other than a Christian "faith". Should we remove it? --[[User:Neurocat|Neurocat]] 10:00, 21 February 2007 (EST)

== Re: faith in other religions ==

I just edited the article and included a source on the concept of faith in Islam. A few short minutes of Googling turned up a scholarly article from the 1950s about the importance of faith to Islam. Also, does anybody know how many of the mentions of faith in the Old Testament are in the parts that make up the Torah? That would go a long way toward identifying the importance of faith in the Jewish religion.

Finally, I agree completely with those who are saying that the concept of faith is common to any theistic religion. Without any exceptions that I know of (correct me if I'm wrong), any religion that requires belief in a god requires faith, since there is no evidence for any of these gods and faith is belief in the unseen/unobservable. --[[User:Haveyouseenmypants|Haveyouseenmypants]] 18:20, 21 February 2007 (EST)

*Not a rhetorical question: how much similarity is there between the Muslim concept translated as "faith" and the Christian concept of "faith?" It seems to me that in the Arabian Nights the Caliph of Baghdad is referred to as "Defender of the Faithful," and certainly Moslems refer to non-Moslems as "Infidels" (i.e. "Unfaithful"), but I don't know that the concepts are necessarily the same. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith]] 18:37, 21 February 2007 (EST)

******Re: claim that "faith" is unique to Christianity and Bible, and word counts of "faith" in religious texts******

The author says above that “Jesus was unique in preaching the significance of faith exclusive to Christianity. No other religion is based on faith as distinguished from mere belief. Faith is mentioned 229 times in the Bible's New Testament.”

Above, where the author of the article is translating the Greek word “pivsti,” he attributes the definition to Strong’s. The definition he provides actually comes from the lexicon tool in a website called Crosswalk.com. Strong’s definition for “pivsti” (a word that was translated into English to mean “faith” in several Protestant versions of the Bible) is as follows:

3982. peitho pi'-tho a primary verb; to convince (by argument, true or false); by analogy, to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflexively or passively, to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty):--agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) conflent, make friend, obey, persuade, trust, yield. (Note: 3982 is the Strong’s reference number to the word “pivsti” as well. See the author’s link to Crosswalk.com above.)

Other Greek words that were translated into “faith” according to Strong’s were:

4102. pistis pis'-tis from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:--assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

4103. pistos pis-tos' from 3982; objectively, trustworthy; subjectively, trustful:--believe(-ing, -r), faithful(-ly), sure, true.

http://www.eliyah.com/cgi-bin/strongs.cgi?file=greeklexicon&isindex=3982

So there is no specific link between the Greek words that were translated to mean “faith” and the author’s statement that the word “faith” only applies to Christian belief.

The English word “faith” came into usage in approximately 1250 A.D. At the time, it was used to refer to a duty, or fulfilling one’s trust. It did not at that time have a meaning related to Christian faith.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=faith&searchmode=none

In fact, the word “faith” was used to refer to all religious faiths starting in approximately 1300 A.D. The Bible was first translated into English from the Latin Vulgate in 1380, and the word “faith” came to be used to refer to the Christian faith at that time.

The etymology of the word and Strong’s definitions are quite well documented and I’ve provided links here.

The author is mistaken in the etymology of the word because, as I have shown, the word “faith” was used with other meanings before it had the meaning the author is using (as that specifically of Christian faith), including its meaning as “faith in any religious belief.” In addition, while the use of the word “faith” as meaning Christian faith may have been coined, so to speak, at the time of the earliest English translations of the Bible, the original Greek words did not mean the same thing as the current translations. The original Greek (which is the language in which the Scriptures were given to us) does not have a word that has the same definition as the word “faith” given in this entry (see Strong's). And where the author said that “No other religion is based on faith as distinguished from mere belief,” he is clearly wrong because according to Strong’s, the Greek words used in the original Scriptures actually have a meaning closer to the word “belief” than they do to the word “faith.”

==ASCHLAFLY's Unsupported Assumptions==

ASCHLAFLY, can you give any references, AT ALL, for your recent edits to the Faith entry? You keep falling back on the "Faith is Christian" concept and keep removing all the well-documented entries that demonstrate otherwise. Once and for all, do you have any evidence to back this up, or is this "Conservapedia" just a "Schlaflyapedia" documenting your opinions rather than facts? --[[User:Neurocat|Neurocat]] 13:41, 24 February 2007 (EST)

==Unlocking Faith==

I think it is time we unlocked this entry. It has so many unsupported assumptions on it as to be largely worthless. It is in desperate need of editing. --[[User:Neurocat|Neurocat]] 10:54, 26 February 2007 (EST)

== Faith is NOT unique ==

To say that the concept of "faith" is unique to Christianity is absurd, and the height of vanity. To begin with, the editors critique previous commentators who argue the non-uniqueness of Christian "Faith" by stating that they offer "no proof" that faith is NOT a uniquely Christian concept. However, the author of the article on faith (locked, Draconian fashion), states no support for the idea that "faith" IS unique to Christianity. A word count is the only proof, compared with a word count of one other holy book. That is hardly proof. Further, the originator of such an absurd idea that faith is unique to Christianity must surely have the burden of proof. In the absence of proof, discourse with any non-Christian will suffice to prove the ridiculousness of that statement.

However, proof can be clearly offered. To begin with, the author of the locked "article" on Faith suggests that "submission" to Allah is pre-eminent in Islam, displacing faith. However, faith in Allah is a necessary predicate to submission - otherwise, the submission would be worthless, if it is directed to no-one.

Further, the Roman state religion placed great import on the concept of "pietas," or "piety," which the Romans understood to include faith in the gods' good will, and the importance to daily life of satisfying the gods. A note of the importance of "pietas" in Roman life would be its prominent placement on the Clipeus Virtutis, a shield awarded to Augustus Caesar upon the First Constitutional Settlement, which noted Augustus' many virtues. Among them, "pietas" was prominently figured. (See http://www.ac-orleans-tours.fr/lang_anciennes/arapacis/images/clipeus.jpg). A second touchstone for faith in the Roman religion would be Horace's Odes (http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_horace_odes3.htm). The third book of Odes makes several mentions of "faithless foes" - suggesting that lack of faith is associated with evil, and faith therefore with the good and pious. Further, an important theme of Horace's 3d Book of Odes is the need of Rome to satisfy the Gods, demonstrating a strong faith in the relevance & role of the Gods in daily life.

I insist not only that the article on be "faith" unlocked, but that all bias be purged from this encyclopedia. You claim to to ignore any bias whatsoever, and pay heed only to the facts. However, since often the facts include a "bias" against ridiculous opinions such as this, you end up purging the facts. Please, be reasonable, for the good of the country.

:*Right something trustworthy '''CANNOT''' be biased and saying that faith is unique only to christianity is one of the most biased statements I have ever heard. {{unsigned|Cal05000}}
:: I disagree that trustworthy and biased are mutually exclusive. However, I agree that faith is not a uniquely Christian concept. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 04:23, 18 March 2008 (EDT)

(reset)The [[Epistle to the Hebrews]] is generally considered to contain the greatest chapter regarding "faith" in the New Testament. It points the early church, the fledgling Christians, towards the men and women of the Old Testament - Jews - and holds them up as true examples of real faith: after all, they didn't have any of the later "proofs" that Jesus demonstrated, they didn't have the "pouring out of the Holy Spirit", they never saw any "substance" of what they believed in and held dear to. The writer of the epistle singles out:
*[[Abel]], [[Enoch]] and [[Noah]]
*[[Abraham]], [[Isaac]] and [[Jacob]]
*[[Joseph]] and [[Moses]]
*[[Joshua]] and [[Rahab]]
*[[Gideon]], [[Barak]], [[Samson]] and [[Jephthah]]
*[[David]]
*[[Samuel]] and the prophets

All of these demonstrated their faith by their works. All of these were still faithful at their deaths even though they died without ever receiving proof of their faith.

Incidentally, the word "faith" is mentioned more than twice in the OT. In fact, there are at least three different Hebrew words used to convey faith: '''אמנה''' '''אמוּנה''' '''אמוּנה''' - which would seem to be contradictory if it only gets two mentions! The Old Testament is the foundation of faith upon which the New Testament stands - if there is no "faith" within the OT, then there can be none reflected in the NT, or what there is, is meaningless and superficial. [[Image:User Fox.png|10px]] [[User:Fox|Fox]] ([[User talk:Fox|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Fox|contribs]]) 05:26, 18 March 2008 (EDT)

Why would jews or muslims follow the numerous laws of their religion if they didn't have faith in God? Claiming that faith is uniquely christian is false.

:You seem to be using "faith" as a synonym for "belief". They are different concepts.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 07:28, 1 July 2009 (EDT)

== Tautology! ==

Also, saying that Christian faith is a uniquely Christian concept is a tautology. You can't reject other people's arguments that other religions define "faith," by saying, "well, not in the same way Christianity does," and concluding "therefore faith is unique to Christianity."

FAITH is not unique to Christianity.

CHRISTIAN FAITH is obviously, by definition, unique to Christianity, but again, this is mere tautology. 1 = 1. Congratulations.

== Main Page ==

Note that the following is still on Conservapedia's main page, forming part of the casual visitor's initial impression: "Did you know that faith is a uniquely Christian concept? Add to the explanation of what it means, and how it does not exist on other religions." [[User:Moioci|Moioci]] 05:09, 1 March 2007 (EST)
:Romans 10:17:
:Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. [[User:ChristianFaith|ChristianFaith]] 15:44, 20 July 2007 (EDT)

==Bad, bad, bad==
This article isn't just bad. It's brilliantly bad. Outstandingly bad. It is a paradigmatic example of bad. If this is the kind of writing that this project is going to promote, then the project should be shelved.

==Alternate version==

'''Faith''' (from Greek-''pistis'' and Latin-''fides'') refers to confidence, trust, and hope in a [[God]], person, community, tradition, or another locus of inspiration. The object of faith varies among people, but the common denominator is a level of conviction and an inner attitude towards a greater power or force in the universe. Etymologically, the word 'faith' is closely linked to the concept of "fidelity," which emphasizes commitment to something or someone. Thus, faith is often understood to mean 'loyalty' to a particular view of [[divinity]], and allegiance to a particular religious community and it's cognate [[doctrine]]s. Yet, faith can also be envisioned more broadly as a trust in [[providence]], and has been used as a synonym for religion, such as in the [[Buddhist]] faith or the [[Christian]] faith.

Faith is an important aspect of the world religions, and a common theme of human religiosity. According to Christian tradition, faith is one of the gifts of the [[Holy Spirit]] that provides impetus for humanity to move forward, and is said to be especially important when one encounters obstacles in life. For many people, faith or the lack thereof, is an important part of their overall identities.

==(Lack of?) Faith in Science==

I have argued this point many times among non-believers, but most religious people will maintain that science requires a larger leap of faith than religion. Do you think this debate merits inclusion/referral in this article? --[[User:Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] 11:12, 16 May 2007 (EDT)
:I would agree that things like evolution and the Big Bang require a greater "leap of faith", but not science. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 11:15, 16 May 2007 (EDT)
::Given the strictest definition of science, is it possible to seperate these two concepts from that definition? However I agree, the theoretical nature of both "evolution" and the Big Bang do require the greatest leap of faith. Continuing in this vein however, how do we know that many other aspects of scientific study are not also contrived fallacies? Man once believed the Earth was flat because of thousands of years of precedent. What shall we deam "science" in another thousand years in contrast to acts of God? These concepts are worthy of inclusion in the article. --[[User:Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] 11:26, 16 May 2007 (EDT)
:::Given the strictest definition of science, is it possible to call evolution and the Big Bang science? Both are attempts to explain what happened in the past, and we cannot observe the past, cannot run tests on the past, and cannot reproduce those events. And those are the sorts of things required for science.
:::But as you will see from the [[natural science]] article, differences between things that are "operational science" and others that are "origins science" mean that you cannot extend that question to many other areas of science, such as medicine, chemistry, physics, etc.
::: The idea that man once believed that the Earth was flat is itself largely an urban myth. Sure, there were ''some'' people that thought that, but we know that the ancient Greeks knew the Earth to be round, and that almost everybody else since thought that also (and perhaps everyone before for all we know). The idea that the [[flat Earth]] belief was widespread has been shown to be an evolutionist invention to discredit creationists.
:::Given those points, I think that you musings about science in the future are largely without foundation.
::: [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 22:15, 16 May 2007 (EDT)
::::Where has it been shown that the idea that the [[flat Earth]] belief was widespread has been shown to be an evolutionist invention to discredit creationists? --[[User:Vincentvincent|Vincentvincent]] 07:26, 14 April 2008 (EDT)
::::: See [[Flat Earth]]. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 08:42, 14 April 2008 (EDT)

There is only one area of science in which "faith" is required. That the universe and everything in it follow a set of naturalistic laws which can be predicted and understood, though there are some we are still working on. However, this "faith" is backed up by the fact that the universe has always, so far as we currently know, followed a set of laws. If you have no faith in this premise then a 5 minute old universe in which all our memories have been fabricated by god becomes a possibility and science goes out the window. A 5 minute old universe, by the way, is logically just as likely as one less than 15 billion years old.

To reject the theory of evolution requires more faith than to accept it because of all the evidence for the theory which must also be rejected. Face it, based on genetics, it is statistically impossible for us to not share a common ancestor with all other mammals... Unless you think the earth is 5 minutes old and everything is a trick by god... now that requires a lot of faith... but no more than is required to believe in a 6000 year old earth or a virgin birth.

== Faith in Literature ==

I agree with Phillip that this section is suspect. Taking the real life information and incorporating it into the article is one thing, but noting ways faith has been viewed in literary works seems to be out of place. [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 14:03, 11 July 2007 (EDT)

== Biblical Examples ==
I felt that an Old Testament example would be in order. I would like to include some pictures as it would look better than this "dry" page that we have here.

[[User:ChristianFaith|ChristianFaith]] 15:44, 20 July 2007 (EDT)

== Multiple definitions of faith ==

All: Not sure who's watching this page, but I want to make sure I touch base with folks before I dive in. I'd like to introduce multiple uses of the word "faith" to the article. Specifically:
* Faith as loyalty (Faithful to a spouse, or to God)
* Faith as trust (I have faith that you will do what you say, or that God will)
* Faith as a trust in the fundamental good (as the article now articulates)
* Faith as hanging on to your reason when emotion seeks to overwhelm it (per C.S. Lewis).
I'd also like to introduce and analyze the typical nontheist definition of faith -- "Believing without evidence," and to show that ''this'' concept of faith is absent from the Bible -- i.e. nobody in the Bible believed without evidence -- they all had overwhelming evidence for belief (as do Christians today) -- so faith must mean something else.

Any objections? [[User:Ungtss|Ungtss]] 15:03, 4 September 2007 (EDT)

I have always seen that faith means that one KNOWS not beliefs something is true without any proof. It does not matter if one is saying that I know that Christ died for my sins, or that I know there is one God but Allah and Muhammad is his profit, or that I know that Zeus may send lighting bolt down on me, or that I know that there is no God or gods. [[User:Pibu|Pibu]] 23:58, 10 November 2007 (EST)

=="Faith is a uniquely Christian concept"==

So faith isn't a concept in any other religion? ...could somebody please just clear this up? [[User:Feebasfactor|Feebasfactor]] 11:20, 7 October 2007 (EDT)

== Kierkegaard ==

I think a good source to use would be the works of Kierkegaard. His "leap to faith" discourses are wonderful and are a great supplement to faith/existentialism. [[User:Probus1|Probus1]]

== Faith as loyalty based on past performance ==

Ed left an unsigned comment awhile back that describes an alternative view of faith, that is in fact described in the external link to JP Holding's site at the bottom of the page. This theologically argues that faith in the biblical sense is to be described as loyalty based on past performance. Perhaps this should be mentioned somewhere in the article. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 18:42, 24 December 2007 (EST)

== Arrogance ==

That Christianity is the only religion with the concept of faith in it is one of the most arrogant claims I have ever heard. We can start by discussing the opening statement.

"Faith is a uniquely Christian concept referring to a confidence or trust in a greater good as provided by the Lord."

First, this statement claims that faith in anything is a Christian concept that was invented by the Christians. It claims that no other religion or philosophy has or have ever had any sort of faith in a greater good.

This implies that my own great personal faith in humanity as a whole is non-existant. I have no faith in humanity's capability of rational thinking, nor any faith in realizing my own and others potential to do good. Beliefs that are not rooted in any religious faith but instead by observation of humanity's history and characters that have done both terrible and wonderful things.

My own and others faith that are outside the Christian belief system are simply to be discarded as something that is irrellevant.

(as a side note please pardon any spelling mistakes, I'm Norwegian and thus realize that coming to this English speaking site might seem a bit odd, but it seems that you might need some foreign opinions on this site from time to time) Posted by: [[User:Toby|toby]]

==Rename the article==

This article seems to about [[Christian faith]], so it should be moved there. It is not really an article about [[religious faith]] in general. Moreover, an article on [[faith]] which includes the ideas of Ungtss above would be good. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 15:48, 23 April 2008 (EDT)
:Seconding this motion. 15:41, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

:: Faith is a Christian concept, and "Christian faith" is a silly redundancy. It would be like saying "Christian Easter."--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 15:43, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

::: It's not a uniquely Christian concept, though. People can have faith in something without being religious, or they can have faith in non-Christian religions. [[User:Wandering|Wandering]] 15:46, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

::Even if we were to change the name (which I do not prefer), there is a problem with that name. "Christian faith" can be used to refer to ''Christianity'' as a religious system, when this article is mostly about ''Faith in Christianity'' (what it means to have a practical trust in God, and specifically Christ). --[[User:Ymmotrojam|Ymmotrojam]] 15:56, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

== Lack of the Lord in entry ==

Faith is a concept introduced by Jesus, yet there is no reference to Him or His teachings on it in the entire first page. There are references to the Greek (which Jesus may not have used); there is reference to faith in support by chair (an example unlike ones used by Jesus); and there is a lack of emphasis on how faith is a uniquely Christian concept. For those reasons, I respectfully think this [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Faith&oldid=474174|version] is better. (Also, I think the phrase "about God" in the first sentence must be an unintentional error.)--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 22:00, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

:Well, that faith did not start with Jesus' earthly ministry, it is the same kind of faith presented in the Old Testament. It is more defined in the New, but it's not a ''new'' concept. Obviously we need to include more, but I don't think how it is right now is worse.
:About the "about God," what do you find wrong with it? --[[User:Ymmotrojam|Ymmotrojam]] 22:03, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

:: There are virtually no references to faith in the Old Testament, but hundreds in the New. Added to that is the fact the Old Testament is much longer than the New, and the straightforward conclusion is that faith is a new concept introduced by Christianity.
:: I don't understand the "about God" reference. How does faith in, say, Peter's ability to walk on water or in the healing of the Roman soldier's servant knowledge "about God"?--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 22:20, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

:::Wait, so - at no point did the Jews have faith in God? [[User:Wandering|Wandering]] 22:22, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

:::To your objection: ''There are virtually no references to faith in the Old Testament''. I went to BibleGateway and found the word faith, faithful, or faithless a total of [http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=faith&version1=49&searchtype=all&limit=none&wholewordsonly=no 96 times]. It is simply incorrect to say that the OT does not make a big deal about faith. Sure, it's not as much as the NT, but I already explained that. Also, remember the word "believe" is connected directly in the Greek to the word "faith." They are synonymous. "Then he [Abraham] believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)
:::For your question: ''I don't understand the "about God" reference''. I would recommend that you listen to this lecture by Dr. Dallas Willard, entitled ''[http://www.scriptoriumdaily.com/2008/01/07/how-people-perish-for-lack-of-knowledge/ How People Perish for Lack of Knowledge]''. Other than that, are you talking about us (in modern day) reading those accounts and receiving knowledge of God? Or are you talking about Peter stepping out on the water and faith and having knowledge of God?
:::I'll take the Peter one... Say you are Peter, and you are in the boat. What impulse do you think would compel you to get out of that boat, when there is a fierce storm going on? I mean Peter has got to be used to this type of weather by now, so if he is having trouble, why would he have any desire to put himself in danger? But Peter knows something. (1) He has seen what Christ can do, (2) Christ is Himself outside the boat and calling him (and by the way, Jesus is not sinking, so it can't be too bad). Those two bits of ''knowledge'' on the part of Peter are able to help him overcome the uncertainty of the wind and the waves. But then when Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus (stops trusting in Him), he starts sinking. Peter then starts trusting in himself. Peter starts focusing on the uncertainties of whether he could really make it or not, rater than the certainty that there was standing on the water with him (Jesus).
:::Don't know if that made sense, but maybe :-) --[[User:Ymmotrojam|Ymmotrojam]] 22:39, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

:::: I checked your Gateway link: the term "faith" appears only 4 times in the lengthy Old Testament, and 237 times in the brief New Testament. The Old Testament references have a different meaning from the New Testament meaning. The references to "faithful" and "faithless" have different meanings.
:::: I don't see how the faith by the soldier that his servant will be healed is knowledge "about God." The example of the chair seems, by the way, far removed from the New Testament examples.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:00, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

:::::'''You are correct about the number on BibleGateway'''. I should have been looking closer at the meanings. However, I still maintain the Old Testament has a very clear conception of what faith is, and it does not change in the New. For example, in Exodus 4:8, God is sending Moses to Egypt, and God says this interesting statement: "If they will not believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe the witness of the last sign." Notice that God is providing a "sign" for them to believe. And if they don't trust the first "sign," then they might trust the last one. In terms of what I am talking about, that "sign" is ''knowledge about God''. It is something that God is doing to show humanity who He is.
:::::'''Faith of the soldier'''. The Centurion would have at least heard of Jesus, since Capernaum was Jesus' hometown (or at least homebase) I think. And this soldier may have even seen Jesus perform miracles before on other people. That is sufficient knowledge of what Christ (God) could do. I mean this Centurion definitely recognizes Jesus' divine authority (imho) as he calls Jesus "Lord", and says statements like, "I am not worthy for You to come under my roof," and "just say the word, and my servant will be healed." Not things you say about someone you barely know or have barely heard of... The point is that this centurion did indeed have a ''knowledge'' of Christ which caused faith in his heart.
:::::'''The chair example being far removed from scripture'''. That chair example is simply a popular way to conceptualize what saving faith is. If I just stood next to a chair and acknowledged that the chair could indeed support me, but I never sat down in the chair... is that really true faith in the chair? No. It's not faith until you not only ''acknowledge'' that the chair can hold you up, but you sit down in it. --[[User:Ymmotrojam|Ymmotrojam]] 23:21, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

:::::: I need to take a break now from this discussion, but so that you're not left waiting for a response, I observe that the nature of the examples of faith in the New Testament all have substantial significance relating to life or death, and none of them are trivialities like the chair example that seem to demean the significance.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:38, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

:::::::Ok, and don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed at all to using biblical examples :-). So if that's what you want to stick to, that's fine by me. And I was planning on putting more in, but I always thought for me personally that the chair analogy was somewhat helpful. --[[User:Ymmotrojam|Ymmotrojam]] 23:51, 14 June 2008 (EDT)

==Uniqueness==
"Some other religions have concepts that liberals pretend are similar to Christian "faith", but examining these claims invariably shows that no other religion has the same concept. "

That's clearly wrong. Judaism at the very least has a very similar meaning of ''Faith''. Islam does too as far as I recall. [[User:Daphnea|Daphnea]] 17:37, 26 June 2008 (EDT)

== Abraham ==

I was wondering if the line on Abraham in the "Biblical examples" section might give credence to those that think the other Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism and Islam) have the gift of Faith, rather than just belief.--[[User:TruthOfChrist|TruthOfChrist]] 11:36, 16 October 2008 (EDT)

== mundane or secular faith ==
What I mean here is a belief that certain things will happen without being in a position to explain them in detail. example: I have enough faith in my ability to build a shed for my gardening tools. example: I have faith the sun will rise tomorrow. 
This may be using faith as a firmly held belief, without it being faith in a deity. [[User:Markr|Markr]] 15:48, 16 October 2008 (EDT)

== Reversion explained ==

We don't allow dilution or [[placement bias]] here. Keep the good stuff first.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 16:36, 8 December 2008 (EST)

"Faith" has always been a Christian concept. We're not going to allow revisionism here.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 16:47, 8 December 2008 (EST)

:OK - I've just put back the two new sections I wrote, on faith's place among the three theological virtues, and on its uniqueness to Christianity as explained in Galatians. Hope that's all right.--[[User:CPalmer|CPalmer]] 16:52, 8 December 2008 (EST)

:: OK, thanks. Looks good, except this comment by your edit is certainly a highly provocative one: "In this regard, Islam has much more in common with Judaism than Christianity: the word 'Islam' itself means 'submission to God'."--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 16:55, 8 December 2008 (EST)

:::It's not intended to be provocative, or to say that Islam has much in common with Judaism ''overall''. Just that from a point of view of faith versus law, Christianity is based on faith, whereas both Islam and Judaism are based on submitting to a code of law.

:::Obviously, remove or change it if you don't agree.--[[User:CPalmer|CPalmer]] 16:59, 8 December 2008 (EST)

==Uniquely Christian==
I'm not sure I would agree that faith is uniquely Christian, but even if that's true you may want to invest in a thesaurus. It looks kind of silly to use the same phrase that many times in an article.--[[User:JohnD|JohnD]] 13:58, 5 January 2009 (EST)

== a case of selection bias perhaps? ==

I can see it has already been discussed, but nothing has yet been done about it. Regular Conservapedia contributors have pointed this out, so it's not just liberal rants I'm talking about. I will quote Mr. Schlafly (from this talk page): ''"You seem to be using "faith" as a synonym for "belief". They are different concepts."''; this seems very reasonable to me, I doubt anyone would argue with that. However, there seems to be a major problem, which is that the article is '''a redirect from the word "belief", effectively treating the words as synonyms'''. Could someone address this? Even those who are addressed in this very article as "non-believers" (I guess this possibly refers to non-Christians) most certainly have a belief system, let it be astrology, communism or new-age <s>nonsense</s> spirituality.
''I have not yet contributed much, as I'm afraid anything will get me permabanned (again), so I will discuss in talk pages before editing, if that makes sense.'' --[[User:Relative|Relative]] 13:47, 15 June 2010 (EDT)
P.S. I'm not at all concerned about the fact that the article describes Christian Faith, as one would surely expect of an American conservative encyclopaedia, but maybe there should be some sort of "disclaimer" that states it clearly at the top --[[User:Relative|Relative]] 13:53, 15 June 2010 (EDT)

Talk:Faith

2010-06-15T17:47:32Z

Relative:

Truth

2010-05-10T15:47:52Z

Relative: /* Truth as a Value */

This Conservapedia entry focuses on the concept of truth relating to God and society; for the definition as a philosophical and logical term, see [[truth_(logic)]].

'''Truth''' is one of the fundamental building blocks of [[reality]]. One could probably say that without truth, nothing could exist. In fact, not only is truth a fundamental building block of reality, but it is also a central character trait and attribute of the one who is in control of all things, namely [[God]] himself. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the [[Trinity|triune God]], proclaimed about himself in John 14:6, "...I am the way, and the truth, and the life...". From that verse and others, we can conclude that truth is not something external to God himself, but is rather something that is inextricably joined and a part of His Being.

== Truth as a Value ==
Christian Truth can be considered by Christians around the world to be a morally desirable trait in a person, since it the antithesis of "undesirable" traits such as [[deceit]] or [[corruption]]. [[Christian]]s in particular uphold Truth as a desirable value, since it is something taught by the [[Bible]], and [[Jesus]] himself.
As a rule, liberals do not hold Christian Truth to be an important value (citation?). They believe that truth is subjective, and everyone can freely decide on his own version of truth, see [[moral relativism]] and [[freedom of thought]].

==Opponents==
Many opponents of Christian Truth have arisen over the course of human history, such as [[communist]] [[China]], [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Nazi Germany]], and The [[Obama Administration]], and, by extension, [[Barack Hussein Obama]]. Such enemies typically advocate the wide use of [[censorship]]. Incidentally, many [[liberals]] also advocate the use of [[censorship]] in the form of [[political correctness]], e.g. refusing to describe someone as crippled or as spastic when they plainly are (some, however, argue it is to avoid hurting such people's feelings), out of some misguided notion of [[politeness]]. Former [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] and notorious [[liberal]] [[Al Gore]] made several untruthful claims in his documentary [[An Inconvenient Truth]]. Many [[liberal]]s mock Christian Truth by coining terms like "truthiness" ([[Stephen Colbert]]) to deride the real nature of truth.

Some Liberals don't understand Christian Truth on a very basic level. They state that "truth" is something intrinsic to the Universe, because they mean logical/empirical "truth", which, however, has many definitions; in Christianity, it is intrinsic to God. Without God, there is no Christian Truth. Without Christian Truth, there is no conservative morality. Without conservative morality, it can be argued that one can do whatever one wishes. This is the basis of part of Liberalism and it explains why some Liberals feel the desire to mock Christian Truth.

However, it can be argued that if a State were to impose an absolute Truth, it would have authoritarian/totalitarian and not democratic/liberal(in the sense of promoting freedom) characteristics. If the Truth were one, the people would only be able to choose the Truth: only one candidate, only one choice, only one voice. Much of this is discussed in George Orwell's political novel "[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]".

==See also==
*[[God]]
*[[Jesus Christ]]
*[[Holy Spirit]]

==External links==
*[http://www.christianity.co.nz/truth1.htm Truth in Christianity]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/truth/ What Liberals Say - Category: Truth], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Attributes of God]]
[[Category:Dictionary]]

Truth

2010-05-10T15:38:37Z

Relative: /* Opponents */

This Conservapedia entry focuses on the concept of truth relating to God and society; for the definition as a philosophical and logical term, see [[truth_(logic)]].

'''Truth''' is one of the fundamental building blocks of [[reality]]. One could probably say that without truth, nothing could exist. In fact, not only is truth a fundamental building block of reality, but it is also a central character trait and attribute of the one who is in control of all things, namely [[God]] himself. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the [[Trinity|triune God]], proclaimed about himself in John 14:6, "...I am the way, and the truth, and the life...". From that verse and others, we can conclude that truth is not something external to God himself, but is rather something that is inextricably joined and a part of His Being.

== Truth as a Value ==
Truth can be considered to be a morally desirable trait in a person, since it the antithesis of "undesirable" traits such as [[deceit]] or [[corruption]]. [[Christian]]s in particular uphold Truth as a desirable value, since it is something taught by the [[Bible]], and [[Jesus]] himself.
As a rule, liberals do not hold Truth to be an important value. They believe that truth is subjective, and everyone can freely decide on his own version of truth, see [[moral relativism]].

==Opponents==
Many opponents of Christian Truth have arisen over the course of human history, such as [[communist]] [[China]], [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Nazi Germany]], and The [[Obama Administration]], and, by extension, [[Barack Hussein Obama]]. Such enemies typically advocate the wide use of [[censorship]]. Incidentally, many [[liberals]] also advocate the use of [[censorship]] in the form of [[political correctness]], e.g. refusing to describe someone as crippled or as spastic when they plainly are (some, however, argue it is to avoid hurting such people's feelings), out of some misguided notion of [[politeness]]. Former [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] and notorious [[liberal]] [[Al Gore]] made several untruthful claims in his documentary [[An Inconvenient Truth]]. Many [[liberal]]s mock Christian Truth by coining terms like "truthiness" ([[Stephen Colbert]]) to deride the real nature of truth.

Some Liberals don't understand Christian Truth on a very basic level. They state that "truth" is something intrinsic to the Universe, because they mean logical/empirical "truth", which, however, has many definitions; in Christianity, it is intrinsic to God. Without God, there is no Christian Truth. Without Christian Truth, there is no conservative morality. Without conservative morality, it can be argued that one can do whatever one wishes. This is the basis of part of Liberalism and it explains why some Liberals feel the desire to mock Christian Truth.

However, it can be argued that if a State were to impose an absolute Truth, it would have authoritarian/totalitarian and not democratic/liberal(in the sense of promoting freedom) characteristics. If the Truth were one, the people would only be able to choose the Truth: only one candidate, only one choice, only one voice. Much of this is discussed in George Orwell's political novel "[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]".

==See also==
*[[God]]
*[[Jesus Christ]]
*[[Holy Spirit]]

==External links==
*[http://www.christianity.co.nz/truth1.htm Truth in Christianity]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/truth/ What Liberals Say - Category: Truth], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Attributes of God]]
[[Category:Dictionary]]

Truth

2010-05-10T15:38:06Z

Relative: /* Opponents */

This Conservapedia entry focuses on the concept of truth relating to God and society; for the definition as a philosophical and logical term, see [[truth_(logic)]].

'''Truth''' is one of the fundamental building blocks of [[reality]]. One could probably say that without truth, nothing could exist. In fact, not only is truth a fundamental building block of reality, but it is also a central character trait and attribute of the one who is in control of all things, namely [[God]] himself. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the [[Trinity|triune God]], proclaimed about himself in John 14:6, "...I am the way, and the truth, and the life...". From that verse and others, we can conclude that truth is not something external to God himself, but is rather something that is inextricably joined and a part of His Being.

== Truth as a Value ==
Truth can be considered to be a morally desirable trait in a person, since it the antithesis of "undesirable" traits such as [[deceit]] or [[corruption]]. [[Christian]]s in particular uphold Truth as a desirable value, since it is something taught by the [[Bible]], and [[Jesus]] himself.
As a rule, liberals do not hold Truth to be an important value. They believe that truth is subjective, and everyone can freely decide on his own version of truth, see [[moral relativism]].

==Opponents==
Many opponents of Christian Truth have arisen over the course of human history, such as [[communist]] [[China]], [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Nazi Germany]], and The [[Obama Administration]], and, by extension, [[Barack Hussein Obama]]. Such enemies typically advocate the wide use of [[censorship]]. Incidentally, many [[liberals]] also advocate the use of [[censorship]] in the form of [[political correctness]], e.g. refusing to describe someone as crippled or as spastic when they plainly are (some, however, argue it is to avoid hurting such people's feelings), out of some misguided notion of [[politeness]]. Former [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] and notorious [[liberal]] [[Al Gore]] made several untruthful claims in his documentary [[An Inconvenient Truth]]. Many [[liberal]]s mock Christian Truth by coining terms like "truthiness" ([[Stephen Colbert]]) to deride the real nature of truth.

Some Liberals don't understand Christian Truth on a very basic level. They state that "truth" is something intrinsic to the Universe, because they mean logical/empirical "truth", which, however, has many definitions; in Christianity, it is intrinsic to God. Without God, there is no Christian Truth. Without Christian Truth, there is no conservative morality. Without conservative morality, it can be argued that one can do whatever one wishes. This is the basis of part of Liberalism and it explains why some Liberals feel the desire to mock Christian Truth.

However, it can be argued that if a State were to impose an absolute Truth, it would have authoritarian and not democratic/liberal(in the sense of promoting freedom) characteristics. If the Truth were one, the people would only be able to choose the Truth: only one candidate, only one choice, only one voice. Much of this is discussed in George Orwell's political novel "[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]".

==See also==
*[[God]]
*[[Jesus Christ]]
*[[Holy Spirit]]

==External links==
*[http://www.christianity.co.nz/truth1.htm Truth in Christianity]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/truth/ What Liberals Say - Category: Truth], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Attributes of God]]
[[Category:Dictionary]]

Truth

2010-05-10T15:37:14Z

Relative: /* Opponents */

This Conservapedia entry focuses on the concept of truth relating to God and society; for the definition as a philosophical and logical term, see [[truth_(logic)]].

'''Truth''' is one of the fundamental building blocks of [[reality]]. One could probably say that without truth, nothing could exist. In fact, not only is truth a fundamental building block of reality, but it is also a central character trait and attribute of the one who is in control of all things, namely [[God]] himself. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the [[Trinity|triune God]], proclaimed about himself in John 14:6, "...I am the way, and the truth, and the life...". From that verse and others, we can conclude that truth is not something external to God himself, but is rather something that is inextricably joined and a part of His Being.

== Truth as a Value ==
Truth can be considered to be a morally desirable trait in a person, since it the antithesis of "undesirable" traits such as [[deceit]] or [[corruption]]. [[Christian]]s in particular uphold Truth as a desirable value, since it is something taught by the [[Bible]], and [[Jesus]] himself.
As a rule, liberals do not hold Truth to be an important value. They believe that truth is subjective, and everyone can freely decide on his own version of truth, see [[moral relativism]].

==Opponents==
Many opponents of Christian Truth have arisen over the course of human history, such as [[communist]] [[China]], [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Nazi Germany]], and The [[Obama Administration]], and, by extension, [[Barack Hussein Obama]]. Such enemies typically advocate the wide use of [[censorship]]. Incidentally, many [[liberals]] also advocate the use of [[censorship]] in the form of [[political correctness]], e.g. refusing to describe someone as crippled or as spastic when they plainly are (some, however, argue it is to avoid hurting such people's feelings), out of some misguided notion of [[politeness]]. Former [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] and notorious [[liberal]] [[Al Gore]] made several untruthful claims in his documentary [[An Inconvenient Truth]]. Many [[liberal]]s mock Christian Truth by coining terms like "truthiness" ([[Stephen Colbert]]) to deride the real nature of truth.

Some Liberals don't understand Christian Truth on a very basic level. They state that "truth" is something intrinsic to the Universe, because they mean logical/empirical "truth", which, however, has many definitions; in Christianity, it is intrinsic to God. Without God, there is no Christian Truth. Without Christian Truth, there is no conservative morality. Without conservative morality, it can be argued that one can do whatever one wishes. This is the basis of part of Liberalism and it explains why some Liberals feel the desire to mock Christian Truth.

However, it can be argued that if a State were to impose an absolute Truth, it would have authoritarian and not democratic/liberal(in the sense of promoting freedom) characteristics. If the Truth were one, the people would only be able to choose the Truth: only one candidate, only one choice, only one voice. Much of this is discussed in George Orwell's political novel "[[1984]]".

==See also==
*[[God]]
*[[Jesus Christ]]
*[[Holy Spirit]]

==External links==
*[http://www.christianity.co.nz/truth1.htm Truth in Christianity]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/truth/ What Liberals Say - Category: Truth], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Attributes of God]]
[[Category:Dictionary]]

Truth

2010-05-10T15:23:48Z

Relative: /* Truth as a Value */

This Conservapedia entry focuses on the concept of truth relating to God and society; for the definition as a philosophical and logical term, see [[truth_(logic)]].

'''Truth''' is one of the fundamental building blocks of [[reality]]. One could probably say that without truth, nothing could exist. In fact, not only is truth a fundamental building block of reality, but it is also a central character trait and attribute of the one who is in control of all things, namely [[God]] himself. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the [[Trinity|triune God]], proclaimed about himself in John 14:6, "...I am the way, and the truth, and the life...". From that verse and others, we can conclude that truth is not something external to God himself, but is rather something that is inextricably joined and a part of His Being.

== Truth as a Value ==
Christian's believe that the Truth can be considered to be a morally desirable trait in a person, since it the antithesis of "undesirable" traits such as [[deceit]] or [[corruption]]. [[Christian]]s in particular uphold Truth as a desirable value, since it is something taught by the [[Bible]], and [[Jesus]] himself.

However, Liberals argue that, in fact, Truth (in many senses) is not a property of objects/people, but rather of propositions (see [[Aristotelic logic]]). Therefore it seems more correct to say that "a person who knows/acknowledges the Truth (in a Christian sense) is a moral person". Still, there have been cases where morality did not coincide with Christian belief:
- the recent discoveries of pedophilia among religious ministers <ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/11/pope-uk-visit-abuse-victims</ref>;
- the Vatican banking scandals <ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,951806,00.html</ref>
- the case of papal concubines in more ancient times;
It can be also discussed, on the other hand, that such cases probably involved people who were only superficially Christian, while "True" Christians would not have ever acted in similar fashion.

As a rule, liberals do not hold Truth to be an important value. They believe that truth is subjective, and everyone can freely decide on his own version of truth, see [[moral relativism]]. However, this thesis on Liberals and Truth is not accompanied with evidence and arguments to support it, therefore cannot be considered "true" or "corresponding to truth" in the logical sense of the term.

==Opponents==
Many opponents of truth have arisen over the course of human history, such as [[communist]] [[China]], [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Nazi Germany]], and The [[Obama Administration]], and, by extension, [[Barack Hussein Obama]]. Such enemies typically advocate the wide use of [[censorship]]. Incidentally, many [[liberals]] also advocate the use of [[censorship]] in the form of [[political correctness]], e.g. refusing to describe someone as crippled or as spastic when they plainly are, out of some misguided notion of politeness. Former [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] and notorious [[liberal]] [[Al Gore]] made several untruthful claims in his documentary [[An Inconvenient Truth]]. Many [[liberal]]s mock Truth by coining terms like "truthiness" ([[Stephen Colbert]]) to deride the real nature of truth.

Liberals don't understand truth on a very basic level. They assume that truth is something intrinsic to the Universe, but in fact, it is intrinsic to God. Without God, there is no truth. Without truth, there is no morality. Without morality, you can do whatever you want. This is the basis of Liberalism and it explains why Liberals feel the desire to mock truth.

==See also==
*[[God]]
*[[Jesus Christ]]
*[[Holy Spirit]]

==External links==
*[http://www.christianity.co.nz/truth1.htm Truth in Christianity]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/truth/ What Liberals Say - Category: Truth], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Attributes of God]]
[[Category:Dictionary]]