In all actuality, faith is an intrinsic human trait that permeates all of our lives. The common examples are given that we have faith that every morning on our drive to work that no one will veer across the median, that the person on the other side of the register is going to give us the right amount of change, that our coffee won't burn us when we take our first sip. These are all good and true; there is nothing inherently wrong about these because without that sort of faith, a person would end up living a hermit life.
In this respect, it is easy to convince the public that, yes, humanity relies on a certain amount of faith on a daily basis, that it is woven into the very fabric of the ways we relate to our environment. However, the division of opinion begins when you start to ask why and what you have faith in. Yes, while this most often takes place in the realm of religion, it may also take place in other places such as faith that people will change or faith that life is going to be better in the future. Some may discourage these thoughts because "there's no proof of a God," "if they did it once, they'll do it again," or "you were born into this life, and you'll stay where you're at," respectively. Where then does faith lie in these situations? Is it legitimate?
It is easy to second guess oneself in these situations after hearing such opinions from others, especially people that you trust. But this brings us back to the question of is faith itself legitimate. We've seen that, yes, it is. Why then do people ask for proof? The common phrase "seeing is believing" has been used over and over again to negate something that is pertinent to all of us. At the same time, faith isn't blind. People have faith for a reason! True faith is not a blind faith. As with the common examples above, you have faith that the other drivers won't cross the median because you know people are, indeed, sensible and have received training to prevent such a situation from happening. So yes, faith is based on evidence but then the question arises, "what evidence is legitimate?" Once it is legitimized, is it conceivable to believe the future or current situations are going to be affected? Yes! The main conflict lies in the legitimization of evidence, which, in itself, might be dependent on faith. Faith is very close to being a self sustaining mechanism, but the only thing required to keep the wheel of faith spinning away is to exercise it.
Some others claim that faith is totally dependent on emotion. That it's all about "feeling. I have learned that this is false. Again, true faith is not a blind faith. Emotion is a dynamic thing that, though it is legitimate (see last month's post), cannot be used as a basis for faith. Faith is to solid and necessary a thing to be based on something as flexible as Jell-O. Dad, a pastor, shared a story with me recently of counseling an atheist woman after her husband passed away. She told him that she couldn't see how God could exist. There was no evidence for God. There was no feeling of desire that would manifest in her soul when talking about God. Therefore, no feeling = no God. However, faith is, again, NOT BASED ON EMOTION. If anything, faith is evidenced the most in the lack of emotion, when all faculties have been drained and there is nothing left but cold, hard belief. In a time when a person dies and the loved ones are left crying with no understanding of how to comprehend the situation, when all has been cried out, what then? That is where we think of the future, whether you're religious and believe that you will see them again someday or you merely have faith that life can still continue on. THAT IS WHERE FAITH RESIDES, in the deepest part of our psyche, preserved for times such as this. Remember how faith is almost a self sustaining mechanism? Well that wheel, with enough maintenance, is able to keep spinning long past where our normal faculties fail.
So why faith? Because for me, faith is more than just a daily routine to take for granted. Faith is essential and must be acknowledged and nurtured. For me, that includes a Faith in God, but also extends to things such as a faith in humanity and faith in myself.
This wasn't written to convince the reader of having Faith in God or whatever, but if anything, I desire that the reader would consider where faith, as a normal human faculty, holds a place in their life.
This is just another late night musing of mine, but I hope you found it at least somewhat interesting. If you ended up reading the whole thing and didn't find a lick of it interesting... that's totally a you problem ;)
Best Wishes! -Richie