Is faith a reliable way to know truth?
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Faith is reliable if the spirit of truth witnesses that the object of faith is truth.
I'm not sure I follow... what is the spirit of truth? And how does one witness that something is truth?
Faith comes by hearing God speak to us.
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:16-17
- faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3
Faith comes from God alone.
- Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
No one has faith in any other god, because the only place faith comes from is the true God.
Everything else is their "belief", which is deception.
JPT
Ro 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Only the faith that God creates by His Holy Spirit and His word is reliable in matters of eternal consequence.
All other faith no matter how ardently believed is corrupted by mans sin.
For the cause of Christ
Roger
Only the faith that God creates by His Holy Spirit and His word is reliable in matters of eternal consequence.
All other faith no matter how ardently believed is corrupted by mans sin.
For the cause of Christ
Roger
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:16-17
- faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. [/QUOTE]
How does one distinguish belief from faith then? Is it only faith if you believe in the christian God?
But how do you know this aside from the Bible says so? How do you know the Bible is a reliable source, rather than the Bhagavad Gita?
No. The person who believes vishnu is lord and savior has the same faith as the person who believes Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. It's the same faith in both people.
It is the object of faith that determines whether one has placed faith in Truth.
If that which we place our faith in is Truth, we are on solid ground, our foundation is strong and can withstand everything we face in this life.
However, if that which we place our faith in is not True, we are on shaky ground, our foundation is weak and when the storms of life rage, our foundation crumbles.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
If we have not heard the Word of God, or if we hear but reject the Word of God, we have little or weak faith.
Everybody believes (has faith in) something. The issue is not whether one has faith. The issue is in what do we place our faith.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
That would make truth subjective if all truth is based in faith, since one believes something to be true and another for it to be false. It would lead to a world of contradictions and it would be illogical . Truth is, inherently, objective (just as morality is). We must then seek to know the truth, and men are without excuse. God is clearly seen.
Romans 1:19-21 King James Version (KJV)
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Romans 1:19-21 King James Version (KJV)
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
I agree with you, that what makes a belief true is whether the object of that belief exists in reality. So you are saying that faith is not a reliable way to know truth? How, then, can we determine whether "God exists" is a true statement?
I don't agree that everybody has faith. Faith in my opinion is belief without evidence. Not everyone believes things without evidence.
I agree with you that truth is objective. How is God clearly seen? I have never seen God.
Hi Renate, welcome to CC
Why not find a Christian church around where you are? Talking to someone in person may be helpful in answering your questions.
I can tell you, though, that first and foremost is your willingness to believe that Jesus Christ is real, that he's the only Son of God, that he did die for your sins and was resurrected. That God is real, and eternity is real. Once you are saved and become a Christian the Holy Spirit comes into your heart, and then you will have faith, since this kind of faith comes only from God.
Why not find a Christian church around where you are? Talking to someone in person may be helpful in answering your questions.
I can tell you, though, that first and foremost is your willingness to believe that Jesus Christ is real, that he's the only Son of God, that he did die for your sins and was resurrected. That God is real, and eternity is real. Once you are saved and become a Christian the Holy Spirit comes into your heart, and then you will have faith, since this kind of faith comes only from God.
Thanks for your reply! Actually I used to be a Christian, I went to church every sunday. I just started having lots of questions that no one seemed to be able to answer convincingly.Hi Renate, welcome to CC
Why not find a Christian church around where you are? Talking to someone in person may be helpful in answering your questions.
I can tell you, though, that first and foremost is your willingness to believe that Jesus Christ is real, that he's the only Son of God, that he did die for your sins and was resurrected. That God is real, and eternity is real. Once you are saved and become a Christian the Holy Spirit comes into your heart, and then you will have faith, since this kind of faith comes only from God.
Because I don't believe there is a God. (Yes, I know "the fool says in his heart...") I see no reason to believe in God to be honest. I'm trying to understand why other people believe.
Well, would you say that a book could write itself? Or, would you admit that it had an author? What about a car, did it create itself or did it have an engineer? Think of DNA, it is like a written code that we are made up of. Where do you suppose this code came from? Would you think it wrote itself (as complex as it is), or like the book, does it have an author?
You see, when you look at the world around you, you understand that things were created. A creation requires a Creator. You don't look at the watch and think it put itself together, there was a watch maker. Likewise, look to the complexity of life and there is a Creator. It is called "intelligent design." The world informs you that there is a Creator, God.
Romans 1:19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
God has revealed Himself in creation. All are without excuse when they appear before God.
Are you really questioning or are you really just denying?
For the cause of Christ
Roger
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
God has revealed Himself in creation. All are without excuse when they appear before God.
Are you really questioning or are you really just denying?
For the cause of Christ
Roger
But if you were really a Christian before, than you must have believed in God then, so what changed?
Of course I agree that a book has an author, a car has an engineer, and a watch has a watch maker. But that is because I am familiar with those things, and know that those are man made objects. As for DNA, it's not really like written code as much as building blocks, but okay I will go with the analogy of written code. I think the complexity of DNA came about through natural selection. Complex things can form out of simple things, it is called "emergence". The universe is not a man made object, so we don't know that it requires an intelligence to form.
We all may believe for many different reasons, but the bottom line is that if you don't you get eternal damnation when you die. Even it were to turn out to be not true do you want to take the risk? Especially when eternal life is free? So again, what happened that you no longer believe?
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