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Tue 2 May, 2006 03:31 am
Can true faith be nurtured?
Take the example of my mother, she was brought up a christain, she remains a christain and her faith is really strong. she knows jack **** about any other religion, and sees them as 'wrong.'
is her faith as valid as someone who has 'found' god? For example just a normal person with athiest parents who decides to pray for some reason and then ends up becoming a christain?
Is faith weaker if it is 'conditioned' or nurtured from birth, if you are brought up to believe it, and never question it or change your mind?
Is my athiesm more valid since i was brought up in a christain hosuehold?
Or would a reformed drug dealer have more reason to have a faith, since there battered past would leave them needing something drastic in their life, to take away their sins and to forgive them? rather than say, an office worker who is perfectly happy in the job they do, married with kids?
I know we cannot truly judge the validity of someones religion, but if it stems from a 'desire to belong' as i believe it does, just as human beings can crave wealth, love and spiritual understanding, then surely only a very few people can have true faith, for surely true faith would have no 'need' for it, it would simply be an integeral part of that person.
hope this makes sense.
All I can say is that True Faith is subjective.
Quote:Is my athiesm more valid since i was brought up in a christain hosuehold?
I wouldn't say it was more valid. Perhaps something in your life or family made you want to see things differently. Perhaps your nature is to question, or rebel rather than blindly follow. Perhaps your education taught you to reason, think and question.
Atheist who become Christians can be as intense in their beliefs as those raised in a family with strong religious beliefs.
But can faith be nurtured? Definitely yes. Look how many Muslims are Muslims. Why do you think they are Muslim? Because they were born and raised in a Muslim family and Muslim culture. If all these Muslims were born into a culture that taught them no religion was a true religion, taught them to be tolerant and open-minded, how many of them would be Muslim today? Hate, intolerance, religion, dogma and ideology is learned in youth from family and surrounding culture. If not taught when young it is acquired in later life from those that have the most influence on your prejudices.
People who believe in life after death will never know if they're wrong,
and people who don't will never know if they're right.
Given that faith is dependent upon ignorant belief (no pejorative, just the observation that the basis of the faith cannot be known), no one person's faith can be any more or less "true," and will not depend upon how much any individual in question knows of other religions or the world.
What good would faith be if you weren't true to it?
As always, it depends what you mean. by 'true faith'.
My current definition for 'true faith' means it is tested and checked by reality and still 'works'. No blocking off of reality is needed, it proves itself time and time again.
I don't feel one can gain true faith without questioning and testing it.
In the end, to me, all that matters is if it has brought good to the world...or more ignorance and pain.
True faith is an oxymoron, and a very good New Order song from the 80's.
I think true faith is when you truly believe in whatever your belief is and that your heart agrees with you. You don't need proof for that, from anyone and it doesn't need rules for it's measurement. I mean, your sort of faith and anyone else's is different and cannot be compared to say this one is greater, and vice-versa.
I think true faith is when you truly believe in whatever your belief is and that your heart agrees with you. You don't need proof for that, from anyone and it doesn't need rules for it's measurement. I mean, your sort of faith and anyone else's is different and cannot be compared to say this one is greater, and vice-versa.
My definition of "true faith" is: Islam
hey phoenix,
Although my beliefs are different from yours, i respect you're beliefs too and would like to know, out of curiousity - what are your beliefs? science? etc. I find your comments interesting.
You had quite a conversation going there!
It was pretty interesting, and i have to agree wth som there, sort of funny.
i'm still in the phase of discussing life and religion, and it's just lately that i really began to believe in god, and miracles. But more than anything i just want to belive in myself.
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