What is faith?
To me faith means not worrying.
John Dewey
Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.
Kahlil Gibran
In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't.
Blaise Pascal
Faith is spiritualized imagination.
Henry Ward Beecher
~Faith in world religions~
The Faith of Abraham
Abraham heard God before he believed in God. In Genesis
12:1 Abraham is commanded to leave his country, his relatives and his
fathers house, and go to a land that God was to personally show him.
This points to another aspect of faith: Once God speaks to you and you
believe in Him you will be immediately called out of the world into His
kingdom. Faith brings a separation because it is Holy and the life of
faith can only be lived with those that are holy; therefore, God will
demand that you leave behind the works of darkness.
Judaism
-
Although Judaism does recognize the positive value of Emunah (faith/belief) and the negative status of the Apikorus
(heretic) the specific tenets that compose required belief and their
application to the times have been heatedly disputed throughout Jewish
history. Many, but not all, Orthodox Jews have accepted Maimonides' Thirteen Principles of Belief.
A traditional example of faith as seen in the Jewish annals is found in the person of Abraham.
A number of occasions, Abraham both accepts statements from God that
seem impossible and offers obedient actions in response to direction
from God to do things that seem implausible (see Genesis 12-15).
For a wide history of this dispute, see: Shapira, Marc: The Limits
of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides' Thirteen Principles Reappraised
(Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (Series).)
Islam
-
Faith in Islam is called iman.
It is a complete submission to the will of Allah which includes belief,
profession, and the body's performance of deeds consistent with the
commission as vicegerent on Earth, all according to Allah's will.
Iman has two aspects
- Recognizing and affirming that there is one Creator of the universe
and only to this Creator is worship due. According to Islamic thought,
this comes naturally because faith is an instinct of the human soul.
This instinct is then trained via parents or guardians into specific
religious or spiritual paths. Likewise, the instinct may not be guided
at all.
- Willingness and commitment to submitting that Allah exists, and to
His prescriptions for living in accordance with vicegerency. The Quran
(Koran) is the dictation of Allah's prescriptions through Prophet
Muhammad and is believed to have updated and completed previous
revelations Allah sent through earlier prophets.
In the Qur'an, God (Allah
in Arabic), states (2:62): Surely, those who believe, those who are
Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in
GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life,
will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to
fear, nor will they grieve.[2]
Buddhism
Faith (saddha/sraddha) is an important constituent element of the teachings of the Buddha - both in the Theravada tradition as in the Mahayana. Faith in Buddhism derives from the pali word saddhā, which often refers to a sense of conviction. The saddhā is often described as:
- A conviction that something is
- A determination to accomplish one's goals
- A sense of joy deriving from the other two
While faith in Buddhism does not imply "blind faith", Buddhist faith (as advocated by the Buddha in various scriptures, or sutras) nevertheless requires a degree of blind faith and belief primarily in the spiritual attainment and salvational knowledge of the Buddha. Faith in Buddhism
centers on belief in the Buddha as a supremely Awakened being, on his
superior role as teacher of both humans and gods, in the truth of his Dharma (spiritual Doctrine), and in his Sangha (community of spiritually developed followers). Faith in Buddhism is intended to lead to the goal of Awakening (bodhi) and Nirvana.
Volitionally, faith implies a resolute and courageous act of will. It
combines the steadfast resolution that one will do a thing with the
self-confidence that one can do it.
As a counter to any form of "blind faith", the Buddha taught the Kalama Sutra, exhorting his disciples to investigate any teaching and weigh its merits rather than believing something outright.
Bahá'í Faith
In the Bahá'í Faith
a personal faith is viewed as a progressive understanding an individual
goes through to learn the truth for oneself, towards the end that one
may learn of God, of oneself, and also develop a praiseworthy character
(not simply by knowing the truth, but by living honorably in relation
to it.) Different ways of learning the truth for oneself are all
respected and culminate in a spirit of faith or indwelling spirit
by which the Holy Spirit informs one's belief without recourse to
senses, intellect, intuition, scripture, or experience and research.
However, such a state is not considered to be independent of the
Revelation of God by which the great Prophets founded the religions,
nor is it meant to act as a sure guide for others.
Rastafari
Although Rastas claim not to hold belief systems, and instead claims that faith to the Rastafarians implies knowledge of the divinity of Haile Selassie,
it still is a belief system not parallel with science. Their faith in
Selassie as God, and as the being who is going to end their sufferings
at the day of judgement when they will return to live in Africa under his rule is at the center of their lives. The dreadlocks are worn as an open declaration of faith in and loyalty towards Haile Selassie, while marijuana
is seen to help cultivate a strong faith by bringing the faithful
closer to God. Selassie is seen as both God the Father, who created
Heaven and earth, and as God the Son, the Reincarnation of Jesus
Christ. To complete the Holy Trinity the Holy Spirit is seen as being
in the believers themselves, and within all human beings. The
announcement of the death
of Selassie in 1975 did not disturb the faith of the Rastas, who
assumed that God cannot die, and that therefore the news was false.
Rastas also have a faith in physical immortality, both for Haile
Selassie and for themselves.
