Definition of faith...my pet peeve

[jay santos]

The discussion on atheism and faith reminded me of one of my pet peeves on the definition of faith.

Bugs me when people say faith is not just belief. Faith is a motivating power. It's bigger than belief.

No, it's just belief. Faith = belief.

Belief/faith motivates one to act and becomes a power in that sense, but they are no different. I understand the word believe, I have been taught it my whole life and I understand what it means.

When people told me faith <> belief as a youth, it just confused me.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by jay santos

The discussion on atheism and faith reminded me of one of my pet peeves on the definition of faith.

Bugs me when people say faith is not just belief. Faith is a motivating power. It's bigger than belief.

No, it's just belief. Faith = belief.

Belief/faith motivates one to act and becomes a power in that sense, but they are no different. I understand the word believe, I have been taught it my whole life and I understand what it means.

When people told me faith <> belief as a youth, it just confused me.

I can appreciate what you're saying. In German, the two are actually the same word, so the distinction is impossible.

But beyond starting a semantics discussion, which really disinterests me, I think there's definitely a difference between passive belief and activate, motivating belief. Mormons and others choose to call the latter "faith." I have no problem with that.

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by Tex

I can appreciate what you're saying. In German, the two are actually the same word, so the distinction is impossible.

But beyond starting a semantics discussion, which really disinterests me, I think there's definitely a difference between passive belief and activate, motivating belief. Mormons and others choose to call the latter "faith." I have no problem with that.

Yeah it is all semantics, but I just call it strong belief and weak belief. If a belief is passive and doesn't motivate to act, it simply isn't a strong enough belief to warrant the action. We never act on anything we don't believe in first.

[Indy Coug]

I thought I'd link Jay's favorite chapter.

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/james/2

[All-American]

I go with Alma 32:21 on this one. Faith is a hope in things not seen but which are true.

I wrote a paper on the comparison of faith and hope that is going to be published in the fall. If anybody is interested, I can email a copy to them.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by All-American

I go with Alma 32:21 on this one. Faith is a hope in things not seen but which are true.

I wrote a paper on the comparison of faith and hope that is going to be published in the fall. If anybody is interested, I can email a copy to them.

Published where?

[All-American]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

Published where?

Just some journal from the student symposium held last February. It's little more than a chance for budding scholars to see their words in print. But hey, published is published. Resume scourers can't tell the difference.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by All-American

Just some journal from the student symposium held last February. It's little more than a chance for budding scholars to see their words in print. But hey, published is published. Resume scourers can't tell the difference.

Congrats. I'm a published writer too, in a manner of speaking; something that I never would have thought would happen on any level, meaningful or otherwise.