Faith necessary to please God is a great mind control trick to encourage gullibility

by frankiespeakin 24 Replies latest jw friends

  • frankiespeakin
    frankiespeakin

    The way I see it faith; as used in the bible and specifically in the book of Hebrews is a powerful tool used to encourage gullibility, and strongly discourages critical examination.

    "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

    It is of course true that when those words were first put down in writing there wasn't the vast accumulation of scientific knowledge we have in our modern times, there wasn't any telescopes, microscopes, atomic accelerators, satellites, or serious studies in anthropology & archeology. And so faith in an unseen biblical Deity was not met with the huge amounts of critical data, in fact for a sizable portion it was forced upon them with the threat of torture or loss of life(such as inquisitions,& being put to the question).

    Back in the days proceeding from when the official cannon was sanctified by both the politically&religiously minded early church fathers with the States approval or support "faith" as described in the book of Hebrews became not only a necessity for future benefits, but became a life or death matter as the church through its political maneuverings became more and more powerful.

    So as I see it "faith" or uncritical acceptance of a jealous and murderous and contradictorally loving Deity is losing ground as a mind controlling device, but is still being used by those of the who preach the word for a livelihood but with less and less success on the more informed.

  • PSacramento
    PSacramento

    Actually, if you read Hebrews 11:1

    Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain in what we don't see.

    This is not about "blind faith", hardly, we don't see gravity, but it is there.

    No, Faith is NOT about taking something based on "its too hard for you to udersatnd, have faith" or about "you are not ready, when you are it will be clear, have faith".

    Faith is what allows us to question and leads us to truth, we have faith and it is because we have faith that we have questions and we can ask them without fear.

  • Billy the Ex-Bethelite
    Billy the Ex-Bethelite

    Hebrews is convincing that everyone who had faith in the God of the Bible is now dead. So, obviously, you should do what they did.

    And if you have enough faith you can see all kinds of things that aren't really there. Like having faith that the generation born before 1914 would be living to see armageddon. Whoops, time to change the faith again.

  • megs
    megs

    Faith is what allows us to question and leads us to truth, we have faith and it is because we have faith that we have questions and we can ask them without fear.

    Would faith not negate the need to question? And how do you know that what you are lead to is "truth" since you cannot emperically measure it?

  • leavingwt
    leavingwt

    Faith allows one billion Muslims to look forward to Paradise with Allah.

    That's powerful!

  • PSacramento
    PSacramento

    Megs,

    I don't think that faith negates asking questions, on the contrary, because we have faith in our serach for the truth we know that, when we find the answers, the truth will be there.

    People with "weak" faith don't liek questions because not having the answers cause them to question their faith.

    How can we know the truth if we can't measure it?

    Excellent question, do realize that, truth is subjective to the individual, at least to a certain extent.

    The truth is I can run the 100 meters in less than 11 seconds, Bolt can do it in less than 10, far less, his truth is not mine, nor mine his.

    Some tend to believe that truth is absolute and perhaps in regards to somethings it is, but in regards to spiritual matters, the truth becomes something very personal and indeed, that is,perhaps, how it shoudl be.

  • daniel-p
    daniel-p

    Faith is the absence of questioning.

  • frankiespeakin
    frankiespeakin

    Pscra,

    Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain in what we don't see. This is not about "blind faith", hardly, we don't see gravity, but it is there.

    So how does one get this type of faith, that is like the way you use it; "as being sure"? Nobody is turning water into wine or walking on water,, so what critical data are you referring to to give one reasonable assurance that belief or faith is on solid footing.

    No, Faith is NOT about taking something based on "its too hard for you to udersatnd, have faith" or about "you are not ready, when you are it will be clear, have faith".

    I take then that the it is something you possess but can't put into logical explanations but is based mainly on feelings of some type that gets one to ignore all contrary data.

    Faith is what allows us to question and leads us to truth, we have faith and it is because we have faith that we have questions and we can ask them without fear.

    Well that sounds all well and good but i don't honestly think that is what the writer had in mind when he wrote down those words in Hebrews.

  • PSacramento
    PSacramento

    Daniel-p,

    I disagree, those that faith have have no issues in questioning or being questioned.

    Frankiespeakin,

    If you are looking for emperical evidence in regards to questions of spirituality, good luck with that, I gave up long time ago, LOL !

    I am not sure what the author of Hebrews had in mind when hw wrote that passahe, or any passage, even the authorship of Hebrews is in question, but if we are to believe that it was Paul, well, Paul had no faith in Jesus untill he was shown Jesus and his faith came from, what you may call evidence ( he saw and heard Jesus with his own eyes and ears, being blinde din the process).

    Paul was certainly not the example of "unquestioning faith".

  • daniel-p
    daniel-p

    I disagree, those that faith have have no issues in questioning or being questioned.

    Illogical, captain. With questioning, there is no need for faith. Read the Good Book more carefully.

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