What is faith?

by onacruse 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Double Edge

  Shamus...

  Problem is, the bible is completely flawed to begin with, so why should I believe the goblegook collaboration of scriptures? Why should I believe in a book that tells people to stone to death people in one book, then love everyone in another?

  Be discerning .... God gave us all something people nowdays rarely use.... common sense. You've got to pick out the "treasures" of the Bible. Why throw out the baby with the bathwater? Jesus' example was a master of common sense, so much so it sometimes exaspirated the disciples along with the pious religious leaders. Remember when the apostles picked corn on the Sabbath because they were hungry. The religious leaders started pointing finger at them that they were breaking a scripture (commandment) by "working" on the Sabbath. They looked to Christ to try and trap him and Jesus just dismissed them with a "get real....is it wrong to do good on the Sabbath?" (paraphrase) ... in other words - common sense.

  Did you catch this post about the bible being inspired or not?: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/75168/1.ashx

  There's some good points made.
• 

  onacruse

  DoubleEdge, I'd be interested in seeing any Biblically-based grammatical evidence for the distinction you make for "active" versus "passive" senses of pistos.
• 

  Satanus

  dh
  
  Ok, i see and understand.
  
  S
• 

  gumby

  And what does "evident demonstration of realities though not beheld" mean? It's either real, or it's not. If it's not, then there is no 'evident demonstration.' If not "beheld," then how can it be "evident"? Imagine walking into a court of law and saying "Here's my evidence, even though you can't see anything real in my hands."

  Did the society qualify each meaning of the word?

  I took their definition of faith this way. I cross railroad tracks all the time without worrying I'll get hit by a train. The reason I don't worry is because I have "faith" the crossarms with flashing red ights will come down if a train is approaching. I have faith now that a train is coming .....even though I cannot behold/see the train. I have faith one is coming because everytime the crossbeams come down with lights flashing.......a train ALWAYS comes.

  We ALL have faith in things we cannot/have not, seen.

  Gumby
• 

  Nathan Natas

  I'll take a shot at it:

  Faith is a psycho-cybernetic infinite loop using the if maybe/else construct:

  If maybe X is true

  Do y

  else exit
• 

  onacruse

  Faith is the hypostasis (of something).

  NN using the phrase "psycho-cybernetic" and gumby using "I" ...very telling.

  What is hypostasis?

  Moses walks down from the mountain, has a glow on his face, and says he just talked with God...Jesus walks across the turbulent waters of the Galilee and steps into the boat, assuring his disciples that he is the Son of God: the people who "see" these things go to bed and say to themselves "I just saw something miraculous" and are supremely confident that they have just experienced the hypostasis of reality.

  And then come along little people like you and me; is "faith" taking "their word" for things?
• 

  Golf

  O.C. This topic came up before and I explained this way. I'm a high steel worker, which means I walk steel beams many stories above street level or trusses. It takes faith in yourself to walk these narrow beams. At first, many young ironworkers were timid and reluctant to walk narrow beams, however, through time and practice they are now skilled walkers of narrow beams. They no longer have second thoughts about walking narrow beams though they walk with caution. This faith in yourself comes from knowledge and experience about yourself. So, the question is, can you 'see' yourself walking narrow steel beams many stories above street level? If not, why not? Do you dare to test your faith in yourself?

  I have fleshly brothers (non-JW's) and when they say their going to do something, I have faith in them, because they haven't failed me. It's good as done! How's that for faith?

  Guest 77