Belief, Trust, Faith

MeditationMom

What do you think is the difference between Belief,Trust and Faith, if any?

Asiaprod

MeditationMom wrote:

What do you think is the difference between Belief,Trust and Faith, if any?

Belief: an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists
Trust: a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something
Faith: complete trust or confidence in someone or something

Looks like its a "level off" thing. Belief at the bottom, rising up through Trust to end at Faith.

Dades

I would say belief is different than both faith and trust. Belief can be based on faith or trust.

Belief in God is as a result of faith in something unproveable.

Belief that the world is round is based on the trust of scientists, astronomers, astronauts etc who have proven or seen this to be the case.

Perhaps then faith is trust without evidence.

robindch

Good question. Trying hard not to define them in terms of each other, and failing:

Trust: the knowledge that the external thing, person or system trusted is "true" (whatever that is) or will behave honestly. ie: "I trust the Irish courts", "I trust my friends"

Belief: the tentative knowledge concerning the truth-value only (ie, it's independent of the honesty) of a concrete thing, person or system, but held in the absence of firm evidence, so that the knowledge may need to be updated later if new evidence comes to light. ie: "I believe cars drive on the left", "I believe Bertie Ahern is honest".

Not to be confused with "Belief in", which is tentative knowledge concerning the truth-value and honesty of an abstract thing, person or system. ie: "I believe in the Irish courts", "I believe in god" and usually understood as sysonymous with "I have faith in...".

Faith: same as 'belief in', except that the belief-holder wishes it to be known that the belief-holder is investing political capital in the truth of the external system, thing or person believed (ie, that the belief-holder is a better person for asserting this belief; compare and contrast the words 'faithful' and 'unfaithful'). ie, "I have faith in you".

Dave!

3 Atheists (+1) are the first to reply to a thread in the christianity forum

Zombrex

MeditationMom wrote:

What do you think is the difference between Belief,Trust and Faith, if any?

Simple definitions aren't that easy, because the exact meaning of these words change depending on the context.

Trust - A belief that someone or something will act or behave in a manner that is desireable or viewed acceptable.

Examples -
"I trust timmy to not cheat on me", implies that one believes that Timmy will not act in a manner that one would not desire or find acceptable

"I trust that God will save me", implies that one believes that God will act to help them.

Belief - An opinion that a statement or argument is true

Examples -
"I believe that Paris is the capital of France", implies that one is of the opinion that the statement Paris is the capital of France is a true statement.

"I believe that the world was created in 6 days", implies that one is of the opinion that the statement that the world was created in 6 days is a true statement.

Faith - A belief that is justified with reasons other than imperical evidence or logical reasoning

Examples -
"I have faith that everything will be ok", implies that one believes that things will work out despite the fact that it is impossible to know or accurately predict the future and therefore there is little evidence or logical reasoning to hold such a belief.

Faith is a tricky one to define though, because it can be used in a range of different contexts.

"I have faith in Jesus Christ" implies a range of things, from stating a belief that such a person existed to trusting that the person will act in an expected manner.

Asiaprod

DaveMcG wrote:

3 Atheists (+1) are the first to reply to a thread in the christianity forum

What can I say:cool:

Nice definitions all. Specially, liked Wicknight's point.

"Simple definitions aren't that easy, because the exact meaning of these words change depending on the context."

MeditationMom

Great responses, thank you all. It is interesting how language works, isn't it? No matter how we define it, it changes in context and what it means to the person saying it. Fun to think about the supple differences though. Musst be quite something putting dictionaries together.

And would we do without our beloved atheists in the christian forum? We'd be bored to death

BrianCalgary

hey Dave
Busy with thanksgiving on the weekend. I can't add to wicknights definitions.

I can add to his faith in Jesus Christ bit though.

I have faith that Jesus Christ will guide my life so that He gets maximum use out of it. Also that He will take care of me on the day I die, so that I may have eternal life.