Faith and Knowing God

Ekancone

Hello, I was just thinking to myself that many Christians that I encounter say that they know God, and that they are sure He exists. Yet in the same breath they will confess their religious faith also. But isn't having religious faith based on believing in something that you don't know? How can it be religious faith if you claim to know God?

Answers on a S.A.E to:

G. Raffe
Dublin Zoo

PDN

daithifleming wrote: »

Hello, I was just thinking to myself that many Christians that I encounter say that they know God, and that they are sure He exists. Yet in the same breath they will confess their religious faith also. But isn't having religious faith based on believing in something that you don't know? How can it be religious faith if you claim to know God?

Answers on a S.A.E to:

G. Raffe
Dublin Zoo

Dear Mr Raffe

You misunderstand the nature of faith.
Faith is about believing something while lacking absolute proof. So, you can know something 100% to be true, have some evidence to support such knowledge, yet, it is still faith because you lack conclusive proof.

Yours Sincerely

C. Lion
Belfast Zoo

Zombrex

PDN wrote: »

Dear Mr Raffe

You misunderstand the nature of faith.
Faith is about believing something while lacking absolute proof. So, you can know something 100% to be true, have some evidence to support such knowledge, yet, it is still faith because you lack conclusive proof.

Yours Sincerely

C. Lion
Belfast Zoo

Can you provide an example of something you have "absolute proof" about?

Ciaran500

Wicknight wrote: »

Can you provide an example of something you have "absolute proof" about?

You might want to re read his post.

Ekancone

Ciaran500 wrote: »

You might want to re read his post.

No, I see where he is going with it.

Soul Winner

daithifleming wrote: »

Hello, I was just thinking to myself that many Christians that I encounter say that they know God, and that they are sure He exists. Yet in the same breath they will confess their religious faith also. But isn't having religious faith based on believing in something that you don't know? How can it be religious faith if you claim to know God?

Answers on a S.A.E to:

G. Raffe
Dublin Zoo

Hebrews 11 gives a very good answer to your question.

The Greek word for faith is 'Pisteo'. 'Pisteo' is a verb and we know that verbs are action words. Pisteo is an action based on a belief sustained by confidence to borrow from Dr. Gene Scott. When you act upon a belief (not necessarily limited to the realm of the religious) and you sustain that action with confidence in the object being acted on, the confidence that it is firm ground upon which to act, only then do you have faith in that object.

For instance if we are on a run way and you tell me that you are absolutely convinced that the aeroplane we are about to board will take off and take us to our destination. You have only got one third of what faith is. To have full faith you must actually get on the plane. That action of getting on the plane is Pisteo, because you are acting on what you believe to be true even though you do not know it will definitely take you there safely.

Everybody has faith in something or other by that definition. However Gods Word points out that only this kind of action based on His word of promise is ‘saving’ faith. Faith on anything else even if it is for a positive effect for the world isn’t saving faith. The only faith that saves is this kind of action based on a promise of God. There's one thing believing in God its quite a different thing to order one's life based on His Word.

Those who so order their lives have an advantage over those who don't because after practising this kind of action for a number of years (as I have tried to do) and you see (as I have) God coming through for you when you trust in His promise to do so, brings a knowledge about Him that cannot be arrived at any other way. This is knowledge from experience, not from study. This is why those who practise this for any length of time try to convey this to those who have not, but at some point if you are going to trust in God then you have to let go of what you held onto previously. Usually faith in the self’s ability to provide for instance. When God deals with you He will bring you to a point in your life where you are reduced to clinging onto His word of promise to provide in order that He might kill that trusting in your own strength to do it. This goes for all other earthly circumstance that contradict promises in His word, another one being sickness when His word says He is the Lord that heals you. I could go on with many other examples but you get my drift.

God’s word reveals that He wants us to trust Him with everything. And if it was Gods Word that spoke reality into existence and it is this same Word that keeps it in its present state and will rearrange it some day, then to have faith in that Word puts you on the safest ground ever because that Word reveals that Heaven and Earth will pass away but His word will never pass away.

Ekancone

Soul Winner wrote: »

Hebrews 11 gives a very good answer to your question.

The Greek word for faith is 'Pisteo'. 'Pisteo' is a verb and we know that verbs are action words. Pisteo is an action based on a belief sustained by confidence to borrow from Dr. Gene Scott. When you act upon a belief (not necessarily limited to the realm of the religious) and you sustain that action with confidence in the object being acted on, the confidence that it is firm ground upon which to act, only then do you have faith in that object.

For instance if we are on a run way and you tell me that you are absolutely convinced that the aeroplane we are about to board will take off and take us to our destination. You have only got one third of what faith is. To have full faith you must actually get on the plane. That action of getting on the plane is Pisteo, because you are acting on what you believe to be true even though you do not know it will definitely take you there safely.

Everybody has faith in something or other by that definition. However Gods Word points out that only this kind of action based on His word of promise is ‘saving’ faith. Faith on anything else even if it is for a positive effect for the world isn’t saving faith. The only faith that saves is this kind of action based on a promise of God. There's one thing believing in God its quite a different thing to order one's life based on His Word.

Those who so order their lives have an advantage over those who don't because after practising this kind of action for a number of years (as I have tried to do) and you see (as I have) God coming through for you when you trust in His promise to do so, brings a knowledge about Him that cannot be arrived at any other way. This is knowledge from experience, not from study. This is why those who practise this for any length of time try to convey this to those who have not, but at some point if you are going to trust in God then you have to let go of what you held onto previously. Usually faith in the self’s ability to provide for instance. When God deals with you He will bring you to a point in your life where you are reduced to clinging onto His word of promise to provide in order that He might kill that trusting in your own strength to do it. This goes for all other earthly circumstance that contradict promises in His word, another one being sickness when His word says He is the Lord that heals you. I could go on with many other examples but you get my drift.

God’s word reveals that He wants us to trust Him with everything. And if it was Gods Word that spoke reality into existence and it is this same Word that keeps it in its present state and will rearrange it some day, then to have faith in that Word puts you on the safest ground ever because that Word reveals that Heaven and Earth will pass away but His word will never pass away.

Thanks for that, but don't you think such feverent belief in God's word can lead to dangerous consequences, such as that little girl in the US whose parents let her die instead of taking her to a doctor? Where/how do you draw the line on God's word?

Soul Winner

daithifleming wrote: »

Thanks for that, but don't you think such feverent belief in God's word can lead to dangerous consequences, such as that little girl in the US whose parents let her die instead of taking her to a doctor? Where/how do you draw the line on God's word?

I would encourage anyone in such a dilemma to put the Old Testament Law of the blood mingling where it should be, on the cross of Christ. That Old hand writing of ordinances (the law) that was against us as Paul says, should not be allowed to come off that cross ever again. It was fulfilled in Christ and He nailed it to the cross, forever freeing us from its bondage and curse which is ultimate death both in the physical and the spiritual, We pass out from underneath its curse which fell on Him. I would advise anyone to use whatever medical means that is at their disposal in order to get healed from a medical condition, and after doing all in this regard that you can do to stand, therefore stand and leave it in God's hands to do whatever else is needed.

You see the problem with most of the preaching of Christianity in the modern world is that they start off right. That you get the spirit in you by faith then they go off the track by saying that now that you have become a Christian you must somehow prove that you are one by doing good works. That is heresy and it is not how it is supposed to be. All these pro life so called Christians abort the life God puts in you by faith by making you conform to a law that the Christ they claim to worship died to free you from. Most Christians do not understand this very very basic tenet of Christianity. That’s why it was the Jews who persecuted the church the most when it was born. They believed that this new doctrine meant that Moses and the Prophets were destroyed but in fact all it meant was that they were fulfilled. God knew that mankind could not keep His perfect standard so He took it upon Himself to keep it for us and to get rid of it. This is the Good News of God to mankind for anyone who will accept it. Sorry for the long preachy answer, just got on a bit of a roll there :eek: