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Originally Posted by lookout123
OK, faith or religion has become a conflict point in several threads recently so maybe it's time for a poll. No need to comment, unless you feel led.
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Thanks for the poll, I'm eager to see the results accumulate but even more interested in the comments that may be posted.
Faith is, by definition, belief in something not seen. Hebrew 11:1 says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, of things not seen." I can perceive evidence of that "God plays an active role in my life" much in the same way that I can tell the sun is in the sky without looking directly at it. Some level of evidence is enough for each person, and it certainly varies widely, and I have reached mine. The distance between evidence and truth is filled with faith.
One short story as an example. I was out of work and really stressing about everything that accompanies that situation. I was sitting in my car outside an office just before an interview, collecting myself for this very important, high stakes meeting. I said a simple prayer asking for God's help. As I looked up, my eyes focused on the billboard across the street. This is what I saw: "You are not alone." It was an ad for an adoption center, I think. I'm sure it was a clear communication to me that He was with me. I was greatly reassured, and entered the interview confidently. Two years later, I'm still on the job, the best job I've ever had.
God exists. He's with me (and you) all the time. What varies is my confidence, my faith, my ability to perceive. Science is the study of what can be reasonably inferred from repeatable experimentation. Faith is not subject to that kind of rigor. It's not defined to be.
Science is a useful, elegant way to discover the nature of the question "How?" Faith is equally useful and elegant for the explanation of the question "Why?"