Faith is very important to a great majority of people around the world. For some it is a part of life like the air they breathe. For others faith is not necessary to live a good life.

The question is twofolds so please be patient.

Question for the faithful:

If you suddenly didn't have the need for faith anymore...could you imagine living a good life without it?


Question for those that don't need faith:

When times get hard to where you truly need morale support yet don't find any, where do you go to find strength?


Thank you

I had a couple years where I knew God did not exist.

and no. I realized that the only reason to live a good life at that point was for the laws. Then since God didn't exist, there was no reason to worry about breaking a law as long as you don't get caught.

I moved on with my life and realized that I didn't need faith to be a good person. I did it because I wanted to and for me there is no greater disappointment then a mother's disappointment.

I live my life, I only got arrested once, never been in prison. I don't break laws if I can help it.

I want to be a good person and if I'm only doing it because a power higher up wouldn't like it then I'm not really being a good person. You should be a good person because the rewards for being a good person come from the act not from the possibility of a higher up giving you a reward.

I will do my best to be good and never disappoint my mother again.

this is a deep question because the context is unclear

if by faith, you are referring to trust in someone or something other than yourself,,, I cant imagine a life without it, whether it be trust in your partner, spouse, siblings, parents, family, friends, or whomever

As I have mentioned before, we even need a certain amount of TRUST.FAITH in the integrity and honesty of our book writers to bother learning anything from books


if by faith, you refer to trusting God, I believe it would be possible to adapt to the world with no need to trust God, but I dont think Id want to be one whose trust was only in myself or other people, I cant imagine not trusting in something being bigger and more complex than I am,,,

Mrs. Harmony if this is correct.....Since this message is in the religious forum it would be a faith in a god, spiritual identity, or religion.

Very good answers by the way everyone! Thank you!

gotcha,,


I have seen people who belive in barely anything that isnt proven with the five senses and they seem fine, so Im sure it could be done

Ive seen people totally wrapped up in the notion that the world is or should belong to them and who have had the money or power for others to cater to their belief, and they seem blissful

I just wouldnt want to trade in my faith/humility that I am not the most important factor of the universe,,,,because I wouldnt be me if I did,,,

Very true Ms. Harmony. There surely are so many idealogies out there that support and not support having a faith. This leads to another set of questions that will be twofold.

For those that carry faith:

Can a person that doesn't have faith still be grateful and show humility in their life even if they don't have guidance in the matter?

For those that do not carry faith:

What causes someone with faith to not show humility as of being grateful even though it is preached to them often throughout their lifetimes?

I believe gratitude and humility are not exclusively religious principles



my ex inlaws were atheist and they were very humble people,,,

Where do I look to, when needing emotional support...or morale boosting, when it appears to be none...externally?


Is that what you mean?


Like I need emotional support and no friends or family are there for me?


ok...I will answer as if that is the question you asked...

myself.

the inner knowing...the voice within, the higher consciousness, inherant wisdom...and all the other common labels attached to what I mean..

I have always had to rely on self...when it all boils down, there is no one else in here, I am driving this bus, writing this story of me......and this lifetime's experiences have shown self reliance is the only way to move through or forward of what is happening.

I can seek solace through family of the heart...seek their advice, their wisdom...but ultimately only I can console myself...and learn.

When I did not know where I might sleep, what I might eat, how I might keep myself safe,as a young homeless kid......no angel of mercy rescued me...I had to find safe refuge, find food, and learn how to keep myself safe...me.

I have faith in my inherant wisdom, and strength of survival.

There is no such thing as a BELIEVER not have a

need for

faith anymore.


Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

And Once that FAITH TO BELIEVE COMES, that FAITH is irreversible.


When one suddenly has FAITH TO BELIEVE , something happens in the

SPIRIT of that one who suddenly has faith to believe.


The one who truly has faith to believe , instantly becomes born

again...and once truly born again, that person CANNOT suddenly

becone UNBORN....


and therefore, CANNOT LOSE ONE'S FAITH!!!

IMPOSSIBLE!!!!



ps...btw....Click on The following links(below)....

these links explain very clearly why and what

"the faithful" believe.


In fact , I believe the links below, offer the best explanation I've

seen ...ever.




http://bible.org/seriespage/introduction-divine-inspiration-bible



http://bible.org/seriespage/testimony-content-scripture


http://bible.org/seriespage/testimony-powerful-perfection-scripture



http://bible.org/seriespage/application-divine-inspiration-bible

i've no faith in anything. get my strenght from within.

So you have faith in yourself with the wisdom given to you for survival purposes. I think that is a valid answer for those that don't rely on faith....yet I am confused ....because you do have faith....but use it for self purpose only and not in a higher identity of somekind, or religious texts, or spiritual identity(s)

So faith is there but in a different way. You rely on it on your own and take responsibility for it. I know many buddhists ( I am not saying you are a buddhist) say that one must rely on self reliance when one doesn't have anyone to share such moments at the time. For many this isn't enough and usually resort to asking a identity for help such as praying instead.

You see both sides. I have observed it often when I was in the Army 18 months in a desert seeing some buddhist meditate for strength, muslims praying to allah, and majority christians asking for help from a god. It is interesting to see the different methods used when one feels weak or uncertain.

Perhaps one could also say that you had instinctive survival traits that every mammal has when it comes to shelter, food, and water. I am sorry you had to go through such ordeals at such a young age. It is however amusing that you had such inherant wisdom at such a young age, but I think it goes more in the lines of survival then actually using faith of anykind. I am sure you felt uncertain at times not knowing if you will have a meal that day if you were truly homeless at such a young age.

You are one tough cookie! It must be an Australian thing!

Very interesting. Let me see if I get this right if I can.

If one has faith but suddenly something happens to where they don't have faith anymore and don't believe what they once did to be true they are still consider "born again? regardless. Do you mean it is a temporary glitch?

I say this for I have met many that were Catholic and then changed to Protestant or Baptist then finally became Atheists or so they claim.

Are they not Atheists even though they say they are? I mean they did at one time "believe" but now don't anymore. Explain to me please. Thank you:)

There are lots and lots of very wonderul kind people everywhere....despite their beliefs

For those that say they get their strength from within and are not in need of a higher identity or even morale support of a loved one...where do you think that comes from?

I ask for many mammals in our world get sick if they can't get morale support from a elder or another mammal of somesort. They get so sick that death occurs. This usually happens to younger mammals but there are cases of older animals also getting sick without affection, love, or communication. Are we any different?

I know we claim to be of a higher intelligence as humans but do you think when it comes to being alone with no morale support whatsoever that the within is enough to live off? Will a human not go insane, grow weak, or uncertain after such a long time.

I say this for many religious prophets such as Mohammed, Jesus, Buddha have endured long periods of time alone and suddenly come back with new wisdom to share with others and change ways one can think. Some come with astonishing stories that today some cannot believe can happen realistically.

Can being alone for so long provide illusions or miracles?

Sorry if the questions sound weird, but you have to admit it does open some dialogue right? lol

I can't answer that....as far as saying it is an Australian thing....I've seen kids in war torn countries that have the same thing..

I don't really think too hard on labelling it...(although it helps when explaining to others)...it just was.

I didn't come from a nurturing home...so had no soft start..a plus really for the road ahead...buddhism and tao are the closest generic form of philosphies that I can use as a form of religionish thing...


because it IS in the stillness that I can know I am 'god'...(although I really don't like the connotations attached to that particular word.)


In my darkest hours...when my 6 month old baby boy was in his last weak convulses of life, he had inhaled a leaf, and it blocked his airways...I didn't pray...I didn't beg to an entity...

I looked at the doctor, and said...I have not had this child in my arms long enough to know him...I refuse to lose him...try again.


it was steel...it was fierce...it was exactly clear concise, and direct...the tigress mother?...perhaps....but that survival drive was the life force in that moment.


...and that 6 month old baby boy is now a 16 year old, 6'4 giant of a young man.

Hmmm

Well as a child, I hated to hurt anything or anyone. I would not argue, I always did what I was told and tried my best to do whatever I could.
As a child I knew about God and believed he was there, I can remeber at 8 trying to explaing to my brother why he was real, and my brother telling me that he was just like fairy's and wasnt even there. (Well I believed in fairies as well, so that was a pretty bad day) My brothers faith never changed and neither did mine.

But my brother is one of the best men I know, he is a faithful father and husband, he is a great worker, honest trustworthy and just a great bloke, but he has no faith. Actually he does have faith just inhis family not God.


As an adult I am the same, I still will not hurt anyone or anything, I still do what i am told, without I think it is wrong and I still do my best.



But I think for me it is like I just dont ever walk alone, I guess for me it is like my parents where to me as a child. When things went wrong, I just did everything I could to fix things and if I couldnt Mum and dad took care of it.
I guess I see God the same, If I can do something I do it, if I cant do it, I believe its in his hands and I dont think about it again..

I honestly dont know where I would be, I think that because of lifes experiences I would basically be the same, but I just cannot imagine not having faith, its just a part of me that is there.

i was raised presbyterian and recall saying i believed in god when i was young. now as an agnostic i don't feel that i've lost my faith and belief in god so much as i think that never actually believed. i was indoctrinated into thinking i was a believer. my folks told me about god and jesus, took me to church where everybody believed in god and congress even inserted the word "god" into the pledge just at the time i was learning the damn thing the other way in kindergarden. lol. so you could say that my early life was filled with god.

but i'm not certain at all that i was ever a believer in god any more than i was ever a believer in santa clause or the easter bunny. all three i took on testimony from others.

Wow what a story! Yes I am glad he survived and what a huge baby you have! lol

When he is done growing he might reach 6 feet 7 or something! I would ask him if he enjoys basketball. They pay ridiculous wages for the NBA that only a 1 year wage could help him open up a business in no time.

I am just saying....lol

Yes it is true everyone has different ways of finding a peaceful bliss for themselves.

Joseph Campbell a famous mythologist and storyteller coined the phrase "Follow your Bliss" and I think that is important that we can today in this time and age choose what works best for us. I hope this will never be taken away from us in the future.

There is nothing wrong if a pantheistic way is the way you choose to live. If it works best for you then that is all that counts. Afterall, you are the one that has to be happy with it not anyone else.

What happened in the above mentioned instances is this:

the ones who said they FORMERLY were christians , had only head knowledge....NOT heart knowledge yet..

and therefore only had religion...not relationship yet with God.

(the ONLY way one has relationship , and NO LONGER just religion, is when one truly becomes born again).

Hope this helps.