FAITH – WHAT IS IT?
1. Religious faith
“People of faith seen as nutters, says convert Blair”, screamed the headlines. Tony Blair was on the brink of announcing his conversion to Catholicism whilst on a visit to the Pope, until a last-ditch intervention by Britain's Catholic leader.
His comments were made in a BBC documentary, “The Blair Years”, in which he said that religious people who speak about their faith are viewed with suspicion and regarded by society as nutters.
He had already told aides that he intended to convert to Catholicism and was believed to have been planning the visit to the Vatican in June, as the perfect opportunity to announce the momentous step of becoming the country's first Catholic prime minister. But he has since put his plans on hold, despite leaving office, because of fears that it could jeopardize his work as an envoy in the Middle East.
The Telegraph, London November 26 2007
Faith has become a dirty word in modern life. It is a word rarely used today, except to describe some political or religious belief that leads to fanaticism on the part of its followers. Faith has been linked to religion and as such regarded with great suspicious.
“The faithful” whether its followers of a religion or even a political party are always a band of fanatics, who will do anything to promote their views. Even to the extent of killing non-believers or those of a different political creed.
“Keep the faith” is a catchcry amongst certain sects. It leads to superior thoughts by the faithful, whereby most of society is shut off from the rewards promised to these faithful as they are saved and all else damned for eternity.
As soon as the word faith is uttered people switch off and automatically think negative thoughts about the message. “Faith is not for me.” The word faith leads to superstition and fear. “No sane person listens to anyone who preaches faith. My advice is to switch off and walk away as soon as that word is said.”
With so many negative messages being heaped on the word faith no wonder everyone is reluctant to use it. Other words are substituted such as “belief”, “loyalty”, “conviction”. Faith implies adherence to a belief because of personal conviction, without any proof.
Is proof always necessary in everything? Does the word faith always have to be automatically linked to religion?
We need a huge number of unusual events for single-cell life to evolve. When I look into space there is no explanation for what I'm seeing. Professor Ian Pilmer