*FAITH - also see BELIEF, DOCTRINE, TENET, CREED, DOGMA, RELIGION, MYSTERY, PARADOX, OPEN, ONENESS, BOTH, TRINITY, WHOLE, COMPLETE, HOLISTIC, LOVE, HOPE, ENDURE, OVERCOME, MYSTERY, MYSTIC, GNOSTIC, ESOTERIC, TRUST, WILL
Antonyms: DOUBT
Definition:
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing.
2. belief which is not based on proof.
3. belief in the doctrines or teachings of religion.
6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person,promise,engagement,etc
8. that trust in God and his promises as made through Christ by which man is justified or saved. (Dict)
Symbols: Cloud
Devotion is diligence without assurance. Faith isn't rational. Faith is a belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch. If we truly knew all the answers in advance ..., it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be a prudent insurance policy. (Eat, Pray, Love, p175)
God's voice can be heard if the devotee loves Him deeply enough and refuses to give up. Think of God steadily [prayer]. Have faith in Him. No one can find God without continuous [faithful] love for Him in the heart. To feel that love for God, one must practice it. (2nd Coming, Vol 1, p528)
Although you may use faith and/or wisdom to guide you in your decision making, they are completely separate and cannot be combined. Wisdom is solely from within you. Faith is sole relying upon something outside. (http://www.nimblewisdom.com/faith/20070418-152336-Faith-vs-Wisdom)
The power of faith does not come by mere belief or intellectal conviction, but by intense prayer and nonattachment and purificatory fasting. Faith gives man supernatural sovereignty over the natural order. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Miracles can happen by uniting the Self with God. With the intercession of a master (ie Jesus) creates a channel. The way to rouse the power of faith is to realize the presence of God within one's own Self and unite the soul with the Divine Father. God will respond by dropping into the minds of others those thoughts that are in harmony with whatever one is seeking. Deep mediatation and concentration is the key, along with faith. In addition to positive thoughts one must have adamant will power and unshakable faith. "God helps him who helps himself." Man's susceptibility to suffering comes through ignorance of his innate divinity. We are children of God with all His powers latent within us. Realize our oneness with God and realize that all matter is energy and that energy is the thought of God. Each person must learn to bear his cross while never losing faith in God. Nature constrains man to live as an ordinary human being, but within we must be gods. The problems of life can be solved by solving the mystery of the Self and its relationship with Spirit. Jesus taught to destroy mortal limitations can be accomplished by conscious communion with God and by realizing the inseparable union of soul and Spirit. (2nd Coming, Discourse 46)
Faith and Hope are connected - you cannot have one without the other. (http://prompt.newsvine.com)
Faith is the substance of what we hope for but cannot yet see - until it become manifest in the physical realm. ()
Faith is both a mystery and a miracle. (http://www.orthodoxeurope.org/page/10/1.aspx)
Yahweh has plainly told us that it is the Holy Spirit (Yahweh's Mind) that reveals Spiritual knowledge. Yahweh loves mankind so much that he made it possible for any human being, no matter how isolated from society, to be able to receive Salvation through faith, trust and a genuine attempt of living an obedient life. (http://www.sabbatarian.com/Content/Paradox.html)
Faith is the most "open" state of mind of all. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."(Heb 11:1 NASV) I like the wording that "The Message" (paraphrased version) uses: "..faith is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see." Surrender is encouraged as a fundamental part of the expression of faith. Life should reflect true "Open Mindedness" to all that comes our way. Not in the sense of powerless acceptance of things as they are - but with a hopeful heart to be victorious and triumphant, not fearful and despondent. (http://martin-nowhereman.blogspot.com/2008/04/open-minded-faith.html)
Spiritual faith requires belief as well as a strong sense of knowing. When a mother withholds her belief in her child, faith waivers. When a mother knows that her child's world is full of infinite possibility, faith grows. Have faith, knowing and believing that you are blessed by infinite possibilities in every moment.(http://www.journeywithspirit.com/spiritualfaith_believing_versus_know.htm)
Paradox of strength in weakness characterizes religious man. HAVING FAITH IS THE "VICTORY" which overcomes the world and propounds the ideal of kindness and non‑violence. (Buddhism, p197)
After finding that the images and ideas you have been using are no longer of help, it is then necessary through faith to abandon them in order to obtain a truly deep realization. (Buddha, Christ, p162)
We make a firm act of faith, knowing that faith is the only proximate means of union with God. There is no other way to journey to God than by passing through the dark night of faith. (Dark Night, p30-1)
In the night of purgative dryness the sensory part of the soul feels down and out, low, feeble, and slack, yet because on the spiritual level one is learning to rely more on FAITH than feelings, one stands in readiness to do God's will and remain strong. Our earthbound senses would not direct us upward to the spirit were it not for this graced experience of deprivation. These experiences are paradoxical openings to the Most High.(Dark Night, p95)
Reason is a tool, whereas, faith is a gift. (Fransican Friars, 3/10/97)
An act of faith is a great act of humility; it demands that we submit our minds to God and accept his word for something we cannot see for ourselves. (Life, p216)
Thy faith hath made thee whole. (Mark 5:34)
Faith is co-operative (ie. marriage) between God and us because God gives us the faith and we choose to receive the faith. (Francisan Friars, 1/10/97)
We are not here to be successful; we are here to be faithful. (Mother Teresa, How Good, p170)
In the ancient world, "faith" did not mean theological conviction, as it does today, but rather a total reliance upon another. Abraham was impelled not by a set of strong, orthodox beliefs in one or another particular god but by a sense of presence. (Beginning, p56)
Pure faith is faith that is moving beyond the mental egoic level of discursive meditation and particular acts to the intuitive level of contemplation. (Open Mind, p5)
John of the Cross commands his disciples to reject all exterior and interior phenomenon. Pure faith is the proximate means of union with God. Pure faith is a ray of darkness to the soul in that there is no faculty that can perceive it, and without them being conscious of it at all. One can only remark its presence by its fruits in one's life. (Open Mind, p9,11)
Faith is opening and surrendering to God. (Open Mind, p35)
Pure faith consents and surrenders to the Ultimate Mystery just as He is; not as you think He is. WE CANNOT KNOW HIM WITH OUR MIND, WE CAN ONLY KNOW HIM WITH OUR LOVE. [Bible scripture?] The closest way to know Him in this life is by pure faith, which is beyond thinking, feeling, and self-reflection. The state of pure faith is beyond anything we can imagine. We simply look around and realize that the divine Presence is everywhere. [With prayer] we have opened ourselves wide enough to be aware of what is without being able to say what it is. (Open Mind, p83,86)
Where agnostics shrug their shoulders and stop at the edge of the abyss, contemplatives supported by their faith advance into nothingness. And when they have let go the last security for their empirical egos, they find certainty in the ultimate primordial ground. (Contemplation, p80)
Encounter God in the silence of faith. (Contemplation, p104)
It is evidently not God's purpose to compel men to believe in the supernatural; nor will He use such overpowering means for that object as shall destroy their freedom of will. Miracles are not intended to be like blows from a bludgeon, to reduce men to subjection; they are invitations to faith. (Rebld, p262) - also see FACE for no faith needed.
Faith is a positive attitude of our free will towards belief in God and goodness in general by our love and trust to surrender. Railroad tracks may be an example of having a total faith which consists in both God and Man. (Randy)
"Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6) (or "endures will be saved" Matt 10:22,24:13)" is because it is the only way / gift that we can give to God, since our deeds are not good enough. Also via faith we show God that we are depending upon him to "let God be God." (Randy)
Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. (Luke 18:17)
Through faith we understand. (Heb 11:3)
If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Cor 15:14)
"Not by works, but by faith ( )" may mean to stop working at trying to understand and to start enjoying/appreciating the world, life, and God. (Randy)
If faith is not expressed in works, it is dead. (James 2:14-16)
Faith is a foretaste of the knowledge that will make us blessed in the life to
come. (St. Thomas Aquinas, Comp theol 1,2)
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Eph 2:8-9)
The first step to having faith is surrendering with trust. Faith is knowing your Lord will bring you out of exile, and living that knowledge with joy, love and happiness, because of the truth. My people should not mistake faith with their feelings. Faith is trusting in the truth... the truth that I shall save them and care for them. (IAM, p22)
For I am Faith, and I am your source of power! It is My people who choose to select money, prestige, and status as their god, their power. Having faith in Me and having mercy on one another is acknowledging the unity of My Divinity to My Father. It is with faith that miraculous events happen. The slightest doubt questions My Divinity and is your loss of power!" (p28) "It is through the power and strength of your faith that allows you to walk with Me. My people need to grasp on to their faith and know that I dwell in them! (IAM, p59)
By faith Jesus did not mean adopting the correct theology but cultivating an inner attitude of surrender and openness to God. (p82) To Pascal faith was a gamble that opting for God was a win-win solution. Choosing to believe in God the risk is finite but the gain infinite. (p299) Kant said he had only: "destroyed dogma to make room for faith." (p318) (History of God)
We begin in faith, and are made perfect in sight. Faith precedes reason and unless you believe, you will not understand. Faith is the lowly door by which the heart, bowing to enter, is cleansed in order that at length the whole mind may apprehend the universal abiding Truth ‑ may see God. (Augustine)
Our faith must be tough because of the interrelationship between mind, body, and spirit. We need to be in the best shape possible to cope. Thus we are on a spiritual treadmill every now and then to keep us in good condition (adversity principle). (Sense, p161)
Suffering is allowed to test our faith. Why? Because faith ranks at the top of God's systems of priorities. Without it, He said, it is impossible to please Him (Heb 11:6). (Sense, p17)
"Lean not on your own understanding" (Prov 3:5). Leaning refers to the demand for answers ‑ throwing faith to the wind if a satisfactory response cannot be produced. (Sense, p35)
Expect confusing experiences to occur along the way. Welcome
them as friends ‑ as opportunities for your faith to grow.' (Sense, p69)
Don't demand explanations. Don't lean on your ability to understand. Don't turn loose of your faith. But do choose to trust Him, by the exercise of the will He has placed within you. (Sense, p89)
Humility (just as God is humble in His presence in the ordinary) that I am dependent upon God for my completeness (Tao) just as God has faith in us for Him to be complete (All in all). Faith is God's way to allow us have a free will / choice about whether to trust in love (goodness) or power (evil). (Randy)
But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Heb 11:6)
Faith is the lowly door by which the heart, bowing to enter, is cleansed in order that at length the whole mind may apprehend the universal abiding Truth - may see God.' (Confessions)
Nor can we of ourselves even live rightly, unless He who gives us faith helps us to believe and pray , for it takes faith to believe that we need His help. (City of God, Book XIX Chapter 4)
By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 143)
I suggest we stop making statements and start taking steps to build faith rather than break faith. (Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, PS 6/7/96)
Like the vine and the branches, we can't do anything apart from faith. (PK, 6/8/96)
The prayer for faith is the purest form of prayer. 'Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.' With faith [God makes] all things are possible. So to pray for faith is the most ambitious of all prayers - you are asking God to give you the key to everything else. (Quest, p185)
The role of our faith: we are not called upon to explain or justify misfortune. What we are called to do is to bring our love to those in pain, to help those in need, to brighten dark days and dark lives with the light of our caring. (Common Sense, p38)
Look not upon our sins, but upon our faith.
Knowledge and belief precede faith. When we learn of God and believe in him, we acquire faith in him. (Awakening, p24)
Mystery of faith.
Leap of faith.
*FAITHFUL - see CONSTANT, LOYAL
1. strict or thorough in the performance of duty; true, devoted, stanch
2. true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.
3. full of or showing loyalty or fidelity; constant and loyal (imply qualities of stability, dependability, and devotion)
4. that [which] may be relied upon, trusted, or believed.
5. adhering or true to fact or an original.
7. the body of loyal members of any party or group. (Dict)