Can we nail down the definition of faith?

I often read comment about faith ';I do not need faith in anything';. ';faith is for the idiots/weak minded/afraid'; etc.





When defined though even trusting food someone else has cooked, trusting someone elses driving and a whole list of examples require *faith* in other humans.





Obviously once something has been tested reliably we can move away from from *faith* it becomes reason. Yet every major scientific experiment ever undertaken has started on *faith*. People had faith in the first plains to carry them, *faith* in first boats to float.





So please give me the correct definition of faith and/or tell me how my reasoning is flawed?Can we nail down the definition of faith?
Even once something has passed the ';test of time'; - there is still an element of faith involved. To borrow the analogy of another answerer, just because the chair you're sitting in has held you up a thousand times before does not guarantee that it will hold you up the next time you sit in it. While there is good ';reason'; to assume it will, there is not 100% certainty.


And yes - scientific experimentation does begin - and continue - with an element of faith as well - but it's faith based on past experiences/observances etc.


Most seems to have a weak concept of what faith is - making it sound like faith is blind and devoid of reason - a blind leap into some dark abyss.


I think faith is better defined as trust, based not on absence of reason, but on past experience and strength of evidence. I have ';faith'; that this chair I'm sitting in is gonna keep supporting me because experience and my knowledge of the structure of the chair gives me ample evidence toward that conclusion. For the same reasons (experience and knowledge) I have faith the room will be illuminated when I flip the switch - and I have faith that God is and will keep the promises He has made. While there may not be ';proof'; (something everyone will accept without question), there is abundant evidence. I do not have faith despite reason - I have a reasonable faith.Can we nail down the definition of faith?
lol, I like how someone answered saying that you're wrong, arguing semantics much?





But yeah it is entirely down to the use of context. Some people just don't get that most words have a few meanings depending on context.
Trusting food someone else has cooked does not involve faith, it involves the brain making a myriad of calculations regarding reviews, past experience, texture, smell, color, cleanliness of surroundings, etc. and then making a decision. It's a mental process that relies on calculations, most scientific.





Trusting someone's driving involves the senses sending signals to the brain and the brain analyzing that person's driving behavior and also taking into account factors such as whether the person has a driver's license, for how long, age, lack of impairment, lack of distraction, etc. The amount of brain power that goes into what you call ';trust'; is astounding.





The flaw in your reasoning is that there are relevant dissimilarities. There is a big difference between the brain having something to go on, and it being devoid of any kind of frame of reference. Faith involves nothing but choosing to believe something based on no valid input whatsoever.





Scientific experiments start with hypotheses that themselves are based on empirical evidence. This is a quest for knowledge, and faith is not a quest for knowledge, it is deciding that a certain thing is knowledge when there is no basis for that decision.
Faith is belief in something for which there is no evidence or in spite of evidence to the contrary.





Scientific experimentation starts on hypothesis, not faith. Facts are observed and a reason or mechanism is proposed which explains those facts. Experiments are then devised to test whether that mechanism is correct. As a result the hypothesis is either proved or disproved. If it disproved then a new hypothesis must be formulated and tested.





If a hypothesis is so accurate that it fits all known facts then it becomes known as a scientific theory. [This is where some people display their ignorance by stating that something like Evolution is ';only a theory';. A scientific theory is a scientist's way of saying that something is as near certain fact as anything possibly can be, like night following day]





Other experiments start with the simple question ';what will happen if...?'; In most cases a scientist will speculate on the likely outcome (ie form an hypothesis) as this will give him some idea what to expect when he observes the result; other experiments are attempted out of pure curiosity with no idea of the likely outcome (the hypothesis of what happened will then follow and then be tested by further experimentation).





Aeroplanes (plains????) and boats were not first tested on faith. The Wright Brothers observed the shape of a birds wing and made the aerofoil section of their wing to match it. The hypothesis was that this shape would provide sufficient lift to get the aircraft off the ground. They tested it and it worked.





The first boats were based on the observation that certain materials such as wood floats. This simple hypothesis was tested by making rafts and boats out of wood and using them.





Faith is not a valid part of scientific experimentation and more properly belongs in the realms of the impossible as described in religious texts.
';Faith is believing what you know ain't so';


-- Mark Twain





Educated guesses are not faith. And many experiments are started with no idea what the outcome.
Faith and trust are synonyms. I trust that this chair will not break when I sit in it. If I had no faith at all I would be a basket case. Scripture said that a measure of faith is given to every man. The question is ';What will you have faith in?';. So you see, you are asking the wrong question.
Faith is the belief/trust in things not seen. Your definition is worded differently, but just as true. We all live by faith, so why can some people not give God a chance like they do with cooks at a restaurant that might be picking their nose while flipping burgers. Why take the chance on eternity, when the believers just might be right.
I have faith that you are on the right track, but by no means do i say that i am certain.
From the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language:





faith


鈥?noun 1 complete trust or confidence. 2 strong belief in a religion. 3 a system of religious belief.





鈥?ORIGIN Old French feid, from Latin fides.








That works for me.
the substance of things hoped for
Faith is believing even though you can't see, or don't know what's going to happen. People say they don't need faith, but faith is practiced by everybody through the things you mentioned. Very good question, people who say they don't need faith, need to think deeper.
Definitions of Faith





1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.





2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.





3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.





4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.





5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.





6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.





7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.





8. Christian Theol.the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.





9. in faith, in truth; indeed: In faith, he is a fine lad.





Love %26amp; Blessings


Milly
Faith is trust in one another without it all humans would stumble about confused as hell and wont be able to make up their minds what to do next. Confusion will reign. I got the nails and hammer you got the cross.
Hi,





To have belief and confidence in someone though we do not always see or understand what good things he or she is doing for us. As an analogy I have faith in a licensed mechanic who is going to fix the breaks on my car. Though I do not see him do the work or understand fully how the breaking system works, I am still entrusting my life and others to him for when he says its done, I leave and fly 70 mph down the freeway.





Cheers





Mike K
Faith (religion): a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny.
I'm not sure if you are looking for a general definition of faith, or a bibical definition of faith.





Here is the definition from the Webster's Dictionary:





Faith - 1. allegiance to duty or a person: Loyalty 2. belief and trust in God 3. confidence 4. a system of religious beliefs





Here is the definition according to The Bible, ( King James Version ).





Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.





Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Hebrew 11: 1 %26amp; 3.





According to these scriptures there are two things that bibical faith provide. 1. substance,( hypostasis ) this Greek word normally means assurance. 2. evidence ( Gr. elegchos ), It is evidence in the sence of proof that results in conviction. Substance involves future hope; evidence involves present realities that are unseen.





Bibical faith is putting our assurance in a person who is Jesus Christ and knowing what He says he will do. That is not like trusting that someones food will be good, or trusting in someone elses driving. We questionly hope their food will be good, but we really don't know until we have actually tried their food. Then sometime we don't know if that person is clean with their cooking, or if something they added could be harmful to our health. As far as the driving goes, you may think a person is a good driver, but we are human and humans make mistakes all the time, so you hope, but not quite sure.





Bibical Faith never becomes reason, because our faith depend every moment of the day on Jesus. Who has never let one of His Children down.





Hope this helps.





Have a blessed day.
we define faith as something which when present motivates and when absent breaks our morale!


it can be faith in GOD, parents,friends and others!


thats my interpretation!