# What is "faith?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 19, 1999, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-faith/17418 "1999-08-19T18:05:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-faith/17418/21 "2000-02-07T05:10:00Z")
RTFirefly: > [@](#): > > The analogy I’m drawing isn’t ‘believing is to nonbelieving as having fallen in love is to not having fallen in love’. Rather, it’s ‘believing is to nonbelieving as having experienced falling in love as qualitatively different from infatuation is to not having experienced it as qualitatively different from infatuation’. Thanks for the clarification, RT - sorry I missed that on the first read-through. I’m not sure how much of a debate that is, though. I’ve always considered infatuation as more of a child-like, or innocent emotion, than what one might call _true_ love. To me, infatuation describes the emotion one feels _before_ knowing the other person well enough to truly be in love. It’s a beginning stage of the process which leads to love, but, I believe, qualitatively different. I don’t beleive very many schoolchildren were ever “in love” with their teachers, but I’d bet quite a few were infatuated. On the definition of faith, I’ll agree that “belief without absolute proof” is somewhat lacking; I was using it as a quick-and-dirty reference to the discussion preceding. The definition I’ve preferred is “belief in the unknowable,” though BurnMeUp’s “devotion to something yet to be proven” sounds comparable. I also like the “painful optimism” phrase, but I don’t think it applies in matters of religious faith, except to those who once believed, and have rethought their own faith. * * * Sum Ergo Cogito ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-faith/17418/22 "2000-02-07T12:59:00Z")
I think faith is God’s breath of life. ---
**Author:** ![batgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3bc359/32.png) [@batgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-faith/17418/23 "2000-02-07T20:44:00Z")
“Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to.” from Miracle on 34th Street ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-faith/17418/24 "2000-02-07T20:54:00Z")
Well, IIRC, the King James version of the Bible says: > [@](#): > > Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That seems to sum it up pretty nicely. (Not bad Bible-quotin’ for an old atheist like me, huh?) ---
**Author:** ![mikehardware](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mikehardware](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikehardware)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-faith/17418/25 "2000-02-07T22:45:00Z")
An interesting topic. The Bible has lots about faith, there’s well over a page and a half in the small concodance in the back of the one I have here at my work. Makes for interesting reading. Some folks seem to equate faith with just wishing and hoping really, really, hard. From my own experiences, it’s not like that at all. I see it more along the lines of trust. I have faith in my wife, we’re faithful to each other. I think folks can relate to that. I also have faith in the Lord. It’s a trust that developed over time. I can have faith, since I know He can be trusted. Faith is something that can increase, the more that I rely on Him. It’s an interesting process. And since there’s no absolute proof I have to show for why I believe, I can also agree with that aspect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-faith/17418.md?page=1)