belief that is not based on proof; the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.; belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faith
Faith--
allegiance to duty or a person; belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion; firm belief in something for which there is no proof; without question.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith
The following is from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/religious-faith:
“We should acknowledge God merciful, but not always for us comprehensible.”
“It is only by grace and hope in great God of wonders, we receive strength and vitality for everyday life.”
“Love God for who He is, not because He answers your prayers.”
The following is from http://www.reformation21.org/articles/faith-vs-religion.php
But as we consider the word belief, or faith, in its fullest biblical sense, we see that the word implies God's gracious act of giving and our humble act of receiving and resting on Christ alone, which involves our entire being: the heart, the mind, and the will.
...Although we use the word belief in conjunction with all areas of human experience, usually when we use the word it is in the context of religious belief. The word "religious," however, and all its derivatives, has fallen on hard times recently due largely to its longtime inappropriate use among those who understood neither the true Christian religion nor the genuine relationship with Christ by faith alone on which all Christian doctrine is established. Thus, preferring to emphasize their personal relationship with Christ over and against the religion that comes as a necessary and appropriate consequence of that relationship, many Christians, with the best intentions, have relegated their faith to one area of life rather than allowing their faith to overflow into every area of life, which is the essential nature of faith itself--to encompass all of life by acknowledging, affirming, and applying the Christian doctrine we believe, confess, and proclaim.
...What we believe inescapably influences what we think, what we do, and even our motives of why and how we think it and do it. Those Christians who try to isolate their doctrine to their intellects so that it doesn't interfere with their daily lives are attempting the impossible. Either they do not possess true faith in Christ alone, or they will find that their doctrine refuses to be confined and instead begins to spread into all of life--from their hearts, to their souls, to their minds, and with all their strength. Mark Dever points out that if our religion is genuine, it will naturally affect everything, including our care for others as well: "If our religion is real, if our faith is saving, it not only affects our actions, but affects our actions towards others... Real religion cannot remain simply a 'vertical thing' between me and God. It must affect the way I deal with others."
If you are a True Christian, then you have faith, which guides your thoughts and actions.
You have a belief in something that has no proof, which guides your thoughts and actions.
The more devout you are-- the "better Christian" you are-- then you have a stronger faith, believing more strongly than others in what has no proof.
You have a relationship, heart, mind, and will, with something or someone who does not answer you.
And in this absence, your belief grows.
Your faith grows.
The more absence there is, the better, because that gives you space to have more Faith.
To be a better Christian.
And this way in which we ignore the provable world in favor of an unprovable world must affect the way we deal with others as True Christians.
In this way, True Christians cannot think.
There would be deafening cognitive dissonance if they were to think.
**Cognitive dissonance: the mental stress that an individual has when he is confronted with new information conflicting with his existing beliefs.**
Examples of cognitive dissonance the thinking Christian might have:
Babies come from humans having sex AND from God.
God has no body, but he impregnated Mary.
God cannot open the Kingdom of Heaven for His creation, whom he made in his own image, without killing His only son publicly, and thereby acknowledging either His limitations or His unwillingness to forgive His creations for their sins, while opening up Paradise for those same sinners.
Examining our Faith is a sign that we do not truly have Faith, and this is handed down to us from religious leaders who are educated in an area of study dedicated to the examination of Faith.
But A True Christian does not think of these things.
A True Christian, as a member of a Christian group, has several options for dealing with these issues.
1. A True Christian will often control his environment by isolating himself from those who do not share his beliefs, including society at large, while surrounding himself with those who do share his beliefs.
2. A True Christian will manipulate experiences in order to demonstrate Divine authority, and coincidences are interpreted as omens or prophecies. For example, (http://newsbusters.org/blogs/katie-yoder/2014/12/09/hollywood-conversion-angelina-jolie-drops-knees-prayer-unbroken-set) Angelina Jolie recently directed the movie "Unbroken", about a man who was religious. During the filming, a story was made public about a time when there was rain when there should not have been rain. Jolie, who is not a religious person, decided to take the actions of the religious hero of her movie, dropping to her knees and praying to God. At which point, it stopped raining, and she was able to continue shooting. The natural phenomenon of rain stopping was a sign from God, and a True Christian can see that.
3. A True Christian will often demand purity, seeing the world as a black-and-white Us vs. Them scenario where you are deemed dirty if you are not part of the perfection of the Christian group. Guilt and shame are often used here. Sex is often a subject of this guilt and shame.
4. A True Christian confesses his sins, either publicly or privately.
5. A True Christian knows that his doctrine is the Ultimate Truth, and it and the leaders of that doctrine are outside the realm of criticism. The Pope is infallible.
6. A True Christian uses cliches to quell cognitive dissonance. These cliches are used to stop conversations with others who are trying to make them think or debate their beliefs. These cliches are generally accepted pieces of culture in certain cases, but are used by the True Christian to dismiss dissent, justify fallacious logic, and allow the True Christian to continue without challenge from most of society. Some examples of these cliches are:
- God works in mysterious ways
- Everything happens for a reason
- Who do you think you are?
- Don't judge
- You win some, you lose some
- We've already had this conversation
- Everyone is entitled to their opinion
- Can't we just drop it and get along? (used to stop an ongoing debate)
- Whatever. Who cares?
- It's a matter of opinion
- It's all relative
- We will have to agree to disagree
- That's just your feelings
- Where there's smoke, there's fire (used to convince others that a person is guilty based on hearsay and discourage further examination of evidence)
- The more you argue, the less we believe you
- People are going to do what they want
- For security reasons
- The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Job 1:21
- Support the troops
- Think of the children
7. A True Christian believes in doctrine over person, denying any personal experience that does not align with the doctrine, or reinterpreting that experience so that it aligns with doctrine.
8. A True Christian can determine who exists and who doesn't. This is usually not literal-- though not always-- and usually means that those outside Christianity are unenlightened, unconscious, and must be saved through conversion to the doctrine of the True Christian. If they do not accept the doctrine of the True Christian, they are rejected by the True Christian as well as the others in the Christian group. Therefore, the outside world loses credibility.
The above is taken from "Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of Brainwashing in China", a nonfiction book written by Robert Jay Lifton about the psychology of brainwashing and mind control. It was not written about Christians. It was written about brainwashing in China. It completely fits into a True Christian belief.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Reform_and_the_Psychology_of_Totalism:_A_Study_of_%22Brainwashing%22_in_China
I am a True Christian.
I believe strongly in things that cannot be proved.
I act towards others in accordance with these beliefs.
My beliefs allow me to control who exists and who does not.
I dismiss those who do not share my beliefs.
Sometimes, I dismiss those who do not share my beliefs by killing them.
Some Christians believe God is the only deity.
Some Christians believe that God and Jesus can only be prayed to by priests, and Mary is a saint.
Some Christians believe birthday parties are evil.
And those killable differences happen within a group that, fundamentally, believes in the same thing.
Imagine how easy you would be for them to dismiss if you don't believe what they believe.
Like if you were to say Jesus was a Jew and not a Christian.
Or that The New Testament, our primary source for information about Jesus, was written by individuals who lived 70 years after the death of Jesus and had never met Jesus personally or met anyone who had met Jesus personally.
Or that Jesus might have had a hallucination while being crucified that he was married and lived a normal human life.
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