Non Christian Faith Research Paper

Many people would agree that without faith, the world would be in chaos. The book Christian Foundation by Kathleen Fischer and Thomas Hart gives an interpretation on faith in our time. Many people would question the definition of faith. Faith is a gift, which is given by God to have trust in him and belief in him. This book is a great entry in anyone's life that has speculation on his or her own faith. The book has many ways into understanding ones own religion. It discusses the Bible, Jesus, Church, God's existence and Images of God. All of these chapters helped me get a better interpretation of what my religion entailed.

The connection between faith and reason has been a discussion since early Christianity. This discussion has always had people supporting each side with each having genuine thoughts on whether faith and reason can or cannot work together. However before tackling this faith and reason should be defined according to Scripture. Faith according to Scripture is, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1, [NIV]) Now reason is a little less straight forward in Scriptures but gives many examples of reason. One example is, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15, [NIV]) As well gives this example, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17, [ESV]) Along with “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” (Colossians 1:9, [ESV])

Faith can ebb and flow through a lifetime, and it is rare for it to remain constant. This was one of the main points in Christian Wiman’s My Bright Abyss. He discusses that just as we grow as individuals; we must also grow in our faith. At this point in my senior year I was going through a particularly hard time, and was having trouble trusting in God and believing everything would be okay. In hindsight this may have been a good thing in the long run, as I was more receptive to the messages I received at NCYC, particularly with respect to what prayer is, and how to pray.

What is faith? Is it a feeling, a thought, or a concept? As Martin Luther said in his book Freedom of a Christian, faith is “God’s work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God.” When one thinks of faith, they maybe think about their personal relationship with God and the unconditional love He has. “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” The Word of God cannot be interpreted by any works but only by faith. Martin Luther had stated that, “It is clear that, as the soul needs only the Word of God for its life and righteousness, so it is justified by faith alone and not any works.” (Janz, A Reformation Reader, pg 109)

“When you argue against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on.” I got that quote from Mere Christianity. God is omnipotent and He is all- powerful. He knows and sees everything, God is unlike Santa Claus, God is something to really believe in. God has given C.S. Lewis a very intriguing way to spread his word. Mere Christianity has many ideas on faith and truth that helps my walk with the Lord.

There is so much negativity and judgement in this world. There needs to be more believers in Jesus Christ. Having more believers will make things better. It will also help to guide other people that need guidance on the right path to righteousness. There are so many people that do not understand the truth about living the right way when it comes down to following Jesus Christ. People who are surrounded by a church community, will have an easier life being a Christian, will be guided by the Ten Commandments, and will learn to have a loving heart for others.

Freedom of religion, or the lack of, is one of the fundamental rights in America. In some parts of the world, and many in the past, this was not the case. For instance, in 1615, Galileo Galilei wrote his “Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany”, which tells of the backlash from the church when Galileo insists Copernican theory of heliocentrism is fact. But Galileo is not the only one to have science based beliefs denied by people of faith. I, like many individuals today, can relate.

What is faith? and is faith a requirement of a believer’s life? If so, then how does a

Secondly, God’s people may choose to ignore the needs of the world because they fear a less physical and more emotional persecution. A great challenge for Christians is facing rejection from unbelieving family and friends. Unbelievers cannot take the Christian faith seriously because God has not opened their eyes to see what He has revealed to His own. Therefore, those people might not take a Christian seriously and may avoid association with and bad-mouth that child of God. This toys terribly with emotions because these people doing the ridiculing have been so close to the Christian, and it hurts to hear them speak that way. However, problems do not just arise in close relationships but also with unbelieving strangers, especially outspoken

As a student, I personally know what it is like to be ostracized for your religious views. I am Agnostic which basically means you don’t acknowledge or dismiss the views of God and more so believe in a higher being. Being Agnostic, I thought I would be universally accepted since I’m neither for nor against God. But whenever religion is brought up in the classroom, it would become very apparent that some people with religious views come off thinking they are better than you. I had a former classmate once tell me they “felt sorry for me” because of my inability to believe in Christianity or other religions. These experiences have made me completely despise the discussion of religion in schools because everyone has different opinions and sometimes

Non-trinitarians are people who do not believe in the trinitarian idea that God is three different hypostases who coexist equally and are united as one. Non-trinitarians believe in adoptionism, also known as dynamic monarchianism, which is a heresy that first appeared in the second century. It states that Jesus was purely human until the Father chose or adopted him to be his son because of his sinless and perfect life. This heresy reveals the trinity as the Father being genuinely the main Godhead because adopting someone shows power over them. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are viewed as the minors because Jesus wasn’t pre-existent and if the Holy Spirit exceeds from both Father and Son equally, there would also be a time when the Holy Spirit has

2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” This is the difference between Christians and unbelievers. Unbelievers do what they want, while christians use their faith to walk. We trust God to lead us down our path to destiny, even if others discourage to go down a different path. For we as believers must follow his plan for us and not our human instincts. Even if it may seem unclear at the time God has a bigger picture for us.

As a child of God, one is governed by the standard of faith (II Corinthians 5:7), and the Bible states that Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Since faith comes by the word of God, where there is no word of God there can be no faith! And, without faith it is impossible for one to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)

Many Christians often feel they have a conflict between faith and reason. Faith is described as more of a romantic characteristic. God calls people to have faith. “Do not lean on one’s own understanding, but have faith.” However, God also tells his people to have good reason for what they believe. Christians will often attempt to reason with non-believers, explaining that their belief in scripture is sound and logically defensible. In reality, faith and reason work together seamlessly to help one truly understand and know and love Christ. One cannot lean on faith alone; nor can one lean on reason alone.

The path one takes to perceiving their faith is essential for it to grow and mature during the walk of life. Faith is the belief in something to the point that it becomes a point of reference for the other parts of your life. Faith has always been personal and built upon with obtaining more knowledge of God, but in the pursuit of more knowledge could bring about disbelief and skepticism. Skepticism and disbelief comes along in the faith when answers are not answered to the extent that we would like or are beyond our grasp. “A God that we can fully understand is not worthy of our praise” is a phrase that could either bring light to why we can never find a concrete answer or is not satisfactory to the skeptic. Skepticism and doubt are catalysts to make faith grow.