What is faith? Orthodox faith. Faith in the future. Faith in man

In this article, we will try to understand with you what faith is. We will consider the concept not only from the point of view of religion and theology, but also as a result of research by scientists.

Faith is one of the foundations of self-identification and the existence of a person in society, so a more accurate understanding of this phenomenon is simply necessary for everyone.
Read on, and you will find out what the supporters of different religions think about the need for faith, as well as sociologists, psychologists and other researchers.

The etymology and classical meaning of the term

Before talking about the definition of this phenomenon, let's dwell on the etymology of the word "faith." Value scientists see in a consonant adjective from Latin. In this ancient language, "verus" meant "truthful, true." Words with a similar sound and meaning are in both Old Irish and Old High German.

Now let's talk about what faith is for an average person who does not go into the subtleties of psychology, philosophy or different religions.

So, it is commonly believed that faith is a recognition of truth that can not be verified by logical, factual, experiential or any other means. In mathematics, a similar concept is called an axiom.

Thus, it turns out that faith is some unproved fact, which is justified by purely subjective conviction, does not require confirmation, but sometimes it can try to find them.

Hence the notion of "trust" emerges. This state is the basis of all social relations. Including loyalty, it depends on certain rules, which, if violated, translate the relationship into another category - betrayal.

But before the conditions are observed, this concept means the unconditional ability of the subject to transfer certain rights, information, things or people to the object of trust.

Bertrand Russell writes that as soon as any evidence arises, there can be no question of faith. Then we are already talking about knowledge.

Object and Subject of Faith

After we briefly defined the basic concept of what faith is, it is worth starting to deepen it. Now we will try to divide the object and the subject.

The first is usually not felt at all. None of the five senses man is able to realize the presence of the object of faith. Otherwise it would be an empirical proof of physical existence.

Thus, the object for society is exclusively in a state of opportunity. Although for an individual or a group of people he seems to be real in reality. Due to various processes in the body, it can be felt psychologically, emotionally, figuratively.

The subject is the whole of humanity as a whole and every individual in particular. If you look at this angle, then faith means the relationship of a person or society to an object.

For example, ancient people believed that thunder is a roar from the chariots of the gods, who are angry with them and send down lightning. It was the relation of primitive society to a similar natural phenomenon that caused panic and horror. Today, due to scientific discoveries, even a schoolboy knows that these are just processes in the atmosphere of the planet. They are not animate in any way, they are just mechanical.

Accordingly, faith has also changed. We do not sacrifice "terrible thunderheads" to save our lives, unlike ancient people who sincerely believed in the expediency of such behavior.

Religious understanding

Spiritual faith is often replaced by synonyms such as religion, dogma and religious teachings. You can hear the terms "Christianity", "Christian religion", and "Christian faith". Often in the old-fashioned dialogue, this is the same thing.

Under the word "believer" in a religious context, we understand a supporter of a certain picture of the world that supports the views of one of the existing religions.

If we ask about faith, Christians, Muslims or other representatives of monotheistic worldviews, we will hear that this is the most important virtue of man. In the absence of this quality, many events are simply impossible both during life and after the death of a believer.

For example, in the Abrahamic religions of all unbelievers and doubters, eternal torment awaits in hell or hell fire.

Ancient sages, whose reflections are sketchily given in various scriptures, lead astounding examples on this subject from everyday life.

If you take an example of a farmer. He can be a Christian, a pagan or even an atheist, but his faith is based on his work. No one will invest hard labor in cultivating the field, sowing grains, not believing in the future abundant harvest.

Sociology

The basis of modern Western society is the Christian faith. It is her principles that govern the relationship between people on virtually all continents.

But sociologists urge to separate religion from belief. They say that the former is more designed to suppress the human essence in the individual. In terms of what is really interested in the believer only himself, his needs and benefits. The true desires of man are hardly inherent in the desire for altruistic help to the Church or to the priest.

The natural thoughts of people are based solely on selfishness, which is introduced into the framework of social norms of behavior. Therefore, faith must be perceived only from this point of view.

Thus, sociologists are not interested in the phenomenon of faith itself, but in the result to which it leads in society. Studying different religions, scientists make a conclusion about the aspiration of people through participation in groups, sects, ashrams and other associations, create optimal conditions for individual happiness.

Psychology

Psychologists first of all declare that any belief is subjective. Therefore, there can be no question of any single phenomenon, which is exactly identical for all participants. Everyone perceives and feels to the best of their abilities, attitudes, previous injuries and doubts.

From the point of view of psychology, the Christian faith is based on the absence of contradictions. There are no clarifying questions, and the opinions of ordinary parishioners are of no interest to anyone. The pastor must take care and lead his flock to salvation.

Thus, psychology refers to faith as its opposite. It can not be understood, measured or calculated. This is something comparable to the notorious "human factor", which leads to unexpected consequences.

Theology

This discipline puts faith in the foundation of knowledge of the world. "I believe, therefore, I exist."

The problems of these questions in theology are divided into a broad and narrow understanding.

In the first case, the study includes the whole of science, as it explores not only the content of the concept, but also its realization in our world. That is, special attention is paid to faith as a life practice and personal relationship of a person with God.

In a narrow sense, faith is the relationship and knowledge of the Supreme by the people that the Lord initiated. That is, the Orthodox faith speaks of the comprehension of God only with the help of the means that he himself gave. This includes first of all revelations.

God is perceived as unknowable. Therefore, we can only know what he communicates to us, based on human ability to understand.

Atheists

Within the framework of this article, it is worth mentioning such a thing as atheism. If we turn to the translation of the term, it means "godlessness."

In fact, atheism is a belief in a person, science and progress. But the very concept of "faith" is unacceptable here. Scientific atheism claims that the basis for the attitude of his followers is the adoption of well-founded and proven facts, and not belief in myths.

Thus, such a perception of the world simply tries to describe the visible material world, without touching the question of God and faith at all.

Materialists

In Soviet times, materialism was known as Russian faith. It was precisely this worldview with an appeal to science and atheism that tried to replace the previous social principles.

However, today advocates of this philosophy speak of it as faith. Nowadays materialism is an unconditional belief that matter was primary, and spirit is secondary.

Thus, faith in man and his ability to rule the world, and with proper development and the universe forms the basis of this worldview.

Faith in ancient societies

Let's now talk about what happened before the first systematic beliefs of the world appeared.

In primitive society, people first endowed all objects, living beings, landscape objects and natural phenomena with the soul. This worldview is called today animism.

Then comes fetishism (belief in the supernatural power of certain objects), magic and shamanism (belief in a person's ability to control nature).

But between these views, atheism and the subsequent return to spirituality is the long journey that humanity has made in various religions.

Christianity

Talk about attitudes toward faith in individual religions should begin with Christianity as the most widespread belief on the planet. This worldview has more than two and a half billion followers.

All the vital aspirations of a true Christian are aimed at salvation. Theologians say that the foundation of faith lies not only in aspiration to the Lord, but also from events in real life. If we look at the history of mankind, we will see that the picture does not change during all millennia. As Fromm rightly observed, history is written in blood.

It is on this fact that the Orthodox faith rests. Here the basis is the original sin. Priests claim that the state in which we live is the result of the disparate desires of the body, mind and soul. Therefore, during the time in this world it is necessary to redeem, correct this malfunction, so that after death you should feel bliss in paradise.

Russian faith has always striven for holiness. It is on this territory that miracles happen in the cells and various God's people travel with the ability to heal, preach and other gifts.

Islam

Muslims approach matters of faith more strictly. Here "Iman" (faith) means the complete and unconditional acceptance of everything that the Prophet Muhammad transmitted to people. Any doubt, even in one of the six "pillars" of Islam, turns a Muslim into a kafir. In this case, he will have to sincerely repent and read the shahada, provided that he understands every word spoken.

The basis of Islam is contained in six basic provisions: belief in Allah, angels, books, messengers, Judgment Day and destiny predestination. An orthodox Muslim should know all the given "pillars", pray five times a day and not commit even the slightest misconduct.

Thus, in fact, faith in the future is cast aside. The fatalism of a Muslim on the one hand is that nothing depends on a person, everything has already been written in the Great Book, and no one can change their destiny. On the other hand, there is a sincere belief that Allah has chosen only the best for his children, so bad events are just lessons.

Judaism

If you compare Judaism with other religions, you will get some inconsistency. Here, faith is not placed above knowledge. Here they try to answer any, even the most confusing question, since it is believed that only by asking, one can know the truth.

Some sources refer to the interpretation of the quote of Havakkuk. He said that the true righteous only by his faith will live. But in the Hebrew translation the word "emuna" means "trust".

Therefore, further on there is a reasoning and a comparison of these two concepts. Faith is an unconfirmed feeling of the truth of an object or event. Trust is based on the knowledge of certain rules, which are adhered to by the two sides.

Therefore, the Jews believe that the Almighty sends them only the right, good and good. And the foundation of human life lies precisely in full trust in the Lord, which, in turn, is the cornerstone of all the commandments.

Hence the growth of faith in the future, as a constant process of development and improvement of the human soul.

Buddhism

Many consider Buddhism to be one of the most popular religions of the world. But in fact it is a philosophical belief. If we turn to the history of the emergence of this phenomenon, as well as to its philosophy, we will see enormous differences, for example, from Abrahamic beliefs.

Buddhists do not recognize original sin. Moreover, they consider karma as the basic law, which is not a moral code. Therefore, sin is not immoral in nature. This is a simple mistake, a man's misdeed on the path to enlightenment.

The Buddha said that the main goal is to achieve enlightenment. For this, there are the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. If all thoughts, speeches and actions are correlated with these two postulates every second, it will be possible to interrupt the wheel of samsara (rebirth) and reach nirvana.

Thus, we have figured out what faith is. We talked about the significance of this phenomenon for scientists, as well as for believers of different religions.