by DThere

Created on: April 06, 2011   Last Updated: April 07, 2011

Is faith proof of God's existence? Is faith the "evidence of things unseen and the conviction of things hoped for"? What is faith? In addition to a set of beliefs held by individuals and religious groups, faith is a particular collection of personal beliefs held by individuals about fundamental aspects of existence. There is also faith as part of the experience of relationships. We have "faith in" someone. We may believe someone is honorable, consistent, and filled with integrity. Faith in God's existence is the belief that God exists, that God's existence is hopeful ("...rewards those who seek Him..."). Since faith in this context is a belief or conviction of the certainty of God's existence; faith by itself does not provide proof for God's existence.

Faith is an attitude, perception of, realization, assumption taken to be accurate, an expectation that God exists. This approach to the idea of proving God's existence does not prove anything except that one may have a strong conviction that God exists. How does one prove God's existence? That depends. There are many questions about this. What criteria does one select? How is evidence of God's existence defined? How does one address disagreements regarding evidence? Is selected evidence enough to result in the acceptance with certainty of God's existence? Fundamentally, how does one define "God"? If the label "God" points to a condition, entity, or experience that is undefinable, then how can one ascertain the existence of God?

For many, it is sufficient to accept God's existence by faith. By faith one believes "...that God exists and rewards those who seek Him". For those who accept this premise, the answer is simple. Because one believes, there is no doubt that God exists. There is no conflict, confusion, or issue regarding this. For others, this is not enough. Questions arise for them, "How come God does not communicate an answer when I ask a question?", "How come God does not appear in some form before us (some would argue that God appeared in time in the form of his Son, Jesus Christ)?", "There seems to be so much order in the Universe, surely it was created by some form of intelligence?"

Some argue that God's existence cannot be proved rationally, hence one should accept God's existence by faith. Yet others claim that acceptance of God's existence without proof is foolish, not based on facts, or unprovable. Many accept the existence of God based on what they are taught by others. Perhaps, from attending a Church one hears over and over particular passages from Scriptures and one comes to believe in God's existence as a result. Or perhaps one has an 'experience' that one attributes to coming from God, and one believes in God's existence likewise.

In many cases people have faith as a result of assuming that God exists based on particular experiences or instruction. Many do not consider that faith is a proof that God exists, rather experiences, interpretations of experiences, particular selected facts about the Universe or experience, or the result of the study and acceptance of instructions considered to be valid, are considered to be proof.

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