Faith and the Critical Thinker

We’ve been talking a lot lately about critical thinking and healthy skepticism, but what about faith? According to George Michael, you gotta have it, but why? If we’re supposed to be questioning everything, taking nothing at face value, then what do you need faith for?

Faith has lots of definitions. It can mean accepting things at face value, believing in someone, or active belief in a religion or deity. I’m here to tell you that you really can’t function without a little faith. We need to believe in something to survive. Even when striving to be critical thinkers, we sometimes need to just trust our gut.

Faith in Things

D. Elton Trueblood said, “Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.” To be well adjusted adults, we have to have faith in basic tenets to make it through the day. We believe that the car will start and take us to work. We believe that there will be a job to do when we show up. There’s so many examples of how faith exists in just our daily routine.

In a world that is full of doubt and turmoil, a little faith goes a long way. By accepting without reservation that the chair will hold you up when you sit in it, we are able to sit without fear. I know that this sounds ridiculous, but the chair is made of small atoms held together by friction. How can it support us? We take it on faith.

Faith in Others

Without faith in the behavior of others, society as a whole wouldn’t function. Not at all. We have faith that we can leave the home safely and not be accosted as we complete our daily errands. What proof do we have of that? According to the news, people are being killed and terrorized every day. “None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet we still go forward. Because we trust. Because we have faith.”, said Paulo Coelho.

We have faith in our loved ones too! We have to have faith to have relationships, at all. Without trust, there can’t be any love or understanding. Without belief that someone will act in a loving manner towards you with your best interests at heart, there can be no foundation in which to have a relationship.

Faith in a Higher Power

“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you” Saint Augustine. Prayer and devotions help us have faith in the world around us. By believing in a Higher Power, we are able to put aside our fears and doubts. We can trust that God, regardless of which god he/she is, has a plan for us.

Most religions have rituals and prayers that solidify our place in an uncertain world. By putting our faith in a Higher Power, we are able to trust that someone out there in the universe has our best interests at heart.

Faith in Yourself

Without having faith in yourself, you can’t achieve anything! By believing in ourselves, we are able to achieve great things, things that no one would have thought possible. Faith is what allows Olympians to break records, and physicists to win Nobel Peace prizes. You have to believe that you could do a thing before you can do it.

This interconnecting web of faith is what allows us to live our lives. We are able to do great things because we believe in the outcome. While you don’t want to accept everything at face value, some things you just gotta take on faith.

What are some examples of faith in your life? How do you balance critical thinking and leaps of faith? Please share your experiences with us below!

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Prayers – Daniel Maat