15/04/2025
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE FAITH?
At University, I lived with a Geordie lad called Joe. One day, when I was engrossed in a philosophical debate with my friend, Joe interrupted us and said, “Mat, why do you always have to get so deep?”.
I laughed because he was right.
Why was I so keen on discovering the deepest truths of humanity? Why couldn’t I just enjoy a game of beer pong like all the other students?
Looking back now, this period would mark the beginning of a time when I needed to have faith. Faith that things would work out and that I would be ok, even when I wasn’t.
At that time, I had no direct evidence to suggest things would change anytime soon. Yet I still ploughed on with sheer faith that things would get better.
Which begs the question, where does faith come from? How could one believe a situation would improve if history hadn’t suggested otherwise? This question has fascinated me for some time and I think I may have discovered the answer…
Firstly, let’s define the term: faith. The dictionary defines it as “confidence or trust in a person or thing” or “belief that is not based on proof”. Whilst I don’t disagree with these definitions, in a way, I also feel they are somewhat inadequate. How can you have trust and confidence in something that you have no experience with? Because trust and confidence are built through experience.
Similarly, the term ‘belief’ suggests that you’re identified with a conceptual idea in your mind, but faith, it would appear, is much deeper than that. It seems to stem from something outside the parameters of the mind.
Let me explain…
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