How Does your Faith Influence the Choices You Make In Your Life?

[Luce NDs]

True enough. It helps to remember that we all live downstream from ourselves and each other.

One should know thy self to adjust for the folly ...

 

[JayneWonders]

Curious: Is it your faith, your faith community or your denominations norms that influence the choices in your life.
How many of your decisions are based on conscious thought re your faith versus ingrained practice from years of ritual / practice?

 

[Pavlos Maros]

Curious: Is it your faith, your faith community or your denominations norms that influence the choices in your life.

Looking at it from the outside. I would say all the above and more.

How many of your decisions are based on conscious thought re your faith versus ingrained practice from years of ritual / practice?

The choices a religious person makes in life are influenced by a mix of personal faith, community faith, and the traditions of their denomination. I’d argue that personal faith has the strongest influence, as it forms the core of their beliefs and is shaped by indoctrination. While they likely strive to make thoughtful decisions that align with their beliefs, many practices from their faith community and denomination become second nature over time. As a result, some decisions are made consciously through reflection on their faith, while others are driven by long standing habits and rituals. This must contributes to a strong confirmation bias that is ingrained over time.

 

[Luce NDs]

Extremely religious people ar steadfast and go on in life as always ... now a subgroup tries to understand why the previous run was folly and makes adjustment in the plot, plan. scheme ... in the body said to be a conspiracy of doubt about the steadfast ... so do understand what incarnates as a mystery ... X?

Like the smashing of Adam's in the dark of Eve ... really hairy ... some definitions of hairy means scary! So beware ... of Harry, Harold, and all those derivations of Hard and 'Arid ... blowing in the winds!

I was recently reading some old literature from the ancient churches that demanded understanding ... alas and anon ... the powers say not now we just don't have time for such nonsense like slowing down to mull over what you've done ... there that's gone and done with ... a blast from the unconscious mind!

I'm told it doesn't exist ... but if so where does intellect disappear to ... does it split like Ka Lypse sown ... said to be a dark cover! Can this suffer R.I.P. as a real ripper ... stripping everything clean ... idealized avarice? Very god-like given the propensity towards dark gaming at another's expense ...

Scapegoats ...

 

[JayneWonders]

Nice response @Pavlos Maros

It would be interesting to read someone's response who names themselves Christian and is actively practising their faith

 

[Mendalla]

Is it your faith, your faith community or your denominations norms that influence the choices in your life.

Probably a mix. Faith community (moreso than broader denomination) is going to influence the development of your faith so the two are entwined.

How many of your decisions are based on conscious thought re your faith versus ingrained practice from years of ritual / practice?

I kind of answered this upthread:

Quite probably I would be different but the how is very hard. After all, I grew up liberal Christian. A lot of my values and even some of my beliefs are still deeply rooted in that upbringing even post-UU (after all, UUism came out of theological movements in Christianity). So it is hard to disentangle faith from other influences.

It would be interesting to read someone's response who names themselves Christian and is actively practising their faith

Sorry, can't help there but I hope my comments above as one raised in the tradition are helpful.

 

[jimkenney12]

Is identifying as a follower of Jesus close enough to identify as a Christian? By the time I started attending Sunday School at age nine, I already had a set of values shaped by family, school, and others. A short story about integrity in Grade 8 clarified for me how important living with integrity is to me. Books like Stranger in a Strange Land, The Jesus Incident, The Magic of Findhorn, and Conversations with God also shape my beliefs and behaviour.

I am not sure what people mean by the word faith.

 

[Mendalla]

Is identifying as a follower of Jesus close enough to identify as a Christian?

I would argue they are slightly different but that's a bit of an outsider perspective perhaps. "Follower of Jesus" carries less baggage, I think. You could be an unchurched atheist and still be a "follower of Jesus" from an ethical standpoint or something. It's an individual identity, in other words. "Christian" identifies more with the historical church and therefore with the doctrines and beliefs thereof. Arguably, a "Follower of Jesus" need not be a "Christian" but the reverse is less likely. However, in the original usage of "Christian" in ancient times, it pretty much did just mean "Follower of Jesus" since that historical baggage didn't exist yet.

I am not sure what people mean by the word faith.

Usually kind of a step up from "belief". You don't just believe in something, but place a trust in it and make it central to your identity and life. Both carry the element that belief is what matters, not objective proof. So you wouldn't say you have faith in gravity because science has objectively demonstrated that gravity works in a particular way and you can count on that. But something that can't objectively demonstrated or measured like God, where strong subjective belief is necessary since there is no objective measure, would be something you would have "Faith" in. That's what I mean anyhow.

 

[Waterfall]

Is identifying as a follower of Jesus close enough to identify as a Christian? By the time I started attending Sunday School at age nine, I already had a set of values shaped by family, school, and others. A short story about integrity in Grade 8 clarified for me how important living with integrity is to me. Books like Stranger in a Strange Land, The Jesus Incident, The Magic of Findhorn, and Conversations with God also shape my beliefs and behaviour.

Well let's not forget even Jesus did not identify himself or his disciples as Christians.....eventually, over time, I'm sure "Christian" identification by others has changed a simple message into a complicated one and even Jesus would wonder.

 

[Mendalla]

Well let's not forget even Jesus did not identify himself or his disciples as Christians.....eventually, over time, I'm sure "Christian" identification by others has changed a simple message into a complicated one and even Jesus would wonder.

Important point. IIRC, "Christian" first appears as an identity assigned to followers of Jesus Christ by non-Christian Greeks and Romans that was adopted by Christians. However, see my comments above. What matters is what it means today, not what in meant in 100CE or whatever. And I think the modern meaning is very much tied to membership in the church. Ironic, perhaps, that a term that once set Christians apart from the establishment became the term for the establishment, but so goes human history and society.

 

[jimkenney12]

So faith may be a belief we trust or are willing to to sacrifice for it? For example, I believe the reign of the kindom of heaven, universal shalom will eventually happen, maybe in thousands of years, maybe sooner. I try to live my life such that I am contributing to that eventuality.

Often faith means the collective beliefs and doctrines of a faith.

 

[Mendalla]

Often faith means the collective beliefs and doctrines of a faith.

See, the use of "faith" to mean "collective believers of a given tradition" is problematic because it is really a whole second definition. You could have faith in those collective beliefs and doctrines, which is why we use the term "faith" that way. However, to avoid confusion, "tradition" or "faith tradition" is probably a better term for describing the actual body of the faithful of any tradition.

 

[Mystic]

Excellent topic! it can be approached from various angles. Consider divine guidance, for example.'
a couple of years ago, I felt a strong impulse to walk to a particular downtown intersection at night.
I never do that at night unless I'm going to a show or restaurant. As soon as I arrived at that intersection, I ran into Cliint.
Clint, a new Christian was in shock, a basket case because he had just found his 38-year-old son Eric on the kitchen floor, dead from a drug overdose.
I knew Eric from his days as a chef at a local restaurant. In that moment, his Dad just needed a sympathetic ear to vent his grief.
Some skeptics would dismiss my impulse as mere coincidence. But my faith keeps me open to the possibility that such synchronicities represent divine guidance and that mindset has seldom left me disappointed. Openness to such impulses has led to some of the richest, most satisfying moments of my life.

 

[Mendalla]

I think that story makes my point about subjective vs. objective quite nicely.

If the same thing happened to Pavlos, he would likely attribute it to coincidence or maybe, at most, luck.

A classical Greek might talk about Fate or possibly intervention by the appropriate deity.

And so on.

There is no objective, measurable cause so one's faith, or lack thereof, determines how one interprets the experience. And no one can really prove you're right or wrong (they might say it, but they cannot prove it) because it was something that happened once to you so it is not even replicable under controlled conditions.

You have faith that God guided you. But I don't think you can expect someone like Pavlos or chansen to accept that unchallenged. It certainly does not prove anything. Even I would tend to bring my skepticism to bear, even if I am more open to the idea of there being some kind of active "divine" influence.

 

[Jae]

I think that story makes my point about subjective vs. objective quite nicely.

If the same thing happened to Pavlos, he would likely attribute it to coincidence or maybe, at most, luck.

A classical Greek might talk about Fate or possibly intervention by the appropriate deity.

And so on.

There is no objective, measurable cause so one's faith, or lack thereof, determines how one interprets the experience. And no one can really prove you're right or wrong (they might say it, but they cannot prove it) because it was something that happened once to you so it is not even replicable under controlled conditions.

You have faith that God guided you. But I don't think you can expect someone like Pavlos or chansen to accept that unchallenged. It certainly does not prove anything. Even I would tend to bring my skepticism to bear, even if I am more open to the idea of there being some kind of active "divine" influence.

• @Mystic believes it was divine guidance.
• @Pavlos Maros and @chansen would probably say coincidence or luck.
• A classical Greek would say Fate or some deity.

All of that sounds about right, Mendalla. However, there is one true answer. If Pavlos and chansen are correct, and it really was just coincidence, then it really was just coincidence. It doesn't matter if Mystic and the Greek think otherwise. If Mystic's correct, and it really was divine guidance, than others thinking otherwise doesn't change that.

Personally, I believe in divine guidance. I know there are times when God guides me. Absolutely. That said, I'm skeptical when one's anecdotes of being divinely led are always grandiose

 

[Mystic]

Personally, I believe in divine guidance. I know there are times when God guides me. Absolutely. That said, I'm skeptical when one's anecdotes of being divinely led are always grandiose

There is nothing grandiose about going out of your way to comfort a Dad whose son has just died of q drug overdose.
On the ot her hand, we serve a gowerful and grand God. So He can achieve great things by guiding any life that is fully yielded to Him.

 

[Pavlos Maros]

All of that sounds about right, Mendalla. However, there is one true answer.

Correct.

If Pavlos and chansen are correct, and it really was just coincidence, then it really was just coincidence. It doesn't matter if Mystic and the Greek think otherwise. If Mystic's correct, and it really was divine guidance, than others thinking otherwise doesn't change that.

The nature of truth does not change, no matter how much beliefs differ. If Chansen and I see an event as a coincidence, it's because we prioritize evidence in our pursuit of objective truth. You and Beserk, on the other hand, focus on subjective meaning and interpretation, such as divine guidance. But belief alone does not define truth.

The real question is this, which explanation better reflects the reality of the event? Until demonstrable evidence proves otherwise, the explanation of coincidence remains the most consistent with an evidence-based approach to truth. Your view of truth is shaped by how you choose to engage with the world, it is relational and participatory. However, that’s not how reality works.
Truth doesn’t bend to feelings, interpretations, or beliefs. It simply is.

And in this case, divine guidance fails to align with it."

 

[Luce NDs]

Is identifying as a follower of Jesus close enough to identify as a Christian? By the time I started attending Sunday School at age nine, I already had a set of values shaped by family, school, and others. A short story about integrity in Grade 8 clarified for me how important living with integrity is to me. Books like Stranger in a Strange Land, The Jesus Incident, The Magic of Findhorn, and Conversations with God also shape my beliefs and behaviour.

I am not sure what people mean by the word faith.

What is it to be unenlightened of your wishful baggage ... ask Joan eh! it is a work of word how the light was buried so those that didn't wish to know wouldn't half to and those that did would dig ... thus labor in the cassion (a water-tight tube) ... resembles a myth laid out in lambskin ...

 

[Jae]

There is nothing grandiose about going out of your way to comfort a Dad whose son has just died of q drug overdose

No? You figure that's the kind of divine guidance that normally takes place in the life of Christians?

According to your story, you just so happened to feel a strong impulse to go to a particular place. Then, as soon as you got there, you just so happened to meet a particular individual who desperately needed your care.

And you figure that's not a grandiose claim. You think that's the kind of divine guidance believers usually experience. I'm skeptical. Your story may be true. It also sounds to me like you might be embellishing it, or fabricating it entirely. If Clint desperately needed help, why would God especially select you to go give it. Why not call on someone more immediate in proximity to Clint

 

[Mystic]

Here is a more obvious case of divine guidance. Around 1990 I had just finished teaching an overload of Theology courses at St. Bonaventure U., where I taught for 12 years and was eager for a restful vacation. But that Friday I became obsessed with the awareness of an impending death that would affect me. All weekend, I tried to dismiss this knowledge as paranoia, yet the more I tried, the more insistent it became. I began to fear that a family member might die. On Monday morning, I rushed towards the door to the outside, determined to forget my clairvoyance and go out for breakfast.

Just as I arrived at the door, an inner voice shouted, "SIT DOWN; YOU ARE ABOUT TO HEAR OF THE DEATH!" Startled, I sat down by the phone on a little table by the door and immediately the phone rang. It was Dr. Winifred Whelan, the Chair of the Graduate Theology Dept. She informed me that Prof. Corcoran had failed to show up for his summer Masters course on Pauline Theology. So she went and knocked on the door of the university apartment where he was staying as a visiting scholar. When no one answered, she got a key to unlock the door and found Prof. Corcoran dead in bed. It was later learned that he died of diabetic shock. Dr Whelan then told me that the students were waiting to hear if the class needed to be canceled and I was the only professor around trained to teach that course without advance notice. Would I interrupt my vacation and do it? How could I say No? The lord had been preparing my heart to say Yes all weekend. So agreed to teach that course.