Have Faith Have Confidence

The concept of faith is in conflict; an idea that changes from person to person. To have faith is to believe. Whether it is faith in the unknown or in our fellow man, we humans choose to believe. It is a choice given to all sentient beings. Faith is an oddity. What is the reasoning for a person to have faith? And what is it that we gain by having faith?

The idea lies deep within our psyche as a form of reassurance. To believe in something with no actual or conclusive proof is blind faith, a concept found regularly in human experience.

Aristotle once said that “the sum of all human existence is compounded into man’s quest for knowledge.” As perceptive life forms with the capacity for free thought, we constantly seek knowledge in an attempt to fill the void of the unknown.

However, free thought is a double-edged sword. Though we seek to uncover the unknown, we also fear it and eventually that fear can lead to paranoia and uncertainty. From this fear, faith is created. Though we cannot prove it, we believe that the unknown cannot harm us. To some this belief is enough, and so the quest to uncover the unknown ends with blind faith.

It is therefore often seen as an enemy to knowledge, a mountain that impedes the path to enlightenment. In the biblical sense, knowledge is our birthright. Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of Knowledge, and traded blind faith for self-awareness.

Despite the negative connotations it might have, faith in our fellow man can be a beautiful thing. Why does a soldier follow orders given by his commander? When he is told to advance forward in a barrage of bullets why does he listen? He must believe his commanding officer will drive him to victory, that his choices are the right ones.

In the same way, we trust our fellow man/woman daily to make the right choices, from politicians and authorities, to kids on the street. We all need confidence in society to lead happy and productive lives.