Faith or Knowledge

Are there times and places in your life when you have no faith, by that I mean you don’t need faith because you know without even a hint of doubt that God is there. You have seen or felt proof of His existence.

The word faith is a tricky word, because to have faith you must believe but it is a belief without knowing. It is not a belief without knowing. It is not a belief like “I believe the mailman came already” Knowing that the mailman comes everyday at 11:00 am and now it is quarter past 12 and certainly there will be proof of his arrival in the form of notes in your mailbox. You can know for sure 99.9% but there must be an tiniest bit of questioning, because there is no proof. This isn’t like questioning the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, where you wish it to be true but know that it is not. It is a deep abiding belief – a belief in tradition that has been handed down age after age, a belief of the feeling in your own heart, a belief in the miracles that you have seen and heard that no one but a God in Heaven could produce. But all that belief ends in a question mark because there is no absolute proof before you. Some believers say they know 100%, but this is not faith. It is knowledge. I admire them for their certainty but I am still just faithful.

There are times when I am certain, like right now sitting on the beach and then there are other times when question arise. It is those times that I have to rely on my faith. The strength that I have built up in the knowing carries me through the times when I am unsure.

American Heritage Dictionary
faith (fāth) n.
1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief, trust.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
4. often Faith Christianity The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith.
6. A set of principles or beliefs.