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faith

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faith


  6  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Faith  \Faith\,  n.  [OE.  feith,  fayth,  fay,  OF  feid,  feit,  fei, 
  F.  foi,  fr  L.  fides;  akin  to  fidere  to  trust,  Gr  ???????  to 
  persuade.  The  ending  th  is  perhaps  due  to  the  influence  of 
  such  words  as  truth,  health,  wealth.  See  {Bid},  {Bide},  and 
  cf  {Confide},  {Defy},  {Fealty}.] 
  1.  Belief;  the  assent  of  the  mind  to  the  truth  of  what  is 
  declared  by  another,  resting  solely  and  implicitly  on  his 
  authority  and  veracity;  reliance  on  testimony. 
 
  2.  The  assent  of  the  mind  to  the  statement  or  proposition  of 
  another,  on  the  ground  of  the  manifest  truth  of  what  he 
  utters;  firm  and  earnest  belief,  on  probable  evidence  of 
  any  kind  especially  in  regard  to  important  moral  truth. 
 
  Faith,  that  is  fidelity,  --  the  fealty  of  the 
  finite  will  and  understanding  to  the  reason. 
  --Coleridge. 
 
  3.  (Theol.) 
  a  The  belief  in  the  historic  truthfulness  of  the 
  Scripture  narrative,  and  the  supernatural  origin  of 
  its  teachings,  sometimes  called  historical  and 
  speculative  faith. 
  b  The  belief  in  the  facts  and  truth  of  the  Scriptures, 
  with  a  practical  love  of  them  especially,  that 
  confiding  and  affectionate  belief  in  the  person  and 
  work  of  Christ,  which  affects  the  character  and  life, 
  and  makes  a  man  a  true  Christian,  --  called  a 
  practical,  evangelical,  or  saving  faith. 
 
  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  him 
  [God].  --Heb.  xi  6. 
 
  The  faith  of  the  gospel  is  that  emotion  of  the 
  mind  which  is  called  ``trust''  or  ``confidence'' 
  exercised  toward  the  moral  character  of  God,  and 
  particularly  of  the  Savior.  --Dr.  T. 
  Dwight. 
 
  Faith  is  an  affectionate,  practical  confidence 
  in  the  testimony  of  God.  --J.  Hawes. 
 
  4.  That  which  is  believed  on  any  subject,  whether  in  science, 
  politics,  or  religion;  especially  (Theol.),  a  system  of 
  religious  belief  of  any  kind  as  the  Jewish  or  Mohammedan 
  faith;  and  especially,  the  system  of  truth  taught  by 
  Christ;  as  the  Christian  faith;  also  the  creed  or  belief 
  of  a  Christian  society  or  church. 
 
  Which  to  believe  of  her  Must  be  a  faith  that  reason 
  without  miracle  Could  never  plant  in  me  --Shak. 
 
  Now  preacheth  the  faith  which  once  he  destroyed. 
  --Gal.  i.  23. 
 
  5.  Fidelity  to  one's  promises,  or  allegiance  to  duty,  or  to  a 
  person  honored  and  beloved;  loyalty. 
 
  Children  in  whom  is  no  faith.  --Deut.  xxvii. 
  20. 
 
  Whose  failing,  while  her  faith  to  me  remains,  I 
  should  conceal.  --Milton. 
 
  6.  Word  or  honor  pledged;  promise  given  fidelity;  as  he 
  violated  his  faith. 
 
  For  you  alone  I  broke  me  faith  with  injured  Palamon. 
  --Dryden. 
 
  7.  Credibility  or  truth.  [R.] 
 
  The  faith  of  the  foregoing  narrative.  --Mitford. 
 
  {Act  of  faith}.  See  {Auto-da-f['e]}. 
 
  {Breach  of  faith},  {Confession  of  faith},  etc  See  under 
  {Breach},  {Confession},  etc 
 
  {Faith  cure},  a  method  or  practice  of  treating  diseases  by 
  prayer  and  the  exercise  of  faith  in  God. 
 
  {In  good  faith},  with  perfect  sincerity. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Faith  \Faith\,  interj. 
  By  my  faith;  in  truth;  verily. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  faith 
  n  1:  a  strong  belief  in  a  supernatural  power  or  powers  that 
  control  human  destiny;  "he  lost  his  faith  but  not  his 
  morality"  [syn:  {religion},  {religious  belief}] 
  2:  complete  confidence  in  a  person  or  plan  etc  "he  cherished 
  the  faith  of  a  good  woman";  "the  doctor-patient 
  relationship  is  based  on  trust"  [syn:  {trust}] 
  3:  institution  to  express  belief  in  a  divine  power;  "he  was 
  raised  in  the  Baptist  religion";  "a  member  of  his  own 
  faith  contradicted  him"  [syn:  {religion}] 
  4:  loyalty  or  allegiance  to  a  cause  or  a  person;  "keep  the 
  faith";  "they  broke  faith  with  their  investors" 
 
  From  U.S.  Gazetteer  (1990)  [gazetteer]: 
 
  Faith,  NC  (town,  FIPS  22600) 
  Location:  35.58806  N,  80.46123  W 
  Population  (1990):  553  (234  housing  units) 
  Area:  1.9  sq  km  (land),  0.0  sq  km  (water) 
  Faith,  SD  (city,  FIPS  20980) 
  Location:  45.02588  N,  102.03643  W 
  Population  (1990):  548  (249  housing  units) 
  Area:  3.2  sq  km  (land),  0.0  sq  km  (water) 
  Zip  code(s):  57626 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Faith 
  Faith  is  in  general  the  persuasion  of  the  mind  that  a  certain 
  statement  is  true  (Phil.  1:27;  2  Thess.  2:13).  Its  primary  idea 
  is  trust.  A  thing  is  true,  and  therefore  worthy  of  trust.  It 
  admits  of  many  degrees  up  to  full  assurance  of  faith,  in 
  accordance  with  the  evidence  on  which  it  rests. 
 
  Faith  is  the  result  of  teaching  (Rom.  10:14-17).  Knowledge  is 
  an  essential  element  in  all  faith,  and  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as 
  an  equivalent  to  faith  (John  10:38;  1  John  2:3).  Yet  the  two  are 
  distinguished  in  this  respect,  that  faith  includes  in  it  assent, 
  which  is  an  act  of  the  will  in  addition  to  the  act  of  the 
  understanding.  Assent  to  the  truth  is  of  the  essence  of  faith, 
  and  the  ultimate  ground  on  which  our  assent  to  any  revealed 
  truth  rests  is  the  veracity  of  God. 
 
  Historical  faith  is  the  apprehension  of  and  assent  to  certain 
  statements  which  are  regarded  as  mere  facts  of  history. 
 
  Temporary  faith  is  that  state  of  mind  which  is  awakened  in  men 
  (e.g.,  Felix)  by  the  exhibition  of  the  truth  and  by  the 
  influence  of  religious  sympathy,  or  by  what  is  sometimes  styled 
  the  common  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
 
  Saving  faith  is  so  called  because  it  has  eternal  life 
  inseparably  connected  with  it  It  cannot  be  better  defined  than 
  in  the  words  of  the  Assembly's  Shorter  Catechism:  "Faith  in 
  Jesus  Christ  is  a  saving  grace,  whereby  we  receive  and  rest  upon 
  him  alone  for  salvation,  as  he  is  offered  to  us  in  the  gospel." 
 
  The  object  of  saving  faith  is  the  whole  revealed  Word  of  God. 
  Faith  accepts  and  believes  it  as  the  very  truth  most  sure  But 
  the  special  act  of  faith  which  unites  to  Christ  has  as  its 
  object  the  person  and  the  work  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (John 
  7:38;  Acts  16:31).  This  is  the  specific  act  of  faith  by  which  a 
  sinner  is  justified  before  God  (Rom.  3:22,  25;  Gal.  2:16;  Phil. 
  3:9;  John  3:16-36;  Acts  10:43;  16:31).  In  this  act  of  faith  the 
  believer  appropriates  and  rests  on  Christ  alone  as  Mediator  in 
  all  his  offices. 
 
  This  assent  to  or  belief  in  the  truth  received  upon  the  divine 
  testimony  has  always  associated  with  it  a  deep  sense  of  sin,  a 
  distinct  view  of  Christ,  a  consenting  will  and  a  loving  heart, 
  together  with  a  reliance  on  a  trusting  in  or  resting  in 
  Christ.  It  is  that  state  of  mind  in  which  a  poor  sinner, 
  conscious  of  his  sin,  flees  from  his  guilty  self  to  Christ  his 
  Saviour,  and  rolls  over  the  burden  of  all  his  sins  on  him  It 
  consists  chiefly,  not  in  the  assent  given  to  the  testimony  of 
  God  in  his  Word  but  in  embracing  with  fiducial  reliance  and 
  trust  the  one  and  only  Saviour  whom  God  reveals.  This  trust  and 
  reliance  is  of  the  essence  of  faith.  By  faith  the  believer 
  directly  and  immediately  appropriates  Christ  as  his  own  Faith 
  in  its  direct  act  makes  Christ  ours  It  is  not  a  work  which  God 
  graciously  accepts  instead  of  perfect  obedience,  but  is  only  the 
  hand  by  which  we  take  hold  of  the  person  and  work  of  our 
  Redeemer  as  the  only  ground  of  our  salvation. 
 
  Saving  faith  is  a  moral  act  as  it  proceeds  from  a  renewed 
  will  and  a  renewed  will  is  necessary  to  believing  assent  to  the 
  truth  of  God  (1  Cor.  2:14;  2  Cor.  4:4).  Faith,  therefore,  has 
  its  seat  in  the  moral  part  of  our  nature  fully  as  much  as  in  the 
  intellectual.  The  mind  must  first  be  enlightened  by  divine 
  teaching  (John  6:44;  Acts  13:48;  2  Cor.  4:6;  Eph.  1:17,  18) 
  before  it  can  discern  the  things  of  the  Spirit. 
 
  Faith  is  necessary  to  our  salvation  (Mark  16:16),  not  because 
  there  is  any  merit  in  it  but  simply  because  it  is  the  sinner's 
  taking  the  place  assigned  him  by  God,  his  falling  in  with  what 
  God  is  doing 
 
  The  warrant  or  ground  of  faith  is  the  divine  testimony,  not 
  the  reasonableness  of  what  God  says,  but  the  simple  fact  that  he 
  says  it  Faith  rests  immediately  on  "Thus  saith  the  Lord."  But 
  in  order  to  this  faith  the  veracity,  sincerity,  and  truth  of  God 
  must  be  owned  and  appreciated,  together  with  his 
  unchangeableness.  God's  word  encourages  and  emboldens  the  sinner 
  personally  to  transact  with  Christ  as  God's  gift,  to  close  with 
  him  embrace  him  give  himself  to  Christ,  and  take  Christ  as 
  his  That  word  comes  with  power,  for  it  is  the  word  of  God  who 
  has  revealed  himself  in  his  works  and  especially  in  the  cross. 
  God  is  to  be  believed  for  his  word's  sake,  but  also  for  his 
  name's  sake. 
 
  Faith  in  Christ  secures  for  the  believer  freedom  from 
  condemnation,  or  justification  before  God;  a  participation  in 
  the  life  that  is  in  Christ,  the  divine  life  (John  14:19;  Rom. 
  6:4-10;  Eph.  4:15,16,  etc.);  "peace  with  God"  (Rom.  5:1);  and 
  sanctification  (Acts  26:18;  Gal.  5:6;  Acts  15:9). 
 
  All  who  thus  believe  in  Christ  will  certainly  be  saved  (John 
  6:37,  40;  10:27,  28;  Rom.  8:1). 
 
  The  faith=the  gospel  (Acts  6:7;  Rom.  1:5;  Gal.  1:23;  1  Tim. 
  3:9;  Jude  1:3). 
 
 
  From  THE  DEVIL'S  DICTIONARY  ((C)1911  Released  April  15  1993)  [devils]: 
 
  FAITH,  n.  Belief  without  evidence  in  what  is  told  by  one  who  speaks 
  without  knowledge,  of  things  without  parallel. 
 
 




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