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What Separates "Superstition" From "Faith" ? (1 Viewer)

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

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In your humble opinion, what separates "superstition", from "faith/belief"?
 
A superstitious person lives in fear...a person who loves God and is loved by God/a person of faith does not...on the contrary, it emboldens a person...

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts fear out, because fear restrains us. Indeed, the one who is fearful has not been made perfect in love. We love, because he first loved us." 1 John 4:18,19
 
Dragonfly said:
In your humble opinion, what separates "superstition", from "faith/belief"?
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Evidence. I'm unaware of any superstition that can't be debunked. Faith in biblical doctrines, like giving to those that have needs, typically has evidence that that is a action with returns. There's also experiential knowledge of faith in action. What does superstitions have that you can prove (by evidence) benefitting the believer of a superstition?
 
Dragonfly said:
In your humble opinion, what separates "superstition", from "faith/belief"?
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Faith is a positive belief in something intangible; can't see it, can't hold it. Superstition is a fear or wariness of something intangible; can't see it, can't hold it. IMHO.
 
Jessie C said:
Faith is a positive belief in something intangible; can't see it, can't hold it. Superstition is a fear or wariness of something intangible; can't see it, can't hold it. IMHO.
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Good point! I wonder, though, how often does the thing you fear in a superstition actually manifests itself in a person's life. Probably, no way near as much as the thing you have faith in.
 
Jessie C said:
Faith is a positive belief in something intangible; can't see it, can't hold it. Superstition is a fear or wariness of something intangible; can't see it, can't hold it. IMHO.
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Tomato, toma-toe. They both involve belief. Whether fear or whatever other emotion is involved is irrelevant. Some theists claim to be "God fearing." Some people believe in good luck charms. Both involve belief and are essentially the same thing.
 
Dragonfly said:
In your humble opinion, what separates "superstition", from "faith/belief"?
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If you mean what separates superstition and church I would reply "Nothing".

Look. You have to be superstitious to believe there is a man living in the sky who keeps tabs on every one of us 24/7 judging each situation based on a confusing and ever changing set of rules. To believe the creation myth you have to believe that God made all this is a big ****ing hurry (so much so its 20,000 years from being 'done') and walked away! He matched up old Adam to Eve, the bitch, and left everything after that up incest. In order for the human race sooner or later someone had to commit incest!

you also have to believe that 85% of the human population are going to hell because they had the wrong faith forced down their throats. That's a rather inept god

The problem with superstitions is they aren't ever thought through.
 
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Fearandloathing said:
If you mean what separates superstition and church I would reply "Nothing".

Look. You have to be superstitious to believe there is a man living in the sky who keeps tabs on every one of us 24/7 judging each situation based on a confusing and ever changing set of rules. To believe the creation myth you have to believe that God made all this is a big ****ing hurry (so much so its 20,000 years from being 'done') and walked away! He matched up old Adam to Even, the bitch, and left everything after that up incest. In order for the human race sooner or later someone had to commit incest!

you also have to believe that 85% of the human population are going to hell because they had the wrong faith forced down their throats. That's a rather inept god

The problem with superstitions is they aren't ever thought through.
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Fear, where have you been? I was worried about you, you just disappeared! So happy you are back! :giggle:
 
Jessie C said:
Fear, where have you been? I was worried about you, you just disappeared! So happy you are back! :giggle:
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Thanks!

I was visiting friends in the far reaches of the cosmos.

Now and then I find I am taking myself way too seriously.

And I have doing some public service work, volunteer testing new strains of marijuana
 
Fearandloathing said:
Thanks!

I was visiting friends in the far reaches of the cosmos.

Now and then I find I am taking myself way too seriously.

And I have doing some public service work, volunteer testing new strains of marijuana
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Sweet! Lucky you!
 
A literal translation of Hebrews 11:1 can better give a delineation of the difference between the two.

KJV:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is the Greek word pistis and it should be translated "believing. The word "substance" literally is "title deed." The words "hoped for (literally is "prayed for"). Believing (faith) is the title deed. If you buy an automobile, you are given a title deed. That's the evidence that the car is yours. It's the evidence of things not seen. Believing (faith) is the title deed that the things prayed for are yours before you see them. So, a literal translation of Hebrews 11:1 would be.

Now believing is the title deed for things prayed for. The evidence that it is yours before it is seen.

The core point of Hebrews 11 is to show the benefit of faith (believing). Jesus emphasized its importance when the man brought his troubled child to him. He questioned Jesus' faith and Jesus replied:

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

I don't see where believing in a superstition produces the same result of faith/believing.
 
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Jessie C said:
Superstition is a fear or wariness of something intangible
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Not necessarily. Many athletes have all kinds of superstitions they run through before competitions, and many people have ”good luck charms” like a rabbit’s foot, or lucky quarter.

Over half the people in Las Vegas probably have something in their possession they think will bring them good luck.

Brides typically do the something borrowed - something blue thing.
Or the “groom not seeing bride in her gown before the ceremony” thing.

And let’s not forget Christianity has the whole “Satan/Hell” thing.
Talk about FEAR!!!
One of their greatest inventions.
 
Dragonfly said:
Not necessarily. Many athletes have all kinds of superstitions they run through before competitions, and many people have ”good luck charms” like a rabbit’s foot, or lucky quarter.

Over half the people in Las Vegas probably have something in their possession they think will bring them good luck.

Brides typically do the something borrowed - something blue thing.
Or the “groom not seeing bride in her gown before the ceremony” thing.

And let’s not forget Christianity has the whole “Satan/Hell” thing.
Talk about FEAR!!!
One of their greatest inventions.
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If having a lucky charm guaranteed anything why aren't the ones believing in it not using their lucky charms to win the lottery ? Imagine how many superstitious people would be millionaires.
 
Dragonfly said:
In your humble opinion, what separates "superstition", from "faith/belief"?
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If it's something you believe, you call it faith. If it's something you don't believe but somebody else does, you call it superstition in order to denigrate it.

It's the same thing as a person describing their faith as a "religion" while denigrating all other religions as "mythologies."
 
There is no real difference between the two if faith means believing in imaginary things which is generally the case in religions.
 
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