Why is Faith a Virtue?

well, nwr, if everyone else goes on caring, I don't have to. I can live off the fat of their caring. Why shouldn't I do this?

Damn, I've been gone for a while and missed this whole thread. The topic is interesting to me though.Anone want to give me a summary of the points/arguments that have been made throughout so I can throw another opinion on it. I don't really have the time to read the whole thread and it'll be closed soon anyways...But if you'd like another viewpoint, I'd be happy to supply one.Edited by Catholic Scientist, : added signature, good point IMO

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Science fails to recognize the single most potent element of human existence.
Letting the reigns go to the unfolding is faith, faith, faith, faith.
Science has failed our world.
Science has failed our Mother Earth.
-System of a Down, "Science"

And at worst all they could do is call you a parasite. Mere sticks and stones versus a free lunch. They would frown and grumble. You would comsume their tax dollars. Seems like a good deal to me given your nihilst position.

Really the thread has wandered a lot, but I'm sure Chief Infidel would still appreciate a considered answer to his OP. Do you see any virtue in faith? That is, is there anything admirable about faith itself, or a high degree of faith, and does it matter what the faith is in?{edit: The latest angle on the topic is robinrohan's claim that all moral positions are held by faith since they are subjective rather than objective, although people do preach them as if they had a solid or objective foundation.My answer in a nutshell has been that not all faith is a virtue, but faith in the true God may be, especially if it costs.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

Yes, one way to think of it would be to say that whether faith is a virtue or not depends on what you have faith in. If one has faith in the validity of the code of some vicious regime, I suppose that would not be so good.

I have a moral code that keeps me from doing that. This code is based on nothing at all except feelings.nwr tries to equate morality to practicality. He doesn't want to say that the reason we ought not to be irresponsible is that it would be WRONG--but you can't get away from some moral rule at back of it all.Edited by robinrohan, : No reason given.

This depends on what you call faith...I would actually say they are held by belief in their rightness.
I can dogmatically adhere to my value system and still realize that it is subjective based on my perceptions.Back to topic: Do you mean faith as in "...the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen?"(Heb 11:1)
Heb 11 describes all kinds of things that happened through faith. Faith, as described there, seems to be remaining in, trusting, and obeying God despite not knowing the outcome. It is not named as a virtue per se, but all the descriptions seem to elevate it to one. However, the context is always "faith in God to live up to his promises". In Christian lingo, "faith" is just shorthand. Unfortunately, it seems to be flung about now as if it meant the same as "believing" in God. Quite the contrary.Faith of this type may not be considered by us to be a virtue if the actions performed in that act of "faith" are not pleasant or seemingly virtuous. However, the value of the faith cannot be judged by the amount of apparent virtue in the act. The value of the faith is determined by the amount of perserverence, trust, and obedience the person of faith displayed in the face of unpleasant circumstances. "Faith is a virtue" is really a misnomer..."Faith is virtuous" should be the saying.

Is this any different from saying, "I can dogmatically adhere to my belief in God and still realize that it is subjective based on my perceptions"?Same thing.

not really, but good luck finding any fundies who admit that their idea of god is such and not objective absolute truth.

I thought that the belief in God was a yes/no/idunno kind of thing.Once you are in the "yes" catagory you are not likely to say you are being subjective with regard to your belief.

Yes. Yes, these are the "works" that are founded on faith, the works that demonstrate real faith. You are right. Mere "belief in God" doesn't necessarily mean anything about faith, which is an active thing that is proved by laying yourself on the line when tested. Yes, you get the idea. But it's only that to a believer anyway, as I was trying to say.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

OK, I'll accept that. But why one want to be dogmatic about a belief that is merely subjective? I would think one would want to be tentative. Edited by robinrohan, : No reason given.

Parentheses are my inserts.
If by "believer" you mean Christians only, I have to disagree.The acts performed on 9/11 were abhorant to us. That does not mean the faith of those performing the acts was also abhorant. They trusted their version of God unto death and struck a blow to the enemies of their version of God.Standing by your beliefs has always been considered virtuous. Our not agreeing with the actions does not diminish the faith (misguided though it may be) of the perpetrators.If you knew God was telling you to blow up an abortion clinic while people were in it, would you do it?
(please don't equivocate by saying God wouldn't do that)Edited by LinearAq, : Added the last question

I'm sure it takes courage to do something like that and I'm sure if I believed something like that I'd want to please God and do it too. But that's why I say what one's faith is IN is what ultimately makes it virtuous or not. Faith in something false and cruel isn't really virtuous in my opinion.

Yes, one might contrast our feelings toward the faith of the Nazi high command during WWII with the faith of the common German soldier who has nothing to do with Nazism in his heart but was patriotic toward his country.The poster said standing by one's beliefs is always admired. But we do not admire the Nazi commanders who stood by their belief, though we might very well understand and even sympathize with the common German soldier fighting for his country.