When discussing faith or blind faith, we immediately associate each with God. However, it’s far more complex than that.
Faith is derived from the Latin word fides and the Old French word feid. It refers to confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In religion, it’s defined as “belief in God or the teachings of religion,” Blind faith means believing in something unquestionably.
People who are religious refer to faith as confidence based on a perceived degree of warrant. In contrast, people skeptical of religion think of faith as a belief without evidence.
The mere difference between faith and blind faith is that faith is having trust in something or someone with a reason, meaning the thing that one has faith in had to have done something to gain one’s faith, while blind faith means, having trust in something or someone without a plausible reason or evidence.
There aren’t many differences between faith and blind faith. However, there are some, and here is a table for that.
| Faith | Blind faith |
| it means having trust in something or someone but still being cautious | It means having trust in something or someone without a question |
| Hope and trust are a part of faith | Having blind faith involves trust and hope |
Keep reading to know more.
What does blind faith mean?
“blind faith, since reason is the eye of faith, and if that eye is put out, faith is blind indeed. This reason for accepting blind faith condemns itself, does it not? It is a mere hypocritical pretense.
Blind faith is here, but another name for
no-reason-at-all.”
E. ALBERT COOK, PH.D. Professor of Systematic Theology at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
The term “blind faith” means believing without any evidence or true understanding.
However, is this the faith that God wanted us to have? Even if it was the kind of faith God wanted us to have, people would have many remarks for those who have blind faith in God.
Let’s start by looking at one of the incredible examples of faith. God told Abraham that he would be a father of many nations and his wife Sarah would bear him a child, even though Sarah was 90 and Abraham was around 100. When the time came, and Isaac was finally born to them, God told Abraham to do something which was unexpected and unthinkable, God told Abraham to kill Isaac. Thereafter, Abraham didn’t even question God.
He “blindly” followed the order of his God and traveled to a mountain with the pure and unquestionable intention of killing his son. When the moment came, God stopped Abraham and said, “Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son”.
This shows that God was rewarding and complimenting Abraham for his blind faith, and as Abraham is one of the models given to us to follow, it seems that blind faith is the ideal.
What do you mean by faith?
In the dictionary, faith means having confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. However, there are several religions with their own definition of faith. Religions like:
- Buddhism
- Islam
- Sikhism
Buddhism
Faith in Buddhism means a serene commitment to the practice of the teachings and having trust in highly developed beings like Buddhas.
In Buddhism, a faithful devotee is known as upāsaka or upāsika, and no formal declaration is required. Faith was important but just an initial step towards wisdom and enlightenment.
Faith doesn’t imply “blind faith” in Buddhism. However, a degree of trust or faith is required for the spiritual attainment of Gautama Buddha. Faith is the center of the understanding that the Buddha is an Awakened being in his superior role as a teacher, in the truth of his Dharma (spiritual teachings), and his Sangha (group of spiritually developed followers). To conclude, faith in Buddhism is summarised as “faith in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
Faith in Buddhism is far more complicated than it seems.
Islam
In Islam, a believer’s faith is called Iman, which means complete submission to the will of God, not unquestionable nor blind belief. In accordance with the Quran, Iman should do righteous deeds to enter paradise.
Muhammad referred to the six axioms of faith in the Hadith: “Iman is that you believe in God and His Angels and His Books and His Messengers and the Hereafter and the good and evil fate [ordained by your God].”
The Quran states that faith will grow with the remembrance of God, and nothing in this world should be dearer to a true believer than faith.
Sikhism
In Sikhism, there isn’t a religious concept of faith, but the five Sikh symbols, known as Kakaars, are often referred to as the Five Articles of Faith. The articles are kēs (uncut hair), kaṅghā (small wooden comb), kaṛā (circular steel or iron bracelet), kirpān (sword/dagger), and kacchera (special undergarment).
Sikhs who are baptized must wear those five articles of faith at all times to be saved from bad company and keep close to God.
There are other religions as well where faith is described. However, those are quite straightforward.
Are faith and trust the same?
Faith and trust mean the same and often are used interchangeably. However, faith can be more complex than trust. Trust is merely a demonstration of faith.
Faith is defined as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), in simpler words, faith involves trust, trust in something or someone that can’t be proven explicitly. Basically, faith can’t be separated from trust.
To describe the involvement of faith and trust with an example, Faith recognizes that a chair is designed to support the person sitting on it, and trust demonstrates faith by sitting on the chair.
What is the opposite of blind faith?
People who don’t have blind faith are skeptical, and that quality leads them to questions that are impossible to answer. Such unanswerable questions are the very questions that people with blind faith refuse to question.
Basically, the opposite of blind faith is being skeptical and looking for reasons to go against why people have blind faith.
The Opposite of believing in someone or something without a plausible reason or proof is incredulity (being unwilling to believe something), skepticism, or suspicion.
Is it good to have blind faith?
The answer to this is subjective, as in some cases, blind faith can be detrimental.
Blind faith in God is generally seen as a good thing since God is known to be good. However, blind faith in other things, for example, a politician can be seen as bad. This is because a politician, unlike God, can never truly be classified as “purely good”. There will be cases where they will take advantage of your blind faith and end up eventually putting you in harm.
Having blind faith can sometimes cost you something that is dear to you. However, when Abraham, with God’s order, traveled to a mountain to kill his only son, Issac, he had blind faith in God because he knew that He (God) would do whatever was best for him (Abraham).
God ordered him to sacrifice his only son to see if he would follow His orders. From the account, God had the assurance that Abraham feared him and would, at all costs, follow his orders. “Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your only son”.
Blind faith is like a hope for people. Without hope, one will suffer in his mind endlessly.
The man without religion is like a ship without a rudder. – B. C. Forbes.
Here is a video discussing the question: is blind faith better than belief based on evidence?
What makes faith and blind faith different?
The mere difference that makes faith different from blind faith is that when a person has faith, he might have questions about something that he has faith in and even try to find answers, while having blind faith means believing in something or someone without any reasons or questions.
Having blind faith means not knowing the nature of God or the future outcome of some event but still believing without questioning.
Having faith is like living life as if the steering wheel is in your and God’s control, whereas having blind faith means that the steering wheel of one’s life is solely in God’s control.
To Conclude
- Faith and blind faith have distinct meanings and applications.
- Faith is rooted in trust and reason, while blind faith lacks evidence or questioning.
- Different religions view faith differently, with varying definitions and complexities.
- Trust and faith are related, with trust being a demonstration of faith.
- The opposite of blind faith is skepticism or disbelief.
- The goodness of blind faith depends on the positive or negative context.
- Faith is not limited to religion and varies among individuals.
- Faith is a deeply personal and diverse concept crucial to human life.