Baha'i Library Forum

That is an interesting distinction you make between "belief" and "faith." But I have always thought of them as meaning the same thing.

Dictionary:

belief in trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.

faith complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

What do you think?

Faith and Spiritual knowledge go hand in hand. Faith bestows a new consciousness. The Word of God and spiritual traditions are not simply a compendium of intellectual exercises where one connects the dots between two facts. They create a dynamic tension in the soul where a yearning for the Source of truth is born. Humble submission purifies motive, clears the limitations of the mind, and bestows a new awareness of the beauty of the Divine.

Argos wrote:Faith and Spiritual knowledge go hand in hand. Faith bestows a new consciousness. The Word of God and spiritual traditions are not simply a compendium of intellectual exercises where one connects the dots between two facts. They create a dynamic tension in the soul where a yearning for the Source of truth is born. Humble submission purifies motive, clears the limitations of the mind, and bestows a new awareness of the beauty of the Divine.

Amen! If only everyone agreed with this wisdom.

Thanks again for your posts, Richard. They are refreshing, especially with all the "intellectual" debates going on in the forum, which you are well aware of. (I take it that this post is your response to those debates, and indeed you are correct in thinking that there is too much intellectuality compared to spirituality being witnessed on the forum at times, which misses the point of religion completely.)