Baraka_Guru

I was born and raised non-religiously. I consider myself an agnostic atheist in that I have no belief in deities and do not claim to know that none exist.

As far as faith is concerned, I think it's a human attribute, not a godly one. I think faith is hardwired into our brains as a part of our evolutionary development. Since we are social beings, faith has become a component of how we interact and cooperate within groups. Faith is the driving force behind trust (as Smeth referred to with loved ones). Based on that idea, I have faith in many people. The capacity to trust other humans has been essential to our survival and our ability to thrive and build secure and stable societies.

I generally have faith in humanity in that I believe that humans are generally good when they are not enthralled by pain, fear, ignorance, etc. There are always exceptions to the rule of course, and whether you can chalk that up as problems with brain chemistry or behavioral/environmental factors, it doesn't matter so much, as I don't believe that people can be inherently evil. I believe evil to be a construct, not a "tool of the devil." Evil is the outcome of an unhealthy or otherwise misled human.

I suppose this all means that I'm a humanist, and that is where I draw my faith. Though I use the term more loosely than is normally employed by religions.

Of course, it would help to know a bit more about what we consider faith to be.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot