Anyway, the two definitions of faith offered by the Counter Apologist are:
Belief without good evidence.
Pretending to know what you don't know.
On the Aron Ra, WikiQuote page, I found the following quote (bold added):
Remember how Jesus said that he came not to bring peace but a sword; that he would divide husbands from their wives and children from their parents all on behalf of beliefs based on faith? Remember also that faith, (an unreasonable assertion of complete conviction which is not based on reason and is defended against all reason) —is the most dishonest position it is possible to have. Any belief which requires faith should be rejected for that reason.
So we have several examples of atheists attempting to redefine faith in such a way as to mean having no evidence for what we believe. They even go so far as to say if we have evidence, we can't have faith.
It's typical for critics of Christianity to want to define words in their favor but they usually limit it to more technical terms like science or evolution. Faith, however, is a word they otherwise seek to separate from science. If scientists have the right to define evolution (actually they don't have the right but they think they do), then the correct meaning of faith should be determined by the religious community, right? No. Skeptics of faith also think they have the right to define our terms as well.
Unfortunately, even some compromising Christians have even gotten in on the act. In an article titled, Top Ten Signs That You Dont Understand Evolution At All, one theistic evolution claimed you don't understand evolution if, “You think acceptance of evolution is the same as religious faith.” He goes on to say:
“Blind faith” does indeed have pejorative connotations in secular usage, but RayCo lends credence to these undertones in a way that no True Christian™ should. That’s because the Bible talks about “blind” religious faith, and its description is anything but negative. In John 20:29, Jesus declares that those who “believe without seeing” are “blessed” (contrasting them with “doubting” Thomas, who asked for proof).
Such comments misrepresent the Bible. People like this don't seem to understand that Thomas was refusing to believe the testimony of the apostles! They had seen the Savior alive but Thomas refused to believe until he saw Jesus for himself. This is the same attitude many skeptics express today. Jesus's ministry on earth only lasted a short time. The vast majority of people in history were not alive during the few, short years of His Incarnation. If the standard for believing in Christ is that we see Him with our own eyes, then most of humanity is doomed. However, that's not the standard. We have the written accounts of His resurrection and we can believe the things written in the gospels and be saved.
The irony is that, while evolution-believing Christians may claim blind faith is necessary to believe the Bible, they seem to only believe those parts of the Bible which they feel have the doubting Thomas kind of proof. They don't believe in creation on "blind faith," for example. Instead, they have adopted the secular theories of proud atheists and have twisted the Scriptures to accommodate the godless theories of secularism. How sad.
There's a little confusion about the difference between belief and faith. Generally, people attach a religious connotation to the word faith but I don't agree that's entirely appropriate. Let me give you an analogy. In English, we have the words belief and believe. One is a noun and one is a verb but we understand that they basically carry the same root meaning. Are you with me so far? OK. Now, in the New Testament, the Greek words faith and believe are basically the same too!
The noun, pistis (πίστις, Strong's word 4102), is generally translated as “faith” rather than “belief.” Its cognate verb, pisteuo (πιστεύω, Strong's word 4100), is generally translated as “believe” rather than “have faith.” So, as we read the Bible, believing and having faith is a distinction without a difference. Do we believe in God? Do we believe Jesus is the Christ? Do we believe the things in the Bible? If so, then we have faith.
On Webster-Dictionary.org, we find these definitions of faith:
Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting solely and implicitly on his authority and veracity; reliance on testimony.
The assent of the mind to the statement or proposition of another, on the ground of the manifest truth of what he utters; firm and earnest belief, on probable evidence of any kind, especially in regard to important moral truth.
So, one definition of faith is to believe something declared by another based on his authority and veracity. One thing that strikes me about that definition is that it describes a lot of people who believe in evolution. Think about this: most people aren't biologists or paleontologists or geologists or scientist of any kind. They have not seen the alleged evidence for evolution. For example, I would estimate that more than 99.99% of the people in this world have never laid eyes on an actual fossil of a supposed hominid ancestor. Instead, lay people rely on the authority and veracity of the scientists who have studied the evidence. As a matter of fact, even the majority of scientists haven't seen the actual fossils of supposed hominid ancestors – they've only seen photographs or plaster casts and read the papers of people who have seen them.
Belief in evolution, then, is nothing more than faith in the opinions of people who we assume should know. Mind you, too, that most evolutionists have faith in people who they have never even met. Do you know who writes the science textbooks used in the schools in your neighborhood? What's his name? Where does he live? Where does he work? Where did his get his degree? The students – even the teachers – don't know either. Kids read a science textbook and believe in evolution because... well... it's in the science textbook!
Some of the critics reading this right now are seething. They're ready to tell me how the material in the textbooks isn't just the opinions of some random nobody who snagged a book deal. It's the end result of decades of research, conducted by countless scientists, and compiled by experts in the field. Never mind that the errors it contains will have to be corrected in the next edition – the current edition is cutting edge! My point in raising this is that it's not necessarily wrong to have confidence in a book authored by someone you've never even met. Faith doesn't necessarily mean blind faith. It's also having confidence in the testimony of another based on his authority and veracity.
I believe that Moses witnessed the plagues on Egypt. I believe he saw the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea. I believe he ate the manna that God provided for His people daily. I believe he heard the voice of God in the burning bush. And I believe the accounts of the creation and the flood that were revealed to him.
I believe the apostles knew Jesus; that they saw Him turn water into wine, heal lepers, give sight to the blind, walk on water, calm the storm, and raise the dead. I believe His words they recorded: that He is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. I believe they saw Him die and saw Him alive again!
I believe the Bible for many of the same reasons skeptics believe in evolution; I have been convinced of the truth of it. It's not unreasonable. It's not blind faith. I will not let some tortured definition of faith shame me in questioning my faith nor trick me into trusting only “scientific” evidence.
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then FAITH cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:11-17
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