Originally posted by twhitehead
Faith in what? The first random statement you come across? Surely either your faith is placed randomly, or you used reasoning to choose one.
Of course the problem you have is that you still don't know whether your method leads to truth. You simply have faith that it does.
I believe that we have a kind of resume of God. We have a record of His dealings with man over the course of many centries. We have a log of how God overcame various obstacles of every conceivable kind placed before His plans.
We have a record of the roadblocks of man's failure, man's opinions, man's disobedience, man's adding his own two cents, etc, etc. From Genesis on we see this encredible Mind branching over wall after wall to reach a goal.
Adam's disobedience doesn't stop Him. Cain's murder of Abel doesn't stop Him. Noah's failures, Abraham's weaknesses, Isaac's blindness, Jacob's trickery, Moses's temper and reluctance doesn't stop Him, the Isrealites rebellions don't stop Him, Saul, Jonah, David, Solomon and others with all their imperfections cannot stop Him. He continiues to branch over the obstacles.
As I read I have the feeling that these are indeed real people. I feel that I know these people. Thier sins and errors are familiar sounding.
The catalogue of God getting through all the human weaknesses and failures impresses us that He will be able to keep His promises. And that He does of course exist.
That is without. Within we have the Holy Spirit as a sense of God's presence. It is too real to take lightly.