Is faith through fear of damnation real faith or just "playing it safe?"
by 
BobSaccamano-is-back
ANSWERS: 5
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There is another operative component to faith that supercedes fear. That is the knowledge of love in the universe and confidence that all's well that ends well.
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In my opinion it's just playing it safe, much like people who claim religion as a basis for moral guidance. For example, are they saying the only reason they don't kill is because they fear God? As an atheist, I don't kill because I know it's wrong, not because I fear that I will go to hell.
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I think for those who tend towards, and revel in, fanaticism, it is 'real faith'. (ex. puritanism). For the rest of us, though, it is just "playing it safe". Admittedly though, for those of us who love God, there is a legitimate element of fear of damnation, because it would mean eternal separation from God. <I don't believe in hell, as such, and not in purgatory at all.>
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That kind of "faith" is really more like superstition -- don't cross a black cat's path, don't walk under a ladder, believe in so-and-so or you'll go to hell. It's hard to imagine a weaker definition of faith, I think.
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If you believe you will be damned then that is real faith.You are indoctrinated into this belief and accept it as true. If you are playing it safe then,most likely you do not totally believe in damnation,and just pretending to.Or thirdly you don't believe it at all but just want to fit in to the status quo.
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