What role does faith play?

Mummsy

Without HIM, I am NOTHING! So, for me, FAITH is key to all I do and who I am!

jerzypeach

I am interested in hearing what role your faith plays in your weight lose goals/success

Why do you ask? I am curious. I think in order to make sense of the replies you have to divide people up into

1. Those who have faith and whose faith plays a large role in their weight loss
2. Those who have faith and whose faith does not play a role in their weight loss
3. Those that do not have faith

Unfortunately, I think the replies of the third group (in which I include myself) are muddying the waters. Interesting question though!

Not sure why you would think option 3 constitutes muddying the waters. I think option 3 provides the clearest path to your goals. A person who operates with option 3 only has themselves to point the finger at for both success and failure in meeting goals. Option 2 is also a clearer path to goal attainment with self-responsibility.

LoreeBelle

I believe in what the Bible says, and it says that in Him (God) we live and move and have our being; that every breath we breathe is given by God, so without Him or apart from Him I can do nothing. The Bible also tells me to cast all my cares on God because He cares for me. I care about health and fitness, so I know God will give me the strength I need.

^^^ This for me! )

auticus

Everything in my life is about me overcoming obstacles and having the drive and willpower to achieve it. So my faith is in myself and in making the right choices, not in a higher power that will guide me into making the right choices. That's my own path and opinion though.

cspong

In a Deity? None.

Sheer determination and faith in myself = All my success so far.

Jersey_Devil

To the OP, I notice a lot of comments from atheists, which is fine as you asked for opinions on this topic, and they are giving it.



For me, I know I've not treated this body, made in His image, that He gave me with proper respect, and that is among my motivating factors.




Believe that you can be the person God wants you to be, and that's even better.

Just wondering.......if we are made in his image.......why aren't we all invisible?

Also.....how do you know what kind of person god wants you to be? Do you get a phone call every day with your instructions?

God's word in the bible is what gives us our instructions . Nope, no phone calls...that would be nice though!

but wasn't the bible written by man?

russellma

I asked this earlier, but I believe it got lost in the shuffle:

From an atheist's point of view, what is faith?

rmartin72

Faith is the center of my life and health and everything!!

tnlabaw

If by Faith you mean "religious beliefs"; the answer is a big "absolutely no part".

I am NOT an atheist or an agnostic. I do have religious beliefs but God does not control every aspect of my life. If He did; all I would have to do is pray and I would be fit. There would be no need for me to count calories and exercise.

I would encourage you to understand who God is through His word Prayer plays a huge role, but the bible clearly states many times that we have been given free will...therefore, we are told that there is also a definitive need for self-responsibility to follow through with the support God has given us.

How about dispensing with all the fluffy stuff and go directly to self-responsibility?

I don't consider it to be fluffy . Actually, living life for God can be trialing sometimes...definitely not easy, or fluffy. I don't consider any ways of living life to be easy or fluffy.

ahoag_83

An athiest has to have faith that there is no greater power. Therefore, atheists have faith. Honestly, I believe it takes more faith to not believe in God than to believe in God.

SO VERY TRUE!!

doorki

I asked this earlier, but I believe it got lost in the shuffle:

From an atheist's point of view, what is faith?

Faith is blind belief in something without any proof.

maab_connor

If by Faith you mean "religious beliefs"; the answer is a big "absolutely no part".

I am NOT an atheist or an agnostic. I do have religious beliefs but God does not control every aspect of my life. If He did; all I would have to do is pray and I would be fit. There would be no need for me to count calories and exercise.

i agree. i'm a pagan, it's a big part of who i am, but my faith in the gods isn't what's getting me slimmer and fitter.

even if you believe that getting thinner/fitter is making your god, gods, godess or noodleyness smile, faith isn't making the weight go down. that's the hard work we're putting into it.

PonyTailedLoser

None whatsoever.

doorki

An athiest has to have faith that there is no greater power. Therefore, atheists have faith. Honestly, I believe it takes more faith to not believe in God than to believe in God.

Is this an attempt at a reverse Pascal's Wager?

LabRat529

I guess for me it depends on what 'faith' means. I have faith that if I watch what I eat and exercise, I will eventually lose weight despite the fact that the scale won't move much for me right now whether I eat 1600 calories, 2000 calories; or anywhwre in between.

However, if we are talking faith in God, I believe He put us here on Earth to learn and grow, so He isn'tt going to make weight loss easier for me. That would be depriving me of a chance to learn and develop strength and character. He might inspire and guide me to the right sources for information, but He will not be my crutch lest I never walk on my own.

marzinator13

Eating right and working hard are elements of temperance [self-control]. These things tie directly to the faith (II Peter 1:3-11). We're supposed to take good care of our bodies (I Corinthians 6:20). At the same time, you cannot fitness to become an idol of sorts. There is a balance. Bodily exercise profits little (I timothy 4:8). Therefore, the Scriptures enable you to have the wisdom to balance body and spirit.

-Brian (www.wordsoftruth.net)

Nicely put

RyanDanielle5101

I asked this earlier, but I believe it got lost in the shuffle:

From an atheist's point of view, what is faith?

faith   [feyth] S
noun
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.

2. belief that is not based on proof.

3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.

4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.

5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.

I'm going say 1 and 4!!

Haha and #2 makes me laugh because....well Irony :flowerforyou:

EDesq

I am interested in hearing what role your faith plays in your weight lose goals/success

Faith in THE CREATOR IS Everything to Me. But for Me, Spirituality is the KEY motivator in Me being able to lose weight and get healthy. Because wt loss/maintenance/WELLNESS Is My Great Challenge in Life (the thing that I have to overcome to feel successful/the thing that I have pursued most of My Life... ) it is a part of My Spirit. What ever "other" achievements I have in Life, I am Truly Grateful, but if My Weight is not "right" I can't celebrate those other achievements. OPRAH once said, "Her celebrity and wealth meant nothing to her until she lost the weight..." She could NOT "Fly" until she had Wellness (Normalized weight is a part of Wellness). When I heard her say that, I knew that Her Great Challenge in Life was also wt management and Wellness. (I can relate, ALL the "other" stuff basically comes Easy/or it seems but weight management and Wellness IS Her Life's purpose as it is Mine...Which makes it SPIRITUAL.)


ETA: FAITH and religion are two DIFFERENT things to Me. I'm DONE with religion; I have learned that religion SHOULD be a Bridge to get one to GOD, but all to often it (religion) becomes the god (with its traditions, false and/or ignorant teachers/preachers/Rabbis/Imams, rituals...) The GREAT thing about THE CREATOR is that The Prescription is set that WE DO NOT need a Bridge to get there if we choose NOT to use one!). UNFORTUNATELY, the IGNORANT THINK that for one to have FAITH or be a Believer means that one has to be in a religion...TRULY Ignorant! How THEY LIMIT the LIMITLESS!

Maybe the OP was right in asking about Faith and NOT religion.

BrettPGH

I asked this earlier, but I believe it got lost in the shuffle:

From an atheist's point of view, what is faith?

Belief in something without evidence. That's what I go with anyway.

wild_wild_life

I am interested in hearing what role your faith plays in your weight lose goals/success

Why do you ask? I am curious. I think in order to make sense of the replies you have to divide people up into

1. Those who have faith and whose faith plays a large role in their weight loss
2. Those who have faith and whose faith does not play a role in their weight loss
3. Those that do not have faith

Unfortunately, I think the replies of the third group (in which I include myself) are muddying the waters. Interesting question though!

Not sure why you would think option 3 constitutes muddying the waters. I think option 3 provides the clearest path to your goals. A person who operates with option 3 only has themselves to point the finger at for both success and failure in meeting goals. Option 2 is also a clearer path to goal attainment with self-responsibility.

I agree, I just mean in terms of the information she seems to be trying to get from her question. Obviously if you are an athiest, religious faith it's not going to play a role. I was just curious why she was asking this. It would be interesting if, among people with faith, those who "use" their faith more for weight loss are more or less successful, for instance.