Humanities Homework Help

I’m working on a philosophy discussion question and need an explanation to help me understand better.

PART 1:

Watch, “Philosophy – Religion: Reason and Faith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTPHXNMi9tA (Links to an external site.)

Initial Post: In the video, the presenter distinguishes between two kinds of “knowledge,” the knowledge that comes from faith and the knowledge that comes from reason. He does this by focusing on two common expressions: “I believe that… ” versus “I believe in…” In one paragraph (no more than 4-5 sentences), explain the distinction between “I believe that…” and “I believe in…” Then, identify which of the two statements you think is more accurate when referring to belief in God, and why.

PART 2:

Read the responses of your classmates, and then respond to the following question in one paragraph (no more than 4-5 sentences, please): Do you think that it is “reasonable” to believe in God, or is it more an act of faith? And if it is an act of faith, does that mean that it is NOT reasonable? Also write a replay for 2 of these responses.

Response 1:

The distinction between ” I believe in” is a commitment to the belief, and you are believing despite the lack of evidence where as I believe “that” is more factual to support the belief. When you are believing “in” something, it’s more of a deeper feeling within oneself. You’re not concerned with factual evidence, because you believe regardless. When talking about I believe “that”, you can be claiming something is true or false and have evidence to support the claim. It’s interesting how using words I believe “in” or I believe “that” in a conversation can change the perspective of the person listening.

I believe both in God and that God exists. I have a stronger belief “in” God because of how I was raised always having God as a part of my life. My parents regularly reinforced this belief. Growing into adult life, I continued the tradition passing on to my children the belief in God and that God exists with church and spiritual guidance

Response 2:

I think the speaker makes the important distinction that the sentence “I believe that…” implies a basis of evidence behind the statement. Alternatively, the sentence “I believe in…”, emphasizes the ungraspable and emotional motivation that directs the statement. I think it makes more sense to say “I believe in God” because that belief, although it could be argued with types of evidence, has no practical way to fully be proven. In that way, I think the statement makes more sense from a faith-based standpoint rather than a rational one.

Response 3:

In my opinion, “I believe that” is a statement that I think means that you accept something to be true. However, “I believe in” is a statement that I think means you put your full trust in someone/something. I think that that statement “I believe in” would be more accurate when referring to the belief in God or any other deity because the higher powers are the people or things that we put all of our trust into to guide us in the right direction in life. For example, I believe in God because I trust that He makes everything in my life happen for a reason so that I can learn and grow from each experience that I encounter.