I find faith to be a bit confusing. Not faith itself, exactly, but why it is perceived as such a desirable trait. Why is it so noble and laudable to have faith? In almost all other area's of life, we encourage critical thinking and rationale, but when it comes to religion it's suddenly preferable to have faith. We see even here on this forum that many consider those who have faith to be superior to those who do not. Why is that? What makes it such a desirable characteristic to be able to believe very strongly in something you can't prove one way or the other? I'm not in any way trying to put down people who have faith, it simply something that I can't quite get a grasp on. If I think about it rationally from a human standpoint, it seems to me to be a tool that would be used in an attempt to control people, by painting those with faith as good people and those without as bad.
I think the confusion (not yours specifically, but in general) comes from different uses of the word faith.
One side defines faith as a belief with no knowledge. The other side defines it as belief with incomplete knowledge.
When one gains a witness through the holy ghost, he has evidence that there is a God. He doesn't have a perfect knowledge of everything that God is, has done, or will ever do. He must accept that on faith.
Many will claim that this doesn't constitute "evidence", but anyone who has felt the holy ghost knows that it is real. It can't be replicated for others, but must be experienced individually.
Unfortunately, there are some who prey on those having faith, and manipulate their incomplete understanding for personal gain. This seems to be a stumbling block for others. But it doesn't change the the fact that for me, the conversion of the holy ghost is as real as any experiment conducted in a lab.
