faith
    n 1: a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that
         control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his
         morality" [syn: religion, faith, religious belief]
    2: complete confidence in a person or plan etc; "he cherished
       the faith of a good woman"; "the doctor-patient relationship
       is based on trust" [syn: faith, trust]
    3: an institution to express belief in a divine power; "he was
       raised in the Baptist religion"; "a member of his own faith
       contradicted him" [syn: religion, faith, organized
       religion]
    4: loyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person; "keep the
       faith"; "they broke faith with their investors"

Faith \Faith\ (f[=a]th), n. [OE. feith, fayth, fay, OF. feid,
   feit, fei, F. foi, fr. L. fides; akin to fidere to trust, Gr.
   pei`qein to persuade. The ending th is perhaps due to the
   influence of such words as truth, health, wealth. See Bid,
   Bide, and cf. Confide, Defy, Fealty.]
   1. Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is
      declared by another, resting solely and implicitly on his
      authority and veracity; reliance on testimony.
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   2. The assent of the mind to the statement or proposition of
      another, on the ground of the manifest truth of what he
      utters; firm and earnest belief, on probable evidence of
      any kind, especially in regard to important moral truth.
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            Faith, that is, fidelity, -- the fealty of the
            finite will and understanding to the reason.
                                                  --Coleridge.
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   3. (Judeo-Christian Theol.)
      (a) The belief in the historic truthfulness of the
          Scripture narrative, and the supernatural origin of
          its teachings, sometimes called historical and
          speculative faith.
      (b) (Christian Theol.) The belief in the facts and truth
          of the Scriptures, with a practical love of them;
          especially, that confiding and affectionate belief in
          the person and work of Christ, which affects the
          character and life, and makes a man a true Christian,
          -- called a practical, evangelical, or saving faith.
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                Without faith it is impossible to please him
                [God].                            --Heb. xi. 6.
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                The faith of the gospel is that emotion of the
                mind which is called "trust" or "confidence"
                exercised toward the moral character of God, and
                particularly of the Savior.       --Dr. T.
                                                  Dwight.
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                Faith is an affectionate, practical confidence
                in the testimony of God.          --J. Hawes.
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   4. That which is believed on any subject, whether in science,
      politics, or religion; especially (Theol.), a system of
      religious belief of any kind; as, the Jewish or Mohammedan
      faith; the Christian faith; also, the creed or belief of a
      Christian society or church.
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            Which to believe of her,
            Must be a faith that reason without miracle
            Could never plant in me.              --Shak.
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            Now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
                                                  --Gal. i. 23.
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   5. Fidelity to one's promises, or allegiance to duty, or to a
      person honored and beloved; loyalty.
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            Children in whom is no faith.         --Deut. xxvii.
                                                  20.
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            Whose failing, while her faith to me remains,
            I should conceal.                     --Milton.
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   6. Word or honor pledged; promise given; fidelity; as, he
      violated his faith.
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            For you alone
            I broke me faith with injured Palamon. --Dryden.
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   7. Credibility or truth. [R.]
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            The faith of the foregoing narrative. --Mitford.
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   Act of faith. See Auto-da-f['e].

   Breach of faith, Confession of faith, etc. See under
      Breach, Confession, etc.

   Faith cure, a method or practice of treating diseases by
      prayer and the exercise of faith in God.

   In good faith, with perfect sincerity.
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Faith \Faith\, interj.
   By my faith; in truth; verily.
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Fecks \Fecks\, n.
   A corruption of the word faith. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster] feculae

Faith
   Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain
   statement is true (Phil. 1:27; 2 Thess. 2:13). Its primary idea
   is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It
   admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in
   accordance with the evidence on which it rests.
   
     Faith is the result of teaching (Rom. 10:14-17). Knowledge is
   an essential element in all faith, and is sometimes spoken of as
   an equivalent to faith (John 10:38; 1 John 2:3). Yet the two are
   distinguished in this respect, that faith includes in it assent,
   which is an act of the will in addition to the act of the
   understanding. Assent to the truth is of the essence of faith,
   and the ultimate ground on which our assent to any revealed
   truth rests is the veracity of God.
   
     Historical faith is the apprehension of and assent to certain
   statements which are regarded as mere facts of history.
   
     Temporary faith is that state of mind which is awakened in men
   (e.g., Felix) by the exhibition of the truth and by the
   influence of religious sympathy, or by what is sometimes styled
   the common operation of the Holy Spirit.
   
     Saving faith is so called because it has eternal life
   inseparably connected with it. It cannot be better defined than
   in the words of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism: "Faith in
   Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon
   him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel."
   
     The object of saving faith is the whole revealed Word of God.
   Faith accepts and believes it as the very truth most sure. But
   the special act of faith which unites to Christ has as its
   object the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ (John
   7:38; Acts 16:31). This is the specific act of faith by which a
   sinner is justified before God (Rom. 3:22, 25; Gal. 2:16; Phil.
   3:9; John 3:16-36; Acts 10:43; 16:31). In this act of faith the
   believer appropriates and rests on Christ alone as Mediator in
   all his offices.
   
     This assent to or belief in the truth received upon the divine
   testimony has always associated with it a deep sense of sin, a
   distinct view of Christ, a consenting will, and a loving heart,
   together with a reliance on, a trusting in, or resting in
   Christ. It is that state of mind in which a poor sinner,
   conscious of his sin, flees from his guilty self to Christ his
   Saviour, and rolls over the burden of all his sins on him. It
   consists chiefly, not in the assent given to the testimony of
   God in his Word, but in embracing with fiducial reliance and
   trust the one and only Saviour whom God reveals. This trust and
   reliance is of the essence of faith. By faith the believer
   directly and immediately appropriates Christ as his own. Faith
   in its direct act makes Christ ours. It is not a work which God
   graciously accepts instead of perfect obedience, but is only the
   hand by which we take hold of the person and work of our
   Redeemer as the only ground of our salvation.
   
     Saving faith is a moral act, as it proceeds from a renewed
   will, and a renewed will is necessary to believing assent to the
   truth of God (1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:4). Faith, therefore, has
   its seat in the moral part of our nature fully as much as in the
   intellectual. The mind must first be enlightened by divine
   teaching (John 6:44; Acts 13:48; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:17, 18)
   before it can discern the things of the Spirit.
   
     Faith is necessary to our salvation (Mark 16:16), not because
   there is any merit in it, but simply because it is the sinner's
   taking the place assigned him by God, his falling in with what
   God is doing.
   
     The warrant or ground of faith is the divine testimony, not
   the reasonableness of what God says, but the simple fact that he
   says it. Faith rests immediately on, "Thus saith the Lord." But
   in order to this faith the veracity, sincerity, and truth of God
   must be owned and appreciated, together with his
   unchangeableness. God's word encourages and emboldens the sinner
   personally to transact with Christ as God's gift, to close with
   him, embrace him, give himself to Christ, and take Christ as
   his. That word comes with power, for it is the word of God who
   has revealed himself in his works, and especially in the cross.
   God is to be believed for his word's sake, but also for his
   name's sake.
   
     Faith in Christ secures for the believer freedom from
   condemnation, or justification before God; a participation in
   the life that is in Christ, the divine life (John 14:19; Rom.
   6:4-10; Eph. 4:15,16, etc.); "peace with God" (Rom. 5:1); and
   sanctification (Acts 26:18; Gal. 5:6; Acts 15:9).
   
     All who thus believe in Christ will certainly be saved (John
   6:37, 40; 10:27, 28; Rom. 8:1).
   
     The faith=the gospel (Acts 6:7; Rom. 1:5; Gal. 1:23; 1 Tim.
   3:9; Jude 1:3).
   

FAITH. Probity; good faith is the very soul of contracts. Faith also 
signifies confidence, belief; as, full faith and credit ought to be given to 
the acts of a magistrate while acting within his jurisdiction. Vide Bona 
fide. 

FAITH, n.  Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks
without knowledge, of things without parallel.

Faith, NC -- U.S. town in North Carolina
   Population (2000):    695
   Housing Units (2000): 308
   Land area (2000):     0.978662 sq. miles (2.534722 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    0.978662 sq. miles (2.534722 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            22600
   Located within:       North Carolina (NC), FIPS 37
   Location:             35.586803 N, 80.461162 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):    
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Faith, NC
    Faith

Faith, SD -- U.S. city in South Dakota
   Population (2000):    489
   Housing Units (2000): 274
   Land area (2000):     1.198515 sq. miles (3.104139 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    1.198515 sq. miles (3.104139 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            20980
   Located within:       South Dakota (SD), FIPS 46
   Location:             45.021648 N, 102.039502 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     57626
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Faith, SD
    Faith