OnlyAmbrose wrote:Faith is everywhere, certainly not just in religion. There are few basic facts that can really be ascertained, because most "facts" rely on a given which is an assumption based on faith.
Empirical evidence is seen by many as "fact" (myself included), but even then, it relies on a basic assumption of faith that empirical evidence is valid. Empirical evidence is gathered by the senses, but that presupposes a basic faith in the senses. They are, in essence, how we perceive the outside world, and there is NO WAY of proving that they are correct. Really, the only thing you can prove is your own existence, and even that is sketchy (I think therefore I am).
My point is that our perception of "truth" is entirely based on faith, or rather, what you put faith in. Most Christians put faith in God in the same way that they put faith in their senses - it's a basic, though unprovable, assumption which has determined their perception of truth.
Descartes gave it a good shot.