Leap Of Faith

A leap of faith is the act of believing in something without, or in spite of, available Empirical Evidence . It is an act commonly associated with Religious Belief as many Religion s consider Faith to be an essential element of Piety . This association is disputed by those with Deistic principles.

The implication of taking a ''leap of faith'' can, depending on the context, carry positive or negative connotations as some feel it is a virtue to be able to believe in something without concrete proof, while others feel it is foolishness. It is a hotly contested Theological and Philosophical concept.

This phrase is thought by many to have been coined by Søren Kierkegaard , who is commonly caricatured as believing that the only way to accept genuine Christianity is through a leap of faith, which occurs through complete understanding that one's faith is independent of reason or evidence. Kierkegaard experts who have analyzed his authorship in Danish indicate that he does not use the Danish phrase which would translate into English as "leap of faith" anywhere in his writings. The association of the phrase with him seems to be an urban myth created by 20th century commentators on Kierkegaard who overlaid his work with a thick layer of their own biases and anxieties.

C.S. Lewis argued that Supernaturalism , a basic tenet of Christianity, can be inferred based on a Teleological argument regarding the source of human reason, and thus no leap of faith is required.

There are many actions taken by people that are called "leaps of faith" either directly or in hindsight. An example of this theme in literature is shown in the Odyssey , when Odysseus must choose to abandon his raft and leap into the sea or face certain death from the wrath of Poseidon .

Information About

Leap Of Faith