Quotes about faith

„The fact is there is nothing that you can trust; and that is a terrible fact, whether you like it or not. Psychologically, there is nothing in the world that you can put your faith, your trust, or your belief in. Neither your gods, nor your science can save you, can bring you psychological certainty; and you have to accept that you can trust in absolutely nothing.“

—  Jiddu Krishnamurti Indian spiritual philosopher 1895 - 1986

Bombay, Second Public Talk (25 February 1962)
1960s
Context: The fact is there is nothing that you can trust; and that is a terrible fact, whether you like it or not. Psychologically, there is nothing in the world that you can put your faith, your trust, or your belief in. Neither your gods, nor your science can save you, can bring you psychological certainty; and you have to accept that you can trust in absolutely nothing. That is a scientific fact, as well as a psychological fact. Because, your leaders — religious and political — and your books — sacred and profane — have all failed, and you are still confused, in misery, in conflict. So, that is an absolute, undeniable fact.

„I wish I was either in your arms full of faith, or that a Thunder bolt would strike me.“

—  John Keats English Romantic poet 1795 - 1821

Source: Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne

„Like it or not, your existence is grounded in faith.“

—  Jordan Peterson Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology 1962

Other

„To study the meaning of man and of life — I am making significant progress here. I have faith in myself.“

—  Fyodor Dostoyevsky Russian author 1821 - 1881

Personal correspondence (1839), as quoted in Dostoevsky: His Life and Work (1971) by Konstantin Mochulski, as translated by Michael A. Minihan, p. 17
Context: To study the meaning of man and of life — I am making significant progress here. I have faith in myself. Man is a mystery: if you spend your entire life trying to puzzle it out, then do not say that you have wasted your time. I occupy myself with this mystery, because I want to be a man.

„A faith that can be destroyed by suffering is not faith.“

—  Richard Wurmbrand Romanian Christian minister of Jewish descent 1909 - 2001

If Prison Walls Could Speak (1972)

„There are women named Faith, Hope, Joy, and Prudence. Why not Despair, Guilt, Rage, and Grief? It seems only right. 'Tom, I'd like you to meet the girl of my dreams, Tragedy.' These days, Trajedi.“

—  George Carlin, book Brain Droppings

Source: Brain Droppings

„If we are faithful to GOD in little things, we shall gain experience and strength that will be helpful to us in the more serious trials of life.“

—  James Hudson Taylor, A Retrospect

(J. Hudson Taylor. A Retrospect. Philadelphia: China Inland Mission, n.d., 20).

„We Turks are faithful muslims.“

—  Mehmed II Ottoman sultan 1432 - 1481

Source: Halil İnalcık, Devlet-i'Aliyye I.Cilt, Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları

„I think success is when you are confronted with utter defeat of your world, your intimacy, your ideas, your public picture, your heritage, your previous achievements. When in one moment it looks like there is one, and nothing that helps you. When almost every look is also a look of doubt, when you yourself put everything under the question mark. When all the illusions about yourself fall, illusions about your surroundings, about people, about faith and religion, about flags, about objects of love and how much are you in love…and then, in that moment of personal and private holocaust, of that ocean of pain looking like all inner strength faded away, and there is no right for excuses about your existence. When at that moment you rise and keep moving forward, you start and you lead a creative and productive life. Yes, I think that is objective strength and power.“

—  Alfred Freddy Krupa Croatian contemporary painter, master draughtsman, book artist and art teacher, the pioneer of the New Ink Art movement 1971

Overcoming a Personal Holocaust, Alfred Freddy Krupa (in the article by Ante Vranković), Life As A Human (Canada), 2019
2010s

„A faith that does not result in activity of any kind is a dead faith; it is empty, worthless, insincere.“

—  Derek Prince British missionary 1915 - 2003

„Faith Is Not Credulity.“

—  Ronald Fisher English statistician, evolutionary biologist, geneticist, and eugenicist 1890 - 1962

Subtitle to Science and Christianity, Friend 113, 995–996, 1955.
in full: ‘Christian children should … be taught that faith does not mean credulity; but is a quality, very like courage, which makes one hold fast to that which is good, … .
1950s

„What I need is to believe in myself again— for my faith has been greatly undermined; it seems to me my role is over.“

—  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Russian composer 1840 - 1893

Letter to a nephew (9 February 1893) Just prior to composing his "Pathetique" Symphony (No. 6)

„The Church says that the Earth is flat, but I know that it is round. For I have seen the shadow of the earth on the moon and I have more faith in the Shadow than in the Church.“

—  Ferdinand Magellan Portuguese explorer 1480 - 1521

This quotation is often found on the internet attributed to Magellan, but never with a source, and no English occurrence prior to its use by Robert Green Ingersoll in his essay "Individuality" http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/individuality.html (1873) has been located. Thus, it it most likely spurious. In that essay Ingersoll states:
It is a blessed thing that in every age some one has had individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions, — some one who had the grandeur to say his say. I believe it was Magellan who said, "The church says the earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more confidence even in a shadow than in the church." On the prow of his ship were disobedience, defiance, scorn, and success.
Disputed

„How is it that you use reason as a path to truth in every endeavor of your life, and then when it comes to the ‘ultimate truth’ - the most important truth - you're saying that faith is required. And how does that reflect on a god (who supposedly exists and wants you to have this information); what kind of god requires faith instead of evidence?“

—  Matt Dillahunty American activist 1969

Episode 696: "Viewer Calls" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OCYhDFc42I, Channel Austin (February 13, 2011)
The Atheist Experience
Context: Your position is... one where there is a god who has an important message for mankind, and somehow he only reveals it to certain individuals who then write this down and thousands of years after this initial revelation, we have to rely on copies of copies of translations of copies by anonymous authors with no originals, and the textual testimony to a miracle, for example the loaves and fishes; there’s no amount of reports - anecdotal testimonial reports - that could be sufficient to justify that this event actually happened as reported. No amount. And anything that would qualify as a god would clearly understand this, and if it wanted to convey this information to people in a way that was believable, would not be relying on text to do so, and this for me is the nail in the coffin for Christianity. The god that Christians believe in is amazingly stupid if it wants to actually achieve its goal of spreading this information to humanity by relying on text; by relying on languages that die out; by relying on anecdotal testimony. That's not a pathway to truth! And anything that would qualify for a god should know this, which means either that God doesn’t exist or it doesn't care enough about those people who understand the nature of evidence to actually present it. Now which of those possibilities do you think is accurate?"... "Why would you believe anything on faith? Faith isn't a pathway to truth. Every religion has some sort of faith, people take things on, you know, - if faith is your pathway, you can't distinguish between Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, any of these others. How is it that you use reason as a path to truth in every endeavor of your life, and then when it comes to the ‘ultimate truth’ - the most important truth - you're saying that faith is required. And how does that reflect on a god (who supposedly exists and wants you to have this information); what kind of god requires faith instead of evidence?... I have reasonable expectations based on evidence. I have trust that has been earned. I will grant trust tentatively. I don't have faith. Faith is the excuse people give for believing something when they don't have evidence.

„Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.“

—  Elisabeth Elliot American missionary 1926 - 2015

Source: A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael

„To trust is a profound commitment, and to trust is to make oneself vulnerable... It’s such an optimistic act, because you’re putting your faith in the hands of someone or something which you expect to remain constant, even if the circumstances change.“

—  Tom Hiddleston English actor, producer and musical performer 1981

„Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.“

—  Steve Jobs American entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Inc. 1955 - 2011

2005-09, Address at Stanford University (2005)
Context: Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don’t settle.

„I have given Him my faith, and sworn my allegiance to Him; how, then, can I go back from this, and not be hanged as a traitor?“

—  John Bunyan English Christian writer and preacher 1628 - 1688

Source: The Pilgrims Progress

„Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.“

—  Max Lucado American clergyman and writer 1955

Source: He Still Moves Stones