Faith fills all spheres of our life. Be it religion, self-confidence, or your own beliefs. Faith in God, of course, stands out, because it is shrouded in a mystical halo. Thinkers of all times could not get around the topic of religion. Let's look at their quotes about faith, and then maybe we can better understand our thoughts.
Saadi shirazi
Saadi is an Iranian-Persian poet, philosopher, and representative of practical Sufism. Born around 1209. From childhood, he learned the wisdom of Sufism from sheikhs. He later embodied their ascetic ideals in his practical recommendations.
Saadi's whole life was filled with wanderings and hardships. He escaped from his hometown due to the invasion of the Mongols. Forcedly adopted the religion of fire worship - Zoroastrianism - in India, from where he later escaped with difficulty. After long wanderings, the philosopher decided to retire to the desert of Jerusalem. But this was not destined to come true - Saadi was captured by the crusaders. There he dug trenches until he was bought out by a wealthy citizen who had his own plans for him. Saadi suffered a fate comparable in horror to captivity: he was married to the ugly and extravagant daughter of a rich man. The sage reacted philosophically to family life and left in English. The rest of his life he lived in the monastery of his native city - Shiraz.
People are born only with pure nature, and only then do the fathers make them Jews, Christians or fire-worshipers.
In his quote about faith, he says that a person is not born with religion. Indeed, babies only have "pure nature" with them: eat, sleep and go out of need. Religion comes later, when the ability to rational thinking is only emerging in a person.
Augustine Aurelius
Augustine Aurelius, known as Blessed Augustine, is a Christian theologian, philosopher, preacher and one of the fathers of the Christian church. Born November 13, 354 in the Roman Empire. Received primary education from a mother who was a Christian.
From childhood, Augustine discovered a craving for rhetoric and Latin literature. For the purpose of education, he went to Carthage and studied there for three years. Later, after reading Cicero's Hortesius, he became interested in philosophy. And so, having gone through many philosophical teachings, he came to Christianity.
Let us believe, if we cannot understand.
His quote on faith reveals one of the most criticized aspects of religion - irrationality. Rationalist philosophers used this argument as a key one. Augustine does not see the problem in that God cannot be understood by reason. You just need to believe in something that you cannot explain. Actually, many theologians held the same point of view. Augustine is rightfully considered one of the leading figures of Christianity, many of his words and quotes about faith and love for the divine are given by theologians to this day.
Karl Marx
Karl Marx is a German sociologist, philosopher, writer and public figure. Born May 5, 1818 in Trier (Prussia). He is, along with Frederick Engels, the author of the "Communist Manifesto."
Karl Marx, being a very educated person, preached a rational approach to life. Therefore, he perceives faith rather as one of many tools to improve life. And if he was indulgent towards faith, then the institution of religion itself was sharply negative.
The more a person puts into God, the less he remains in himself.
In this quote about faith in God lies, probably, the main problem of religion is concentration on the invisible. A person believes with all his soul in a heavenly deity, but at the same time forgets that he lives on Earth. All his thoughts are only about paradise after death, and life itself is used only as a tool. Man transfers all responsibility for his own existence to God, while not leaving anything for himself.
Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy is a famous Russian writer and thinker, one of the most important representatives of realism. Born on September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana (Russian Empire). Under the influence of his philosophy a new moral trend arose - Tolstoyism.
Religion and Lev Nikolaevich together went through fire and water. The writer's thoughts on life and faith are comparable in size to his most famous work. And not always Leo Tolstoy was a supporter of religion. At some point, he believed and was consecrated to church ranks. A little later, he began to doubt the church, and was excommunicated, but he did not stop believing. And, in the final episode of his thoughts, he lost faith in God, affirming that a thinking person cannot be a believer.
The meaning of faith is not to settle in heaven, but to settle heaven in itself.
In this quote about faith, Tolstoy points to the true meaning of faith. Many people do not understand religion precisely because they misinterpret the ultimate goal. Faith exists to give people peace of mind, to calm them in the face of adversity. Not at all for the expectation of death and ascension to heaven. And paradise serves rather to calm people, motivates them not to be afraid of the inevitable and to live righteously, helping others.