Olivia Solverson

Ms. Thomson
AP English Language and Composition
Friday, September 15, 2017

What is Faith?

Faith is an image of a cross on a hill, it is a man bowing in reverence and praying, and it

is closing your eyes and falling backwards, knowing a friend’s arms will be there to catch you. It

is being determined, taking a deep breath, and saying “I can do this.” These scenarios encompass

faith, show how commonplace faith can be, and demonstrate how faith is about more than just

religion. Faith is the human act of believing in a higher power, another person, or oneself that is

instrumental to life.

As many picture it, faith can be religious. There are numerous stereotypes and typical ex-

amples about religious faith. A person can be faithful without being a priest, pastor, or nun,

which are the people/examples typically associated with the word faith. One can also be religious

without being extremely devoted to his/her faith. Lay people can be religious. However, religious

faith can be challenging because it is not a visible or physical thing. As George MacDonald once

said in his book The Princess and the Goblin, “Seeing is not believing, it is only seeing.” (152).

Also, as Saint Augustine one said, “Faith is to believe what you do not see…” Thus, to believe,

one must step out of their comfort zone and try not to rationalize things. One must trust their be-

liefs even when there is no proof that they are right. This is what can make having faith so diffi-

cult even though having faith can be very beneficial. Having religious faith can help people

through difficult situations and many people turn to faith when struggling. An example of this

comes from my own life. Once, when I was younger, I had a big presentation coming up at

school. The morning of the presentation, I was very nervous and decided to pray about it. I

closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and prayed. All of a sudden, I felt a sensation like a tingle go
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down my back. I knew my prayers had been heard, and from that moment on, I was less nervous.

This moment of faith helped me through the day and helped me to succeed. This may seem like

an insignificant example, but it is an example, nonetheless, of how faith helps people through

difficult situations. Another example of people turning to faith in difficult times is from the song

“Jesus, Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. In the song, she says “Jesus, take the wheel /

Take it from my hands / ‘Cause I can’t do this on my own.” This song, particularly the last line,

shows how people who are struggling oftentimes turn to religious faith to help them through

tough situations. They feel that faith and the higher powers they have faith in will help them

though life and be with them every step of the way. This is comforting and can help people tre-

mendously. There are many role models that exemplify lives of faith with the most obvious of

these being Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity. Other religions also have examples of lead-

ers and role models, such as Buddha or Muhammad. Other examples of people exemplifying re-

ligious faith are Mother Theresa, Joan of Arc, and Pope Francis. These role models demonstrate

how to live a faith-based life and are great examples of religious faith in general. Religious faith

can be for anyone, and while it can be difficult, it can also have great benefits.

A common misconception is that faith is strictly religious. However, faith can also be in

other people. This faith in others is seen in trust. When someone trusts another person, they have

faith in that person to be loyal or to keep their word. An example of someone with faith in an-

other is Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings. Sam has so much faith in Frodo to ac-

complish his mission and destroy the Ring of Power that he never gives up or turns his back on

Frodo even when he is mistreated and Frodo loses faith in Sam. This shows how strong faith in

another person can be, and how important having faith in others can be in life and certain tasks.

In everyday life, people can have faith in others without even realizing it. People have faith in
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and trust taxi or bus drivers to deliver them to places safely, they have faith in teachers to tell

them accurate information, and they have faith in friends and family to be loyal and to do what is

best for them. This really proves how commonplace and important having faith in others is in

life.

Just as faith can be in others, faith can also be in oneself. This kind of faith is just as im-

portant as religious faith and faith in others. People must have faith in themselves to succeed at

life. Having faith in oneself can even help people accomplish their goals. For example, in Legally

Blonde, Elle Woods never gives up on herself and her ability to get into Harvard Law School,

even when no one else believes in her. This unwavering faith eventually gets her into Harvard

and she has great success there. Another example is Rudy from the movie Rudy. His dream is to

get into the Notre Dame football program. He fails many times, but never gives up his faith in

himself. He works as a custodian in the locker rooms just to get close to the team. His continued

faith in himself eventually gets him on the team, and like Elle, he has great success. These are

examples of how faith in oneself can help accomplish goals, and how sometimes all that is

needed to do what seems impossible is a little bit of faith. As Muhammad Ali once said, “It’s the

lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.” Thus, faith

helps people meet challenges and accomplish their goals. Also, the fact that faith can be in one-

self demonstrates that everyone can have some kind of faith. Even if someone is not religious,

and even if they do not trust other people, they can at least have faith in themselves. Faith in self

is another kind of faith and can be critical in accomplishing goals.

Regardless of the kind, faith is instrumental to life. A world without faith would be like

walking through a pitch black room, alone, with no hope of light. It would be a world in which

no trust existed. To make life successful and rewarding, everyone must have faith in something
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or someone. This world would be awful without faith of every kind. Without religious faith, the

world would lack some of the only unity it truly has. One of the things that unites people of dif-

ferent races and backgrounds is religion. Without religious faith, people would be torn apart.

People who rely on their faith would also lack one of the things that helps them persevere in cer-

tain situations. The world would also be significantly worse without faith in others. No one

would trust other people without this kind of faith and everyone would be suspicious of other

peoples’ intentions. No relationships could even exist, in reality. Life would be miserable with-

out faith in others and life would also be awful without faith in self. No one would have any faith

or trust that they would succeed at what they want to accomplish. Everyone would fail at their

goals and missions without faith in themselves. These scenarios are awful on their own but once

put together, it is unimaginable how awful and pitiful the world would become. That is, in com-

plete reality, what the world would look like without faith.

Faith is seen in many scenarios and can be in a higher power, others, or oneself. It is

helpful in daily life and supports people through many difficult situations they may be experienc-

ing. Life would not be complete without faith, whether that faith is religious, in others, or in one-

self. This world would be a much worse place without faith, so much so that it is unimaginable.

Faith is something that people do not even think about. It is just a natural human act, however, it

is one of the most important aspects of life. It is something to appreciate and never take for

granted.
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Works Cited

Carrie Underwood, et al. “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

“Faith Quotes.” BrainyQuote, Xplore.

i.pinimg.com/736x/b7/53/a7/b753a729bcd0747647dfb941072db842--muhammad-ali-quotes-

ambition-quotes.jpg.

MacDonald, George, et al. The Princess and the Goblin ; and, The Princess and Curdie. J. B.

Lippincott & Co., 1872.