Faith can be based on facts

I think we are having a bit of a dysfunctional debate on this topic. Pro never begins by defining what he is referring to when he says "faith. " Which is fine, I suppose. So I then define the terms in my round one opening argument. We will need to know what we are discussing in order to have the debate. I define the terms. Then look to Pro's example sentences to see which definitions most closely fit. Trying to figure out what Pro means by "faith. " Based on cited definitions and Pro's example sentences, it appears to me that definitions 2b and 3a most closely fit with Pro's example sentences. So I make some arguments against the cited definition of faith, Pro's example sentences, and the definition of facts. Pro's response is, "I'm not referring to 2a at all, only 3b,. .. " I'm not sure if this is a typo by Pro. Does he mean 3a? I don't know. Definition 3b, "A system of religious belief," this doesn't fit Pro's example sentences. Pro hasn't made any religious claims in this debate. So 3b doesn't seem to be what we are talking about. But Pro says he's using 3b. At this point, I'm really at a loss to what this debate is supposed to be about. Pro never defines his terms. And he's seems somewhat non committal to the definitions I've provided. So what exactly are we debating. Pro hasn't made a strong argument to this point in the debate, so I cannot even look to an argument to try and figure out what Pro is thinking along the lines of faith. Where to go? Reading through Pro's round 2 response, I really think Pro is referring to probability not faith. His example, "Kind of like this: A child turns in their homework on time 89% of the time, so the teacher has faith that he will turn in his next assignment on time. Not because the teacher knows the future, but because the child has a very good track record. " This is really probability not faith. Lets phrase this in a more accurate way. "The teacher expects the child will most likely (that's a probability statement, "most likely") turn their assignment in on time, because the child turns their assignments in on time 89% of the time. " Pro is replacing what is actually a probability perspective by the teacher and calling it a faith perspective. I guess we need to define probability. Probability [1] 1. The quality or fact of being probable 2. A strong likely hood or chance of something happening. As we can see. Probability and faith, based on cited definitions, aren't the same thing. The teacher expects the student to turn in their homework on time not because of faith, but because of probability. It is 89% likely that the student, based on past track record, will turn in their homework on time. Probability applies to Pro's example sentences in round 1 also. Lets look at one. "Someone has faith when their friend promises to do something because they always [keep their] promises. " This is also a probabilistic statement. Promises kept, 100% prior probability. Will a promise for the future be kept. We cannot be certain, but based on past probability it is very likely. (very likely is a probability statement) Lets phrase this sentence in a more accurate way also. "Someone finds it very likely (probablity statement) that their friend will keep their promise, since their friend has always (100% probablity) kept their promises in the past. " We can see from Pro's example sentences in round 1 and round 2, probability is a better fit then faith. Does Pro really mean probability? Is our debate in it's dysfunctional state because Pro is thinking probablity and using a less accurate word in faith? I think so. In conclusion of this round, I think we have a flawed debate. Pro never clearly defines what he means by faith. Pro rejects my cited definitions. Says he is using definition 3b which appears completely unrelated to any portion of this debate. Pro's general example sentences seem to fit better with a probability perspective then a faith perspective. And once again, we still don't really know what Pro is truly meaning by faith. With one round left, it is probably to late to get this debate on track. Pro really needs to hone in on what it is he exactly means. So I will turn it back to Pro to make that case. 1. . http://dictionary.reference.com...