The suggestion of the last caller was that since a doctor can stimulate faith by a placebo, that seems to have some relevance for the question of faith with Christians. What is interesting and frustrating to me is that there is such a deep misconception about the notion of faith. People have this feeling that faith is something that is resident within you and the power comes from within you. So if you have enough of this faith force you can accomplish more things. Now, this is very important.
Faith is trust.
Trust allows you to go to the source of the power. Trust isn't the power. The reference to the placebo seems to imply that faith is the power itself, such that a physician can give you a placebo, like a sugar pill, which has no medicinal qualities, but you think it does. What this illustration shows is nothing about faith, but the power of suggestion. Someone can give a placebo to a person and that placebo can make that person feel better.