How often does the question of science 'proving' something come up in your discussions with other people? The misconception that science can prove something seems (in my opinion) to lead to a lot of close-minded scientists who are unwilling to consider alternative points of view, which is the first step to successful scientific inquiry.
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Hello windar12q! I do not make up things when I want to believe something. Of course I want my God to be real, but I look for information to understand the evidence that He is. Your comments about the Bible not being reliable led me to look for more information about why we believe the Bible as Christians. I found a fascinating book called The Case For Jesus by Brant Pitare. Here are a few of the things I have learned so far (I have not finished the whole book yet):
1. Though scholars commonly say the Gospels were written anonymously, not a single anonymous manuscript has ever been found. All are credited to the same authors we know today. If the titles had been added later, we would have found the same Gospel attributed to multiple authors, which we do not.
2. Writings from some of the earliest church leaders, who knew disciples or disciples of disciples, unanimously agree that the Gospels are valid.
3. The Gospels are written in the style of a 100s A.D. biography (which is different than a modern biography in that it focuses on an individual's public life and not childhood, etc. Some scholars say the Gospels do not have enough biographical details to be reliable, but in their historical context their style is very typical of a factual work.).
I noticed from one of your other comments that you grew up with religion. Without a personal relationship with God all the church rituals are just "going through the motions." It's a very real danger, to worship while forgetting who your are actually worshiping. I've often caught myself distracted in church or wondering what some rituals are for. However, having a personal relationship with God, I get joy from worshiping and praying. God wants us to enjoy Him, and through this joy to have abundant life.
Hello, windar12q!
Imagine this scenario with me:
If I lived in a world with no sin or hate I would have to be able to feel something. If I had no feelings I would no longer be truly human, I would be a robot. Assuming I remain human in a world with no hate, I have to be able to feel love by itself. Because I would only know love I would only know how to do what is right. Knowing how to do wrong is not necessary to know how to do something kind.
However, if the world with no hate was all I had ever known, I would know love (in order to feel and be human) but I would not fully understand its power. I think this is where our difference of ideas lies. You believe it is impossible to know any love without hate, but I believe it is impossible to know the full power of love without hate.
If everything went right all the time in my life I would know in my head that God loved me, but I never would have had to lean on Him and discover how deep His love really is. When I feel like I'm not "good enough" to do what God wants me to do I remember His promise that He made me the way I am for a reason. I can be awkward in conversation so I worried that I wouldn't be good at sharing Jesus with people. I had to trust that my purpose would be revealed. Then I learned in a class several years ago how to write gospel tracts (notes about Jesus that you can leave places) and discovered that I was good at it. This led to a discovery that I can share Jesus through writing in all kinds of different ways, such as this website. This year I am applying to college (and the scholarships that go with it). I was looking through scholarships one day and I realized that if something asked for an essay, I thought of it in terms of how I could share my faith through it (I still haven't applied for very many yet, I should do that soon!).
The reason I shared all this is that it is an example of God showing His loving purpose. If it hadn't been hard for me to find a way to share Jesus, I would have known that sharing my faith was a wonderful thing, but I may have taken the gift for granted.
A side note about not being a robot: Look up Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (my pastor read this to us in church today and it made me think of our conversation). I don't know everything about God's reasons for still allowing hate to exist even though He wants good, but this passage would suggest it might have something to do with God wanting us to consciously choose Him, not follow Him around because we have no other option.
Praying for you
Hello windar12q! I would like to understand your beliefs about emotions more clearly. Can you tell me about specific studies or researchers that support the conclusion that love and hate cannot exist independently? You have often asserted that it is scientific fact so I would like to know what you base this belief on.
One more question: What information about the Bible would it take for you to consider the Bible a valid source? I and others have already presented studies on the consistency of the Bible over time, as well as logical reasons the Bible is likely to be accurate.
There are three religious opponents competing in this debate and two have declared that the emotion of hate is not needed and that the emotion of love can survive in isolation; the third has not contested this, so I have to assume it is collaborated. It is a known scientific fact that negative emotions and positive emotions complement each other - the one could not exist without the other, for example; how would we know love if we didn't know hate?
All types of matter in our universe, down to the smallest atom, animal, vegetable or mineral, liquid or solids and gas - all forms are governed by the laws of physics. It saddens me to see how their indoctrination has affected their judgement. To alter the laws of physics to fit their belief is a journey to nowhere; what they should be doing is the opposite - trying to fit their beliefs into the laws of physics.
If this turn around of what isn't into what is; is brought into the realm of common sense, then I see no point to this debate. I know their answer will be the supernatural does not obey the laws of physics, but the irony of this is they cannot demonstrate the supernatural - nobody can; so please don't bring this forward or you will dig a hole so deep you will just keep digging and that gets a bit tedious. (The Bible is proof of nothing, so please don't quote unless it obeys the laws of physics.)
This debate is lacking with its one sided accusations. On the right hand side we have facts and on the left hand side we have faith. Faith is not a reliable pathway to either the truth or knowledge. Fact is based on demonstrable consistencies and faith on none - demonstrable consistencies. The Bible is hearsay, unless you can provide substantiated proof to back it up. You can't debate properly if one side is just saying that a Book is all the evidence it will provide. This would mean that any book would serve the same purpose; it could be about fairies, unicorns, leprechauns, witches and the Moon being made of cheese. Like the Bible none of these would be demonstrable. Can you imagine taking any of this into a court of law? So who is the first Christian who will take up this challenge and rely on facts, leaving the Bible out of it? These facts have to be demonstrable.
Hello patricknj! As I read the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, some of it started to sound familiar. I went on biblegateway.com (which is a great resource to easily find scripture) and looked up a few of the key words in the UDHR. Here is what I found in just a few minutes:
Matching Article 1:
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. -Galatians 5:13
Matching Article 2:
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[g] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. - Galatians 3:28-29
Matching Article 24:
9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. - Exodus 20:9-11
Matching Article 26 (especially as it relates to character):
6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. - Deuteronomy 6:6-7
I could match more, but often the Bible has even higher standards:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - Matthew 5:43-48
The Bible sets extremely high moral standards, so high, in fact, that they are impossible for any human to fully live up to (that's why Jesus is so important). If we all lived like people are as valuable as the Bible says they are we would live in a perfect world.
Hello windar12q.
You have written about the non-religious organizations that do great work and some so-called Christian groups that are doing evil. I looked up information on accusations of witchcraft in Africa and found that it is disturbingly common and is often a way the "church" makes money. This brings me to an important point: what God says is not always what Christians do (including me), and non-Christians may do what God says without realizing it is God who wants them to do it.
This passage of God's Word directly contradicts what some churches in Africa are doing:
22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, - Exodus 22: 22-23
However, consider what God says about reaching out to help a neighbor, like the Red Cross does:
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
My point is this: it is important to judge God's Word by what God's Word itself says, not by what people do. All people fall short of what God wants us to do.
What kind of designs in nature do you study?
Hello, windar12q. I obviously don't know everything God is thinking but your last post actually provided an idea. If God's goal is for humanity to know His love, then allowing Satan to introduce hate (and all the problems in the world that go with it) would not have been incompetence but genius. God's love stands out vividly against the evil I see and the troubles I have. It's something I've noticed about my faith: The hardest, most stressful times are when I lean on God the most. These are the times when I crave God's word so much that even if I'm not reading it, I want to hold it. This is exactly what God wants, for me to be close to Him. He has been so faithful to me. I can lean on Him because I know He will never leave me or think less of me when I have trouble.
We know His love would be incredible even with no hate to compare it to, but we would not be able to experience just how far God goes to reach you or I.
If there were no evil in the world Jesus would never have had to give himself up to die. We may have had knowledge that God loved us that much but we never would have seen it happen or tangibly understood what it means to be willing to die for someone (I saw from your other posts that you believe the idea that Jesus had to die is evidence that God is incompetent. Sometimes I think of it this way, and it helps. Our military fights and dies to protect us. Our country's soldiers die to protect our freedom while we are in this life, and Jesus died to free us from sin. I do celebrate Jesus during Veteran's Day).
God does not leave us alone when we face negative emotions. Jesus understands what it's like to feel sad, scared, lonely, or angry because He felt those things just like anyone else in His time on earth. He allows negative emotions to exist for His greater plan of having humans know His love, but He helps us when we face them (which is one way He shows His love).
Praying for you.
Hello windar12q. The answer to the faith vs. fact question all depends on what kind of faith we are talking about. If my faith is a "blind faith" then obviously fact would win. However, in order to be a blind faith it would have to:
1. Not be explainable logically.
2. Contradict what we know to be true in our everyday experiences
3. Be harmful (or at least unhelpful) when its principles are lived out.
My faith fits in to none of these categories.
1. I and others can understand the Bible and explain what it means consistently. Logical reasoning can be applied to Christianity. One example is the Kalam Cosmological Argument. It has a few simple steps to show that God is the most reasonable explanation for the beginning of the universe. 1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause for its beginning. 2. The universe began to exist. 3. Therefore the universe has a cause. 4. This first cause must be uncaused (because an infinite series of first causes is impossible). 5. The first cause must have free will (because otherwise the universe would also have existed for infinity. If a cause is there, we can expect the effect to be there as well). 6. The first cause must be intelligent, because only an intelligent being can truly have free will. 7. The Christian God is timeless, has His own will, and is intelligent, so He is reasonably the cause of the universe. This article explains the argument in more detail: https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/existence-nature-of-god/the-kalam-cosmological-argument/.
2. Reading the Bible, you will notice it doesn't just talk about abstract concepts, it addresses the real challenges and joys of life. I can relate to Biblical people because they are described with all their flaws and feelings.
3. When people live according to what the Bible says, good things happen. There are hundreds of Christian nonprofits, with organizations dedicated to serving all kinds of disadvantaged groups. One of my favorite organizations is Samaritan's Purse. I like to go on their website and read what they have been doing. Some of their recent updates have been about responding to flooding in Asia, giving Operation Christmas Child gifts to children on the island of Tarawa, repairing an irrigation system damaged by ISIS in Iraq, and a retreat for military couples. Living according to what Jesus says is not always easy (God knows that and talks about it, remember point 2), but He still gives practical things to do to follow Him that yield good results. If you doubt this, look at the book of Proverbs; its advice is remarkably relevant considering it was written thousands of years ago.
Because my faith is not a "blind faith", faith and fact both win at the same time.
That's a good question. I believe ghosts are not the souls of people who have died returning, but are in different cases figments of imagination or demons. We know from the Bible that spiritual warfare goes on every day, and Satan does use a variety of weapons to attack people's trust in God. Demons may tempt people away from God by impersonating a dead person or causing people to live in fear of the ghost. However, remember that God is stronger than Satan. Prayer in Jesus' name drives out demons and destroys any of Satan's more subtle weapons (fear, apathy, temptation, etc.), too. When you get a chance to pray with a group of believers, do it. Many of my times of greatest growth in my relationship with God come from prayer, especially in small groups when we are praying aloud for each other. It's a step out side of my comfort zone but I know my prayers don't have to be elegant and that I can ask God honestly about anything my friends are struggling with or anything I struggle with. ( I know I have talked about this before, but it is one of my favorite things about God).
Back to your question. Dreams of the future do, in fact, happen. There are numerous biblical accounts of God sending messages in dreams. Here are a few examples that come to mind: King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream, which Daniel interpreted as a revelation by God about the kingdoms that would rise after Babylon (Daniel 2). Daniel himself had a dream of Jesus' future victory (Daniel 7). God specifically says that some believers will experience dreams from His Holy Spirit.
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. -Joel 2:28-29
What type of research do you do about ghosts and dreams? What methods do you use to study them?
Hi ekrause1460
I have over 50 years of research exploring 'ghosts' and 'dreams of the future.' What are your views on these types of phenomenon?
Hello, windar12q. You are correct that sin came into the world through Lucifer (Satan). Satan convinced the first humans to disobey God's law.
However, I would disagree that both love and hate are necessary to survive. Hate and anger are not the same thing, because hate's only intent is to hurt someone while anger can be used to protect. Jesus got angry when He saw corruption, but He never hated; even forgiving the people who killed Him. Hate is always evil, anger is a human response to evil (so it is not necessary, or existing, in a world with only love). Thus while love is obviously positive, hate is negative. If both positive and negative (good and evil) do exist, then both must have a cause. We see everywhere that hate and love conflict, so they were not designed to go together or created by the same being. The conclusion follows that a good being must have created love, and an evil being must have created hate. God and Satan fit this conclusion.
Additionally, if hate really were good for our evolution, why do people still believe hate is bad? Should we allow it to happen to further our evolution?
As for God being incompetent, I believe that the reason He seems this way is only because our perspective is much more limited than His. An illustration might be helpful. Think of a very sick person going to the doctor for treatment. The doctor gives him medicine he knows will help from years of study and experience, but the patient does not have this same depth of knowledge. If the patient suffers from side effects he may question the wisdom of his doctor. However, the doctor knew that even though there may be temporary negative effects, the medicine would help his patient in the end. In this story, God is like the doctor and we are like His patients.
Hello, windar12q. The question of why a good God would do something that seems bad to us is one that I'm sure all Christians wonder at some point. I've even thought about it, specifically I asked why it was even necessary for Jesus to die. Couldn't God just destroy sin any way He wanted to? Of course He could, but God is also just, so in order for Him to forgive sins people have already done, those sins need to be punished somehow. That's where Jesus comes in. He took the punishment that we deserve so that we can be set free. Also, consider how what God was willing to give up reveals His love.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:7-8
As for why God would let sin come into the world in the first place, that question is hard, and I don't have a perfect answer. What I would like to share is a thought that one of my teachers shared last year: A world that is broken and has been redeemed by God brings God more glory than a world that just stayed perfect. This sound like a selfish reason to let sin happen, but we must remember the kind of God we are talking about. He is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfectly-loving creator of everything. He totally deserves that glory! Only in a broken world do we have a chance to see God's forgiveness and unconditional love at work (He wouldn't need to show these if we were perfect).
As Christians, we don't know the full reasons behind God's decisions. What if the Flood had never happened? We can speculate all we want about how history would have turned out, but only God has the knowledge to know what really would have happened. It's the same way with Pharaoh or any other of His decisions.
Hello again, windar12q. After looking through some more Bible passages, I found some that you may be interested in. Despite all we have the ability to know about God (which is actually quite a lot, because He reveals Himself in the Bible and in personal relationships), there are some things that we could spend lifetimes discovering and still not understand fully.
One is the exact reasons God has for things.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” - Romans 11: 33-35
A second is the sheer depth of God's love. Out of all the things He created, why does He still love us enough to send Jesus to die for us? This question is powerful, and humbling.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? - Psalm 8: 3-4
A third is the future plans of God, that is, when will Jesus come again as He promised? What will it be like when He does? Note Jesus' specific instruction to stay alert (thinking, remembering, anticipating).
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake.[a] For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants[b]in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,[c] or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” - Mark 13:32-36
God is so big that even when everything else in the whole universe is discovered, we will still be constantly learning about Him. You could say our human minds are "blind" to the full glory of God.
Hello ekrause1406. It is interesting knowing these different levels of intellect are mentioned in the Bible, though I do question the prophets and miracles etc. It overplays a little, in that the paradox it forms is not explained. By that I mean the gifts so endowed are not given a reason why they were endowed. This is the reason that I have gone beyond words and sought the reason for that which up till now has been unexplained. The purpose you mention is good if it serves your needs and I am pleased that it does, but. There's always a but. What you and I are doing in this debate, is exercising those different levels. When I size up your dilemma with mine, ( I use the word dilemma loosely) I see my purpose is to seek deeper and explore a much wider meaning. When I write about all life not seeing accurately, it is this 'Blindness' that triggers our curiosity and feeds our intelligence. Imagine two worlds; the first world is inhabited by a species that can see accurately; soon all is discovered without much purpose, leading to extinction. On the second world is a species that cannot see accurately; it struggles, but its struggle feeds its intelligence by giving purpose. If you look closely at the Bible, you will see that it is promoting the first world, which will eventually stop us from thinking. Go over the text that you have sent and see if you can find a beginning to another explanation or does it suggest that what is, is what is?
Your point about different levels of intelligence creating purpose actually just reminded me of a Bible passage (if I apply the idea to intelligence/talent alone and not to different religions). Here is 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, which talks about the kinds of intelligence and talent. By "Spirit" Paul means the Holy Spirit, who is God.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:14-20 goes on to compare the many kinds of intelligence among followers of Jesus to the human body. Note how even believers who think they are inferior have an important purpose in making the church function and grow.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,[e] yet one body.
For me, having faith in Jesus guarantees that I have a purpose. However, Jesus' purpose and the kind of purpose that you describe are different. Jesus' purpose is not to cause the creatures on earth to increase in intelligence; His deepest desire is to have all humans love Him and follow Him. Jesus has been very purposeful in loving me: He forgives me when I fail and goes with me everywhere. I can talk to Him about anything, anything at all. When we talk I feel a deep peace often mixed with a type of thrilling sensation. Jesus doesn't take away purpose, He gives us the purpose of knowing Him and sharing the knowledge of Him with other people.
Hi, I am not saying that Jesus didn't exist, but I am refuting the claims made by I don't know who. If I wrote a book about fairies and claimed them to be true would you believe me without evidence to support my claim? Of course you wouldn't, but you expect the same from me. You ask am I seeing accurately, well let's look at what I have said. The jewel beetle could not tell the difference between a bottle and a female. (fact) When our species comes up against something we can't explain, we reach for the supernatural in a desperate attempt to clarify; we are doing the same as the beetle. (fact) Different religions like sport or any other aspect of human life, give us different levels of intellect; these different levels give purpose and constructive purpose is the food that feeds intelligence. (fact) On the other hand, you ask me to believe in something that you cannot substantiate and which would destroy purpose. (fact) Which I will take back if you can demonstrate that which you believe in
With Respect
Hello, windar12q. I have seen you post several times that diversity of religious beliefs is intended to fuel evolution, not discover truth. What evidence do you have for this claim? Can you tell me about some scientific studies that support it?
I have also wondered about your beliefs about seeing accurately, namely how do you know that you are the one seeing accurately?
On another note, here is some additional evidence supporting the Bible. Our trust in God's Word is increased by fact such as these:
--Fragments of the New Testament have been found that date very soon after the events of Jesus' life are said to have happened. Estimated dates of the earliest discovered are in the 100s and 200s AD. (The John Rylands Papyrus, P52, is dated from AD 130 to AD 175 depending on the study). From those dates on, we have New Testament manuscripts with no important differences from our modern Bible translations. In total, about 23,986 manuscripts have been found.
--Contemporary sources outside of the Bible also reference Jesus. Flavius Josephus, who wrote a history of the Jewish people around 93 AD, says that Jesus was called the Messiah and did "surprising deeds". A history of Rome written by Tacitus around 116 AD describes how Jesus was executed by Pontious Pilate.
--The "Principle of Embarrassment" offers compelling evidence that the Bible is not simply made up. If a writer includes details that make himself look bad or highlight his flaws, historians believe it adds credibility to the account. The authors of the Bible include things such as Peter trying to argue with Jesus, Thomas' disbelief at the resurrection, and the fact that an ordinary woman was the first to witness Jesus' resurrection (a liar would have chosen someone with a famous reputation in an attempt to seem "credible").
Here are the sources for the above facts:
https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/what-is-the-most-recent-manuscript-count-for-the-new-testament
https://vridar.org/2013/03/08/new-date-for-that-st-johns-fragment-rylands-library-papyrus-p52/
https://www.history.com/news/was-jesus-real-historical-evidence
https://answersingenesis.org/jesus-christ/resurrection/biblical-and-extra-biblical-evidences/
Hi, S.M.S. You do not demonstrate that which you believe, Words have little meaning if there is no way of substantiating what you have promised, whether the words that allegedly come from Jesus or from the unknown writer of the Bible. It is not Dr Hoffman that gives me the evidence, it's the beetle species that he researched. (fact.) If you mix all the religions and throw into the mix all the atheists and agnostics etc, they give the illusion of individual participants, but in the greater scheme of things they are acting as one. (fact.) This is why there are so many religions, an intelligent species needs these variants of intellect or there would be no you or me and certainly no religion and no Jesus. (fact.) If one religion or one belief ruled the world with its opposed views of reality then there would be no productive purpose and extinction is waiting around the bend. (fact.) The diversity of religions and beliefs are serving evolution just like the rest of us and probably always will. (fact.) What clearer evidence do you need to prove that belief is man - made? I can if you wish, go over 'Ghosts' Dreams of the future' or any other supernatural event that might equivocate?
Regards
It seems to me that you trust in what you perceive to be factual evidence. Data must be interpreted, so "fact" is a dubious term at best. I would humbly suggest that you trust in the words and conclusions that have been presented by others, or in the conclusions that you have drawn yourself. Would that constitute faith (trust) in another person, or even faith (trust) in yourself? It appears to me that you trust a lot in the words of Dr. Donald Hoffman and the conclusions that he draws since you quote him and his research quite extensively. From your perspective, he and his words are worthy of your trust.
My faith is not in "a faith." I trust the words and promises of a person, Jesus. Please notice that I never once used the word "religion" in my original post because I don't care about religion. I'm most concerned about the trustworthiness of the words and promises made to me. If a Man claims to be God in the flesh, and then He does things that only God can do, that's pretty compelling evidence to me. And, if Jesus does what He says He will do in the past, there is every reason to believe (trust, faith) that He will keep His promises in the future, as well. Not only do I find comfort in this now, but this fact will also have a profound impact on my eternal reality when I die, or when this world comes to an end.
And finally, when it comes to the euphoric feeling of knowing the truth, I would submit that the truth is not a body of perceived facts and knowledge or the exploration of such. The Truth is a Person, Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 8:31-32 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
I trust the words and promises of this Jesus. He has proven Himself trustworthy. He will avail for me when it comes time for me to die. That's His promise, and Jesus always keeps His promises. I sincerely hope that whatever or whomever you trust in (believe, faith) will do the same for you when you die. This is not man-made religion. This is a matter of eternal life and death, which goes way beyond religion.
Having said that, none of this prohibits or precludes genuine scientific study and discovery. You may check out the history of scientific exploration and the many "men of faith" who contributed greatly to the body of scientific knowledge that we have today. I also refer you once again to the excellent post previously written by ekrause1406.