I have a hard time listening to faith being dissed for example in AronRa's 5th Foundational Falsehood of Creationism even though I appreciate that what is being criticised here is possibly not true faith at all.
Perhaps it is not quite so dumb to have a "complete and stoic confidence" which some say "does not depend on evidence". In fact true faith does depend on evidence although possibly not directly. I can have complete faith in my friend's driving because I know him and have previously experienced his driving skills. True, I might end up injured in a driving accident but "nothing ventured, nothing gained". I'd rather have to exercise faith than have an entirely "safe" existence.
But faith in the Bible sense goes further than this. It says faith can cause "things being seen not to have come into being out of the things that appear" or put more plainly can cause "things to appear out of nothing". It says this in relation to the creation of this cosmos. This is a bold claim indeed. I have never wittingly experienced something material being made out of nothing. But I have experienced a relationship coming out of nothing, possibly out of less than nothing. But whether material or emotional the doubters will pick holes. Scientific "proof" is based on repeatable observation and it is kinda hard to create the cosmos a second time, or for the same relationship to come into being twice in succession.
Until it is too late I guess there will always be those who poo-poo the idea of "faith in God" because, almost by definition, it cannot be "proved" to their liking. I am not sure it is to my liking either mind you, but possibly the most powerful explanation (for me) of what is at stake here is found in Lewis's "The silver chair" where Puddleglum breaks the witch's spell with:
"One word, Ma'am," he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things - trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a playworld which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's a small loss if the world's as dull a place as you say."
