Why is having faith essentially a human act?

Answer 1

Having faith is essentially a human act because man created religion. Man is having faith in itself when they think they are having faith in any certain religion.

The above is all wrong...Even were religion created by man that would not make faith a human act...What about people who didn't know it was created by humans, or the opposite case (hint!) where something is divine but thought to be only human.

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Belief21 09 2007

"Man can be compelled to do a good many things. There are a good many other things he can do in a halfhearted fashion, as it were, against his will. But belief can never be halfhearted. One can believe only if one wishes to. Perhap the credibility of a given person will be revealed to me so persuasively that I cannot help but think: It is wrong not to believe him; I "must" believe him. But this last step can be taken only in complete freedom, and that means that it can also not be taken. There may be plenty of compelling arguments for a man's cedibility; but no argument can force us to believe him.

The unanimity of statements on this point is astonishing; and the agreement ranges all the way from Augustine and Thomas to Kierkegaard, Newman and Andre Gide. Augustine's phrase from the Commentary on John is famous; "Nemo credit nisi volens": No one believes except of his own free will. Kierkegaard says that one man can do much for another, "but give him belief, he cannot". Newman is forever stressing, in one guise or another, the one idea that belief is something other than the result of a logical process; it is precisely not "a conclusion from premises". "For directly you have a conviction that you ought to believe, reason has done its part, and what is wanted for faith is, not proof, but will." And Andre Gide? In the last jottings he published after his Journals we may read these sentences: "There is more light in Christ's words than in any other human word. This is not enough, it seems, to be a Christian: in addition, one must believe. Well, I do not believe." Taken all together, these statements obviously mean the following: It is one thing to regard what someone else has said as interesting, clever, important, magnificent, the product of genius or absolutely "true". We may feel compelled to to think and say any and all these things in utter sincerity. But it is quite a different matter to accept precisely the same statements in the way of belief. In order for this other matter, belief, to come about, a further step is necessary. A free assent of will must be performed. Belief rests upon volition" (Josef Pieper, Faith, Hope, Love, p 35-36).

Answer 2

Having faith is essentially a human act because it involves believing in something that cannot be proven through empirical evidence. It requires trust, hope, and a willingness to accept uncertainty, all of which are unique human qualities stemming from our capacity for reason and emotion. Faith is a deeply personal and subjective experience that reflects the complexity of human nature.

Answer 3

Because, in life there is No shortcut. there is always a step by step process.