Religious people are addicted to the signs and symbols of their faith. They provide an objective physical and visual way of identifying themselves as adherents.
Circumcision was a mark of faith to the Jews. It said, "I belong to God because I belong to his people". However the Jews thought so much about the sign that they forgot what it meant!
Promises are good, but only if they can be fulfilled. That is the problem of so much business trading: orders not completed, goods not perfect, money not paid on time.
Believers are sometimes accused of 'blind faith'. It is intended as an insult, meaning that 'you cannot see the problems, you cannot understand the issues so you just believe without evidence ...
'Faith' is a very special word. Although it is used by some people to mean 'following a religious system', the Bible speaks of a personal relationship with the Creator God who can raise the dead.
