Throughout history many philosophers have studied God and the role that faith should play in a person's life. Many of these philosophers have come to the conclusion that in order to live a rational life one must have faith. The role that faith plays in directing peoples lives will vary between different people and different circumstances. Faith should never completely control someone's life but it should always be present acting as a guide to help people stay on a moral path. .
Life can be lived weather one has faith or not, the difference is the quality of ones life. In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard says that "Faith is the highest passion in man." He is saying that people need and crave faith in order to live. It is nessacary to have a life with some faith, it is also nessacary to live by sight. Living by sight alone will leave a void in ones live because there will be to many questions left without answers. To better understand what it means to live by faith one must understand what it means to live by sight. Living by sight is to live a logical life. It relates to science and the laws that explain how things are the way they are. By living by sight alone one is living as they must live in order to get by. Everyone lives by sight, it goes along with being human. Living this way brings comfort and security to people because it is explainable. However, living this way causes a feeling of emptiness because science offers no answers to what the meaning of life is. Thus, in order to discover the meaning of life one must live by both sight and by faith.
It is through faith and examination that on can realize the answer to the problem of our finiteness. It is only natural for people to want to feel protected, have moral order, and to want to live a long life. The problem with all of these essential components is that they can not be garenteed. As children we believe that our parents will always be there to care for us and provide us with love, sadly, this is not the case.