Faith then is simply trust; we must exercise at least some measure of faith in order to interact meaningfully with the real world. No opinion poll is going to make God go away. Faith is only as valid as the object in which it is placed. Trust an untested food, an unqualified doctor or a dishonest person, and the faith is not valid. A sad example of misplaced faith is the story of a young student who told me that his girlfriend had long been dating another man and would soon marry him. Faith may be