SKZB wrote: [...] > Let's not say everyone. Let us speak of someone who > says, "I believe. I believe purely on faith." Now, > would you say that this person, on this subject, is > thinking? Well, it is always difficult to get inside another person's head. From my own experience I would say that even though I am convinced that a thing is true, and even though I may be doing my best *not* to think about whether it is true or false, I cannot reach the state of "not thinking about" something important to me. The best I can do is "not thinking much about" or "trying not to think about," although the latter usually also means "thinking a lot about." As matters of religious faith are usually considered important, either (1) your speaker's subjective experience is substantially different from mine in this respect, or (2) your speaker continues to think about subjects in which he or she has faith. I prefer the latter explanation, though I am not sure I could defend that preference rigorously. -- Greg (As a side note, some writers on religion strike me as thinking quite a lot about matters of religious faith. Some express doubts they continue to have, and struggle with. Others explore the rational consequences of their faith in attempting to create an internally consistent system of theology. I would not describe C.S. Lewis, to take an example brought up not long ago, as "not thinking about" the subject of God.) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com