Although some translate the Pāli word saddhā as “faith,” in my understanding the baggage this word carries from Christian & other Abrahamic cultures makes that misleading. Gotama simply does not ask those who undertake his teachings for “faith” in the sense of belief in something that cannot be confirmed by evidence. He asks only for trust in the teachings; he says “ehipassiko,” which means “come & see.” The clear implication of all his teachings is that you can & should—in fact, must, to make progress—verify the teachings for yourself at each stage of developing understanding. Indeed, that development simply won’t work if you don’t approach it that way. For this reason, the world “trust” seems a much better translation of saddhā. Gotama plainly states that he is not a god; he rejects the use of miracles as proofs; he asks for the trust one gives to an experienced teacher, not the unquestioning blind belief in a deity.