Here's a useful quote about faith you should save.
From Nigel Turner, Christians Words, pg. 157:
" …'faith' is a state of mind transcending ordinary knowledge, a conviction with a firmer basis than sense or reason, confidence in what God says without further evidence… It should be noticed that in many ways the verbs pisteuo and ginosko (to have divine insight) in St. John's gospel are synonymous… to 'believe' (11:42) and to 'know' (17:3) are used in the same context. Clearly the words are synonymous in a passage like this: 'they have known… that I came out from Thee and they have believed that Thou didst send Me' (17:8). Faith is a deep insight, sure and divine knowledge."
Couldn't find a bio for Nigel Turner online so here's a shot of the blurb from the book jacket:
