Journal
Summary:
When a person has faith, he or she will always have something that will challenge that faith. Faith in itself can be a very challenging thing to maintain because there are so many things in the world that can move one away from their faith. Some people decide to not have faith, or give up on faith and become atheists. Philosophers like Nietzsche and Hobbes deny the existence of God. The ideals of Nietzsche can be very hard from some people to understand, and for some they could be too much. Some people might loose their faith due to things like this. The ideas of Nietzsche say that Jews and Christians have slave morality; the two are nothing but sheep and slaves. Nietzsche believed in the Superman character, people who decide to do something and do it by any means necessary. Hobbes, who was still an atheist, did not have the same extreme ideals as Nietzsche. The idea of materialism is something that we all are faced with, but others do not let it control them. Science is another challenge to any person’s faith; it does not matter if you are Catholic, Muslim, or Jewish. The history of the relationship between science and faith can be seen in the lives of many people. Kids are united to their parents usually until they are teens, and then some start to “rebel” against them. When they get older, they realize how much their parents really care for them. The last challenge to faith that we talked about was the power of dehumanization. People tend to focus to much on what others thing, to much on society. Society is the biggest challenge for most teens, because it is something that we always see.
Important Ideas
1. The idea of Nietzsche to me is very important to remember, because they are example of what not to believe. The ideas of Nietzsche are things that separate us from God. According to Nietzsche, people are not logical; instead, we are ruled by our emotions. The belief of the survival of the fittest and the Superman are bad things to believe in. One doest not need to make the world in his own image. The final thing that is bad to believe in is the slave morality. Jews and Christians are not “slaves” to God in anyway.
2. The other thing that id important to remember is the history of science and faith. I had never realized that these stages of life where part of science and faith. I have always known that most kid tend to rebel against their parents when they are teens, and that most tend to go back to their parents.
3. The last thing that I want to remember is the Merchants of Cool movie. I think that this movie is important because it is true. Teens do form the culture of the day, but at the same time, others are formed by that culture. I do not think I am affected as much as much as others because society does not rally have a big impact one me. I do know people who are really affected by society though, and now I get to see why they act the way they do.
Challenges to Faith
The biggest challenge to my faith I think is the ever-growing field of science, and the lack of physical evidence in religion. I am the type of person who really likes to see something in order to believe in it. I have grown though, but science is starting to prove more and more things, and eventually one will not be able to separate faith and science. In the future who knows that science will be able to prove, and these things might not agree with the teachings of the church, but I do think even though science will be there to challenge my faith I think that it will always remain as strong as it is now.
Sprite