The section involving Atheism presented two famous atheists and their beliefs. The first atheist, Friedrich Nietzsche, was a positive atheist, meaning he made a conscious deliberate choice to believe that God does not exist. He was a nihilist who believed relative values and relative morality and denied objective morality. He also believed that the majority of people are weak and there is a small group of individuals who have a will to power, and these people will lead the masses in their way of thinking. The other atheist the text presents is Thomas Hobbes, a practical atheist and materialist who believed that there is nothing beyond the physical matter of the world. He believed that men are driven by an animalistic instinct, that free will doesn't exist, and that governments are a necessary evil. To counter the ideals of these atheists, the text presents to us St. Ignatius of Loyola and his beliefs. His basic beliefs are outlined in his First Principle and Foundation. He believes that God gave us the world, and God loves us (human beings) more than all of the rest of creation.
Scientism, also is a challenge to our faith. People may see a very obvious conflict between science and religion. For instance, the bible said that God created the world in 7 days, where as science tells us it took billions of years. However the text tells us that the bible should not be translated literally, but contextually. Many sources from the magesterium tell us that a conflict between science and faith is impossible because each sustains the other. Historically the relationship between science and faith has changed from an Unreflective Unity, to a Reflective Disunity, to a Reflective Unity (although we may have a ways to go before we reach a fully Reflective Unity). Another reason why scientism cannot undermine faith is because scientific method has limitations: Science presupposes the uniformity of nature, it emphasizes empirical knowledge, and it does not give us certitude.
Consumerism, the third main challenge to faith, holds the power of dehumanization. Our wants and needs become confused and we begin to put our trust, belief, and even our love into objects, like cars or clothing. We are manipulated by the media to form an identity based on material goods.
"Science can purify religion from error and superstition; and religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes."
Each adds to the argument of the other making each one more reliable, bringing us closer to the truth.
The second most important idea I want to remember is that the media can change our way of thinking and even begin to form our identity. It does this by telling us what to wear, what music to listen to, and even how to act. They do this by marketing their idea of "cool" and popularizing it and selling it, all to make a lot of money for themselves. They aren't just selling clothes, music, videos, video games, mp3 players, ect, they are selling an identity; an identity many teens are willing to spend a lot of money on, just so they can be cool.