My Faith and Challenges to It


Of the four possibly responses to the question of God, I think that I am a Theist. The other responses are Theism, Atheism, Agnosticism, and Indifference. Theism is based on the belief that God or gods do exist, so if a person is a theist could be a Catholic, Christian, pagan, or practical atheist which implies that you belong to a religion that believes in a god or gods but you only go through the motions or simply belong to the religion and don’t really practice your Faith. Nietzsche, an atheist, believed that God doesn’t exist, or more specifically, that God is dead. One atheistic idea is that all morality is relative, or that morality changes from person to person, depending on the individual’s beliefs. Agnostics do not know for sure if God does or does not exist so they neither accept nor reject the idea that there is a God. Lastly, indifference means that the individual or group of people does not care whether or not God exists. People who are indifferent go on living there lives without even asking the question of God. To indifferent people, there are far more important things in life than the question of God.


Although I know that I am not an atheist, an agnostic, or indifferent I do not think that, at this time I can call myself a full fledged Catholic theist. I am not a pagan, am I a Protestant, but I do not think that I could be called a devout practicing Catholic either. I am not an atheist my faith to be the most important thing in my life. It is only that I am unsure about some things that have to do with the Catholic religion. I don’t think I have doubts about Catholicism, it’s just that I have some questions. I think that the way some people measure another’s faith/Faith is slightly off. While I agree that going to mass is important, I don’t think that it could even possibly define how strong of a believer we are. I think that Faith is measured in the amount of trust you put in God. I think that Faith is based on the courage of your convictions, having the fortitude to stand up for your beliefs against any opposition. I know that I have Faith in God and in the plan that God has set out for me as He has for all the people who have come before me, but I do not think that my Faith is as strong where it should be. Practical atheism is what I think the biggest to challenge to my faith and the faith of most of my friends. I think that I will go to mass next Sunday and remember the Gospel and how it applies to me, but instead I sleep in and miss all of mass. I sometimes just forget, but more often than not I just put it off for a later date that never seems to come. My Faith is not where it should be, but at least I know where I need to get to with it, and I know with the help of God’s grace I can grow and develop my faith until it gets to where it needs to be.


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