Eric Lampe

Theology /Faith 06

November 14^th, 2006

Journal on Faith

 

SUMMARY

In this chapter we have looked at the different ways that faith can be defined, used, and maybe misinterpreted sometimes. Faith has secular definitions and a Catholic definition. The secular definition of faith is to have an allegiance to person or anything that is believed with strong conviction. The Catholic definition of faith is an intellectual assent to a loving God and His revelation. Faith involves a risk; putting something on the line because you believe in something so strongly. We’ve seen this in action with the priests Fr. Gabriel and Fr. Rodrigo who gave their lives and went against the church who they had sworn loyalty to because they believed that what they were doing was right. The Suicide bombers believe that when they blow themselves up that that is for Allah and they trust they will be saved. They have to have great faith to walk into their death for what they believe in. Faith is a balance of two radical extremes Nihilism and Radicalism. Radicalism is to believe in something very strongly but not to have good reason behind what you believe in. Nihilism is having too much reason to the point where you don’t end up believing in anything at all. It is important to try and find a balance in between the two where faith lies.

 

1)      Dick Hoyt

Dick Hoyt had a son who was born with a disease that kept him from being mobile at all. It was hard for Dick because the doctors kept telling him their was no chance but Dick loved his son so much that he kept pushing and a breakthrough came when Dick’s son communicated to him that he like when Dick ran with him. Soon Dick was running marathons and biking, swimming and running in triathlons all for his son. You could say he did all of this out of love but I think that Dick had to display a great deal of faith after being discouraged of any hope by doctors but he kept pushing on and it paid off.

2)      Jim Goodnight

Jim Goodnight became a billionaire by owning his own software company. However this company has employees who are treated like kings. They have a dream job that people would kill for and some may ask why Goodnight even does it. He could go Public and make a ton of money but he would be under pressure to cut funding and benefits from employees and so Goodnight has not and does not plan to go public because he has a belief in how employees should be treated and trusts that this plan works. Goodnight displays a lot of faith in how he carries out his business philosophy especially when he knows he could be much richer by just going public.

 

 

3)      The Iraqi Suicide Bomber

I have never understood the suicide bombers in the Middle East. However after reading more into the testament of faith that these guys bestow it is amazing. Most religious people only hope to be that faithful to something. Being willing to walk into your death because you believe what you are doing is right. However they are called extremist for a reason. They have great amounts of faith but the reasoning doesn’t seem to make sense. Why kill your own Muslim countrymen in order to kill maybe one American? It doesn’t make sense. The innocent women and children in the places should not have to die because of your great faith that what you are doing is right. If you hate the Americans, kill the Americans but don’t kill the innocent stander bys. They have great faith in what they do but the reasoning is not there. This is a great example of Radicalism.

Dick Hoyt and Son

QUESTION

What can I do to make myself a more faithful person?

I think in order for me to become a more faithful person I need to trust people more but also make smart decisions of who to trust and who not based on what has happened before. I also need to be faithful to people if they are counting on me to keep true faithful to them.

 

Summary of “The Meaning of Faith”

In this radio show it addresses the common misconception that faith must center on religion but in this show it shows that there is a bond between the spirituality and the hard textbook side of religion. First Buddhism is talked about. A woman named Salzberg who wrote a book faith says that faith should be a new thing to people a force that isn’t so much based on the strictness of religion. They go on to talk about the Jewish view on faith from Rabbi Kushner’s perspective. They quote a lot from his books and mention that we are always changing when people talk to one another and it is interesting to see how our faith is related to that. They go on to talk about the Christian point of view on faith. It talks about how much of a mystery our Christian faith is because we are based so much of how Jesus dieing brings to us a new beginning which involves a lot of faith. Faith in Islam is based very much on how much you are faithful to scripture, Allah, and Mohammad. It is interesting to see the contrasting view on faith that all these different religions have but how they are similar as well.