What are the biggest challenges to faith in your life here and now? What are the biggest challenges to Faith in your life here and now? This must show a lot of reflection upon the content of this section. You MUST address the issues of atheism (practical atheism if it applies), scientism and dehumanization through our consumerist culture.
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The biggest challenges to my faith/Faith are things that I seem to encounter almost everyday. Our class came up with examples like laziness/ procrastination, media/societal pressures, and being disinterested in our faith/Faith on the level of participating in our faith/Faith. I think that all of these apply to me to varying extents. My laziness is something that I have always been frustrated with and have only been trying to deal with it in the last year. I was never a big help around the house and I was always putting off homework. Only this year am I taking care of my business like I should but I still feel like I have a long way to go. This laziness is a challenge because it prevents me from living life the way I should and the way a mature person has to be able to.
The media is a challenge to my faith/Faith but not to the same extent as procrastination. I experience the media and its values more than I usually can even realize and I sometimes have to remember that any form of media has goals that I may not be aware of. They want me to buy certain things, listen to certain things, wear certain things, but this would lead me to a life of dehumanization and consumerism which according to the reading book would lead me to coveting material things and worshipping them as false idols. I need to try to have my own opinions and my own reasons for doing things. I need to wear clothes because I like them, not because other people do or because the media says I should like them. This is a challenge of my faith because it prevents me from developing my own opinions and beliefs about God and about my life and the world around me.
My interest in my faith/Faith or lack of interest is probably the hardest thing for me to overcome and it is my biggest challenge to faith. I can rarely get excited about my faith and I think this is because most of the aspects of my faith seem to be something distant. God is seen as being in a far away heaven and the events we read about in the Bible are things that happened long ago. Going to mass is usually enjoyable for me. I always feel good after it's over but defenitely not because it's over. It's when me and my family are able to be together and we can see all of our friends as well. So why is it still so hard for me to get myself to church on Sundays? I certainly wouldn't qualify myself as a practical atheist because I participate regularly, just not as much as I would like to. I go most of the time but what's stopping me the rest of the time? Sometimes I feel like I need that extra hour of sleep or that extra hour of homework time or simply because the rest of my family has other things they have to take care of. But what's stopping me from going alone to church? This is a question that I don't have a clear, definite answer to and this is why it is my biggest challenge to faith/Faith.