Challenges to Faith
Journal Assignment
Key Idea
This section dealt with various challenges to Faith including Atheism, Agnosticism, and Indifference. To be atheistic means to believe that there is no god or transcendent being in the universe. Agnosticism means that you are unsure if there is a god and you believe that is impossible to know if there really is a god. Both of these option are considered valid and respectable positions. Indifference means that you do not care if there is a god or not. To someone who is indifferent, the answer to the god question is "Who cares?" The last answer to the god question is that of belief; a believer truly trusts that there is a god. This section talked about two atheists, Nietzsche and Hobbes, and one believer, St. Ignatius Loyola.
Nietzsche
Nietzsche believed that there was no god and that those who believed there was a god were fools who use religion as a crutch so as to avoid the harsh reality of the world. He thought that human beings were not as logical as they believed themselves to be, and so he appealed to the masses with emotional arguments filled with vivid imagery and passionate speeches. While Nietzsche believed that the human race in general was weak, he thought that every now and again a superman emerges to lead the masses. Eventually, Nietzsche believed, the human race would evolve into a super-race. Nietzsche said that values and morality are relative, that is, they are different for each person.
Hobbes
Hobbes was also an atheist. He believed that humans were no better than common animals acting on base instinct. Unlike Nietzsche, Hobbes often appealed to logical reasoning and believed that logic could answer most any question. His most famous work, the Leviathan, is one long logical argument. Hobbes rejected the idea of god as he believed that the natural laws govern the universe and hold all the answers. Hobbes, like Nietzsche, also believed that value and morality were relative. He also thought that the world was controlled by destiny, and thus one's "meaning" in life was an unimportant idea.
St. Ignatius Loyola
St. Ignatius Loyola believed that there is a loving god in our lives. Since he believed that there was one all-powerful all-knowing being in the world, he thought that value and morality were objective unlike both Nietzsche and Hobbes. He believed that humans are priceless and have an infinite value, since god loves each one of them infinitely. He also believed that there is one code of morality, that is, God's will as revealed to us through scripture, Church Tradition, and Christ. One of Ignatius' most famous works is his First Principle and Foundation. Ignatius believed that everything humans do should help to unite them with god, that all of their thoughts, words, and actions should be dedicated to His greater glory.
Two Ideas to Remember
Science and Faith
Science is often seen as a challenge to faith. Many believe that it isn't possible to be both a scientist and a christian at the same time, as they believe that they contradict each other. Our reading book however, presented the topic in a different light: Science and religion should compliment, not discredit, each other. If a contradiction arises, there was some mistake in the interpretations on one side. Theologically this would be so because if God created the universe, then everything should point back to Him. If God created this world, then the world cannot contradict His teachings. Another approach to science as a challenge to faith is the idea of "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA) as presented by Stephen Jay Gould in his book Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion and the Fullness of Life. NOMA means that science and religion have two distinct domains in our lives. Some questions are meant to be answered by a scientist, while other questions should be answered by religion. Anything that transcends this world, such as what happens after death, what purpose humans have on earth, and other such questions should be answered by religion, not science. Questions such as how do plants make food, why do things fall down when you throw them up, and how does the theory of evolution work should be answered by science. This topic is important to remember because science can prove to be a huge obstacle for faith/Faith. Stephen Gould's idea of NOMA can help us overcome this idea that science and religion are in conflict with each other. As Ignatius Loyola said, God can be found everywhere, even in science.
Consumerism
Another important topic in this section is consumerism and how it is a challenge to faith. In today's society, we are bombarded with constant advertisements and many of these conflict with one's Faith. We begin to rely more on products to satisfy us rather than relying on God. We easily get lost new products and new technology that we lose track of our Faith. Many people develop an obsession for material goods and are thus made less-human. This dehumanization is unhealthy and damaging to those become trapped in consumerism. This is important to remember because it is getting increasingly harder not get caught up in the consumerism fever. If we depend too much on material goods, we lose ouselves along the way. We can lose our free will, our identity, and even become less human through the harsh effects of this materialistic attitude. In class, we watched a Frontline film, The Merchants of Cool, which discussed this topic. Advertisement companies have gone to incredible lengths to capture our attention, and as a result pay a large role in the formation or our identities even to the extent of forming us into product-buying-machines. It is important for us to be aware of this so that we might be able to guard against it.
Chris Zandstra
1991-2007
This image means a lot to me and to the entire SLUH Community. This is Chris Zandstra, one of the greatest guys ever to walk the halls of SLUH. He was filled with faith and love, the very image of what a good Christian should be. Chris inspired hundreds of people and was loved by even more. Chris died in 2007 after a lifetime of fighting various cancers. I chose this image as a challenge to Faith because it really makes me wonder, "Why did it happen to him?" It is hard to believe in a loving, caring God when someone as wonderful as Chris had to suffer so much. I believe that this is a challenge to everyone who loses someone in their life.
For some more information on Chris, try these websites:
SLUH's Zandstra Page
STL Today Article