Kevin Murphy

Faith Differences

This section of What is Faith? concentrates on one main idea. That one main idea is the difference between Faith (with a big “F”) and faith (with a small “f”). The difference between these two is sometimes simple and sometimes complicated. You can exhibit both types of faith or just one. First off, Faith is the trust and belief in something that is religious, spiritually and intellectually putting faith in something religious. Secondly, faith on the other hand is that same intellectual belief and trust without the spiritual aspect. In other words putting complete belief and trust in someone or something. An example of faith would be Jim Goodnight who put complete faith in his employees that they would work more efficiently if he gave them many perks. An example of Faith would be Aaron Fernstein who had faith in God that he would bring both him and his employees out of their troubles with the recent fire.

The first thing that I want to remember about this section is Dick Hoyt, “The Strongest Dad in the World.” Both Dick Hoyt and his son have been great influences on each other. When Dick found out that his son was bound to be a vegetable all his life he most likely questioned his faith. When his son though strove to communicate and finally did I believe that gave him the faith to set world records and run Iron Man triathlons. The catch was that every triathlon or marathon he has run he has done it with his son, carrying him every mile. He gave his son his dream of running and walking like everyone else and he gained the strength to be a hero to his son in return. The second thing that I want to remember is the episode of Andy Griffith, “Mr. Mcbeevee.” This episode was so simple but it showed a struggle which all of us have experienced, a crisis of faith with someone we care for. Just like when Andy doubted Opie he knew that “that’s the moment that decides whether you got faith in somebody or not.” He trusted in Opie under ridiculous circumstances and we can all relate that such things are hard to believe. This shows us though that we should have faith in these times.

My image of faith is the U.S. Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima after a long hard fought battle. The Marines had just fought for weeks on the island, and their enemy fought just as hard. In this picture it shows the faith that they had in each other, in their commanders and in their country as they proudly demonstrate to the world that they stand united in each other, not willing to ever back down.
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I believe we should address in this course what to do when you lose faith. Whether you lose it in another person or a cause that you once saw as right I believe that we should address or discuss suggestions that would help us. We should start by discussing broader suggestions beyond those of “turn to God,” because for most people that is not enough.