Tim Rudolph's Chapter 5 Journal

KEY IDEA OF THE WEEK

Faith is challenged by atheism, scientism, and materialism. Atheists like Friedrich Nietzsche believe that no God exists and that faith is only a result of human emotions. They think that reason is useless and that morality is relative. Atheists like Thomas Hobbes believe that fate rules our lives and that only the government can prevent chaos and disorder in the world. Scientism threatens Faith because we are inclined to believe everything that scientists tell us. Science often contradicts faith in some of its teachings, and people are more likely to believe what scientists say than what their faith tells them. Materialism challenges faith in that the media helps shape our culture and vice versa. Many people focus more on how they look and what things they have than on how they live and what they believe in. Materialism is the idea that material goods can produce happiness, and many people fall into this trap.

3 IDEAS TO REMEMBER

1. Science cannot provide answers about God.

The second limitation of the scientific method is that science emphasizes empirical knowledge. This means that the scientific method cannot detect spirits or know everything about God because spirits and gods are not made of matter and would not be noticed through the scientific method. Science can find evidence that some sort of spirit exists, but it could not prove it. Science relies on knowledge to prove its theories, but many of the ideas that are assumed to be true, such as atoms or black holes, cannot be studied directly. Although science may have all the answers, we cannot possibly know that there is nothing beyond the realm of the scientific method.
This is important to remember because many people think that science is perfect and can provide all the answers. We need to remember that science is not perfect and that many scientific theories, such as the geocentric theory, have been proven incorrect. Scientists make mistakes too, and we have to decide what to believe in without knowing what the right answer actually is.

2. The media forms culture and culture forms the media

As seen in The Merchants of Cool video and the Fr. Kavanaugh video, media definitely affects culture in America. People try to purchase things that they think will make them happy even though items cannot fully satisfy us. We learned that bands like the Insane Clown Posse and Limp Bizkit can make people do crazy things and completely change their lives. We learned that the media emphasizes the idea that looking good is of primary importance in life. Young teenagers like Barbara actually pay money to try out for modeling job. As Barbara points out, she has to look good everywhere she goes or else she thinks her reputation will be ruined. Too many people go with the flow and follow the trends and fads that everyone else is following, making it easy for the media to control the way we live.

This is important to remember because people get caught up in the idea that products or good looks bring happiness. They lose their sense of identity by following the lead of their peers in an attempt to remain "cool". The problem is that things that our cool today will probably be considered cheesy in a few years. We need to realize that the media has a huge influence on culture because we can escape from the fads that many people foolishly become sucked into, wasting both time and money.

3. Be grateful for what we have.

As the Reading Book says, it is easy to think of things that we would like to have, but it is herder to list things that we are truly grateful for. This is because we don't think about them very often. We just take them for granted and don't notice how lucky we really are. It is hard, especially during Advent, to forget about what we want for ourselves and instead to think about how we can use what we have to help others who are less fortunate than we are. We can never know exactly why we desreve all the great stuff we have and other people don't. We are born into the world with all of the basic necessities of life when others struggle to get by on low wages and few luxuries.
This idea is important to remember because money and time can be better spent helping others than on buying products and showing them off. We need to make sure that we are grateful for all the great things that we have. If we remember that it is pure luck that we have such stable lives, we are more likely to realize how much we can help the less fortunate people

MY BIG QUESTION
Do I allow the media to shape my life?

The media definitely affects my life, but I don't think it shapes it. I don't buy into things just because they're popular. For example, I like very little rap/hip-hop music and I don't understand the sexual dances that people do to that type of music. Although I do enjoy most popular music and I like lots of the same things my friends like, I try to make sure that I am in control of my life and that I'm not just doing whatever the media suggests that I do.

LIFE CHANGES From this study, I should try to be more aware that the advertisements I see in magazines and on television may be trying to sell me something that the product cannot give. Whenever I see a commercial and decide that I want the product, I need to think about whether it is the product that I want so badly or if it is actually the emotion that is represented by the product. Doing this will prevent me from wasting my money because I will know exactly what I am getting when I go to the store.