Journal 5

Rory Faust

12/01/05

1.) One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the major idea of the section.

    This past week in theology class, we have been studying Challenges to Faith. Although there are numerous challenges to our Faith, we have mainly focused on the attack from atheism and the challenge of science. Friedrich Nietzsche and Thomas Hobbes were famous atheists who had unique beliefs. Nietzsche believed that there is no single meaning to life whereas Hobbes belived that people can't have meaning because they are controlled by their own instincts. Nietzsche thought that humans could be a great race but only if we can reject God while Hobbes believed that humans are worthless and only focused on themselves. Nietzsche also believed that reason was not capable of discovering truth and Hobbes thought contrastingly that the universe could be understood. Lastly, both of these atheists thought that morality is relative. Everything depends on your take on it. St. Ignatius's beliefs differed from these two atheists in a big way because he was a Theist. He believed that God created everyone for a purpose. Ignatius believed that all humans are destined for something great, but it is up to us to get there. Ignatius believed that humans have great reasoning power, just not great enough to discover the full truth of God. Lastly, Ignatius thought that there is objective morality, meaning that there is a supreme law that determines right or wrong regardless of how a person thinks or feels about it. Science has been a big part of Theology since the times of ancient Greeks. In these times, people accepted Theology without reflecting on it(unreflective unity). In the Renaissance, people started to challenge Theology and often used science to try to prove Theology wrong(reflective disunity). Eventually, Theology and Science came to coexist peacefully(reflective unity). Dehumanization is another challenge to our Faith. We are brought up in a culture that encourages us to think of people as objects, whose value is many times determined by their wealth and their clothes and other possessions.

2.) List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.

  1. First of all, I want to remember the Catholic view of science. At the Vatican Council II, it was stated that "methodical researc in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can neverbe in conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God." (-Rdgs Book page 131) If there is a conflict between Church and science however, one of the two parties must be wrong, and the subject matter must be more fully investigated.

  2. Secondly, I want to remember the limitations of the scientific method. 1. Science presupposes the uniformity of nature. For example, scientists state that gravity functions the same way everywhere in the universe. While this is based on countless observations, it is key to remember that these observations were all performed on earth. Perhaps gravity does not function the same way in another galaxy. 2. Science emphasizes empiracal knowledge. Empirical knowledge does not prove that God does or does not exist, because God is not part of the physical world. 3. The scientific method does not give us certitude. More than one hypothesis can account for things being the way they are and thus, science can always be proven wrong and no hypothesis is guaranteed to be correct.

  3. Lastly, I want to remember that culture, media, and advertising are out to get me. Most people focus their lives on what society says and what is "cool", especially teenagers. We need to reason beyond just accepting what the voice we hear on the TV or other form of media that encourages us what to wear, eat, drink, buy, drive, etc.

    3.) Images that remind you of key ideas.


    This photograph is an advertisement for Camel cigarettes and reminds me of how we are bombarded with ads that try to convince us to buy a certain product.
    Image from "Art.Com"

    4.) One good question you should keep with you to ponder.

    What are my personal challenges to Faith and how do I react to them? Do I stand up to them or back down?

    5.) What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study?

         In order to be a more faithful person, I will try to keep in mind that there will always be challenges to my Faith. I need to work through these challenges that, in turn will make me a more Faithful person.
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