Faith: Meaning and Practice PDF

ITS MEANING AND PRACTICE  FAITH: A HUMAN PHENOMENON ONE DOES NOT NEED TO BE RELIGIOUS TO HAVE FAITH. SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN LIFE TO MAKE IT MEANINGFUL AND MANAGEABLE FAITH IN OURSELVES, DRIVERS, COOKS, DOCTORS, ET AL SINCE WE CANNOT FIND CERTITUDE OBJECT: BEYOND OUR SENS...

ITS MEANING AND PRACTICE  FAITH: A HUMAN PHENOMENON ONE DOES NOT NEED TO BE RELIGIOUS TO HAVE FAITH. SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN LIFE TO MAKE IT MEANINGFUL AND MANAGEABLE FAITH IN OURSELVES, DRIVERS, COOKS, DOCTORS, ET AL SINCE WE CANNOT FIND CERTITUDE OBJECT: BEYOND OUR SENSES; CANNOT CLAIM/OWN “NOW FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE CONVICTION OF THINGS NOT SEEN.” (HEB 11:1) RELIGIOUS FAITH FOR JEWS, CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS THE OBJECT OF THEIR FAITH IS NOT SOMETHING BUT SOMEONE (GOD) ✓ RELATES TO PEOPLE IN A PERSONAL WAY ✓ NOT ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS BUT GOOD AND GRACIOUS ✓ REVEALED HIMSELF SO THAT WE MAY COME TO KNOW HIM ATHEIST (ATHE [OS[OS] – GODLESS) – NO GOD; AGNOSTICS (AGNOST[OS] – “MAY NOT KNOW) – GOD MAY OR MAY NOT EXIST BECAUSE WE CANNOT KNOW FOR SURE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS DISTINCT FROM OTHER RELIGIOUS FAITHS BECAUSE IT FOCUSES ON JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE SON OF GOD INSPIRED WORD: HEBREWS 11:1 - 12 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. INSPIRED WORD: HEBREWS 11:1 - 12 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered Him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” INSPIRED WORD: HEBREWS 11:1 - 12 Addressed to Jewish Christians The addressees were in danger of apostasy from their Christian faith not only because of persecution from outsiders but also to a weariness with the demands of Christian life and a growing indifference to their calling It is in the nature of faith to recognize the reality of what is not yet seen and is the object of hope. The saints of the Old Testament give striking example of their faith (Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, et al). Faith in God is understood as trust, relying on Him when looking to the future, and obeying even when you don't fully understand all the details. CHURCH TEACHING “FAITH IS A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR, AND THROUGH HIM, WITH THE FATHER, THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, A DECISION TO COMMIT ONESELF TO CHRIST, FOLLOW HIM, STRIVE TO KNOW AND ACCEPT THE TRUTHS HE CONTINUES TO TEACH THROUGH HIS CHURCH” (CF. PCP II 64- 65). CHURCH TEACHING Uniqueness of Christian Faith: ▪ about a relationship with “someone who relates to us and to whom we can relate in a personal way” ▪ focused on the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God ▪ consists in knowing, loving, and following Christ in the Church he founded (PCP II 36) ▪ knowing Christ as your truth and living your life according to his teachings form the basic structure of Christian living.  “FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING” “WHEN WE SPEAK OF KNOWLEDGE, WE IMMEDIATELY THINK OF MAN’S CAPACITY TO LEARN MORE AND MORE ABOUT THE REALITY THAT SURROUNDS HIM AND TO DISCOVER THE LAWS THAT REGULATE NATURE AND THE UNIVERSE. THE KNOWLEDGE THAT COMES FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT, HOWEVER, IS NOT LIMITED TO HUMAN KNOWLEDGE; IT IS A SPECIAL GIFT, WHICH LEADS US TO GRASP, THROUGH CREATION, THE GREATNESS AND LOVE OF ST. ANSELM OF GOD…” (POPE FRANCI- MAY 2, 2014 GENERAL AUDIENCE) CANTERBURY CHURCH TEACHING Characteristics: 1. Total and Absolute: ▪ As exemplified by Christ himself - in his Passion, Death and Resurrection ▪ Christian faith is patterned after Jesus’ complete trust and surrender to the will of the Father which He ultimately demonstrated in His death on the cross. ▪ Radical - St. Paul summons you to offer your life as a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Rom. 12:1) as a testament of your total and absolute faith in God CHURCH TEACHING Characteristics: 2. Trinitarian ▪ For us Christians, faith is our adherence to the Triune God revealed through Jesus Christ our Lord. ▪ It is our friendship with Christ and through Christ with the Father, in their Holy Spirit. ▪ Our Faith as Catholics, then, consists in our personal conviction and belief in God our Father, revealed by Jesus Christ, His own divine Son- made-man, and their presence to us through the Holy Spirit, in the Church (PCP II 64 ;124 CHURCH TEACHING Characteristics: 3. Loving, Maturing and Missionary: ▪ Our Christian Faith is truly life-giving and mature only through love, for “the man without love has known nothing of God, for God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). ▪ This love must be inseparably love of God and love of neighbor. ▪ It thus impels us to mission, to evangelize, by bringing others the Good News (1 Cor 9:16). This means we are all called to share in Christ’s own three-fold mission as priest, prophet and king (PCP II 116-121; 125). ▪ Dynamic - growing knowledge and love of Christ and in imitation of his example of selfless service to others. CHURCH TEACHING Characteristics: 4. Informed and Communitarian ▪ “Informed,” that is “believing Jesus’ words, and accepting his teachings, trusting that he has “the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). ▪ It must be “communitarian” since it is the Church that transmits to us Christ’s revelation through Sacred Scripture and its living Tradition, and alone makes possible for us an adequate faith response (PCP II 65). ▪ “Faith seeks understanding” – St. Anselm: not to replace faith with understanding but “an active love of God seeking a deeper knowledge of God.” – takes place in the Church CHURCH TEACHING Characteristics: 5. Inculturated ▪ For the Second Vatican Council, the history of evangelization has been and continues to be a process of cultural adaptation, of "communion with various cultural modes," "a living exchange... between the Church and the diverse cultures of people" (GS 58, 44). ▪ The Church profits from the treasures buried within the diversity of human culture and that "from the beginning of her history. ▪ The Church has learned to express the message of Christ with the help of the ideas and terminology of various peoples, and clarify it with the wisdom of philosophers, and to adapt the gospel to the grasp of all CHURCH TEACHING Characteristics: 5. Inculturated ▪ The inculturation process is actually a genuine incarnation of Christ and of his Gospel within a particular culture: "And the Word became flesh and lived among us" (Jn 1:14). ▪ Following the example of Christ, who judged and condemned the negative values of his time, the Gospel, too, continually evaluates the limitations and errors of the culture in which it exists. ▪ The reception given to the Gospel, the recognition of a culture’s riches, and, at the same time, the purification or refusal of negative values enable a culture to rise and grow in a Christian way. T CHURCH TEACHING Characteristics: 5. Inculturated ▪ Faith in God and in Jesus Christ is never separated from the circumstances of your life ▪ Faith is manifested in your daily life and relationships. It takes into consideration the community where you belong. DIMENSIONS OF FAITH- BELIEVING “FAITH” AND “BELIEF” ARE OFTEN CONFUSED BUT THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME THING ✓ FAITH – ENLIGHTENS US TO SEE GOD REVEALED IN THE MIDST OF HUMAN LIFE AND WE ARTICULATE IT MORE CLEARLY BY A SERIES OF BELIEFS ✓ BELIEF – PRECISE ARTICULATION OF OUR COMMITMENT OF FAITH IN GOD [EX.: JESUS IS BOTH HUMAN AND DIVINE, REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST, ASSUMPTION OF MARY, ETC. BELIEVING IS AN ASPECT OR WAY OF EXPRESSING FAITH DIMENSIONS OF FAITH- DOING WORKING AND COOPERATING WITH GOD’S LIBERATIVE WORK LOOKING UP TO JESUS AND SEEING HIS TEACHING ABOUT HOW YOU SHOULD LIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE VALUES OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. LOVING ONE ANOTHER BY WORKING TO HELP ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM OF GOD AS A KINGDOM OF JUSTICE, PEACE, AND “GOD, WHO MADE US WITHOUT OURSELVES, WILL NOT SAVE US WITHOUT OURSELVES.” ST. AUGUSTINE DIMENSIONS OF FAITH- DOING ESTABLISHING THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH – A KINGDOM OF JUSTICE, PEACE AND LOVE PROMOTING JUSTICE BY ERADICATING INJUSTICE, DISCRIMINATION, DISHONESTY, DECEIT, INSINCERITY, CHEATING WORKING FOR PEACE – BECOMING PEACEMAKERS, AGENTS OF RECONCILIATION PROMOTING LOVE – “LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.” (JN 15:12) DIMENSIONS OF FAITH - ENTRUSTING/WORSHIPPING: FAITH [FIDERE (LATIN)] – MEANING “TO TRUST TRUST IS THE BASIS OF ALL FAITH. TRUSTING IS AN INTRINSIC PART OF BELIEVING. IT IS YOUR TRUSTING FAITH THAT LEADS YOU TO PRAY FROM THE HEART. LEARNING TO TRUST GOD MORE IS LEARNING TO TRUST MORE ONE ANOTHER – AN EXPERIENCE OF TRUSTING A PERSON IS A EXPERIENCE OF TRUSTING GOD MORE ABOUT FAITH FAITH IS A GRACE - GIFT GOD’S GIFT, A SUPERNATURAL VIRTUE INFUSED INTO US BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – CANNOT BE DEMANDED AS A RIGHT ENABLES US TO BELIEVE IN GOD AND IN ALL THAT HE HAS REVEALED ALLOWS US TO ENTER INTO CONTACT WITH THE EVER-PRESENT GOD CANNOT GIVE ONE ANOTHER FAITH GIFT OF FAITH IS OFFERED TO ALL BUT WE RESPOND/ACCEPT IT FREELY MORE ABOUT FAITH VERB WE SPEAK OF SOMEONE “HAVING” FAITH OR HAVING “THE FAITH” / LOSING OR GROWING IN FAITH – “THING” (GIFT) -, THUS FAITH IS A NOUN FAITH IS A VERB BECAUSE IT IS MANIFESTED ONLY IN ACTION NOT A PERSON “HAS FAITH” BUT A “FAITHING” PERSON FOR FAITH IS ACTIVE AND DYNAMIC, NOT MERELY STATIC POSSESSION  MORE ABOUT FAITH ACTIVE EXPRESSION OF FAITH OTHER ACTIVE COMPONENTS ARE HOPE AND LOVE A FAITH – RELATIONSHIP IS ALSO A HOPE – RELATIONSHIP AND LOVE – RELATIONSHIP OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD (SPIRIT) SHOULD NOT BE CONCEIVED AS PURELY “SPIRITUAL” BECAUSE IT CAN LEAD TO SEPARATING OUR “SPIRITUAL” LIFE FROM OUR ORDINARY AND MORAL LIFE TRUE FAITH BLENDING OF ACTIVE BELIEVING, ENTRUSTING/WORSHIPPING AND DOING FAITH IS ABOVE ALL A WAY OF LIVING! THE FAITH-FILLED LIFE IS THOROUGHLY MORAL LIFE, A SPIRITUAL LIFE!  WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE? PASCAL’S WAGER ABOUT GOD Pascal-img BLAISE PASCAL — FRENCH PHILOSOPHER, SCIENTIST, MATHEMATICIAN AND PROBABILITY THEORIST (1623-1662) ARGUES THAT IF WE DO NOT KNOW WHETHER GOD EXISTS THEN WE SHOULD PLAY IT SAFE RATHER THAN RISK BEING SORRY OFFERS A PRAGMATIC REASON FOR BELIEVING IN GOD: THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF BELIEVING ARE SO VAST AS TO MAKE BETTING ON THEISM RATIONAL  PASCAL’S WAGER ABOUT GOD THE SUPER-DOMINANCE ARGUMENT Table God exists God does not exist You believe in God (a) infinite reward (c) 250 utiles You do not believe in God (b) infinite punishment (d) 200 utiles IF GOD EXISTS THEN THEISTS WILL ENJOY ETERNAL BLISS (CELL A), WHILE ATHEISTS WILL SUFFER ETERNAL DAMNATION (CELL B). IF GOD DOES NOT EXIST THEN THEISTS WILL ENJOY FINITE HAPPINESS BEFORE THEY DIE (SAY 250 UNITS WORTH), AND ATHEISTS WILL ENJOY FINITE HAPPINESS TOO, THOUGH NOT SO MUCH BECAUSE THEY WILL EXPERIENCE ANGST RATHER THAN THE COMFORTS OF RELIGION. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER GOD EXISTS, THEN, THEISTS HAVE IT BETTER THAN ATHEISTS; HENCE BELIEF IN GOD IS THE MOST RATIONAL BELIEF TO HAVE.  PASCAL’S WAGER ABOUT GOD THE SUPER-DOMINANCE ARGUMENT Table God exists God does not exist You believe in God (a) infinite reward (c) 250 utiles You do not believe in God (b) infinite punishment (d) 200 utiles WAGERING FOR GOD SUPERDOMINATES WAGERING AGAINST GOD: THE WORST OUTCOME ASSOCIATED WITH WAGERING FOR GOD (STATUS QUO) IS AT LEAST AS GOOD AS THE BEST OUTCOME ASSOCIATED WITH WAGERING AGAINST GOD (STATUS QUO); AND IF GOD EXISTS, THE RESULT OF WAGERING FOR GOD IS STRICTLY BETTER THAN THE RESULT OF WAGERING AGAINST GOD. (THE FACT THAT THE RESULT IS MUCH BETTER DOES NOT MATTER YET.) PASCAL DRAWS THE CONCLUSION AT THIS POINT THAT YOU SHOULD WAGER FOR GOD.  ASSIGNMENT ANSWER THE FOLLOWING (DRAWING/ART) 1. WHAT ACTIONS IN MY LIFE WOULD TESTIFY TO MY “FAITHING”? 2. AS A “FAITHING” PERSON, WHERE DO I FEEL CALLED TO GROW IN TRUST THESE DAYS?