This section was all about faith, both secular, small "f" faith and Catholic, capital "F" Faith. Secular faith is having complete trust in someone or something; believing in something even though you cannot do so with absolute certainty. When you do this, you are taking a risk, a calculated risk but still a risk. The Catholic definition of Faith is much more complicated. The Catholic definition of faith is: "an intellectual assent to a loving God and His revelation."("Faith, Reason, and Revelation" pg 92) There are seven characteristics of Faith for Catholics. They are (Faith is): a grace (a supernatural gift from God), a free human response (we choose to believe or not to), a risk (the same calculated risk with secular faith), reasonable (supported by evidence), certain (there is no hope involved in Faith), seeks understanding (fosters a desire to ask questions and a want for answers), and a virtue (with love and hope, one of the three theological virtues).

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

The faith of the Iraqi Bomber- In the article about the bomber's mission and his training, it was debated whether or not he was a man of faith, both secular and religious. Most of us agreed that he was a man of faith because he had faith in his superiors that the directions that he would be given about his mission would be correct and work. He also had religious Faith because he claimed that his number one reason for becoming a suicide bomber was to defend Islam. A select few, though, argued that he was not a man of faith, but just simply brainwashed and a crazy fanatic. Read the article and you make the call.

All About Nihilism- Nihilism is believing in nothing at all. Nihilists deny the existance of truth at all and claim that the universe is unintelligible, it cannot be understood by the mind. Nihilists also claim that all truths and morals are relative because the everything in the universe is constantly changing. It was a popular movement in Russia in the 19th century, but quickly faded out. Nihilism itself is a crazy idea and also contradictory. Nihilists claim to not believe in anything at all, but they believe in not believing. See the problem? Click to go to a nihilism site

The Ignatian idea of Consolation/Desolation- St. Ignatius of Loyola believed in the idea of consolation/desolation when deciding what was morally good and bringing us closer to God, or not good for the mind, body , and soul. The basic idea, is that after a situation has passed and a choice was made, a person should reflect on what happened and how they feel about that now that the moment has passed. If the person is at peace with what happened and they see God in the decision, then that is consolation and the choice was most likely good and correct. If after examination the person comes to find that they are unhappy or uneasy with what happened and they do not see God in the situation, then that is desolation and the next time a similar choice arises, it is the persons duty to choose differently than before. Ignatius believed that a great way to accomplish this was through the daily Examen of Consciousness and that this routine ultimately brought a person closer to God.

3. One good image that pertain to key ideas in the section.

Thanks to jcu.edu for the image
I chose this picture because this is the Ignatian "logo" and the faith and life of Ignatius was great and something to be remembered.

Thanks to shadowzone7.tripod.com for the image
I chose this picture because having faith is like cliff-jumping. Those of you who have tried it know what I mean.

4. Where am I when it comes to reason and beliefs? Am I leaning towards nihilism or radicalism? How can I work towards that perfect balance of Faith?

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

From this study, I need to look at my Faith and ask myself if it is more of a secular faith or a religious Faith that lives out the seven characteristics of Faith. If it is more of a secular faith, then I need to work on making it more of a religious Faith by looking at how I live my life. One way to do this is through the Examen and decerning what things are good things in my life and what things are not. I then need to make the choice to work for the good things and not just let things slide or else, according to Ignatius, I am working for evil. Outside of the Examen, I can listen to my conscience when making decisions that have moral implications because when I do what my conscience tells me is right, then I am listening to God and having Faith in Him that this is what He wants me to do.

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