Our world today is not very accepting of Faith and it becomes increasingly harder as I grow older to maintain what I want, which is a high level of Faith. Personally, I have not really encountered much Atheism in my life. I know some people who claim to be atheists, but that doesn't bother me or make me think that much about whether or not there is a God. I have accepted the fact that there is a God, not because I have proof, but because I see what I consider "signs" in my daily life. These can include anything from the close, intimate, loving feeling that I feel in church or adoration, or something as simple as a sunrise on my drive to school. Who knows? Maybe I am brainwashed from growing up in a Catholic family and having 9 years of Catholic grade school and the whole "Jesus loves you" religion shit that they spoonfeed there. Who knows? I have thought about the possibility of there being no God though, and to me, it is impossible that this world was created without the aid of a higher being. I cannot imagine us just forming from nothing into this vast culture without some sort of help. I also think about the saints who lived their lives fully believing in God at some point or another and all of the good it did for them. It wasn't just coincidence.
This brings me to my second point, the challenge of scientism. I struggle slightly more with this idea and my Faith than with atheism. I am a very practical person. I do things in a certain order, everything is either right or wrong, and everything has an explanation, EXCEPT God. The practical side of me takes over at times, though, and attempts to explain everything as if there were no God. "The sun coming up is not a miracle, but a phenomenon that is caused by the earth's rotation and its orbit around the sun." Ok, fine. I completely agree, but then when the question of "How did the sun and earth get here in the first place?" comes up, answers are much less certain, almost not certain at all. I cannot accept that the universe started with a "Big Bang." It's a fine theory and makes sense, but how did the stuff for the "bang" get there? It is like a never-ending ladder. No matter what, there is always one step higher to go in explaining, and to me all the ladders lead to one solution: a higher power exists. Now, we cannot explain this higher power, nor are we supposed to. We cannot know how He got there or why He is there, He is beyond the scope of the human mind, and we must just accept that. that answer is good enough for me, but others want a solution. They're just going to be searching for a long, long time.
Our culture and the media also present a challenge to Faith through what is called "dehumanization". Dehumanization is the devaluation of human life and its sacredness through our consumerist culture. This includes the degredation of women in advertising and in the media. The image of women portrayed in our culture is not how women are or should be in reality. Very few women look like the scantily-clad supermodels on billboards and in magazines, and this image presents problems for both sexes. Women, especially teenagers, are sold this image and want to be like the model because the model is beautiful and "perfect". This can lead to issues such as eating disorders and low self esteem which are not healthy and do not respect the person. For men, the product is being advertised to us, but it is the sex that really sells. That hot girl becomes a standard at times, and the thought that women are like objects to lust after takes over. This can lead to issues such as disrespect of women when in their company and addictions to things like pornography. These compromise morals in our society and in all of us. To be a man of Faith, I try to live a moral life, but I do fail at times. The picture painted by society is so tempting because giving in feels freat at the time. I must overcome this immediate gratification and walk the straight path of a moral person if I want to have the strong Faith that I desire. I have found that walking this path leads to a deep sense of fufillment and longterm satisfaction, which is a better feeling than any immediat action can give me.
In our world, it is not easy to live by and have Faith. I do fail at times, but that is what Reconciliation is for, and then I try to be good again. Why our world has so many challenges, I do not have the best answer. I do not know if there is a right answer. I do know, though, that overcoming the curveballs of life strengthens and deepens my Faith; bringing me closer to God and the ultimate reward of eternal life at the end of time.