Chapter 6 of Christian Foundations

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FAITH

• Chapter 6 of Christian Foundations

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• Faith being ultimately concerned about
• whatever absorbs our heart, mind,
• energies
• - a universal experience

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In the Bible

• Faith means committing ourselves totally
• We are willing to risk our whole being.
• Abraham
• Sara

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Gift of Faith

• Faith is a gift of God (especially in St. Paul)
• God makes the first move
• (nature, music, a person you
  meet)
• Faith is our response to Gods invitation
  
  

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• FAITH involves whole persons love and
  loyalty (with risk and uncertainty) from the
  heart
• BELIEFS doctrines, facts, intellectual
  dimension of faith from the head
• THEOLOGY faith seeking understanding

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UNBELIEF AND DOUBT

• Cultural Christianity
• Whole nations were Catholic
• People sometimes belong to a church for
  social reasons
• Other reasons
• Karl Rahner says in the future only people who
  are really committed will be Christian.

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Loss of Faith

• Faith isnt really lost it just stops
  influencing our lives
• Loss of faith may also be disillusionment with a
  form of faith that is no longer adequate

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Different Kinds of Truth

• Scientific
• Historical
• Truth contained in poetry, story, drama
• e.g. Hamlet
• Genesis - deep truths of Gods generativity
• and care
• Parables of Jesus

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Truth in Action

• Faith is a lived truth (active, it changes)
• Faith is being or relating to God and others
• Meeting Jesus is a transforming experience
• Gustavo Gutierrez Liberation Theology
• To know God is to do justice.

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Stages of Faith James Fowler

• 1) Intuitive-Projective (ages 2-7)
• concrete images of ultimate realities

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• 2) Mythic-Literal (ages 7-12)
• literal meaning black and white thinking

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• 3) Synthetic-Conventional (ages 12-20 (?))
• pulls together different awarenesses
• relational
• morality based on outside authority
  

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• 4) Individuative-Reflective (ages20-27(?))
• more personal, more reflective
• responsible for own choice of religion,
• and certain faith community

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• 5) Conjunctive Faith (ages 35(?) to ever?)
• shown by integrated experiences of
• self, society, and ultimate reality
• not either-or thinking but seeing both
• sides of an issue
• truth has many dimensions

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• 6) Universalizing Faith (very few people)
• imitates the love of God
• an enlarged vision of justice and
  truth
• the foreign orphan is as important as
• my own child