...Faith is something you know rings true deep down inside. You know truth when you hear truth. It’s undeniable; it is infallible. How much is too much? Too much faith … hmm, that’s a good one. I believe that it’s too much faith when it stops you from getting things done, much like for example having faith in that my laundry will get done whether I do or not. It also can interfere with relationships—believing if you just did this or that and they may or may not react, or in hoping he feels the same as I do. It believes blindly in a relationship that goes nowhere, but where you wish it to go. That is when faith in that aspect would not be good for anyone. The faith I have goes beyond the visual what you see with your eyes, or what you hear with your own ears. It is a knowing. It’s truth. How much is too little? If you have no faith then are you empty inside … Hmm, no not really, but there is something missing and you will always be on search or quest to find that one thing missing. Faith is not just wondering through life believing only in what you can see, feel, touch, hear, and taste. It’s beyond all physical realms, which makes it spiritual. Can faith fail you? The answer is yes, “only when the faith you had was not a true one.” Is it trustworthy? If your faith is ingrained deep down into your soul, of course it is very trustworthy. It is what people who have it never feel without that something deep down. It’s like I said from the beginning—“It’s an unwavering belief...
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...Faith In the text Haight tells us that Faith is one of the fundamental sources for theology. He also states at the end that faith always remains constant, and that this is one of the reasons why theology, which is a discussion of God, is possible. But, what does constant mean? The dictionary defines constant as something continuing without pause or let up, something that does not or cannot vary. For example: a table. A table is constant, because it exists without pause and does not vary. Hence, faith is not constant. According to Haight beliefs are the expression of faith. But beliefs are neither continuing nor invariable. Everyone changes their beliefs, it is human nature to evolve and rethink them. At the same time they are not constant because I am not persistently believing in something. Beliefs are not a table, they are not tangible, and only exist in our minds as thoughts that live and die within us at the moment we start and finish thinking about them. I am not constantly experiencing faith; faith exists only when I give it some thought. Although my belief might not change from one time to the next it will inevitably change through time. And when do we think about our faith? It is also human nature to only think about God when things are not going well. If we are having a streak of luck we do not pause to think about God for a minute and thank him. On the other hand, it is very common to blame or doubt that there is a God when things go wrong. If my faith only exists...
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...Fowler wanted to give everyone a way to understand how faith related to our lives. He developed a list of stages or processes to try to clarify how and what we believe. No matter if you believe or practice a specific religion or just believe in spirits, it plays a significant role in shaping your life, one way or another. As we mature we can develop ‘’ a more flexible, dialectical, postformal faith” (Berger, 2014, p. 531). As I look back over my own personal ‘faith history/development’ I see evidence of the stages described by Fowler. During the early childhood years an individual develops an intuitive-projective faith. In this phase a child continues to grow and begins to engage in symbolic thought and play. At this age faith is based on the stories they are given from parents or others. At this stage they are creating concepts of good and evil. Looking back on my childhood this is when prayer was first introduced and I did not understand its true meaning. My prayers were not thought out; they were an expression of thoughts and sometimes the simple prayer most children are taught; Now I lay me down to sleep. The second or mythic-literal stage, some children believe that the religious stories they have been taught have significance and beliefs. Moral rules and attitudes are interpreted literally, if we are good we go to Heaven and if we are bad then we go to hell. You begin to understand that not all bad people will be held accountable for their actions, and even good people...
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...The Catholic Approach to faith, God, Jesus, Scripture, and Church My perspective on Christianity is characterized by an intimate connection with God. Identifying oneself as a specific denomination and the actual institution of religious is not as important as this relationship. Faith can be defined as an intimate conviction of allegiance, faith, fidelity, and trust. Faith can also be described as that which you give your mind, energy, and heart to; that which gives meaning to your life. Faith is one’s intimate connection with God and serves as the lens through which we interpret life; faith gives meaning to our experiences. Examining faith from a Christian perspective may lead one to ask if faith is even practical in today’s society. What does it mean to believe since believers sometimes experience doubt? When examining faith from a Christian perspective, theologians Marcus Borg and James Fowler provide the best way of understanding the most important part of Christianity—faith. Borg explores faith as an awareness defined by four factors while Fowler examines faith in stages. Both theologians provide a thorough account of Christian faith. Faith is the most important part of religion; one’s personal relationship with God. Religion ties and binds believers to one another, but it is important not to loose sight of the essence of religion—faith. Faith can become lost in the institution of religion transforming faith from a matter of the heart to a matter of the head. ...
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...ABSTRACT The differing qualities in religions or faith beliefs are getting to be more obvious in healthcare centers. As the imperativeness of patient-focused care is progressively perceived, healthcare providers have been obliged to comprehend social measurements so they can create social "competency" or "affectability." However, the thought of "spiritual affectability" as a part of human services needs more consideration. Health care practitioners characterize their patients as persons whose embodiment may be "brain, body, and soul" and try to give exhaustive health awareness to the entire individual. At the point when spiritual needs become evident, a keen medical caretaker will call a cleric, clergyman, rabbi or the proper religious agent. This is great quality consideration. Yet we are tested to consider how a deep sense of being can be coordinated into routine human services. Religious beliefs, faith conventions, and one's spiritual existence are seen as individual in our public, yet care regarding patients' profound needs has a part in wellbeing. This paper will look at the various faiths that are less than extraordinary to the standard faiths. The three faiths picked are Sikhism, Buddhism, and Baha'i. DIVERSE FAITH Health care workers must learn how connecting with patients is discriminating for the compelling healing of the sickness. The health care practitioner must be educated about the social contrasts, especially, the various religious frameworks...
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...Defender of the Faith by Philip Roth is a tale of Army First Sergeant Nathan Marx and his experience at Camp Crowder, Missouri with Private Sheldon Grossbart. There is conflict between the two parties due to the fact that the Private is Jewish and his religion comes into conflict with the rules and regulations that the military has presented to them. Throughout the story Marx tries to understand Grossbart yet stay faithful to being a Sergeant to the Army’s military unit and this causes problems in the relationship that they have developed throughout the time spent with each other. This story begins with tension between Sergeant Marx and Private Grossbart due to the story’s main theme which is defending one’s belief in his own religion and the rules that the Privates have to follow when they are in training camp for the Army. This is such a problem because once signed up for military service, you are obligated to do as you are told with no exceptions in between. On the other hand, when one has a strong belief in his religion, “God” has the upper hand towards any proper Army authority figure and when it is time to serve Him, there should not be any exceptions in between. Grossbart uses this to his own advantage because that is the perfect reason to get out of doing military chores. He states that he would rather serve his “God” and that he is at all times willing to drop whatever he is doing to go to synagogue, but, he also dislikes the unwanted attention and accusations...
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...“Abraham’s faith was not a blind faith. He put his trust in God” (Foreman, 2014, p. 81). When first reading the story about Abraham, it might be thought that he was sacrificing his son blindly. However, Abraham went into the sacrifice trusting God would keep his son safe. Abraham’s story is a prime example of reasoning and biblical faith. Biblical faith is being able to believe in something that one has not been able to experience with their own senses. Biblical faith allows one to have a reason to trust and have faith in God. Faith does not mean one is simply believing in something without reason. Reasoning is a tool that God gave humans to allow them to have intellectual thoughts. Reasoning is something that allows one to decipher the information that God has placed into the world He built. In today’s world there is this constant battle on whether a person should live by faith, by reason, or by both. Philosophy shows that it takes faith to have reason. Even though I knew when Abraham was called to sacrifice his son, Isaac, it was not an act of blind faith. Reading it in the context that Mr. Foreman put it in made me view it in a different way. When someone has blind faith in something, they are running full speed ahead without logical reasoning. It is almost like running into a fire with your eyes shut. This is not what Abraham did. Abraham was able to take a step back and realize that since God was found to be faithful at other times, there was not a logical reason to assume...
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...Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity Members of the healthcare team come in contact with a diverse multi-cultural environment on a daily basis. Every individual is just that an individual with a different worldview and varying faith background. To some individual’s, religion plays a very important role in their daily lives, while to others it may not seem to play a very big role. Newsweek (2009) polls since 1992 show religion is fairly to very important in the lives of 85% of people (as cited in Ashcraft, Anthony, & Mancuso, 2010). Numbers this high show that religion plays a major role to many and with that healthcare providers need to be aware of their own beliefs, while maintaining a respectful and supportive environment for the patients they are caring for and their beliefs. Patients along with nurses often look to their faith when in times of stress and illness. This paper will discuss the Native American spirituality philosophy compared to the Christian philosophy. Native American Spirituality According to the United States census (2000) “4.3 million people (1.5% of the total United States population) self-identified as American Indian or Alaska Native (as cited in Hubbert, 2008). Native American healing practices may include traditional healers such as medicine men and women, herbalists, and shaman who work to return the individual to optimal health. Rituals of healing and purification ceremonies, sand painting, spiritual chants, dancing, therapeutic sings, along...
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...Faith Diversity The United States is a very faith diverse country. There are people from all different cultures, religions, and faiths. Nurses must become educated about these different religious beliefs in order to provide appropriate care for their patients. “Personal faith is a reflection of an individual’s transcendent values and philosophy of life.” (O’Brien, 2008, p. 62) Nurses’ care for the ill and deal with many end of life situations. It is imperative that they understand their patients faith or “philosophy of life” in order to provide the type of care that will support them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. First Interview- Buddhism The first person that I interviewed was a friend that is practicing Buddhism. “The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings, though they leave much left unexplained. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. More simply put, suffering exists; it has a cause; it has an end; and it has a cause to bring about its end.” (Public Broadcasting Station [PBS], n.d., para. 3) They believe in Karma (belief of the law cause and effect). According to my friend, they are private in their religious practices and would rather not discuss their beliefs. Healing is found in the belief in Buddha. She is a vegetarian and does not believe that harm should be done to animals. Buddha is known...
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...Healthcare providers need to address key components of any faith in an open and compassionate manner to promote comfort and healing in all individuals. Respect for how an individual believes, the way they choose to allow growth in their belief system and how an individual chooses to maintain their spirituality are important aspects of the holistic approach to health care delivery Until June 8, 2008 my exposure to any religion had been forced by my parents or used as a way to get out of difficult or unwanted circumstances. On June 8, 2008, I had the first true and lasting heart conversion in my life. The journey since this time has been up and down with many trials and unwanted circumstances and the knowing that the Lord is with me to walk me through. Faith and spirituality are different from religion in my mind and I believe that the Lord meant for them to be different. Religion, to me, is legalistic rituals with rules that tell you what you should and should not do to get to heaven without any power to carry them out. Faith and spirituality go hand in hand and enables individuals to seek the power to live a victorious life in Christ Jesus in this present life. Spirituality can be defined as the way to find meaning, hope, comfort and inner peace and is characterized by acts of compassion and selflessness (Ehrlich, 2011). It is through faith and trust that spirituality is developed and made to grow. Acceptance of faith...
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...Principles of Faith Beneficial to Life In a recent study of Jewish faith the class of religion from Strayers University found out that they had thirteen principles. With the religion professor instructions the class increasingly discover new things about the different kinds of religions and beliefs. One of the things that the class professor asked was to identify themselves with three of this principles and indicate how they could apply them to their lives. Soon students began working on their assignments for that week. The student who is writing this article, had an encounter with her own faith. The student did not have any credibility in the Jewish faith. She was surprised to see how this religion resembled to the belief that she was taught by her parents, but that teaching had not too much substantial validity for her either. Science and knowledge sometimes destroy faith. This was a task she had to do, so she forced herself to apply these principles to her life in one way or another. For her, there was no doubt of the existence of a Creator, so the principle number one was not so difficult for her to choose. The other two were not that easy. The next thing she chose was the principle number eleven, that was the belief in a divine reward and retribution and the other one was number thirteen, that was the belief in the resurrection after death (Maimonides, 2013). Here is explained in more detail how this controversial paradox made sense in the distinguished faith and belief...
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...FAITH AND REASON ARE TWO COMPATIBLE REALITIES Introduction In the first stem of discussing the truth validity of this statement, we need to understand the meaning of Faith and Reason. Faith in my own opinion would be the entrusting or bowing oneself to others while Reason would be the use of our intellectual capacities to arrive and certain truths. In about to find the truth validity of faith and Reason being compatible realities, we are going to base on what some Philosophers and Religious people have send about the two to give its validity. As a human being may be defined as the one who seeks the truth, life cannot be grounded upon doubt, uncertainty or deceit. It would constantly be threatened by sear and anxiety. A search so deeply rooted in human nature cannot be completely vain and useless. One does not ask question about something one knows absolutely nothing about scientists who try to explain something will not give up until they find an answer. The same is true for ultimate questions; “the thirst for truthful answers to them is so deeply rooted in the human heart that ignoring them would cast our existence in leopard.” There are different kinds of truths “most depend on immediate evidence confirmed by experimentation, philosophical truth obtained by the speculative power of the human intellectual finally the religious truths of the different religions traditions to some degree grounded in philosophy.” Philosophical truths are not the domain women direct...
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...FAITH AND PHOLOPHIES OF DIFFERENT RELIGIONS TOWARDS HEALTH CARE The problem of respecting the patients’ religious based decisions is playing an increasingly important role in medical practices probably because bioethical standards accentuate the principle of the respect for autonomy (the departure from medical paternalism) and the contacts between people belonging to different religious traditions are becoming more and more frequent because of globalization. (Silesian Medical University [SMU], 2006) For this research paper on analysis of world view of two faiths philosophies towards providing healthcare, we have chosen two faiths which are Christianity and Hinduism. Christianity and healthcare- Beliefs- Christian science is based on bible and teachings of Christ. There is emphasis on spiritual healing which is based on prayers. HealthCare Chaplaincy (2012) points out Christians beliefs: * Jesus Christ is the savior of humanity. * Jesus Christ is the holy son of God. * The Christian Scripture (New Testament) is a continuation of the Hebrew Scripture (Old Testament) * Believe in presence of spiritual powers that operates on mind and body. * Faith does not rest in blind faith, rather understanding perfection of god’s spiritual creation in present. * Illness believed to be the result of disharmony between mind and matter * Believe that healing occurs when one draws closer to God and experiences moral and spiritual change. Bible verses on health- 19 Do you...
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...Faith is the complete trust or confidence in someone or something. It is based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Scientifically, faith is irrational. There is no proof of a higher being, no scientific reason for one to trust in their beliefs, yet so many do. I understand that in this sense faith is irrational, yet I also think its necessary and makes complete rational sense. In order to be at peace in life I think it is important to have your faith to trust in. God cannot be proven by science, and I think this is what creates faith. By completely trusting in God there is faith. Through the peace it brings in life and the inner feeling of understanding and reason for all of life’s happenings, it is important to be able to trust in your faith. While faith may not be rational in terms of science, individually, everyone who has faith in something or someone would argue that is absolutely is rational. Faith is a crucial part of life and it is the rationality for all questions and concerns one may have. Every day we turn to our beliefs to make sense of life. When things go wrong, you can turn to your faith to understand the reasoning behind it. Likewise, when things go exceptionally well, you can also trust that your belief in God has been the source. A powerful desire to understand life and rationalize everything that happens is why we need to trust in our faiths and beliefs. Faith is an irrational rationality of life. Fowler believes that faith is not something that...
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...Courageous Faith Hero The person that I chose to be my hero from Courageous Faith is Joseph. Joseph was a daddy's boy who was the first son of Jacob and Rachel. Unlike his half brothers who had witnessed Jacob's conniving and manipulative lifestyle, Joseph knew his dad whose life had been dramatically transformed by God. He grew up respecting his dad and also following his Godly example. His brothers were jealous of the treatment that Joseph received from his father, so they eventually plotted against him and sold him into slavery. He ended up in Egypt, sold to Potiphar, who was the captain to Pharaoh's guard, and made it high in his masters eyes with Gods favor. Joseph was eventually sent to prison after refusing to fall into Potiphar's wife's seduction, and wasn't called out until Pharaoh's butler reveled that Joseph could interpret dreams. He then, with told Pharaoh what God had determined the dreams to be, and was named Lord of Egypt, second to only Pharaoh himself. After many years go by he reunited with his brothers to reveal that he wasn't dead and that his dreams had come true, and that there father Jacobs prayers had in fact been answered by God. The reason that I had chosen Joseph, is because of the betrayal, and the abandonment, and test by God that he had went through in his life. I felt that I could relate to him more that any other of the hero's. As me being the middle child and being neglected in my younger days, and with my parents getting divorced when...
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