Intermezzo
15 December 2010
Argument: “The Genesis of an Attitude of Faith”
The group discussion was prompted by the attempt to understand the sources of the attitude of Christian faith. The group members maintained that there cannot be one source of the attitude of the faith among the people. The attitudes are somehow influenced by cultural background. The cultural influences seem to play an important role in leading and guiding someone towards self-discovery and finally have an orientation of faith.
However, what seemed paramount is the fact that both the young and old people have the desire for the Transcendent Being. It is precisely this longing for the “being” outside themselves that helps them to interpret faith experience from their diary experience. The question that arose from this lived experience was about its necessity in human life! It was accentuated that the lived experience helps us all to have a natural desire for happiness. However, this kind of happiness is not limited to the fulfilment of our natural needs but also for an encounter with the supreme reality.
The point of personal experience somehow dominated our discussion. Some members of the group said that they have had situations in which someone had strong faith while living together with family members. However, at certain moment, some inevitable factors made them to lose the sense of religion and faith. What seemed to be meaningful at first now seems not to have sense at all. The factors that lead to such a moment in life could be summarized in terms of: the struggle between faith and sexuality, the rapport with group members of the parish in which they had worked and finally the enlightenment they got form studies such as psychology and philosophy which seemed not to gave much importance to faith, but stresses the fact that the human person is the project in his own making. He determines his end and how to reach his end. If this assertion is true, then what is the meaning of having faith in anything or anyone! From this point of view, experience made them move from faith to not having faith anymore.
The other members of the group stressed the fact that an evaluated and meditated experience could develop faith in the heart of non-believing person. This view helped them to accentuate that an unexamined and reflected life is not worthy living. Anything we could talk about is as a result of an experience that we have had, either consciously or unconsciously. This necessitated the group to reflect on the point that faith or rather religion should then be presented and approached as a formative process.
There is need for transformation of mind and attitude, nonetheless, care should be taken in order not to present religion as some reality that is wrapped in plastic papers and people are to receive without unwrapping it. If it should be a formative process, then each one is called upon to be formed in mind and attitude. Thus, the members held that children coming from a praying family are likely to be prayerful persons in life. They arrive at the sense of responsibility and maintain what they have been told. Such people are able to withstand the hard moments that come their way.
The members also discussed that there is an inborn religious desire in each person which cannot be negated at all. Experience has taught us that even those who claim not to have such an inborn religious desire do in fact affirm it by their own process of negation. Such a reality could be seen as they approach the illusion of immortality, moral ethics and self-discovery. In front of these realities, every person recalls the need of extraordinary interventions. This very act of restlessness in front of these illusions is in fact the manifestation of the inborn desire for personal fulfilment which culminates in faith.
In conclusion the group said that in trying to recall the roots of the attitude of faith, we should always bear in the mind the cultural and environmental setting of each person. This assertion entails that we cannot talk about the passage of faith if we do not bear in mind some positive conceptions of human sciences such as anthropology and psychology so that religious experience could consolidate the faith of the one who beliefs. What is paramount in our epoch is to underline that religious experience should lead to create and confirm the necessity of faith. Thus, an educative and formative process is required in order to have an experience of faith.
15 December 2010
Africa-Middle East Group
Al-Jameel Hani, Uri Joseph Baru,
Ataku Hedwing Musanga, Joseph Kachelewa
Argument: “The Genesis of an Attitude of Faith”
The group discussion was prompted by the attempt to understand the sources of the attitude of Christian faith. The group members maintained that there cannot be one source of the attitude of the faith among the people. The attitudes are somehow influenced by cultural background. The cultural influences seem to play an important role in leading and guiding someone towards self-discovery and finally have an orientation of faith.
However, what seemed paramount is the fact that both the young and old people have the desire for the Transcendent Being. It is precisely this longing for the “being” outside themselves that helps them to interpret faith experience from their diary experience. The question that arose from this lived experience was about its necessity in human life! It was accentuated that the lived experience helps us all to have a natural desire for happiness. However, this kind of happiness is not limited to the fulfilment of our natural needs but also for an encounter with the supreme reality.
The point of personal experience somehow dominated our discussion. Some members of the group said that they have had situations in which someone had strong faith while living together with family members. However, at certain moment, some inevitable factors made them to lose the sense of religion and faith. What seemed to be meaningful at first now seems not to have sense at all. The factors that lead to such a moment in life could be summarized in terms of: the struggle between faith and sexuality, the rapport with group members of the parish in which they had worked and finally the enlightenment they got form studies such as psychology and philosophy which seemed not to gave much importance to faith, but stresses the fact that the human person is the project in his own making. He determines his end and how to reach his end. If this assertion is true, then what is the meaning of having faith in anything or anyone! From this point of view, experience made them move from faith to not having faith anymore.
The other members of the group stressed the fact that an evaluated and meditated experience could develop faith in the heart of non-believing person. This view helped them to accentuate that an unexamined and reflected life is not worthy living. Anything we could talk about is as a result of an experience that we have had, either consciously or unconsciously. This necessitated the group to reflect on the point that faith or rather religion should then be presented and approached as a formative process.
There is need for transformation of mind and attitude, nonetheless, care should be taken in order not to present religion as some reality that is wrapped in plastic papers and people are to receive without unwrapping it. If it should be a formative process, then each one is called upon to be formed in mind and attitude. Thus, the members held that children coming from a praying family are likely to be prayerful persons in life. They arrive at the sense of responsibility and maintain what they have been told. Such people are able to withstand the hard moments that come their way.
The members also discussed that there is an inborn religious desire in each person which cannot be negated at all. Experience has taught us that even those who claim not to have such an inborn religious desire do in fact affirm it by their own process of negation. Such a reality could be seen as they approach the illusion of immortality, moral ethics and self-discovery. In front of these realities, every person recalls the need of extraordinary interventions. This very act of restlessness in front of these illusions is in fact the manifestation of the inborn desire for personal fulfilment which culminates in faith.
In conclusion the group said that in trying to recall the roots of the attitude of faith, we should always bear in the mind the cultural and environmental setting of each person. This assertion entails that we cannot talk about the passage of faith if we do not bear in mind some positive conceptions of human sciences such as anthropology and psychology so that religious experience could consolidate the faith of the one who beliefs. What is paramount in our epoch is to underline that religious experience should lead to create and confirm the necessity of faith. Thus, an educative and formative process is required in order to have an experience of faith.
Group secretary: Joseph Kachelewa
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