Paulo P.

Dicdican Theo 11-W

An Imperfect Object of Faith

Faith is something every person has. There is a certain object faith that each person
has whether it is something absolute such as God or rather something tangible such as wealth.
No one is an exception to this phenomenon no matter how small is the faith to this specific
object. This also points to a conclusion that I too experience this occurrence.

According to Roger Haight faith is something that demands the whole commitment of
one’s freedom or one’s loyalty1. For Haight, the ideal object of faith should be absolutely
transcendent2 or something that is not finite or bound to this world who is assumingly God.
Though this is seemingly ideal, this is not applicable for different types of people. People
have different object of faiths whether it is transcendental or it is something compared to a
lesser god such as prestige, power, or even the nation 3. Even though there are different
objects of faith, I have noticed that my object of faith is dissimilar with Roger Haight’s. I
realized that my belief is the person himself with all his values, his strengths, his weaknesses,
his flaws, and his faith. My object of faith is humanity.

Believing in something transcendent was due to the fact that I was raised in a strict
Catholic family. From different practices of faith such as novenas, church visits, and even
serving the Church, I could say I was molded to believe in God. Although there was attempt
in shaping me into the most religious person, I tended to go against the wishes and
expectations of my family. There was even a time wherein I believed there was no being such
as God because of the reality that there is still suffering in the world. Although people
believed in Him, I wondered whether why there are believers who are in pain. This was my
mindset for a period of time until I realized that it was only my anger that is controlling this
belief towards God. I focused on the negative and not on the positive. As I opened my eyes,
there are people who are trying their best, no matter how small, in helping others. There was
empathy of one person to the suffering of the other. This humanity is what I really believed in
and it is also thanks to my previous experiences that I was able to slowly believe in people

1
Roger Haight, Dynamics of Theology (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2001), 20.
2
Haight, Dynamics of Theology, 21.
3
Haight, Dynamics of Theology, 18.
and in God’s works. As Roger Haight’s mentioned in his book, “Dynamics of Theology”,
personal experience is needed to say that the faith is true 4. I believed in the humanity of
people due to my numerous experiences of being aided by them. It is also because of these
experiences that shaped my object of faith being true to the fact that there will always be
someone who feels the same way.

Having person or humanity in particular as my object of faith is something I value.

This is due to the fact that I have seen and felt this phenomenon wherever I go. There will
always be times people will be tested but will never be alone. No matter how grave or how
shallow is the problem, one is able to relate or empathize to the other. This made me
appreciate and give importance to this object of faith. When I was unable to help myself,
someone was always there to support me. This brings me to offer my time to serve others and
try my utmost best to lift them up. This object of faith became my driving force to commit
actions I would have never thought of doing before. Roger Haight mentioned that faith
consists in the dynamic commitment of the person in action 5 and this is how I value my
object of faith.

Being a person is like having Pandora’s jar, there is negativity but there is also hope
in it. There are always two sides of a coin, the head and the tails. Adding to this fact, the
human person is imperfect. One has his own strengths but has weaknesses and one has
character but also has flaws. There were numerous instances wherein I questioned my faith to
humanity because of the numerous atrocious acts committed by people. Whether it is for lust,
greed, revenge, one cannot count the negative aspects of the human person. The worse part is
that, every single person has a flaw in their character but this is what made me treasure
humanity. Although we all have this negative characteristic in us, there are still those who
would go out of their way to save others. This creates a rippling effect wherein one may
change and may help others change too. The imperfection can never be removed but it can be
prevented and lessened. Being part of the ones who were previously saved, I believed that I
have a role to play in supporting others. Even though I am a currently a student, I can start
within my family, my group of friends, and even the people I recently met. The humanity that
I placed my faith in is a humanity that brings people together to the ripple we have created.

4
Haight, Dynamics of Theology, 28
5
Haight, Dynamics of Theology, 29
 Due to this object of faith, I recomposed myself and committed to things I wish I have
done sooner. It made me appreciate and have more hope in people since it is because of them
that I was able to attain and maintain who I am right now. This faith made me realize that
every person has his or her own value. This made me swear to help as much people as I can
as a way for me to let them regain their own sight of their own value. People, even myself,
are imperfect but this does not limit us to bring others to the light. I was one of those people
in the dark but I was saved by humanity. Truly, humanity is imperfect but it is also what
brings people together. This is my object of faith.