Neil Salsich's Journal: Section 6
1.One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the topic of the week.
The key ideas of the section argued for Jesus' humanity and the existence of God. Much of Catholic (and Christian) culture and tradition has been fostered by and centered around images of a divine Jesus, one that most people have a hard time relating to. If we cannot relate and connect to Jesus, it is difficult for his message and teachings to have an effect on our lives. It is by attempting to understand his humanity (the feelings, fears, temptations, and emotions that are shared by all humans) that we can trully connect with Jesus and take his message to heart. The arguments for God's existence from the text were divided into two sections: those from the natural world and those from the human person. Arguments from the natural world are developed from the miracle of human existence, the question of the creation of the universe, the unexplainable reoccurence of certain numbers and figures in the natural world, or the attempt to explain the incredible complexity of the world around us. Knowledge of God via the human person are conclusions that only God could have given humans the vastness and depth of our emotions and feelings.
2. List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.
Teleology - Teleology is the study of design or purpose in natural phenomona. Teleological arguments for the existence of God are arguments that, through logic and reason, try to prove that the universe was created on purpose. "Teleology" comes from the Greek word telos, meaning "end" or "purpose." Teleological arguments include William Paley's "The Watch and the Watchmaker", The Golden Ratio, the Anthropic Principle, and the Kalam argument.
Apologetics - Christian apologetics is defense of the Christian faith by showing the most of the evidence--be it scientific, philosophical or theological--favors Christianity (RB). Some famous defenders of the faith were C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterson.
William Paley's "The Watch and the Watchmaker" - Paley's argument for the existence of God proceeds as follows: Suppose someone walking in the woods came upon a watch, something they had never seen or heard of before. Though they would not know the purpose of the watch, they would at least realize that it was created by someone, because its complexity and the fact that all of its many gears were working in tandem could not have happened by accident. Thus the universe, and the complexity and miracle of life on earth could not have happened by accident: something or someone (God) designed it for a purpose.
3. One image of that reminds you of the topic. Attribute, link, your source.
Source:AOL's Artstellar
4. One good question you should keep with you to ponder.
Am I doing all I can do to understand the human Jesus? Will understanding Jesus in a more personal way help my Faith?
5. What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study.
Studying Jesus' humanity has shed new light on Jesus for me. To make myself a better, more faithful person I can take the knowledge I've gained from this study and use it as a catalyst for re-defining my understanding of and relationship with Jesus.
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