Aaron Poelker's Journal: Section 6
1.One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the topic of the week. The key idea of this section is the humanity of Jesus and proof for the existence of God. Since the time of Jesus’s death Christian cultures, including Catholicism, have focused on the divinity of Jesus. We as the faithful of Jesus must remember that He is fully divine but also fully human. There are prime examples of Jesus’s humanity throughout scripture. The reader may see many instances where Jesus may perform miracles but insists that recipient of the miracle to tell no one. Jesus feared what the Romans could and eventually would do to him. He feared death and asked for deliverance from it on several occasions, including the night he was betrayed in the garden of Gethsemani. Also this section intends to show logical proof in nature and reasoning to God’s existence. One prime example of the existence of God using reason is William Paley’s analogy of the watchmaker. He uses to basic premisses which are: “the existence of design necessarily points to a designer and the universe exhibits marvelous design,”(RB p.153) to come to the conclusion that, “the universe has a designer.”(RB p.153). William Paley’s reasoning is only one of the examples of reason used to prove God’s existence.
2. List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week. Paschal's Wager. Paschal’s wager is largely based on logic. He says that humans should believe in God because if they do they will experience everlasting life with the creator. If you do not believe in God there is no way for you to be saved. Therefore, you should believe in God because you will reap the benefits of believing if he does exist and there is no penalty for believing even he does not exist. So based on sheer logic you should believe in God. Teleology. This term is directly connected from its Greek root telos which quite simply put means “end” or “purpose.” There are many teleological arguments present in the world which include Kalam’s argument, Paley’s analogy of the watchmaker, or the degrees of perfection. Every teleological argument attempt’s to show that a God or designer does exist by using the human gifts of reason and logic. Anthropic Principle. It can be argued that the universe was created deliberately for intelligent beings. The Anthropic Principle uses evidence of human beings, which through our very existence there has to be a God. Due to the fact that so many combinations of elements and compounds must come together to form human life, a God must existence because otherwise it is nearly impossible for this random combination of elements and compounds to happen by sheer coincidence.
3. One image of that reminds you of the topic. Attribute, link, your source.
Source:A Dan Weimer sculpture
4. One good question you should keep with you to ponder.
Do I realize that Jesus was just like me?
5. What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study.
I think I need to continue to read the gospels and take in everything they say and especially the areas concerning Jesus’s humanity. By better understanding that Jesus was just like you and me, except without sin, I can better follow his teachings. I also should realize the work of God is everywhere and in everyone around me.
