• One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the major idea of the section.
The major idea of this section is the Human Condition. The Human Condition is "the situation or condition, in which every human being finds himself or herself by virtue of being human"(Faith, Reason, & Revelation pg. 10). Every person is human, and thus we all have the human condition. Every human shares experiences with other, no matter the physical, cultural, geographical, religious, or social difference. Blaise Pascal wrote that"Man's condition is inconstancy, boredom, and anxiety. Despite these afflictions, man wants to be happy, only wants to be happy, and cannot help wanting to be happy"(Faith, Reason, & Revelation pp:10,11). Every person has a desire for happiness, but all possess ignorance, neediness, and concupiscence. Death is also a major and unavoidable factor of our human condition. All humans are destined to die, thus each person shares this trait. Our human condition is caused by Original Sin. Originally, man was free of sin, did not experience any negative effects of the human condition, and was not destined to die. However, after the Fall of Man, the relationship between man and God was damaged, thus making man imperfect. As a result of Original Sin, man lives in the human condition. This human condition has three major factors, concupiscence, wounded intellect, and death. Through concupiscence, man sins even though we know the action is wrong. All humans experience a wounded intellect, affecting the balance of emotions, desire and intellect. Finally, the most major effect is death, in which we are all destined to die.
• List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.
1.)The Human Condition The human condition is "the situation, or condition, in which every human being finds himself or herself by virtue of being human"(Faith, Reason & Revelation pg. 10). Basically, the human condition is the experiences that all humans share, no matter the physical, emotional, social, religious, or geographical difference, because we are human. Such experiences and characteristics include boredom, ignorance, anxiety, desire for happiness, concupiscence, freedom, and inevitable death. This human condition is caused by Original Sin. Before Original Sin, there was no anxiety, loneliness, suffering or death. However, after the Fall of Man all humans became sinners and shared a human condition. Three main effects of Original Sin are concupiscence, wounded intellect, and death. I want to remember the human condition and all its underlying details because it answers the question of why I am what I am and why I act the way I do. I can relate to all the effects of human condition because I am human. I also would like to remember the Human condition because it helps me to understand humanity, and our role in our own suffering. 2.)"What the Bleep Do We Know"? I want to remember this movie because not only was it a great and interesting film, but it also conveyed an important message about how we can not let transference affect us and how we are in control of our lives. The movie parallels M. Scott Peck's "Maps", which is another thing I'd like to remember. I particularly enjoyed the water crystals and quote "If our thought can do that to water, imagine what our thoughts can do to us". The film served as a reminder to control our life and not let a troubled past affect it, for we are what we think. Remembering this will help me live a better life and help others as well. 3.)Rabbi Kushner's "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People" Although I saw "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People" during my freshman theology class, I still would like to remember and live by the key ideas conveyed by Rabbi Kushner. Seeing the video a second time, two years later, helped me to remember what I had forgotten. Kushner answered the question of why bad things happen to good people by establishing that God is not the source of evil nor is he the reason we suffer. Kushner conveys that natural incidents, accidents, our gift of free will, misuse of our ability to choose, and human cruelty are the reasons why bad things happen to good people. This relates back to our human condition, of how we are the orignal source in most cases of our problems and sufferings. I especially would like to remember Kushner's advice for helping those who suffer, which was to reach out and show that you care. Watching this video helps me to deal with the question of why we suffer as well as helping those who do suffer.
•One or two good images that remind you of key ideas.
