1. A summary of the key ideas of this section:

This section focused on our knowledge of God, and the fact that the evidence of God can be classified under two general categories- the natural world and the human person. Christian apologetics, a defense of the Faith by showing that the weight of scientific, philosophical, and theological evidence favors Christianity.

Knowledge of God through the natural world mostly uses teleology (derived from the Greek word for "end" or "purpose"), or arguments that attempt to show, through logical arguments, that the universe was purposefully created. Teleological arguments include William Paley's analogy of "The Watch and the Watchmaker," the Golden Ratio (discovered by the Greeks), the Anthropic Principle, Kalam's Argument, and St. Thomas Aquinas's and Plato's Argument from Degrees of Perfection.

Knowledge of God through the human person can be divided into three main parts: the arguments from religious experience, conscience, and Natural Law. The argument from Religious Experience is shown through Man's Need for Meaning, the Mystery of Death, the Thirst for Happiness, and the Pain of Loneliness. The argument from Conscience derives from our conscience itself, or our sense of right and wrong. This "sense" comes from knowledge, intuition, and personal experience (often closely tied with our empathy with others). Last, the Natural Law argument is based on a theory of morality that say that those actional are morally good that jive with the fulfillment of our human nature. Consequently, those actions that go against our expression of human nature are immoral. Human nature is the particular combination of qualities belonging to a person by virtue of being human (a.k.a. the instincts directing our conduct).

St. Thomas Aquinas came up with five main aspects of human nature that the Natural Law is based on. The Five Inclinations of Human Nature are to seek happiness, to preserve oneself in existence, to preserve the species (i.e., to unite sexually), to live in community with others, and to use intellect and will to know the truth. From these inclinations we can derive that any truly moral law must allow a person life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

2. Two major ideas I want to remember and why I want to remember them:

The first major idea that I want to remember is that the argument from conscience is indeed a valid argument that God exists. Before reading about it in the text, I guess I thought that a person having a conscience was just a given; I had not considered it as possible proof that there is a God. I think it is great that it is a valid argument for God's existence, because it does not take a lot of reasoning and higher knowledge to understand. Everyone can relate to having a conscience and feeling its "tug" in various situations that arouse questions concerning morality. For me the conscience serves as concrete evidence that there must be a God who formed this moral law that I so often feel binded to. In this way, we can find God through truly acting in accord with our consciences. Having experienced this myself, I feel it would be easy for me to persuasively explain, in simple terms, how the existence of a conscience points to God if I was called to do so.

The second major idea that I want to remember is that of St. Thomas's Five Basic Inclinations of Human Nature. Until now I had never been introduced to this idea, but I strongly agree with it. I see others and myself striving to seek happiness, preserve ourselves, form loving relationships, fit in with the rest of society, and discover new truths with our own knowledge and will all the time. I believe St. Thomas explains the true basis of human nature with these, because they are truly the human nature. Yet, they are not super complex, as one might expect when dealing with something so deep as the characteristics of humanity. In this way, not only do I agree with them, but I understand them as well. I can relate to the inclinations because they are, to a general extent, the building blocks of who I am as a person and what I do.

3. One image that reminds me of Jesus:

4. "Who do I say" Jesus is?:

Ever since I was little, and for the rest of my life, I believe whenever I hear someone refer to Jesus, I will automatically picture a rather young, Caucasian male. He has shoulder-length brown hair and a goatee of the same color. He wears a simple white robe down to his ankles, where he is either barefoot or wearing some simple form of sandal. He is always smiling, and has a great smile- his eyes light up with it, and his teeth are almost as white as his robe. He is neither overweight nor super muscular but lean and somewhat tall. He stands up straight, and he’s never dirty or sweaty, either.

I know and will readily admit that there are most likely several flaws with this image, but I am okay with that, because I truly believe Jesus would, for the most part, be like this. Since my childhood, I have developed a Jesus in my mind that is very gentle, humble, and laidback. He always has a smile for me, even when I don’t necessarily need or deserve it. He is always turned towards and fully facing me. I imagine this Jesus as always being at my side, invisibly hovering near me at all times. From this position–if I let him–he gives silent encouragement and helps me make tough decisions. This Jesus sounds almost too ideal, but I do not doubt it because it has been formed in my mind (and heart) from all different influences throughout my life, whether the Bible, my religion books, Church ceremonies and services, teachers, and family members.

Everything I have taken in on the Son of God has culminated into this image for me. An image that, I’ll admit, sometimes portrays Jesus as more of a friend than a God. That does not mean I do not believe he is God, though. I firmly believe in the Trinity and the role that Jesus plays as one of the three persons in one God. And just as I picture Jesus being with me at all times, I picture him in the same way with all others, as he (being God) is not bounded by space or time.

Yet, after reflecting on it, my view of who Jesus is still goes deeper. He is not only around us at all times, influencing are decisions and actions for the better if we let him, like some electron spiraling around the nucleus of an atom. I believe he is also in us, at least to a certain extent. This belief of mine developed not so much from outside influences but from my own inner feelings, especially in relation to my interactions with others. When I am with other people, people whom I believe are truly good people, I often get this feeling inside. It is hard to describe, but it’s like feelings of delight and excitement that well up together and make me want to laugh. (It sounds kind of corny, but I don’t know how else to describe it.) Whether it’s when I’m spending time with my grandma on a Sunday, playing a video game with one of my friends, or holding a conversation with the Chinese take-out lady, the feeling will erupt inside of me, and I’ll feel a wave of both calm and joy. The only explanation I can find for myself is that is it Jesus, acting through the other people in my life.

To me Jesus is someone who is always around, someone who is constantly trying to bring joy to my life. He loves me more than anything and would do anything for me. He is always at my side, guiding me, and interacting with me through others. This doesn’t mean I believe he never gets hurt by or frustrated with me. I can totally understand it if he even gets downright angry with me at times. Yet, I also believe he is always there with an extended hand when I need him, and that is what I put my faith in.