Journal 6: Jesus Model of Faith, Model of Humanity

1.     The main idea of this section to me are the different arguments we were shown for the existence of God.  Some where more plausilbe than others, and some applied to me and my life more than others did, but I still thought that they were a great help.  A couple of my favorite were the story of "the Watch and the Watchmaker" and "the Golden Ratio."  In "the Watch and the Watchmaker," a person stumbles upon a watch in the woods, and even though they have no idea where it came from, they can conclude that it must have had an intelligent designer.  We can use this in our own lives, and reason that we, like the watch, are very complex, yet mysterious, and we can conclude that we too must have had an intelligent designer, God.  "The Golden Ratio" is a number that appears in nature repeatedly, and can be found all over the place.  We have no idea how such a thing could occur or exist without some greater being putting it there, therefore supporting the existence of God. 2.     Three important ideas I would like to remember. First, are the five basic inclinations of human nature.  These include to seek happiness, to preserve oneself in existence, to preserve the species, to live in community with others, and to use intellect and will; to know the truth and make free decisions.  You can use these in looking at your own life, and it is amazing to see how true and correct all of these are. Second, Fr. Bill O'Malley's article "Understanding Jesus" and his four "non-negotiables."  They include "Jesus (being) the enbodiement of God, Jesus / God died in order to rise, to become part of the Trinity family we must give up the values of 'the world,' and we celebrate our community of service at a meal." (O'Malley's article, pp. 74-75, rb) Third, I think remembering what sets us apart from other animals is important.  This includes human nature, self-consciousness, and free-will.  Human nature are "those qualities or characteristics which belong to every human being by virtue of being human." (rb p.170) 3.     One or two good images I would like to remember:

The Golden Ratio

Watches

4.     One good question I would like to keep with me to ponder is where else can I see God in the world around me, and how well will I be open to it.  Without openness, it is hard to accept new things, thus it is a crucial factor.  However, I think people often think too hard and look too closely at things, rather than seeing the big picture, and observing. 5.     In order to make me a better person, I think that I could use more reading and reflecting on the ways we see God in the world, and be more open to new ideas and others' perspectives.  Other people are often filled with excellent ideas, it is just a matter of choosing to listen to them, which I know I can use some work on.