Journal 6

Rory Faust

1/03/06

1.) One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the major idea of the section.

   In this section we learned about the ways to prove God's existance. There are ways to prove God's existance from the natural world and from human experiences. Some arguments from the natural world are The Golden Ratio, The Anthropic Principle, Kalam's Argument, and my favorite, Plato and Aguinas's argument from the degrees of perfection. Their theory states that there is a ladder of perfection that begins with inanimate objects and progresses to humans. Since humans are not the most perfect beings, there must be another rung higher up. This next rung is occupied by God, the perfect form of being and existance. The other arguments for God's existance come from the human person. Through our own human religious experiences, our conscience, and the natural law, we can conclude that God exists. In this section we also studied Jesus's humanity through the Bible, especially in Luke, through "The Jews News", and through O'Malley's "Understanding Jesus" which tells us four major points of being Christian. First, we must believe that Jesus is the embodiment of God. Second, we must believe that Jesus died in order to rise and save us from our fears of death to bring us to heaven. Next, to become part of God's family, we must strive to accomplish God's goals before ours. Lastly, we must celebrate our community of service at a meal. Jesus's humanity makes Him much more acceptable and believable. We have an instinct to follow people like us who feel pain and enjoy being happy. Jesus was truly like us and fully human.

2.) List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.

  1. First of all, I want to remember the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are not like the Ten Commandments because they are not rules or laws but rather a set of valuable guidelines and suggestions. Jesus gave us the Beatitudes to tell us how to act if we want to go to Heaven. These eight statements are sometimes called the "Be Attitudes" as they challenge us to take on a certain attitude normally shunned by society. If we reflect on the Beatitudes we can find out if we are following Jesus in our everyday lives.

  2. Secondly, I want to remember Pascal's Wager. While it is a simple theory and conclusion, it can lead us to God. The Wager states that if we have Faith in God, and God exists, then we will go into Heaven. If we do not have Faith in God and God exists then we will not go to Heaven. On the other hand, if God does not exist, it does not matter if we have Faith or no Faith. Therefore, Pascal concluded that it is best to have Faith in God because then we have a chance of going to Heaven. If we don't have Faith in God no matter if God exists or does not exist, we will not go to Heaven.

  3. Lastly, I want to remember The Greatest Commandment from Luke Chapter 10. A young scholar asked Jesus what he needed to do to obtain eternal life. Jesus asked in return, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" The man replied, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." The man was correct. This is the basis of our religion. If we had Faith in God and could only follow one religious code, this would be it.

    3.) Images that remind you of key ideas.


    This photograph is a sunflower which demonstrates the Golden Ratio. It suggests intelligent design in the universe because of so many natural things that exhibit the Golden Ratio.
    Image from "The Many Guises of The Golden Ratio"

    4.) One good question you should keep with you to ponder.

    What makes God real to me? Is it my religious experience, my conscience, an argument from the natural world, or perhaps something different?

    5.) What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study?

        In order to become a more faithful person, I can spend a little more time reading the Bible. I don't hardly ever read it on my own time, but the Bible can really give some good insight to God and my life of Faith.
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