• William O'Malley S.J.'s: "Understanding Jesus" and "The Moral Practice of Jesus"
• The Jews News
• If time, Monika Hellwig's "Finding God in All Things"
• If time, ,A few stories about Jesus from "This American Life's Christmas Spectacular 2006"

• Jesus: a Radical Portrait

1. How does the Readings answer the question, "Are there reasons to believe?"
2. Summarize "knowledge of God via the natural world." Be able to describe each. Also know what a teleology means.
   • William Paley's "Watch and the Watchmaker" . Click here for a good animation on The Watch and Watchmaker.
   • C.S. Lewis's Moral Argument for the Existence of God
   • The Golden Ratio . Click here for a good video on The Golden Mean.
   • The Anthropic Principle. Here is a goood video about The Anthropic Principle.
   • Kalam's argument
   • Pascal's Wager
   • Plato and Aquinas argument from the degrees of perfection
   Are any of these convincing? Which for you are most persuasive?
3. Summarize "knowledge of God via the human person." Be able to describe each.
   • argument from religious experience (Make sure you know and understand the four existential realities which elicit this.)
   • argument from conscience
   • argument from natural law (John Kavanaugh article)
   List the five inclinations of human nature. How are these important in modern advertising? How can these lead to God?
   
4. For any real Christian, the most convincing proof for the existence of God comes from Jesus. Explain this.
   You should know these below. Can anyone really even begin to know and understand Jesus if they don't?
   • Images of faith: The Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, Jesus. Cite five passages in which Jesus shows us what faith/Faith is. He may do this by words or actions.
   • Know these key teachings of Jesus'
     • The Greatest Commandment (Mt 22)
     • The Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7)
     • The story of the rich young man (Mt 19)
     • The judgment of nations (Mt. 25)
     • The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15)
     • The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10)
   • Summarize what Jesus shows us in his life and teachings about God, about the meaning of life, about reason, about morality, and about what it means to be human.
5. Give a logical argument for the belief that Jesus is truly fully human and fully divine. Cite evidence for the beliefs.

Web assignment

• Create a web site that summarizes this sections argument for the existence of God. End with your own response to the validity and persuasiveness of the offered evidence and reasoning.
• Do a reflection about your experiences in this course. Entitle it "What I Really Learned in Faith, Reason & Revelation." Do this if you really think you did some significant learning. This has to be personal and persuasive.
• Do a reflection about your experiences in this course. Entitle it "The Three Most Important Ideas from Faith, Reason & Revelation." This is a more objective essay. Thee ideas have to be major. A good indication might be a recurring theme.

IMPORTANT WEB SITES FOR CATHOLICS:
Archdiocese of St. Louis Prayer & Faith Resources | The Catholic Encyclopedia | Catechism of the Catholic Church | Theology Library

REALLY GOOD WEB SITES FOR PHILOSOPHY, ETHICS & CURRENT ISSUES
National Catholic Bioethics Center | Ethics Update | Guide to Philosophy on the Internet
Good, informative media: PBS | NPR | PBS NOW | Frontline on PBS | Speaking of Faith on NPR | Religion & Ethics Newsweekly
NPRs This I Believe

source apple.com

Please send any comments, suggestions or corrections to Matthew Sciuto | Return to Class Home page

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