Month: February 2009

Maimonides and Nachmanides

Around the end of the 600s, Spain’s Christian rulers outlawed Judaism. Then, in 711, the Moors invaded, and Spain became part of a vast Islamic empire. Under Moorish rule, Spain became a centre of Jewish learning and culture, with Jewish poets, philosophers, and statesmen. This period was known as the Jewish Golden Age in Spain.

Two thinkers of this period were Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) and Moses ben Nachman (1194-1270).

Moses Maimonides was born in Spain and moved to Cairo in 1165. In Egypt, he spent a great deal of time studying the Talmud. Maimonides focused on the human intellect. He wrote about the importance of studying, the “work of the mind.”

Moses ben Nachman – also known as Nachmanides – spent most of his life in Spain, moving to Israel just a few years before his death. Like Maimonides, Nachmanides was both a physician and a Talmud scholar. However, Nachmanides wrote that the human soul and spirit were more important than intellect and studying.

Which is more important to you, the intellect or spirit?

D’Souza versus Hitchens

from Thousands attend Boulder debate on atheism and religion

Father Kevin Augustyn, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, prefaced the debate, saying, “As Catholics, we are not afraid of intellectual debate. Faith and reason are not opposed to each other.”

Modern science, he[D’Souza] said, was “faith-based” in that it was rooted in Christian assumptions. We presume that we live in a lawful, rational universe whose external rationality is mirrored in our own minds, presumptions nourished by Christianity.

Man is placed between two distinct domains of “the way we are” and “the way we ought to behave.” – D’Souza

If atheism were correct, Hitchens argued, “we would be in precisely the same place we are now” in considering what our duties are towards others and why we are here.

Hitchens then raised the raised the questions of why Christianity should be considered superior to other religions, such as Islam.

D’Souza replied by noting the disconnect between “the way things are” and “the way they ought to be.” This can be explained by supposing a chasm between the “human level” of existence and the “divine level.” In D’Souza’s view, Islam and Judaism hold that this chasm may be closed by mankind building a “ladder” to climb to God.

Christianity, however, declares this project “wonderful but impossible” by teaching that the chasm “has to be closed from the other side” through God entering the world in the person of Jesus Christ.

Hitchens then explained that he finds it “extraordinarily objectionable” to exclude the “occupant of the womb” from the human family.

Following the debate, CNA spoke with Father Augustyn. He said it was an “excellent debate” with both speakers doing “very well” on their positions. In his view, D’Souza countered and “unmasked” some of Hitchens’ “unfair” and “selective” comparisons of religions.

“At the same time, Christopher Hitchens is a formidable opponent. He’s very witty, very sharp, he makes good points, and he brings out audience participation. I don’t think his arguments hold water, but I think he is a good debater.”

from Philosophy for Dummies

from Philosophy for Dummies

  1. The existence of something is intelligible only if it has an explanation.
  2. The existence of the universe is thus either:
    1. unintelligible or
    2. has an explanation
  3. No rational person should accept premise (2.1) by definition of rationality
  4. A rational person should accept (2.2), that the universe has some explanation for its being.
  5. There are only three kinds of explanations:
    1. Scientific: physical conditions plus relevant laws yield the Event explained.
    2. Personal: Explanations that cite desires, beliefs, powers and intentions of some personal agent.
    3. Essential: The essence of the thing to be explained necessitates its existence or qualities (for example, if you ask why a triangle has 3 sides, I would respond that it is the essence and necessity for a triangle to have 3 sides by its definition.
  6. The explanation for the existence of the whole universe can’t be scientific because there can’t be initial physical conditions and laws independent of what is to be explained. Even the Big Bang theory fails to explain the existence of the universe because modern science cannot explain where the original Big Bang singularity came from. The universe as a sum total of all natural conditions and laws cannot be explained unless we have an Archimidean reference point outside the system.
  7. The explanation for the existence of the universe can’t be essential because the universe cannot exist necessarily. This is because, it could have been possible for the universe not to have existed (if the Big Bang had been slightly different it is possible for large-scale structures to not have existed). Thus the universe is not something the must necessarily or essentially exists.
  8. Thus a rational person should believe that the universe has a personal explanation.
  9. No personal agent but God could create the entire universe.
  10. A rational person should believe that there is a God.

Temptation

picture-2It’s midway through the semester, and you are taking the midterm  Math 30-1 or 30-2 test. You’ve been struggling all semester in this class, and you know that this test will comprise a big part of your final grade. You feel like you are doing quite well on the test until you come to the last question, which is a problem to solve. It is worth 20 marks and you just can’t remember how to solve it. As it happens, the class math whiz is sitting right in front of you and you can see he’s just finished it. You are close enough to see how he solved it, and you know that the supervising teacher cannot possibly see you if you cheat.

What do you do?

RS 35: Reflection: Is Conscience Something to Pay Attention to?

Religious Studies 35 Reflection Question

In the article Conscience and truth. it says “Catholic moral theology teaches that conscience is the highest norm and that one must always follow it, even against opposing dictates of legitimate authority”.  Pope Benedict XVI, (before he was pope) once said “Conscience is the highest norm … and one must follow it even against authority”.

Produce a  typewritten unified response to the following.

Select the page titled Temptation  and read the hypothetical situation presented along with the question it poses.   Answer the question, being mindful of the information given above as well as what you have learned about conscience in class.  Your answer must clearly explain your reasons for the decision and must reflect some things learned in class.  Upon providing your decision with its reasons, then analyze your response by explaining what your decision says about your conscience.  What is motivating you to make the decision you’ve made?  Is your decision motivated by your conscience, by your superego, or is it motivated because of selfish motives (id or ego)?  Be honest.  There is no right and wrong answer.  What is important here is your self reflection.  I’m hoping that you will discover something about yourself.  This assignment will be graded using the reflection rubric.  You can view this rubric by clicking the reflection rubric page.

 

Facts about Christianity

Here are some facts about Christianity. Use them to write about this widespread religion.

  • About 2,000 years old
  • Based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
  • Has only one God
  • Followers believe that Jesus was the Christ and that he died and was restored to life.
  • Followers worship in churches
  • Has two billion followers worldwide
  • Has many branches, including Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and various Protestant denomination, including Baptists, Lutheran, and Anglican
  • Religious text is the Bible, which is made up of the Old Testament and New Testament

The Life of Jesus

Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus. His life is sometimes summarized like this: He was born in a stable. He didn’t go to college, and he wrote no books. He worked as a carpenter. At the age of thirty-three, he was executed as a criminal.

Does this sound like the life story of someone who ended up changing the world?

Baptism

John the Baptist was a Jewish prophet. He told people that they needed to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, or deliverer of the Jews. John urged people to repent and to seek forgiveness for their sins. To show their repentance, people came to John to be baptized. John immersed his followers in the Jordan River. This immersion, or baptism, was symbolic. It signified spiritual cleansing and rebirth.

Today baptism is an important Christian ceremony. The ceremony still involves water, whether just a sprinkling or complete immersion. Why do you think water is used in this ceremony?

Jesus Chooses His Apostles

Jesus had many disciples, or followers. He chose some of the disciples to be his close companions. They are known as the apostles. An apostle is a person who is sent on a mission. Jesus’ apostles went out to spread his message, which became the foundation of Christianity.

This passage from the Bible describes Jesus’ selection of the apostles.

At daybreak he called his disciples and selected twelve of them to be his apostles: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter, and Ander his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James son of Alphaeus,and Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who turned traitor (Luke 6:13-16)

How many apostles were there? Name them all.