Author: D. Sader

God’s Not Dead Reflection

God's Not DeadDirections: Answer ALL of the questions below.  The page titled, Reflection Rubric,  will be used to access this reflection.  It can be found on the left side (third from top) under pages. When finished, print off your response and hand in or email it to Mr. S.

INTRODUCTION:  Dr. Radisson gives the class their first assignment. He passes out blank papers, and demands that each student write, “God is dead” and signs their names in order to get a passing grade. Josh refuses, so the professor forces him to take an alternate assignment; Josh will be given time in the next three lectures to prove the existence of God. If the students in his class are convinced, he passes the assignment. If not, he fails the semester, and thus his chances at a prestigious law degree.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “In matters of style, swim with the current.  In matters of principle, stand like a rock”.

QUESTIONS: What Jefferson is referring to when he says,   “…In matters of principle, stand like a rock” is integrity.  1) What is integrity? 2)  Is Josh taking a stand an example of integrity? How so?  3)  Are the other 70 plus students in the class just cowards or followers which is what  Jefferson is referring to when he says,   “In matters of style, swim with the current…”?  Explain your reasoning.

RS35: In Pursuit of Happyness Assignment

Picture 1The movie Pursuit of Happyness is based on the true story of Chris Gardner’s struggle to achieve his share of the American dream.

Directions: Answer ALL of questions below.  The page titled, Reflection Rubric,  will be used to access this reflection.  It can be found on the left side (third from top) under pages. When finished, print off your response and hand in or email it to Mr. S.

1)  In our society, fulfillment may be found on such things as having the latest car, the biggest house, the largest bonus and bank account. Their satisfaction and happiness are tied to material riches and other societal labels of success.  What is happiness?  Click on the link (definitions) to see a number of definitions.  Which of these definitions do you agree with? Explain why.

2)  Christopher Gardner makes the statement “Maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue. And maybe we can actually never have it no matter what”.  Do you agree with this statement?  Why or why not?

3)  How does a person achieve happiness?  The article Happy Thoughts has suggestions on how to achieve happiness.  Read the article.  Do you agree or disagree with the article’s methods?  Explain why or why not?

RS35: In Pursuit of Happyness Reflection

Picture 1The movie Pursuit of Happyness is based on the true story of Chris Gardner’s struggle to achieve his share of the American dream.

Directions: Answer ALL of the questions below.  The page titled, Reflection Rubric,  will be used to access this reflection.  It can be found on the left side (third from top) under pages. When finished, print off your response and hand in or email it to Mr. S.

1)  Scene in movie:  Christopher is telling a story to his father. The son explains that a drowning man refused two rescue boats because he believed that “God would save him.” The man passes away and, while in heaven, asks God why he was not saved, to which God replies: “I sent you two big boats ya dummy!”   What is the message of this story?

2)  In Matthew 7:7-8 it says, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  Is this essentially the same message as Christopher’s story about the drowning man? Why or why not?  Explain your reasoning.

3)  In James chapter 4, verse 3 it says,   “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures”.   Is there a proper way to ask God for help?  What is the correct way to ask God for help? Explain what you think that is.  The article entitled, Does God Answer our Prayers? suggests a way to ask God for help.  Do you think this article has it right? In other words, do you agree with what this article is saying?  Why or why not?

Creation, Evolution, and Genesis

Judges 2:11-19
1Kings 11:1-13
2Chronicles 36:5-21
Baruch 1:13-2:6

Babylonian: The Enuma Elish

Quote:
It is a disgraceful and a dangerous thing for an unbeliever to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of scripture, talking nonsense on these topics. Many non-Christians are well-versed in Natural knowledge, so they can detect vast ignorance in such a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The danger is obvious– the failure to conform interpretation to demonstrated [“Natural,” or scientific] knowledge opens the interpreter, and by extension, Christianity as a whole, to ridicule for being unlearned.
– St. Augustine

Faithandreason.com

Hedonism Kant Be The Way, Can It?

In a universe increasing less black and white and enjoying more grey, I pause to reflect on the concept of Christian Hedonism.

I have always appreciated the more rigorously fashioned ethics of Kant, an action is either right or wrong, all times all places in the universe. One does not do the right thing out of hope for a reward, only of the duty that knowing the right thing to do compels one to do the right thing. The difficulty is discerning or revealing an actions’ inherent evil or righteousness. But there is no room in his logic for an ambiguous action – only the certainty of judging an act objectively as right or wrong. Straightforward, an action either is or is not right. Our appetite for a reward or aversion to punishment is irrelevant. Period.

Now I read about CS Lewis and he shakes me up a little bit about something I was certain – hedonism is a bad thing. Lewis reflects on an objection to Kant’s matter of fact denial of hedonism:

British writer C. S. Lewis, in an oft-quoted passage in his short piece “The Weight of Glory,” likewise objects to Kantian ethics:
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and to earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I suggest that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.[2]

So, ought we do the right thing because there is a reward, or not? Can it be both ways, do it because it is right AND do it because a reward is there?

Why ought we do the right thing?

Inherit the Wind Assignment

Inherit the WindOne of the climax scenes is when Henry Drummond calls Matthew Harrison Brady to the witness stand.  During this scene, Mr. Brady proclaims himself as an authority on the bible.  The following dialogue occurs.

Drummond:            “Do you believe that every word written in this book (holding a bible) should be.” taken literally?

Brady:            “Everything in the bible should be accepted exactly as given there.”

Based on what you have learned in class about reading scripture, would you agree with Mr. Brady’s statement, “Everything in the bible should be accepted exactly as given there.”  Explain your answer in two or three paragraphs.

The rubric that will be used to grade this assignment is located on the left side and is called Movie Study Assignment Rubric

Pregame Prayer

Strong and faithful God,
as we come together for this contest,
we ask you to bless these athletes.
Keep them safe from injury and harm,
instil in them respect for each other,
and reward them for their perseverance.
Lead us all to the rewards of your kingdom
where you live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/revealed-the-churchs-official-prayer-for-sports-events#ixzz2iJAGCJmE

BLESSING OF AN ATHLETIC EVENT

All make the sign of the cross as the minister says: Blessed be the name of the Lord.
All reply: Now and for ever.

One of those present or the minister reads a text of sacred Scripture, for example:

Brothers and sisters, listen to the words of the second letter of Paul to Timothy:
4:6-8

I have fought the good fight

2 Timothy 4:6-8
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=249312013

Or:
Brothers and sisters, listen to the words of the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians:
9:24-27

We win a crown that is imperishable

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.
http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=249312349

A minister who is a priest or deacon says the prayer of blessing with hands outstretched; a lay minister says the prayer with hands joined.

Strong and faithful God,
as we come together for this contest,
we ask you to bless these athletes.
Keep them safe from injury and harm,
instill in them respect for each other,
and reward them for their perseverance.
Lead us all to the rewards of your kingdom
Where you live and reign for ever and ever. R. Amen.

http://www.oldenburgacademy.org/files/content/PLC_Sport_Prayers.pdf
Gifts & Occasions
Gifts & Occasions

Religion 35: World Religions and Peace

peace symbolThere are many points of view about whether peace on this planet we call earth is possible.  Some believe peace could never be attained.  Others such as Religions for Peace, the largest international coalition of representatives from the world’s great religions, are dedicated to promoting peace.

They believe in respecting religious differences while celebrating our common humanity, Religions for Peace is active on every continent and in some of the most troubled areas of the world, creating multi-religious partnerships to confront our most dire issues: stopping war, ending poverty, and protecting the earth.

Hans Kung, a German theologian says, there will be “No peace among the nations without peace among the religions. (Hans Küng, Christianity: Essence, History, Future)

Mitra Sen, Canadian teacher, filmmaker, and creator of the Peace Tree says,  “Let us embrace the beauty of every culture and faith to create peace in our world.”

Thich Nhat Hanh Buddhist monk and peace activist says,  “How do you want to create peace, if there is no peace inside yourselves?”

Mahatma Gandhi once said,  “Be the peace you wish for the world.”

Question: Do you believe world peace is possible?  Why or why not?  Which of the above people do you think has the right idea or a way to achieve world peace?  Clearly explain why .