4th Quarter Bell Work (Allegra)

3/23 Buber reading: Buber discusses man's approach to truth and reality. Man cannot manipulate what is real because he is part of it. Buber also discusses man's approach to religion. He criticizes a dualist who separates God's authority from the authority of economics, politics, and "self assertion". Buber believes, like Fr. Murray, that you must commit to faith or commit to atheism, but one cannot committ to agnosticism.
3/29 Flew article: One of the most famous athiests, Antony Flew, announced that he is open to believing in God. He was a disciple of C.S. Lewis but disagreed with him for most of his life. Flew believes that because there is reason, there must be a God to create reason. He follows a scientific approach to faith, yet God is immaterial so He cannot be scientifically proven to exist.
3/31 Plunkett Poem:The poem by Plunkett "I See His Blood Upon the Rose" describes the speakers encounter with Christ in all of nature. This is because the Christians believe Jesus' sacrifice saved mankind for eternity and we can be reminded of the salvation that has been given to us in all of nature. Mr. Remedios' connection is the "Love sees with new eyes" meaning the Christian love for Jesus is powerful enough that it can be viewed in the most insignificant objects.
4/13 Guitar Nation: The class watched a video about a huge air guitar tournament. The audience and air guitarists are passionate about the music and performance, but there is not guitar. This raises the question of whether the air guitarists are untruthful because there is no guitar present. The same question can be asked about truth in general. If we are blissfully unaware, are we experiencing truth?
4/15 Pascal's Wager: Blaise Pascal wages that even though man cannot prove God exists through reason, man should act as though He does because one can only gain from living a religious life.
4/19 White Rose Worksheet: The White Rose was a student organization that peacefully protested the Nazi regime by distributing flyers at their University. The name represents purity in the face of evil. The members of the White Rose risked their lives to express the truth. Likewise in Christianity the martyrs, and Jesus, give their lives to pursue what is true.
4/21 Followers Not Admirers: Kierkegard's Essay describes Jesus Christ's purpose on Earth. He did not teach and perform miracles in order to win the adoration of people. He intended, as a man and not a god, to show mankind how to act. Therefore, Christians believe they are followers of Christ and try to imitate Him rather than simply admire Him.
4/23 Epitaph: A poem by Sir Walter Raleigh. An epitaph is the final words of a person put on their tombstone. This "Epitaph" describes death, yet it is optimistic because as a Christian the speaker trusts that God will "raise me up". This shows the nature of resurrection in Christianity because there can be no joy without suffering.
4/27 Freedom by Peguy: The poem is told in first person by the voice of the Christian God. It points out God's concern over whether to allow man to "swim on his own" (i.e. live freely) and risk watching him swallow too much water or to hold man as he swims and risk him never learning how to swim. God decides to grant humans free will because if our actions aren't free they aren't genuine.
4/29 Barron on Scapegoating: Father Barron relates scapegoating to our everyday life. Gossiping, for example, is sharing with one individual at the expense of another individual. He states that Jesus' sacrifice ended scapegoating because He was willing to be mankind's scapegoat.
5/3 Church as Mother to Have God the Father: This bellwork turned into a heated debate over whether Christians should accepted a Catholic Church that is filled with hypocrites and flawed individuals. The belief, though, is that Jesus is married to the Church and therefore Christians cannot separate God from the Church. Being made up of human, the Church has some flaws, but Christians cannot comprehend why Jesus loves the Church or all sinners for that matter.
5/5 Prodigal Son/Two Brothers: The class watched a scene from Jesus of Nazareth when Jesus tells the story of the Prodigal Son. This parable is two stories in one. The first describes to forgiving and uncondionally loving nature of the Christian God because the father forgives his wasteful son. The second describes the Christian God's equality in loving all His children.