Okay, pull your brains out of storage for these ones! ;) Your head is more than just meat on a stick!
Make sure your answers are thorough and well-thought out. If you took good notes, you should be able to formulate rather compelling arguments. Think about it, and DON'T REPEAT EACH OTHER. Back up your opinions with "why" and "how."
1. Two ideas were expressed from the video concerning the origin of the "God concept." Lewis says that the desire for God proves that there is a God to fulfill that desire--God makes us in His image so we will desire Him. Freud says that we create God in our minds because we want order and explanation for the horrible things of this life--we make God in our image as "Superman." We discussed the holes in the logic of both of these concepts in class (but you may continue the argument if something occurred to you since then and you wish to share it). Before we left class, we discussed that anger against God may prove His existence far more than desire (think about a child saying "2+2=5" to you as opposed to a Christian saying "God is real" to an atheist). What do you think? You can agree with any of these three concepts or you can come up with a better concept in your own mind. Either way, make sure that you aren't just repeating what we've already discussed but are adding something new to the conversation.
2. Lewis, as a young man, was angry at God for existing on the one hand, but--as an atheist--not existing on the other. Also, he was angry that if God truly existed, He forced existence upon us without our consent. What do you think about this? What would you say to a friend who used this argument (that God forced existence on us without our consent)?
3. Think about your relationship with God, of if you do not have one, think of your belief system. What made you come to that conclusion? How much of it was intellectual and how much of it was emotional? Keep in mind that I'm not just asking you to give your testimony. I am asking you to explain what parts of your brain you used to come to your current outlook on life. You need to explain what makes sense and is factual about what you believe, and then what parts are emotional. In other words, DO NOT say, "I don't know how, but I just know in my heart." That answer was fine when we just started, but at this point, you need to come up with more evidence than that. Think about it.
Look at the picture of C.S. Lewis. He's stressed out too!
♬ It makes me Dizzy Miss Lizzy~ ♬
ReplyDelete(I have no idea who Miss Lizzy is.)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletelalala
ReplyDeleteI have 23 hours and 57 minutes
to look over my comment :)
I cannot deny that I was also upset with God for the fact that He does not make everyone believe Him. However, I realized that we all do not deserve God’s mercy. He gave us freedom to make choices. Even though atheists do not believe the existence of God, their existences are from God. The World’s history cannot be told without religion. People have always sought some gods or idols to worship. Since humans are so weak and dependable, we look for something to lean on when we face difficulties.
ReplyDeleteI have understood Lewis’s position since I was in his mindset once. However, I want to say this to people who have that argument: God has more than enough right to do so. In Genesis 1, He created us and wanted us to live in paradise. He had a closer relationship with us by directly talking to us. As human beings, we cannot be perfect, and so we made the wrong decision. Our hearts love evil more than godly deeds. We do not deserve God’s mercy, but since He is the creator of the earth and ourselves, we are born to know His existence. Why would He even have to get our agreement to tell His existence? We should be thankful that we actually can notice and experience His being.
“When I was in elementary school, I had a dog. The dog was really small and young. Every night she cried and the vet said her crying was because she wanted her mother. My dog was separated form her mom before she learned about mother and daughter relationships. She still wanted her mom. Did the mother dog force her daughter to look for her and cry out? It is just natural to desire one’s origins.
We all are descendents of Adam, the first man. Who created Adam? It was the Father. Christians call God as their Father. God created all beings, but not all beings become His children. He has provided us same chances to have faith; however, some makes the wrong decision. As a Christian, it is my goal to help those who don’t have faith in Christ not to make wrong decisions. God’s existence is not something that God should force us to know. It is our responsibility to seek for a closer relationship with God and want to know more about His being.
Q.2
ReplyDeletePeople are selfish creatures who always care only about their own profits. When something bad happens to them, they try to blame someone else. Lewis, as a human too, looked for something to blame, for the causes of his misfortunes, and let his anger out on God.
When Lewis was a teenager, he learned about the existence of God. Lewis faced a desperation when his mother was very ill. He begged and prayed to God to please saving her. But unfortunately, Lewis' mother died. Right after the death of his mother, Lewis became very angry; and even began to think that may be there is no God. His faith was affected by emotion and eventually weakened his relationship with God.
However, he felt very angry with the thought of denying God's existence, for nothing in this world could exist without Him. Lewis could not find the any other dependable truth. The things in the world that most of the people rely on such as: other religions, or wealth, seems to make sense but do not give true peace. People can have peace only by admitting that God exists.
If one of my friends has same kind of view as Lewis, I would ask; if there is something that we can completely rely on and will take any responsibilities for us. The world has both goods and bads, and we need to learn to accept that fact.
Getting angry from some tragic happenings is very common, but we shouldn't blame it upon God. He is our Savior, and we should thank Him for it. We deserved eternal penalty, but instead God sent his only son and got crucified for our sins. God is not a tool we can use to cover up our mistakes and problems. We should just accept Him and praise Him without any complaints.
Question3
ReplyDeleteI believe that God is the only purpose in my life because human life is vain, for man is hungry to please himself but this world is too temporary to satisfy his desire. Only God can satiate man’s desire.
When I was thirteen years old, I realized that I eagerly wanted something, but I did not know what it was.
During the winter vacation, I had to stay home for a month because I broke my toes. While at home, I spent most of my time playing computer games. One day I suddenly realized that even though I played games for hours to please myself, I wanted to play more, and when I stopped playing, I became depressed and exhausted, noticing that playing games was not “something” I eagerly wanted. Since then I stopped playing games, for it seemed worthless and a waste of time. As I grew up, I also realized that the very some thing happens to my life as well. Although I achieved great things such as getting good grades and became successful, I could not find “something” because the moment of pleasure and satisfaction did not last long enough. Eventually I became desperate to find it to satiate my desire again.
I finally came to the conclusion that neither success nor anything on the earth is “something” I eagerly wanted to satisfy myself. However, I soon came to conclude easily that serving God and living according to the Bible are “something” which can get me out of this endless cycle.
When it came to decision, I did rationally conclude that serving God and living according to the Bible would end the cycle because I believed the Bible. When I read the book of Ecclesiastes, for instance, I could totally agree with Solomon that everything on the earth is vain. Also, when I carry out what the Bible suggests to do, I desire no more and feel satisfied.
To be honest, I chose to serve God not because I wanted to but because I cared about myself more than God. I served God more fervently and tried to live more like a Christian and my actions definitely made me satisfied. However, soon I felt like I was more likely serving myself rather than God until I learned more about the Bible in SCS. I learned that my method was right, but my goal was wrong. Now I am serving God because I try to love God and be testimony to unbelievers. I feel more satisfied since I have changed my goal, from satiating myself to devoting myself to God because only He can satisfy desire.
Q3
ReplyDeleteI saw the movie 'Godfather'. I could not understand all messages. However, there was one point I definitely understood.
Human's life is endless routine. We sleep, wake up, eat food, work, play and sleep again. We waste our effort and times on something meaningless. In the movie, the main character, Michael, gained power he desired. He made his family business legitimate. He could do whatever he desired. In order to do so, he killed other gangs, the archbishop, business men and even his brother. However, he lost his daughter. He lost his brothers. He lost his morals. He gained everything, but lost everything. Surely, he lived the life of vanity. Unfortunately, we are just like him. Michael is the image which reflects us like a mirror. We human beings seek power, wealth and fame as Michael in the movie tried. And, we will find vanity and despair at the end as he did.
Human life is so empty and meaningless. Everyone desires fame. Everyone wants wealth. Everyone seeks health. Having fame and wealth is not bad. However, the way to fame and money makes humans cold and callous. People have to compromise with the world. They have to commit corruptions. They must get rid of other competitors. At the moment one is born from a mother's womb, the battle begins. Sadly, no one feels true happiness at the last. We can not find comfort in this world. Reputation and wealth do not give one comfort in his life. Desire brings more desire. Corruption brings more corruption. By our own strength, we can not disconnect ourselves from the destiny of endless cycle.
However, there is one way we can disconnect ourselves from the endless routine. Obviously the only way is God. Salvation means more than just going to the heaven. Christians have different destiny from unbelievers. While they are entangled to their sad destiny, we are freed from it and received new one. To me, God is not a friend. He is not just a father of Santa Clause image. Rather, he is one who changes my destiny in the earth. Of course, 'destiny' also means going to the heaven after death. However, to be specific, the destiny means disconnected life. Disconnected life does not mean meaningless life, but the life of the new goals, freed from the world desire. And, that is the relationship between God and individuals; he disconnects us from the world.
There are so many people who are enslaved by the worldly desires. They have the strong connection to the world. They may find satisfaction at the moment. They may gain respect and reputation. However, it is definite that they will find vanity also at the last.
Q.2
ReplyDeleteI think that it is natural for atheists who do not believe God to think He forced his existence upon them without their consent, because what they consider is not about who God is, but what God does, if He truly exists. The atheists never think positively about Him. Personally, as a Christian, I definitely believe that God exists and never changes. It is true that the Lord already predestinated humans’ fate, but he also gave them a chance to choose when they undergo various circumstances. He makes individuals think and analyze. He leaves many evidences that show His existence. It is God’s mercy. He lets them know from the birth to the death. He does not force existence upon them, but show the evidences and wait until they find and believe Him by themselves. It is their responsibility whether they believe or not. I would say that if someone thinks that God forces him to believe in God’s existence or feels guilty or even angry for thinking of Him, it is because He chose him as a son, reminding and showing His power. God waited him to become His real son who can work for His glory. It can happen to the atheists too, if God chose them.
I feel pity for atheists who refuse the Truth and propose as fact what they can not comprehend with their knowledge, pretending they know all true. Because they prepare well to retort an argument, some people who hear the dispute that what is true (which is not true really in God’s view). My friend was one of them. I told her about God several times so that she could reflect on the possibility of God’s existence. One day, when I brought a topic about how God is wonderful and how many gifts He gives us, she suddenly said “why are you forcing me to believe the Man? (She did not even use the name God) Whenever you talk about Him, I feel as if He uses you to speak because of His desires instead of mine. That is why I do not want to believe Him.” It really shocked me and I could not say anything. Actually, after it happened, I have never talked about God with her. However, as I am writing this blog, I change my mind and hope to have courage to tell her that even though she does not want to hear,-because I am a Christian- it is the best thing that I can do for her. God wants you to hear first and then understand what the truth is. He does not force you to believe because he gave you free choice. He gives right information and thoughts from others who were saved first but does not interfere with your choice. You are given a gift, becoming God’s child, and it is a blessing.
From the beginning, God created Adam with the idea of freewill. The idea of freewill allowed man to choose what to do. We were born with the image of God. These characteristics clearly define that why God did not forced existence on us without our consent.
ReplyDeleteAs a young man, Lewis went through a life in grief. Lewis’ mom passed away when he was a child. Also, he had to go through World War I, watching the chaos of the war and losing his best friend. At that time, Lewis had a ‘discontentment’ with the world. I understand the pain that Lewis had to go through. A small discontentment such as not getting a good grade in the test or the project irritates me. If I were Lewis, I would’ve given up my life and lived without any hope.
The answer for the question of God forcing existence upon us without our consent is simple. God had given mankind the idea of freewill, also giving the choice whether to believe in God or not. God expects us to find out who the real creator of the world is, and our tasks are to find out who the real God is and to believe in real God.
Mankind has committed sin from the beginning of the world and has been forgiven by Jesus Christ. We must be thankful to what we are earning from God, and pursue our belief firmly throughout our lives.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh.. I forgot to mention about what number I worked on.. I worked on #2
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #2
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lewis’ idea which states that God uses all His power to force people to become Christians.
I was born with two old sisters and parents. As we live in Korea, there seems no problems to our family. I thought we were blessed, because we had no problems within famaily members. We had a such an affable family relationship.
All the members of my family were atheists until I was 15 years old. However, one occurrence happened to my family and that changed our view on God. It happened when I lived in U.S. with my two old sisters. My second sister used to have strokes in Korea. It happended when she was a high school student. The strokes were not that dangerous and they did not happended offtenly. However, one day, she suddenly had five strokes in six hours on a same day. We were in choas. My first sister called my mother, who was in Korea at that time. My mom took an airplain ticket to America. We all started to think that my second old sister would have a serious depression. Since then, she changed to be a Christian saying that God helped her to be relaxed. What I am trying to say here is that God sacrificed my second old sister to make my whole family to believe Him. I was so angry at God that He used my sister to change my family to His children. My sister had to go over such a hardship just for His glory? How mercy is He? However, after I became a Christian and got to know about God more, I changed my view of God. Since a human cannot fully understand God’s plan, there is no reason to blame His plan to make my family as His children by His own way.
If one of my friends asks me the same question as that of Lewis’, I will tell him that we should not blame God; He is the creator of the universe and He is the one who made you. Therefore, we have to submit and obey His will.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn a logical sense, I personally agree with the Freud’s idea of creating concept of ‘God’ for the specific explanation of certain things.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, human capacity, which includes part of imagination, has an infinite range of creativity. This fact has proven both scientifically and historically. Many scientists have argued that human uses only 10 percent of his brain capacity. In other words, human has a great potential power beyond his conscious parts-such as imagination- to create something out of nothing. This fact has proven historically as well. The greatest works, which humans have achieved, always began with imagination of pioneers. Thomas Edison’s invention of light bulb started with his little curiosity and imagination according to that curiosity. Mere dream of flying in the sky became a true story by creativity of Wright brothers. Furthermore, one of the greatest moments of the history, ‘Man on the Moon’ initiated with this kind of simple thoughts as well. These historical evidences and current conveniences show that the power of imagination of human is undeniable.
Because people have such great abilities to create things that they not only imagine things in their minds but also transform that imagination into real lives, it is logical to say that human can even create their own image of ‘God.’ In other words, man creates God according to his own tastes how God should be. Now, the question is why people create God. It has a direct relationship with their states of mind. Every man has tendency to lean on something or someone stronger than him in order to bring peace in him. Men want to feel safe in some way that if there is nothing reliable to depend upon, they start to create their ‘God’ in their imagination. This kind of mind set is apparent from the young (in my opinion, it is an innate quality of men). For example, everybody probably has the experience in his childhood that one thought his father as a ‘superman’ and felt safe and strong when he is with his father. One creates the image of his father and how the father should be. Finally, he starts to believe what he created as his own preference. Moreover, the placebo effect shows how powerful when one starts to create something in him. Placebo effect is a phenomenon in medicine where the results of a medical treatment are affected by their symbolism and not just their medical value. For example, I had stomach ache. I was injected a regular vitamin C but I was told that it was injection for my stomach ache. Surprisingly, I felt better even though it was not right care for my sickness. Just by believing that I’m going to be cured, I was able to get cured.
Obviously, in biblical sense, it is wrong to say this. However, I think it makes more sense to explain in the way than the other two. One can’t define God in certain manner or concept because one can not experience God with his knowledge or concept of God, but by personal relationship with Him. Job did. He mentioned in Job 45:2 that he went from hearing of God, which refers to knowledge of God, to actually seeing God, which refers to the direct experience of God’s presence. There is a big difference between just having just knowledge of God and actually experience the presence of God. Only way to know and feel God is to build personal relationship with Him unless He reveals in His own ways.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete#1
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, both Lewis’s and Freud’s concepts toward the origin of the “God concept” are plausible. In a way, I agree with both of them.
First of all, let's talk about Lewis's concept. According to Lewis's belief, the desire for God proves that there is a God. In this world, there are so many things that cannot be explained. Maybe because those are unexplainable, people tend to know more eagerly about it. However, the more findings that are discovered, then more questions will be asked to solve the never-ending puzzles of mystery events from God.
God wants us to seek Him. In Genesis 2:7, “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Because God puts the Spirit in us, the Holy Spirit works in our hearts. So even though our physical bodies do not know or seek God, our souls (or unconsciousness) know that there is a God. Henry says that an infant seeks food even though he never tastes food before. He knows there is food, so he cries out for it. Therefore, we desire or seek God because there is God. But personally I disagree with Henry's point. I do not think we desire God because there is God. We desire God because God lets us to find Him by letting the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts. God is letting us to seek Him because He wants us to glorify Him. Therefore, we desire God not because there is a God. God makes us to desire Him.
Second, Freud says that we tend to create God as “superman.” Because we are so weak and imperfect, we want to depend on something or someone who is stronger than us. That is one of the reasons why people want have their own religions; they want to depend on their gods. Sometimes horrible things happen in our lives. When we find out that we cannot solve or overcome those horrible things by ourselves, we run to our “God” to solve for us. To be honest, I think God is the superman. However, I do not make God as "Superman" base on my mind. I call God as “superman” based on the Bible which shows that God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. People should not make God as someone who they want. They should make God base on the Bible, because the Bible tells us specifically who God is. If they read the Bible carefully, they will find out the real image of God.
In my opinion, those two concepts may prove that there is a God. However, I think disobeying God can also prove there is a God. Maybe I can say that disobeying God is same as getting angry against God. If there is light then there must be shadow too. If there is right, then there must be wrong also. So, if there is disobedience, there will be obedience. Because we were born as sinners, it is our instinct to commit sins and disobey the right thing. Because the existence of God is TRUE, unbelievers get angry and try to avoid believing the fact. Why they get so sensitive when someone says about God? When unbelievers hear about God, the devils get nervous. So they make the people get automatically angry when they hear the Truth. Therefore, it shows that there really is a God. (Even the demons know that God exists!)
I know disobeying God is very easy for us to commit. However, if we tried hard to be right and be more Christ-like people, God will bless us. Therefore, we all should seek more about God and do our duties as Christians.
I don't agree these "God concepts". Belief in the God of the Bible, as Paul says to Festus in Acts 26:25 is "true and reason", but can not be proven visually because that would contradict the Bible. There is no way one can ever prove there is a God with relations of ideas but only as a matter of fact. Relations of ideas are discoverable through the reasons without dependence on anything in the universe. Matters of fact have no concrete evidence to be displayed in order to prove it to be true.
ReplyDeleteIf people are against God (or don't believe in God) because of the reason that they couldn't find any evidence to prove His existence, how people can believe evolution? And how did evolution get to be taught in schools without any complete evidence?
Trying to prove God as a relation to an idea is a contradiction to what the scriptures teach. The Bible says that "now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ..... but without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:1,6) Faith can be defined as the belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. Jesus says to Thomas in John 20:29 "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Faith in God is a fundamental aspect to a relationship with Him. If one could logically prove that God exists, with material evidence that would go against what is needed to have a relationship with Him therefore could not happen.
The way the Bible teaches to believe in God is through faith in Jesus and the testimony of the eye witness accounts of his life and the evidence one sees in his life changing as a result. Jesus made some extraordinary claims that He was the one and only son of God. The evidence He showed was fulfilling the prophecies that were spoken years before and rising from the dead. The proofs of these things are the words of the eye witness accounts of these events. The proof today is the effect that comes from believing in Jesus' words and putting them into practice. This is not enough proof to a skeptic but God Himself has said that not everyone would believe in Him. People accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given of His Son. The Bible says that "He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of his Son." (1 John 5:10)
Question 1
ReplyDeleteThe origin of "God concept", one of the most controversial issues in modern history, has been argued intensely without one definite answer. Many intelligent and erudite Christians and atheists such as C.S. Lewis and Freud (respectively) has tried to convince each other by their own explanations and experiences of God.
Before I explain my concept, I want to uphold the Freud's concept of God, which says that human creates God,Superman, in order to explain the horrible things of his life. Throughout the history of mankind, human suffers for hardships and difficulties that he can not overcome by himself. As time passes, human himself realizes that he needs "God" for order and explanation. For example, Jews have been waiting for their Messiah to come and save them (they don't acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Savior). Their history is filled with the "horrible things" such as the Bondage in Egypt, the Babylonian Captivity, the Roman Conquest, and the Holocaust. They cried and still cry for "Superman" to release them from such sufferings. Without creating God and waiting for Messiah, they may not understand such horrible things.
From Christian perspective, I come up with the concept that human's conscience proves there is a God. Human feels guilty when he does something wrong. This "gift" of God keeps him from doing sins. If there is no God who he fears from the bottom of his heart, why does he feel guilty? He still feels guilty after he did something sinful even if he is not caught by others. Some people may argue that because human is taught to be good by their parents and schools, he feels guilty. However, human still feels guilty even if he is not educated. It is not a matter of education. Human inherently has not only sinful nature but also good conscience. Certainly from God, human has received conscience which proves God's existence.
With atheist perspective, I think human just needs "Higher Being" to depend upon whenever he faces hardships in life; he just calls God for help. Or simply God can be one expression to ease human's shock. For example, one video clip about the incident of the Twin Towers captured some atheists who shouted "Oh my God" hundred times while they were watching the Twin Towers collapsing. Now, who is God who they call their
God?Everyone knows that atheists deny even the existence of God. Although the phrase is a common expression among Americans, it shows how deeply the concept of deity affects people's mind set. This simple video clip gave me an idea that even atheists need some kind of "divine form" to ease their shock.
Even though people have different ways to approach the origin of God, the answer is that human needs "God" or just "Superman" whether
his concept is real or not.
wow jesse...
ReplyDeletePlease, forgive me using the phrase "Oh my God."
ReplyDeleteI forgot the question number......i chose question 1
ReplyDeleteI found many wrong sentences!!!:(
ReplyDeletesecond sentence: All the words in the Scripture are "true and reasonable" as Paul says to Festus in Acts 26:25, but can not be proven visually because that would contradict the Bible.
In the second paragraph: evolution →
the theory of evolution
In the last paragraph, the second sentence: Jesus made some extraordinary claims that He was the one and only son of God. →
Jesus says that He is the one and the only son of God.
And People accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given of His Son. → People tend to accept man's testimony; however, actually God's testimony is greater. God sent His Son to us.