The Question of God: Part Eight

The Inklings

This week's video was about C.S. Lewis and his concept of "The Four Loves" (which is the title of one of his books on the subject, by the way). Lewis started a group with other Christian members called "The Inklings" which would meet and the members would discuss their points of view, specific writings, and friendly debates.

In the spirit of "The Inklings" our blog is going to be slightly different this week. This week is going to be an ongoing dialogue between you and me (and any other people who happen to comment). You will be graded not only on your content, but on how often you add something to the conversation. These will not be the usual at-least-half-a-page answers. Instead, I am looking for you to add just a few sentences at a time as this will be more of a discussion board rather than separate comments. This will start on Tuesday night and go until Sunday night. This means check the blog every night. Even though you are not writing as much, you still need to check it and add something to the conversation.

(*Notice* As cute as "Good Job, So-And-So" and song lyrics are you will not get graded on those kinds of comments. You may still tell each other "Good job," but that doesn't count as your comment of the day.)



I will start the discussion with: Can you forgive someone if you don't believe in God?

The Question of God: Part Seven

This week is going to be slightly different. This week each of you will be writing a dialogue to explain your point of view. First of all, let me give you an example of a dialogue:



Bobby: Hi Susie

Susie: Hi Bobby

Bobby: I don't believe in God.

Susie: Really? I do.

Bobby: Well, you are stupid then.

Susie: Really? I was just thinking about how stupid you are.

Bobby: Let's go get ice cream.

Susie: Okay.

(. . . and on and on it goes.) Hopefully yours will not be as childish, right?! ;o)

Now, what I want you to do is to make up a person with a different worldview from yours. He or she could be Buddhist, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, etc.--anything you want. You are going to discuss material/physical happiness and sexual desire (libido) versus peace and joy that come from God. You really have to think about what the other person will say, otherwise your dialogue will seem blatantly one-sided and not worth reading. Obviously, in our fantasies we all see ourselves winning every argument, but make this seem as real as possible. You may interview other people if you wish--just make sure they know you are doing it for a project! Don't exploit your friends for a grade!

(For hints on how to write a dialogue: 11th grade -- pages 223-229, and 12th grade -- pages 143-148 in your grammar books.)

The Question of God: Part Six

Read carefully:

Good job. Remember the grammar grade! Read each question carefully, only certain amounts of people can answer each question. Getting started early will assure that you can answer the one you want. However, if someone answers a question you really wanted to answer, and you were forced to answer a different one, you may come back and answer the one you initially wanted. Answer each question completely. You may add information if you like, but you must answer everything in each question (unless you are coming back to answer a second question). Ask me if this doesn't make sense to you.

1. Freud greatly believed that our lives are characterized by the past. Likewise, that our own pasts declare who we are. Because of this, he was known by some as "The Archaeologist of the Soul." He saw religion and mythology as something that we are seduced into because of our desire for answers. Furthermore, he stated that the only true way of thinking is to save yourself from this delusion. My question is this: what does it matter if we believe in God or not? Why do we need saving from this concept of a biblical God? In other words, a Naturalist approach would say, "Stop trying to make me conform to your Christian ideals. You must free yourself from them to be truly free." Think about it. What kind of salvation is Freud (Naturalism) offering? Compare his salvation to Christian salvation and at least two other examples of religious salvation. (Only two people may answer.)

2. Lewis calls pride "spiritual cancer." He also said that "a great man knows that he is not God, and the greater he is, the more he knows it." How should we view pride? What does the Bible say about pride? You must look up and quote at least five verses for this one. What is your conclusion about pride? (Only one person may answer.)

3. Very tragically last night, a man down the street from school committed suicide in plain view of the whole street. Do you think a true Christian could commit suicide? Why or why not? You need to use at least three verses. What do you think causes a person to commit suicide? We all have feelings of depression and/or uselessness, but what sends people over the edge? (Only two people may answer this question and may only give opposing views. In other words, if one person says, "No a Christian cannot," the other person must explain why they think a Christian could.)

4. In the movie "The International" one of the characters, an old man, made the following statement: "The difference between truth and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." Think of the fictional stories you have read. They had to seem believable within their settings or else their authors would not have sold many books. However in contrast, many things that are actually true don't seem to make sense. For instance, life. Life is the most abundant, observable phenomenon in our world, yet . . . how do we explain it? All we can do is observe it. No one can create life from non-living things, yet life is all around us.

The video pointed out that Jesus could not have been just a good man or a prophet, because not only did he do good things and teach good lessons, but also he claimed to be God Himself. Either Jesus is really God or else He is a lunatic. There is no in between. Probably most of us in class agree that we believe Jesus to be who He says He is. My question is how do we know this is true? (Think about the truth vs. fiction quotation in the above paragraph.) Could the salvation message be created by men? (Think of other world religions. What are they based on? Then compare them to Christianity.) How do we know that true salvation is from God and not man? What kind of religion would you create if you were in charge of the world? (Only three people may answer.)

5. a. In the video, the Agnostic pointed out that even if Jesus were alive today, he would still have trouble believing in Him because of the claims He would make (i.e. being God). What would it take for the entire world to believe? Is it possible for the entire world to believe in anything? (Think of freewill)

b. Are miracles important to a spiritual worldview?

c. Twice during the video the Christian man was challenged. The first time, the Agnostic said, "Show me the parting of the Red Sea. Show me miracles." The second time the Atheist said, "Don't you want to know how God did it? How did he restart the heart? How did he raise Himself from the dead? Aren't you curious?" What do you make of these questions? If someone asked them to you, what would you say? (Only three people may answer.)

The Question of God: Part Five

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!

The Question of God: Part Four

Good job. Keep it up. However, be careful of all the opinions. I am getting a lot of opinions and sometimes very little basis to back them up. Remember to give evidence. Your opinion is great for you, but there is no point in telling anyone about it unless you have some kind of reason. Think through your answers and don't wait till the last minute. Also, DON'T USE BIG WORDS UNLESS YOU ARE SURE OF THEIR MEANING.

1. The video pointed out coming to a belief system by two means. First of all, Lewis came to atheism by emotional means. Secondly, Freud came to atheism intellectually. My question is: do you think there is a possibility for two people to come to the same conclusion by two mutually exclusive means? Or do you find that they both actually came to atheism by the same means, just that Lewis called his conclusion "emotional" and Freud termed it "intellectual"? Give me some conclusions you have come to that have been purely emotional, purely intellectual, or both.

2. Should Christians subject themselves to hypnosis (def: an artificially induced trance state resembling sleep, characterized by heightened susceptibility to suggestion.)? What might be the benefits of hypnosis? What might be the problems? (Some Christians are completely against being induced by hypnosis. Why do you think this is?)

3. Freud relates all desire and will to our sexual drives. He says that the first person we love is our mother and the first person we hate is our father. He goes on to say that these emotions shape us and stay with us for the rest of our lives. Before you start refuting why he is SO wrong and you are SO right, think about where he is coming from. Why would he say this is true about all people? Then give me your answer. This question is for serious thinkers only. Do not use big words unless you know what they mean.

4. Has something traumatic from your childhood caused you to view people in a skewed way today? You don't need to go into detail, just explain your view today. You may also use examples of famous people or an unnamed friend if you don't feel comfortable sharing your own. Do you (or someone you know) have a "black hole" in your (his/her) past?

5. (Dream Analysis) Have you ever had a recurring, prophetic, or traumatic dream? Give details about the dream. Then, using your own reasoning, see if you can figure out if there was any significance to your dream. Does God say anything about our dreams?

6. Think about how Freud viewed religion. He included Greek Mythology in with Paganism and even Christianity. He said that because of our disgust of our physical fathers not being the men we expect them to be, we project all our desires for this ultimate protecting strength on an "eternal being" we call "The Exalted Heavenly Father" which is where we all get this idea of religion. First of all (and do NOT skip this part), I want you to argue from a human perspective as to why this makes sense. Secondly (do NOT just give me this part), tell me why that perspective is flawed from a Christian perspective. Take this question seriously and don't just give me a bunch of opinions and why you think Freud was so wrong. This question is for serious thinkers only. Also, refrain from using big words unless you are sure you know what they mean.

The Question of God: Part Three

You guys are doing well. Good thoughts. Remember to explain thoroughly. And be on time!!

Directions: Answer one or more of the questions below thoroughly and intelligently. Be thorough. Give examples. If you have an opinion, please share it; however, make sure you explain why that is your opinion. Do not repeat what someone else has already said unless you are expounding on their point.

1. Rationalism says that everything can be explained by natural causes--spiritual, supernatural, philosophic, etc. Is there anything of which you can think that is not explainable by natural cause? How do rationalists explain love, nervousness, demonic activity, the will to live, etc.? (Site examples of naturalist explanations.)

2. Do you think the Ten Commandments could have been made up by people? Go through them in your mind and determine if they are human or supernatural in origin. If you think that they must have been made by God, explain your answer. If you think it is possible for them to have been made by people, explain why this is. What are the ten most important laws you can come up with and why?

3. Think about the blind men and the elephant illustration. Three men come to different conclusions based on their own limited viewpoint. Now think about the woman from the video who talked about viewing Truth as though we are all viewing the same world through different "windows" (such as science, music, art, religion, etc.). What do you think is the best way to find Truth? How many windows do we have to look through before we see enough of Truth to grasp it? (Remember Grace's illustration that if one of the men had seen an elephant before going blind, he would have more information and therefore more responsibility to share this information with the other men in order for them to come to a good conclusion.) Why is Truth so hard for us to determine?

4. So . . . Predestination or Freewill. Which one is more important? Are they working together? Explain your answer.

5. Explain the differences of thought in Asian and Western thinking. Explain a basic time-line for the way thought has changed in both areas of the world. What same directions have they both taken? What different directions? Does this reveal anything about Truth?

6. The ancient Romans and Greeks came up with a mathematical scientific process for determining beauty or perfection. This is demonstrated with something called "The Golden Rectangle" or "The Golden Ratio." They found this measurement by measuring the dimensions of things that the majority of society agreed was "beautiful." Based on this information, when you see something beautiful, are you being purposely rational? Are you being subconsciously rational (in other words, did you realize your rationality AFTER you thought about your experience, but not at the time)? Are you not being rational at all? If not, what part of your psyche realized "beauty"?

The Question of God: Part Two

Good job on the last one! Most people had a lot to say. Remember, opinions are great, but need thorough explanation.

Don't use fictional characters to prove a point.

Directions: Answer one or more of the questions below thoroughly and intelligently. Be thorough. Give examples. If you have an opinion, please share it; however, make sure you explain why that is your opinion. Do not repeat what someone else has already said unless you are expounding on their point.

1. Most of us think happiness when we hear the word Joy; however, Lewis describes Joy as, "an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction." In other words, within every one of us are desires that we find so great and inspiring that we are overwhelmed and awed by them. From where do you think that feeling or sense comes? Have you ever experienced this Joy? How did you respond to it?

2. The rationalist approach says that the immensity of the universe and the seeming magic of life is enough to naturally cause what we call "Joy," "God," or the "Supernatural." The spiritual worldview says that a Higher Being put this feeling in all of us so we would desire or at least acknowledge His existence. What do you make of this? Who is right? Who is wrong? Why? Does either side have a weakness in its argument? Does either point have a stronger basis?

3. When Lewis's mother lay dying, Lewis, as a young child, believed that if he prayed hard enough to God, his mother would live. His mother ended up dying. Did the prayer fail? Was Lewis's view of prayer correct? Have you ever experienced the feeling that no matter how hard you prayed, God didn't seem to care about you? What conclusions did you draw?

4. When was the first time in your life that you remember being "awakened"? In other words, what was the first moment in your life as a child that you remember thinking and being aware of things around you? Was it something beautiful, ugly, kind, scary, or something else that created your first memory? Does this memory still affect you today?

5. After Lewis's mother died, his father became a very threatening person in Lewis's life. Lewis would wake up in the night, afraid that his brother and father had gone to America without him. How do you think this affected him as a child? Do you have any memory of being lost from your parents when you were young? Of course you are older now, but do you still have fear of being abandoned?

6. Mothers.
a. The first object that most infants recognize is their mother. In the video, some of the panel mentioned that this maternal relationship may prime babies for a relationship with a Creator. Do you believe this is true? Do you believe it's even worth discussing in the "Question of God" debate?

b. If you remember what happened to Freud in his youth from the video two weeks ago and compare it to what you learned about Lewis this week you might see that they both suffered losses of their mothers and maternal figures at very early ages. Think about how much your mother has influenced you growing up. If you had lost your mother at such an early age, what would you think of God? Would you doubt His existence, turn more toward Him, or would you be about the same in your beliefs?