Theology 122 Midterm

· Augustine spend a lot of time reflecting on an episode in which he and his friends stole some pears. Why does this interest him so much? What question does it lead him to ask, and what conclusion does he come to?

After Augustine and his friends steeling pears for no reason led Augustine to question Why we make bad decisions? This interested him because he related his experience to Adam and Eve. He related to the falling for original sin. In the end he concludes that everything we desire in the world is good, but we fall into original sin because the way we get the good things can be dangerous and end up hurting others. Augustine was searching for friendship, which is a good thing, but he fell into original sin by stealing pears.

· What lesson does Augustine draw in Book IV from reflecting on his friend's death and his reaction to it?

After Augustine's friend's death he realizes that everything earthly will change and if we get attached to it, we will ultimately end up having to grieve. He realizes that This does not mean that we should not love at all, but we should just remember that things don't last forever, and we should enjoy them while we have them. He realizes that everything except God will change, and we should find stability in the permanence of God and only God.

· Why was reading Cicero's Hortensius such an important moment in Augustine's life? Explain what effects it had on him.

After reading Hortensius, Augustine realized that he wants to find God and the truth.Augustine realizes that to find this truth, he must pursue it through philosophy. In addition, Cicero doesn't mention Christ within his book, which leads Augustine to start reading the bible. When he started to read the bible, he was not impressed which led him to turn to the Manichee's and follow them. The Manichee's ended up playing a huge role in his life.

· In Book V Augustine describes how his studies in philosophy - by which he means what we would call science - influence his thinking. How and why does his philosophical reading effect his relationship to Manicheanism? What does he see as the weakness in philosophical knowledge?

As Augustine reads more and more into philosophy, he beings to shift away from the Manichee's because they did not agree with science. The Manichee's believe in myths and ultimately claimed they had secret truth. Philosophy showed Augustine that the Manichee's argument and claims where incorrect because they didn't have proof like the philosophers did. Philosophy was something that can be tested, observed, and predicted and Augustine loved that. Even though he was interested in philosophy he saw a few weaknesses in it. He viewed philosophy as not personal and not dynamic like a relationship with God is. He also felt that the philosophers were too prideful and failed to acknowledge God. The credited themselves for their work instead of giving credit to God for their minds.

· Why are the Psalms so important to Augustine in the period after his conversion (Book IX)? If you like, you may offer from your own experience an instance of the way in which songs can shape us.

At this point in Augustine's conversion, he feels whole and free and pursues what he wants to pursue. Psalms allowed Augustine to express his newfound love for Christianity. Augustine sees the Psalms as poetry and uses them to express the wide range of emotion he went through while searching for truth.

· In Book VIII Augustine uses a metaphor of liberation from bondage or imprisonment to describe his conversion. Describe the nature of the bondage as he explains it. What is he enslaved by, and how did it happen? What factors eventually set him free?

Augustine describes the metaphor of liberation from bondage or imprisonment as the compulsion to act in such a way and trying to follow a new path towards God but falling back into temptation. Augustine is enslaved by sex addiction, and he fell into this addiction because the will of lust was so strong. By looking at the wills as lust and God Augustine was able to overcome his addiction by following God and developing his relationship with him. Paul's epistles also played a large role in Augustine overcoming his addiction.

· What Manichean idea about God did Augustine have trouble getting away from? What philosopher helped him and how?

Augustine was having trouble getting away from the Manichean idea of dualism.which is the battle between good and evil (light.dark, material/spiritual) and why God would create evil if everything he has created is good. Plato's philosophy of what is real is idea helped him. Augustine started reading Plato and he helped Augustine realize that things can exist and not exist in space.

· Why does Augustine's encounter with a drunken beggar upset him so much? In your answer, you will need to indicate where he is at this point in his life, professionally and personally.

Augustine's encounter with the drunken beggar upset him so much because he realized how happy and worriless the beggar is. This upset him because his career was going very well, and he still fells miserable and unfulfilled and doesn't know how to go about change. The beggar worries Augustine because he has so much money and nice things, but the beggar is happier than him even though he has nothing.

· What does Balthasar say is the theological significance of beauty?

Balthasar says that beauty is a way in which we can access God and wonder. Beauty can stop us from worrying about what we fear and what we want to protect ourselves against. He ultimately expresses that Beauty is an antidote to sin.

· What do Schleiermacher's and Tillich's insights into the human condition before God have in common?

Both were convinced that religion is the danger of extinction and the only reason people were religious was because they feared the unknown after death.

· In Book V Augustine meets Faustus and Ambrose. Who are they, are what role does each play in Augustine's development in this book?

Faustus is a Manichee Bishop. During this time Augustine believes that he will be able to provide answers to the many questions he has. Faustus ends up admitting that he does not know the answers to the questions he has, and this conversation ends up leading Augustine away from the Manichee's. Ambrose is a Catholic Bishop. His first impression of Ambrose was that he is very kind, and he Admires the way he speaks. Augustine first watched him speak because he liked the way he spoke, but he eventually began to listen to him for the content he was speaking about. This interaction led Augustine to Christianity and removed the prior judgments he had about scripture.

· In Book VI Augustine is on his way to give a speech, when he comes across a drunk beggar. Why does he find the episode so upsetting at the time, and what lesson does he draw from it later?

He finds it so upsetting because he is doing well in his career and has made a lot of money, but he is so unhappy. He realizes that the drunk beggar has nothing, and he is happier than him. He is upset because based on his life circumstances he believes that he should be happy, but he isn't, and he doesn't know why. He later realizes that you don't need money and class to be happy and it all depends on your relationship with God and yourself. He ends up giving the beggar his clothes and takes his spot on the street to show himself that he doesn't need material things to be happy.

· Describe VERY BRIEFLY what happens in Dante's Inferno. What does Barron say we can learn about our own condition from this story?

In Dante's inferno Dante is amid his midlife crisis when his spiritual journey begins. He tries to climb the mountain of God but is unable to, beasts in the forest stop him, and these beasts represent his sins. The poet Virgil comes to guide Dante down an alternate path to salvation. He takes Dante through Hell, where he must face his sins head on to overcome them. The further he gets into hell the worse his sins are. Barron takes the same approach as the poet. He says that we can't overcome are sins if we don't acknowledge them before trying to move on from them. Once we acknowledge them, we will be able to make the most progress.

· What did Augustine gain from reading the Neo-Platonists and from reading Paul? How specifically did each help to move him along?

Neo-Platonists helped Augustine see that God was not made of matter and that he is real but does not exist in space. This turned him away from the Manichee's because they believed that God was made of matter. This also allowed him to realize that the existence of God even though he doesn't exist as matter. After the Neo freed his mind from the Manichee's, reading Paul helps him toward finding truth he has been looking for throughout his journey. He is drawn to Paul because he relates to Paul desire to find the truth. Also, Paul understands the mess that Augustine is with his addiction which allowed him to feel closer to Paul.

· The title of the first section of Barron's book is The Riven Self. What does this mean, and how does it set up the subject and theme of the section?

Raven means to split into pieces, so the Raven self means to be split into two sides. The two sides are the image of God and original sin. This title sets up the theme of humans having something very wrong and very right with us which is addressed in the entirety of this section.

· Why did the Church hold the Council of Trent? Describe one element from the canons (writings) that the Council produced, and explain Barron's interpretation of it.

The church held the council of Trent because of the protestant reformation causing their problems to be revealed. One element from the canons that Barron discusses was justice. Justice is the balance and harmony within a group or a relationship. We lose justice because we focus on ourselves and our needs before anyone else's.

· Explain in some detail what is the exact nature of the conflict which Augustine finds so distressing in Book VIII. How is it resolved?

The conflict Augustine experiences in Book VIII is his addiction to sex. He Realizes that his own decisions brought him the point of addiction. He ended up having a vision of self-control and heard a child singing in the garden to "pick up and read" so he began to read Paul's epistles. Once he got to the end of the verse his doubts about his addictions went away and he stopped struggling with it. He began to feel free and whole for the first time in a long time.

· Identify the key experiences that were instrumental in the conversion of Thomas Merton and his spiritual journey as a Catholic. Which do you identify with most and why?

The key experiences that were instrumental in the conversion of Thomas Merton and his spiritual journey as a catholic were Beauty, death, love and pointe vierge. I identify with beauty the most because I find beauty in nature. When I go out in nature, I am amazed that God created something so breathtaking. Seeing the amazing things God created makes me want to know him more to understand the power and grace he has for all of us.

· How do the title and the subtitle of Barron's book set up the themes of the whole?

The title "And Now I see" expresses the way Christianity is a way of seeing the world. A Christianity way of seeing is looking at the world the way God would look at the world. The Subtitle "A theology of transformation" is setting up the theme of transforming from the small soul to the large soul and Going beyond the mind that you have.

· What is the literal meaning of the word "theology" and what problems associated with doing theology does Augustine raise in the first few pages of the Confessions?

Theology literally means "words about God" or "God Talk". There are a few problems that come up for Augustine about doing theology. Augustine biggest question about doing theology is the fact that we are searching for something, and we don't necessarily know what we are looking for. He wonders how we are to go about looking for something if we don't know what we are looking for. He questions how we will know when we found it if we don't know what we want to find.

· What does Barron mean when he says that "fear of the other is the cause and consequence of sin." Do you agree with him? Why or why not?

When Barron says, "fear of the other is the cause and consequence of sin." He is saying that fear causes us to turn away from others and turn away from God. When we turn away from everything, we end up isolating are egos and that causes us to only think about ourselves and view others as threats. This fear ultimately leads us to sin because it causes us to be rivels with others and God. I agree with him because when we turn to protect ourselves, we end up hurting others. If we fear what people think of us, we are more likely to do something that is outside of are personal values and beliefs.

· As soon as Adam and Eve eat the apple, they make themselves clothes. What is the significance of this according to Barron's reading of the passage?

When they realize their nakedness, they immediately make clothes because they feel vulnerable, so they try and hide from God. The feeling Atom and eve had was a result of self-deification and radical autonomy. Barron says that God will help us out of this state of fear and if we trust in God and our fears will go away.

· What does Barron mean when he says that Christian theology is "soul-doctoring"?

when Barron says that Christian theology is "soul-doctoring" he means that It moves us from fear to trust. It ultimately fixes our soul and moves us from our ego and self-deification toward a "feeling of absolute dependence" on God.