
Class on Thursday will be at the
FAURA AVR

Explain this statement: “Relativism is
self-refuting.”

Class Standing(3 to 5 quizzes)
15%
◦ 20 points per quiz (minimum of 10 pts)
◦ Total 100




Two Reflection Papers
Group Project
Two Long Exams (Written/ Orals)
Final Oral/ Written Exam
5%
10%
40%
30%
__________

TOTAL=
100%
There is
no truth!
Faith as a Response to a God who reveals
Himself in Love
What
“authorities” do
we rely on?
•Jesus and His
Disciples
•The Church
•The Bible
Faith is a response
to a God who
reveals Himself in
Love!!

)
The Paradoxes of Faith (An Introduction
◦ An Introduction to the Paradoxes of Faith

Certain and Obscure
◦ Faith as both Certain and obscure
 Certain enough to die for
 And yet a mystery
◦ Can you prove that God exists? :
 What does the bible say?
 Genesis 1: 1-26
 Romans 1:18-25
 Five Arguments to the Existence of God
 Certain
yet Obscure
 Reasonable, yet Beyond Natural
Reason
 Free yet Morally Obliging
 Particular Act yet Life Long Process
 Gift, yet Our Doing
 Personal and yet Ecclesial
The convergence of opposites”
(logic) a statement that contradicts itself
•
Ex. “Love-Hate” Relationship
Certain, Yet Obscure
Reasonable, yet beyond Reason
Free, Yet Morally Obliging
An Act, yet a Life Long Process
A Gift, but Our Doing
Personal, yet Ecclesial
An Act, yet a Life Long Process
A Gift, but Our Doing
Certain, Yet Obscure
Free, Yet Morally Obliging
Reasonable, yet beyond Reason
Personal, yet Ecclesial

Certain enough to die
for…
◦ Rev 12:11 And they have
conquered him by the
blood of the Lamb and by
the word of their
testimony, for they loved
not their lives even unto
death.

Yet a “mystery” because
like love, there is always
more to understand
about our faith
Faith
does not conflict
with reason.
Human beings have the
capacity to have faith
because they have the
ability to reason.
Yet,
natural reason is not
enough. We need God to
enlighten us!
Again Jesus spoke to
them, saying, "I am the
light of the world.
Whoever follows me will
not walk in darkness, but
will have the light of life."
(Joh 8:12)

The condition of being free; the power
to act or speak or think without
externally imposed restraints
 This
can mean our basic tendency
toward the good, the "voice
always summoning us to love the
good and avoid evil." CFC 701
 ...conscience acts as "the
proximate norm of personal
morality" (Veritatis Splendor 60)
for discerning good and evil (cf.
CCC 1796). CFC 701


Example: Mother and
Father Story
“You are meant to love
freely and yet you are
obliged to express that
love.”

Mt. 11: 25-27
 Mt.
11:25-27--At that time
Jesus said in reply, 14 "I give
praise to you, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, for although
you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the
childlike.

26 Yes, Father, such has been
your gracious will. 27 All things
have been handed over to me by
my Father. No one knows the Son
except the Father, and no one
knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son
wishes to reveal him.

28 15 "Come to me, all you who
labor and are burdened, 16 and I
will give you rest. 29 17 Take my
yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of
heart; and you will find rest for
your selves. 30 For my yoke is
easy, and my burden light."

Faith is an individual act that would
entail perseverance, i.e. a life long
process.

1Jn 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with
our eyes, which we looked upon and have
touched with our hands, concerning the word of
life (2) the life was made manifest, and we have
seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the
eternal life, which was with the Father and was
made manifest to us(3) that which we have seen
and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you
too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our
fellowship is with the Father and with his Son
Jesus Christ. (4) And we are writing these things
so that our joy may be complete.

1Jn 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with
our eyes, which we looked upon and have
touched with our hands, concerning the word of
life (2) the life was made manifest, and we have
seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the
eternal life, which was with the Father and was
made manifest to us(3) that which we have seen
and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you
too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our
fellowship is with the Father and with his Son
Jesus Christ. (4) And we are writing these things
so that our joy may be complete.

1Jn 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with
our eyes, which we looked upon and have
touched with our hands, concerning the word of
life (2) the life was made manifest, and we have
seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the
eternal life, which was with the Father and was
made manifest to us(3) that which we have seen
and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you
too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our
fellowship is with the Father and with his Son
Jesus Christ. (4) And we are writing these things
so that our joy may be complete.
◦ First, there is the question of whether
something exists or not.
◦ Second, there is the question of whether we
know it exists.
◦ Third, there is the question of whether we
have a reason for our knowledge.
◦ Fourth, there is the question of whether this
reason, if it exists, amounts to a proof.
◦ Fifth, if there is a proof, is it a scientific proof,
a proof by the scientific method, i.e., by
experiment, observation, and measurement?


Fourth, there is the question of
whether this reason, if it exists,
amounts to a proof.
Most reasons do not. Most of the
reasons we give for what we believe
amount to probabilities, not proofs.
Fifth, if there is a proof, is it a
scientific proof, a proof by the
scientific method, i.e., by experiment,
observation, and measurement?
 Philosophical proofs can be good
proofs, but they do not have to be
scientific proofs.

Can you prove God exists?
What does the bible say?
Gen. 1: 1-26
Rom. 1: 18-25
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was
upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was
moving over the face of the waters.
(Gen 1:1-2)
For what can be known about God is
plain to them, because God has shown it
to them. Ever since the creation of the
world his invisible nature, namely, his
eternal power and deity, has been clearly
perceived in the things that have been
made. So they are without excuse;
(Rom 1:19-20)
The
 The
 The
 The
 The

Argument
Argument
Argument
Argument
Argument
from
from
from
from
from
design
Motion
Existence
death
goodness

“ Brain Test”

…could the design that obviously now
exists in man and in the human brain
come from something with less or no
design? Such an explanation violates
the principle of causality, which states
that you can't get more in the effect
than you had in the cause. If there is
intelligence in the effect (man), there
must be intelligence in the cause..
Peter Kreeft , Argument of Design

And only where God is seen does life truly
begin. Only when we meet the living God in
Christ do we know what life is. We are not
some casual and meaningless product of
evolution. Each of us is the result of a
thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of
us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is
nothing more beautiful than to be surprised
by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ.
There is nothing more beautiful than to know
Him and to speak to others of our friendship
with Him.
Not an Accidernt
Willed
Loved
Necessary



Chris: Who started the Big Bang?
Sal: That’s not a scientific question
Chris: Exactly. And therefore science has
no answer to it. But religion does. It is
not a scientific question not because it is
not about the real world—it is– but
because science can’t answer a question
about God, Who’s outside the universe,
just by looking at the inside of the
universe

Debate Statement: God exists because
the universe exists.