Understanding Human Suffering and Faith in God
Understanding Human Suffering and Faith
Evil and pain are among the most puzzling of human experiences. Any protest of meaning for life should be approached from this dimension. Some ills come from our status as beings of nature. Nature has its laws, and we are subject to them. Similarly, the natural biological cycle ends in death. However, other types of suffering are caused by evil people, evil that sometimes nests in the human heart.
Jesus’ Experience of Pain and Suffering
Jesus faced these realities
Read MorePower Ministry: The Holy Spirit in Action
What Mandate Did Christ Give the Church?
To evangelize all nations.
Advancing Christ’s Kingdom
The only way to advance Christ’s kingdom is by applying force against force. God’s primary force is the power of the Holy Spirit in operation through the Church.
Reasons Why Power Ministry Is Essential Today
- We are involved in a war.
- The enemy has power.
- The task is great.
- Power ministry works.
Elijah’s Contest with the Prophets of Baal
God sent fire from heaven to consume the water-soaked sacrifice to show that
Read MoreNietzsche’s Critique: Re-evaluating Western Culture and Values
Nietzsche’s Critique: Re-evaluating Western Culture
Nietzsche critiques Western culture as decadent, betraying life’s values. He proposes an improvement on traditional values to produce true human liberation.
Critique of Morality
Nietzsche deeply criticizes Western culture, particularly Platonism, for its unnaturalness. He considers it the biggest mistake, prioritizing ideas located beyond everyday life and denying the real man. Morality creates slaves and masters throughout history, culminating in
Read MoreMedieval Church: Reform, Schisms, and Culture
Reform and Monastic Orders
Reform was necessary because the monasteries fell into abuse of power. Significantly enriched, abbots became feudal lords.
The Abbey of Cluny
His monks began to restore the great principles of the Rule of St. Benedict. Cluny became independent of temporal power and overhauled the customs that had been made in monasteries. Monasteries dependent on Cluny spread across Europe, bringing with them Romanesque art.
The Cistercian Abbey of Cîteaux
The monks of Cluny also fell into
Read MoreBrother in Christ & Punishment: Activities & Reflections
Brother in Christ
Objective
To show that God is present in all.
Participants: Indefinite.
Estimated Time: 20 minutes.
Material: A cross with Christ on it, large enough to clearly define the parts of the body.
Description:
The organizer asks for participants to form a line or circle, where each one is beside another.
The leader motivates people by saying, “Now you will kiss Christ on the part that you think He speaks most to you, the part where He most showed His love for you.”
NOTE: You cannot repeat where
Thomistic Philosophy: Reality, Existence, and God
The Creation of the World and Thomistic Philosophy
Thomistic theory adopts concepts from the Aristotelian theory of reality. However, a central problem in Christian philosophy arises from the religious belief that the world was created by God *ex nihilo* (from nothing). The world, therefore, transforms from something eternal and without origin to something created in time, a result of God’s free will. St. Thomas Aquinas concludes that in creatures, one can distinguish between *essence* and *existence*
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