Sunday, December 7, 2008

A Simple Question

With this being the last day to post on the blog and classes officially ending last Wednesday, perhaps as many of you are as checked-out as I am, or feel like. So instead of asking a deeply, philosophically/theologically-penetrating question about the nature/character/conception of God, I figured I would boil down the whole semester's worth of classes into one simple question: What was your favorite reading? Which one stuck with you after reading it? Which one seemed to open up things and made you see things differently? Or, simply, did none of the readings impress you? Of course, it's boiled down to sound like a one-response sort of answer will do, but feel free to expound on your enlightenment.

A few of my favorite readings:

The Dalai Lama's argument for "Interreligious Harmony" - it seemed to me he was able to eloquently craft a response to both pluralism and exclusivism.

John Hick's "Soul-Making Theodicy" - I thought the concept of a type of moral evolution was interesting, considering modern religion's aversion to even the word "evolution."

C. Wade Savage's explanation of the "Paradox of the Stone" - this was probably my favorite discussion in class because I was able to walk away with an "answer" to the paradox, which left me feeling quite philosophically smug.

So, what would your re-cap sound like?

2 comments:

jeff said...

John Hick's "A Soul-Making Theodicy" was easily my favorite reading of the semester. Personally, I am a strong believer in science and evolution, but I do not see enough evidence against God to classify myself as an agnostic or atheist. So an essay that could bridge the gap between evolution and provide a reasonable explanation for evil and an all-good God was refreshing. I also saw a connection that he didn't specifically point out. He states that humans are being challenged to become better and know God, and this idea seems in line with a world that seems to "challenge" species to become better (evolution, or more the survival of the fittest mentality).

Cash said...

i think my favorite was the Tim Keller article. I've read a lot by him in the past and like not only his writing style but what he's got to say