Death, Dying, and Living Test 2

Retributive Justice

The type of justice in which good people are rewarded and evil people are punished

The problem is not the fact of suffering but its_________

Distribution

Theodicy

The problem of trying to reconcile God’s justice with the fact of unjust evil and suffering in the world.

Ex: How could a good God allow bad things to happen to good people

Superstition

The non-christian belief that bad luck as irrational causes

Ex: Magic

Explanation of Suffering: Punishment for sin

Suffering is God’s way of punishing us for our sins and wrong doings

Pain

Latin root — Poena (means punishment or penalty)

Original sin

tendency to choose evil over good

What are the two problems with the punishment for sin explanation

1.) God as judge

2.) Doesn’t account for the suffering of innocent people (Ex: Job)

Explanation for Suffering: Test of Faith

God is testing us to find out the quality of our faith and produce endurance

The idea that God uses suffering as a method of testing us is inadequate why?

• it implies that God is sadistic and cruel

• Implies that God is not omniscient

Omniscient

The ability of God to know everything - past, present, and future - God can read human hearts and know what we need before we say the words.

Explanation for Suffering: Form of Discipline

God send us suffering to teach us a lesson, to help us grow. Suffering purifies and strengthens, it enables us and brings us closer to God

Name the first reason that the argument “suffering is a form of discipline” fails

Some suffering can be a form of discipline and it can strengthen our character, suffering in itself is no guarantee that we will become better people.

Name the second reason that the argument “suffering is a form of discipline” fails

If suffering is a form of discipline then being virtuous would mean we should seek out suffering for it’s own sake. (not healthy, masochism, sadism)

Name the third reason that the argument “suffering is a form of discipline” fails

3.) These acts rejects God’s gift of health

• some people who suffer become crabby, vindictive, angry, selfish, and bitter.

What is suffering the consequence of

human sin

What are the six capital sins

Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth are the root causes of a lot of suffering in the world

What does Saint Augustine teach

Evil and suffering are the consequences of human freedom

• it exists so that we might be truly free

• it also underlines God’s freedom

• we are always free to choose how we will react to evil and unmerited suffering

Death is …

final

Why does suffering exist

so we can be free

Human evil and suffering also underlines God’s freedom

God is free to respond to us with underserved mercy , love, forgiveness and compassion

Evil and suffering are the consequences of human freedom

we must accept the consequences of our actions

Evil

not fully living

What do ability and suffering give God the ability to do

It gives God the ability to respond to us. Justice is the bare minimum of God’s possible responses.

He responds to us with underserved mercy.

This is so much more than justice

We CANNOT earn heaven, so what happens? How do we get to Heaven?

It is a GIFT from God.

BUT we have to choose it.

What is the example of the Suffering servant

God sent Jesus not to suffer and die but to save us

Jesus accepted his suffering and made it redemptive

The concept of SS was created during the Babylonian exile (a scapegoat)

(Jesus is our scapegoat)

What are the eight characteristics of discipleship

1.) Face problems rather than dodge them

2.) Keep close to the people you love

3.) Discover what you are really feeling

4.) Balance the ongoing problem with other parts of your life

5.) Be responsible for your own decisions

6.) Be true to your moral, religious, and spiritual beliefs

7.) Be proactive, not reactive, to your situation

8.) Maintain your sense of humor

Explain how our sense of retributive justice leads to the problem of theodicy

Retributive justice leads us to expect that wrongdoing deserves punishment and that innocent people should not suffer.

Socrates

(470-399 BCE)

• approached his death with calm, dignity and courage

• role model for Ars Moriendi…the art of dying

• “It is always better to die than to do evil”

Immortality from Socrates

continued existence beyond death

What is kangaroo court

a court with no process and ignores the standard rules of law and procedures

Describe Socrates death scene

He would go in public and ask people questions, forcing them to think.

He was undefeated in the debates.

Enemies accused him of corrupting the youth, he was then charged with the death penalty because of this

He was found guilt (the court was rigged)

He chose death by hemlock (poison)

He had chances to escape but refused to as a way of protecting his legacy after his death.

Martin Heidegger

(1889-1976)

• dying is the one thing no one can do for another; we all must die our own death

• death gives us a sense of individuality and uniqueness

• we define who we are and what our lives are to be, only in light of death

• as soon as we are born, we are old enough to die

• we are responsibility for dinsing meaning and purpose in our lives

Jean-Paul Sartre

(1905-1980)

• believed death is absurd

• soul is not immortal and after death there is only non being

• we cannot understand death or control it

• death prevents our completion, wholeness; it deprives us of our fully potential

• we must celebrate our days while we have them and engage in a daily effor to find meaning in life

Karl Jaspers

(1883-1969)

• defines death as the fulfillment of human life

• death is natural and belons to the cycle of nature

• we have no control over death

• life is a gift, death requires a leap of faith but this leap is not based on go or an after life but on understanding the nature of the material universe

After all the responses from the philosophers what is response two of death

• death is a way to end their suffering

Which societies view suicide as a noble thing

Roman, Japanese, Polynesia

Why did the Romans think that suicide was honorable

to save their family because of their mistake

Why did the Japanese think that suicide was honorable

kill your self with a knife slowly without making a noise because of their mistake (entrails are taken out to show the mess they made)

Polynesia

they go swimming against the water, drowning — the currents would bring it back in ( they had sweater patterns they wore for identification)

What did Saint Thomas Aquinas teach about suicide

• violates the instinct to love oneself and to preserve one’s own life

• it is an offense against society since it deprived society of one of its rightful members and ontrivuters

• it is as a crime against god who alone has the power to give and take away life

Response three of death

Altruistic Death

• a form of self-sacrifice on which an individual gives up their life for a noble cause, a sense of patriotic duty, or a religious duty

What did the church call those who had an altruistic death

A Martyr

Martyr

• a greek word that means “witness” one who is voluntary dies for their faith or some Christian principle

What is death the ultimate expression of

Love; it is a way to express belief in a noble cause or deal, a way of sacrificing oneself for others

What belief about death marks a radical difference between Christianity and Judaism

Death as the beginning of new life

In terms of death, how does the O.T transition into the N.T

Belief in the Messiah to free from sins and the evil of death

What do Jews believe about death

there is no afterlife

What does Jesus return as

The judge of the living and the dead

How has TV and movies affected people reactions to suffering and death

It has numbed us.

It is hard to not view real-life suffering or death as fiction.

People turn to high risk activities to cure their boredom- money and thrill are motivations

Why do christians view suicide as wrong

It violates the instinct to love oneself and preserve one’s own life.

An offense against society since it deprives the community of one of its rightful members and contributors.
A crime against God, he is the only person who has the power to give and take life

What are the warning signs that a person may be considering suicide

• Mood swings

• Ongoing Depression

• Withdrawal from social activities

• Changes in habits

• Changes in sleep patterns

• Increased Alcohol or drugs

• Less concern for personal safety

• Statements like “I wish I were dead”

• Giving important possessions away

• Obsession with death, heaven, hell, or drawings about death

How does Altruistic death differ from suicide

Suicide is intentional killing of oneself while altruistic death is a form of self-sacrifice where a person gives up their life for a noble cause

Why was Jesus’ death so difficult for the apostles

Because they believed he was the Messiah and expected him to live forever.
His death was humiliating and painful

They felt disappointed thinking they had believed in him in vain

How did the resurrection of Jesus shape our christian response to death

For those who have faith in Jesus, death is just a passage to everlasting life and the fullness of the new life they had already begun to experience here.

We shall pass through death to new life

Describe Maximilian Kolbe

(1894-1941)

Gave up his life to take the place of someone being killed in one of the concentration camps.

viewed death not as a final defeat or a senseless tragedy, but as the ultimate act of self-giving love, a sacrifice modeled after Chris

Describe Jean Donovan

(1953-1980)

viewed death not as something to be reckless about, but as a known, terrifying risk that she chose to accept out of love for the vulnerable

chose to carry one in the hope she would save more children that are in need of her help eventually getting killed in the process (El Salvador)

Describe Oscar Komero

(1917-1980)

rejected the idea that death was an absolute end (resurrection)

risked getting hurt himself to help his community, felt it was part of his job as a minister

What is response four

Death as the beginning of new life

• death as the beginning of new life marks one of the radical differences between Christianity and traditional judaism

• O.T transition to the N.T

• - Belief in messiah to free from sins and the evil of death

Liminal

• a passageway leading to somewhere else

• periods of major change where you leave one stage of life behind but have not fully entered the next

• Ex: Childhood → Adulthood