Unit 1 Vocabulary:

  1. Transcendental- The belief that we have a deep desire to know that which is perfect and unconditional

  2. Transphysical soul-  The immortal soul

  3. Numinous experience- a surreal experience

  4. Near-death experience- when a person’s soul and body separate and they go to a place where they can see dead relatives or tunnels and stuff, but then their soul and body unite again

  5. Terminal lucidity

  • is when someone who has not recognized their families and friends for a long time (Alzheimer's, dementia) suddenly remembers them

  1. Conscience- is our awareness of what is good or not

Unit 1 Concepts:

  1. Five transcendental desires-(name them and describe what they are and how they point to a trans physical soul)

  • Perfect Goodness/Justice- Perfect fairness

  • Perfect love- willing the good for someone without limitations

  • Perfect Truth- perfect understanding of reality

  • Perfect Beauty- non-physical characteristics

  • Perfect Being/Home- Perfect contentment with the world around you

  1. Near-death experiences- 

  1.  When a person’s soul and body separate and they go to a place where they can see dead relatives or tunnels and stuff, but then their soul and body unite again

  2. Studies of the  Blind: They can see

  3. After people have had a near-death experience, they no longer have a sense of death anxiety

  4. People meet the deceased relatives

  5. A tunnel of light

Unit 2 Vocabulary:

  1. Empirical evidence- Things are known through experimentation or observation

  2. Rational evidence- Things are known through the use of reason and logic

  3. Theological evidence- A thing is known through faith

  4. Agnosticism- Lack of firm belief of whether God exists or not

  5. Rationalism- when you rationalize something away

  6. Law of Non-Contradiction- Something cannot and can be somewhere at the same time and the same way

  7. Big Bang Theory (as it relates to proving God’s existence)- There has to be an ultimate creator 

  8. Ontology- Study of being

Unit 2 Concepts:

  1. Aquinas’s Proofs for the Existence of God-know all 5-

  • Unmoved Mover( there has to be a mover), Uncaused Causer( there has to be an ultimate cause for everything), Necessary Being(, Gradation, Argument from Design (order not chance)

  1. Reasons why people wrestle with believing in God

  • Experience suffering, no father figure, the way they grew up

  1. How faith and reason support one another in proving God’s existence

  • They need each other because we can only reason so far until we need faith

  1. Contemporary science as proof of the existence of God

-Near Death Experience

  • Big bang Theory

  • Thermal Xray

  • St. Anselm’s Argument for the Existence of God

  • The concept of God as the greatest being implies that God must exist because existence in reality is greater than existence only in the mind.

Part two (Units 3-4) 

  1. Describe three non-Christian historical writings that point to the authenticity of Jesus' miracles. (10/20)

  • Tacitus (c. 56–120 AD

    • Refers to the execution of "Christus" under Pilate, indirectly supporting Jesus' historical existence and miraculous reputation.

  • Josephus (c. 37–100 AD)

    • Mentions Jesus as a wise man who performed "wondrous works," indicating belief in His miracles.

The Babylonian Talmud (c. 200–500 AD)

Ancient Jewish writings

  1. What are the four criteria the Church uses to approve a Marian apparition?

  • Must align with Catholic teaching.

  • The individuals must be credible and morally upright.

  • Leads to increased faith, prayer, and conversion.

  • Evidence of supernatural occurrences.

  1. Describe the following Marian apparitions, including who was involved and specific events that happened:

    1. Our Lady of Guadalupe

  • On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego, an Aztec peasant, , when he heard music, Juan Diego, an Aztec peasant, was on his way to mass

  • Mary asked him to have a shrine built on Tepeyac Hill outside of Mexico City when he asked the bishop, the bishop did not believe him until he came back with proof

  • Our Lady of Guadalupe asked Juan Diego to return to the bishop with roses that she caused to grow from the frozen ground.  He placed these roses in his tilma, and when Juan Diego returned to the bishop to deliver the roses, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was on the tilma. Of course, the bishop ultimately decided this was a sign, and he built the shrine.

  1. Our Lady of Lourdes (France)

  • On February 11, 1858, Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous who was 14 years old.

  • Our Lady appeared wearing all white with a blue sash and appeared to Bernadette several times between February and June.

  •  A water spring flowed from the grotto, and several miracles were chronicled.

  • By 1905, the Lourdes Bureau had recorded 70 miracles/cures.

  1. Our Lady of Fatima

  • In the spring of 1916, three children from a small Portuguese village were first visited by an angel and later by the Blessed Mother. 

  • For about one year, Mary requested that the children pray the rosary to end WW1.  Mary promised the children that on October 13, 1917, an extraordinary miracle would take place.  On that day, about 50,000+ people gathered in the pouring rain to see if a miracle would take place. 

  • The sun appeared to be rotating on its axis while throwing out random colors. Then, the sun appeared to be speeding toward the Earth, and people fell to the ground thinking the world was ending.

  • The sun quickly returned to its normal state, and immediately, both the people gathered, and the drenched ground was completely dry.

  1. What is a Eucharistic miracle?

  • Eucharistic miracles are extraordinary interventions meant to confirm faith in the real presence of the Lord's body and blood in the Eucharist.

  • Transubstantiation- passage of substance

  1. Describe a famous example of a Eucharistic miracle.

  • Lanciano, a priest, was doubting Jesus and then the host started to bleed 

  1. What are the patterns found throughout the sites of Eucharistic miracles? 

  • Type AB Blood

  • From the heart

  • A Distressed heart

  1. What is the Shroud of Turin?

  • The burial cloth of Jesus

  1. How are Eucharistic miracles related to the Shroud of Turin?

  • Also, type AB blood within the fibers

  1. How can science be used to prove the legitimacy of Eucharistic miracles?

  • Scientists have done blood samples, DNA testing, and a  thermal xray 

Unit 4:

  1. What are four unique aspects in which Jesus changed the history of religion?

  • Agape love- unconditional love 

  • They called him Abba-Dada

  • God  is always merciful and desires a relationship

  • Moral law that is established

  1. In what ways does Jesus model how we should think about God, the Father?

  • He shows that God is love

  • He models how we should think about the Father

  1. How does the story of the prodigal son reflect the love of God, the Father?

  • He’s always there and waiting and it shows he is merciful 

  1. What are three common misconceptions people have about God?

  1. God is vengeful: People sometimes see God as mainly a judge, but He is loving and merciful.

  2. God is distant: God is deeply involved in our lives, as shown by Jesus’ personal relationship with His followers.

  3. God only loves the righteous: God loves all people, even in their imperfections.