Iveth Franco Book Summary The book “The Bridge of Saint Luis Rey”, tells the story of the unfortunate event that happened on Friday July 20th, 1714 at noon. The finest bridge in Peru made of Inca rope collapse bringing five people to their death. Franciscan, Brother Juniper, witnessed the event and made his life work to investigate the lives of the five dead. He was hopeful that he would be able to answer as to why those five people where at that place at that time and why had they been the ones to plummet to their death. Brother Juniper thought it would be a good opportunity to apply theology in the exact sciences, this event provided a control and subject group. He investigated for six years and was determined to know everything about them. …show more content…
One of the first readings we did was the Book of Job, in this book one of Job’s friends argues that job’s suffering was as a result of his sins. This coincide with the theodicy mentioned by Camila Perichole, she believed that her suffering, her disfigurement, her son’s illness and the death of her son and Uncle Pio, was a calling from God because all her sins. Likewise, the same theodicy is presented by Doña Maria; she says that she feels that she has antagonized God, thus suggesting that her suffering and subsequent premature dead was because of …show more content…
Converts “believe that their pains were inserted into their lives for their own good” (Pag. 8). The nuns at the Abbess’s convent believe that their suffering and misery had a purpose, which it was worth living through. This correlates with what we read in Against Heresies and in The Irenaean Theodicy in Encountering Evil’s article by John Hicks. Hicks suggested humans are created as morally and spiritually immatures creatures. Consequently, natural evil and moral evil exist and have a purpose because are necessary in the process to become perfected finite beings. But in many occasions, humans are unable to reach such stage of perfection. Therefore, it is necessary to think about it eschatologically, as the nuns believed, their misery would be worth it at the end. The main theme of the book is Brother Juniper’s question about theodicy, whether our lives are predetermined, or it is a convergence of random factors. Brother Juniper says, “Either we live by accident and die by accident” (Pag. 7). The concept of free will is presented, humans can take decisions without any external influences, therefore the results of those decisions are one’s own responsibility. This is an aspect of the theodicy we read in the article written by Stephen Davis. Evil and suffering are the result of human’s free will, but all suffering will be redeemed by
The belief in fate or free will shapes the way a person lives their life. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle and Chloe Benjamin’s The Immortalists, many incidents cause the characters to question their destinies. Through the psychoanalytical lens, the characters in both novels challenge their fate and free will in response to negative events that impact their lives. The characters reevaluate their belief systems as they experience loss, death, and change.
The study of religion is often a rigorous process because the central tenets of the subject: image, ritual, and myth are often copious in their complexity. For example, consider the multiple meanings that are inherent in the image of a crucifix. Some Christians might view it as an image of suffering, whilst others would reject that notion and instead perceive it to be one of love. These differences may seem inconsequential at first, but they can overtime shape the beliefs of an individual and by extension a community. To understand this dynamic better one only has to analyze the Christo Aparecido (Christ Appeared), an authentic Mexican crucifix with a fascinating history from the colonial era to the present. This history is made known by the text, Biography of a Mexican Crucifix: Lived Religion and Local Faith from the Conquest to the Present by Jennifer Hughes, from which I contend that over the life of the Christo Aparecido there continues to be an understanding among devotees that this crucifix is sacred because it displays animus while being a vestige for the sacred to occupy. To support my position I will attempt to relate the moments where the Christo Aparecido is said to show signs of life, in particular his stay in Mexico City during the colonial era and his role in more modern times with rival groups clashing over its efficacy in the village of Totolapan.
After reviewing the work of David Hume, the idea of a God existing in a world filled with so much pain and suffering is not so hard to understand. Humes’ work highlights some interesting points which allowed me to reach the conclusion that suffering is perhaps a part of God’s divine plan for humans. Our morals and values allow us to operate and live our daily lives in conjunction with a set of standards that help us to better understand our world around us and essentially allows us to better prepare for the potential life after life. For each and every day we get closer to our impending deaths and possibly closer to meeting the grand orchestrator of our universe.
In respect to the arguments of Ayer and Holbach, the dilemma of determinism and its compatibility with that of free will are found to be in question. Holbach makes a strong case for hard determinism in his System of Nature, in which he defines determinism to be a doctrine that everything and most importantly human actions are caused, and it follows that we are not free and therefore haven’t any moral responsibility in regard to our actions. For Ayer, a compatibilist believing that free will is compatible with determinism, it is the reconciliation and dissolution of the problem of determinism and moral responsibility with free willing that is argued. Ayer believes that this problem can be dissolved by the clarification of language usage and the clarification of what freedom is in relationship to those things that oppose freedom or restrain it. In either case, what is at stake is the free will of an agent, and whether or not that agent is morally responsible. What is to be seen from a discussion of these arguments is the applicability and validity of these two philosophies to situations where one must make a choice, and whether or not that person is acting freely and is thus responsible given his current situation. In this vein, the case of Socrates’ imprisonment and whether or not he acted freely in respect to his decision to leave or stay in prison can be evaluated by the discussion of the arguments presented in respect to the nature of free will in its reconciliation with determinism in the compatibilist vein and its absence in the causality of hard determinism.
The theme of this novel is to look at the good you do in life and how it carries over after your death. The moral of the book is; "People can make changes in their lives whenever they really want to, even right up to the end."
Summary: In chapter eight of Problems from Philosophy, author James Rachels explores the topic of free will. He begins the chapter by discussing a crime that consisted of two teenage boys murdering a boy simply to prove that they were capable of committing such an act. The lawyer of these two boys was a man named Clarence Darrow, who held the belief that crimes did not exist. In other words, he felt that people should not be faulted upon what they cannot control. He then described the childhood of one of the murderers by stating that did not receive adequate attention and affection. Darrow also described one of them as having an antisocial personality disorder. He utilized
In this essay, I will explore the concept of free will by drawing a correlation to determinism and analyse if free will is dictated for us. I will argue that the future is
has an idea in his intellect that there is a way to be Italian looking
As the movie goes on we learn that these unsuspected souls were never supposed to evade death, as death approaches them one by one, until fate successfully completes its cycle. This essay explores many theories regarding free will and determinism. Philosophers beg the question, whether choices can be made in our lives, or whether every move we make and do, are destined to happen. This essay will analyse hard determinism, s...
In this essay I am going to briefly tell you what Judaism says about the concept of suffering and then I?m going to attempt explaining the two main explanations!
These arguments made by Berish and Job boil down to the question the theodicy, “why do good people suffer? Where is God in all this? Where is justice” (Fox 173). Elie Wiesel provides an answer that parallels once again with the book of Job. Embodied in the character of Sam, who claims that suffering is, “all because of our sins” (Wiesel 134). Similarly Jobs friends give a similar answer to the theodicy question by saying, “Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same” (Job 4:7). The answer to the theodicy question in t The Trial of God is that suffering occurs because of the sins committed by individuals.
He has an especially hard time with the death of Narciso, as his “rage and protest filled [him]. [He] wanted to cry out into the storm that it was not fair that Narciso die for doing good” (Anaya 178). The unjust deaths push Antonio to search even harder for the answers for his philosophical questions, now that people are in danger. Antonio’s Road of Trials is heroic because it demonstrates how pain and loss threaten to overtake him, but he bravely refuses to back down. Although he is always trying to understand new beliefs, the Goddess, the Virgin Mary, remains in the most special part of Antonio’s heart. She represents Meeting the Goddess, as Antonio is now seeing her through mature eyes: “I fastened my eyes on the statue of the Virgin until I thought that I was looking at a real person, the mother of God, the last relief of all sinners” (Anaya 47). As he begins to discover the meaning in both his old and new beliefs, he begins to accept his spiritual questions. By understanding the fact that they cannot always be simply answered, he enters his Apotheosis and ascends as he achieves wisdom and
One of the most unique qualities that make humankind superior to animals and all known life forms is its consciousness and its free will. To make an argument about free will, free will must be defined by the parameters on which it exists. The values of good and evil will then be discussed on the definition of free will. In On Free Choice of the Will, by Augustine, translated by Thomas Williams, an important argument about free will and its relationship to how humans interact and its relationship to evil is discussed between two characters, Evodius and Augutine. The logical conclusions that the two characters come to about free will is reflected in other historical text such as Doctor Faustus, written by Christopher Marlowe. Augustine and Marlowe both clearly illustrate that evil is caused by free will.
The author is Rick Warren, who is considered to be “America’s most influential spiritual leader”. He writes that our life begins with God, and it is He who directs our lives. As we search for the purpose of our existence we should seek spiritual guidance and listen to the small voice we have within. I have read the book, and although I don’t agree with everything he says, it is a valuable read for those who are lost in their own existence and searching for inner self-awareness and assurance. Many of us feel as if we are accidents and resent the trials and tribulations we go through. Rather, we should seek the lesson to be learned from our struggles, and overcome. We are not accidents; in fact, our lives are much more than that. Whether parents planned for us or not it was in God’s
Are our lives only a set out plan controlled by fate? Do our choices and our actions determine our futures? What is the defining factors that affect the course of our existence on Earth? These are all questions that have afflicted society for centuries. As actor William Shatner once said, “The conundrum of free will and destiny has always kept me dangling.” Previously, this debate has been present mainly in the theological world between different religious denominations. However, recently this examination has moved to the secular universe. I am of the belief that we can live our lives with free will over our actions because of my ideas on humanity, my views on life, my understanding of reason, and my belief that there is a Creator.