Week 23: Homework

Sorry for posting this so late!

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapters 27 of Theology and Sanity, “Habituation to Man”—pp. 371-382.

Questions:

1. In what way is man extraordinary, according to Sheed? (pp.372-3)
2. Why is all the excitement of our universe centered in man? (p.373)
3. List the two pairs of facts that Sheed says summarize the truth about all men. (p.374)
4. What is never lost in the Church’s fellowship? (Hint: Who is never lost?) (p. 374)
5. How do Protestantism and Secularism deal with the facts from question 3 above? (pp. 374-5)
6. What does Sheed mean when he says “the only home left for personality is the Church? (p. 375)
7. What does it mean to say “man is a union of spirit and matter”? Why is it not enough to simply know the definition of man? (pp. 377-9)
8. How does the conflict between rationality and animality lead to perversion and depravity, which we wrongly call “animal”? (p.381)
9. Why should we not judge others? (p.381)

Reflection Questions:

1. Writing about the uniqueness of man, C.S. Lewis once said that “we have never met a mere mortal”. If that’s true, how might that affect the way we interact with others? The way we treat ourselves?
2. What are some of the cultural/political/technological ramifications of a belief in the uniqueness of mankind and of each individual? Is it an accident that the Christian West produced hospitals, universities, and democratic states?

Week 22: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapters 26 of Theology and Sanity, “Habituation to Reality”—pp. 361-370.

Questions:

1. What does Sheed mean when he says that “the facts of religion are not simply facts of religion, but facts”? (p. 361)
2. What is the context of our religion? (Who are the actors and what are the events in our story?) (p.362)
3. What are the three possible relationships we can have towards reality? (p.362)
4. What danger confronts theologians who study elements so far beyond the reach of daily experience? Why must we study creation? (p.364-5)
5. Explain this statement: “The more is means to us, the richer our knowledge of God.” (p.365)
6. How can poets help us see God in creation? (p.368)

Reflection Questions:

1. Re-read section iii on pages 366 and 367. Sheed says that our knowledge of God is enriched by study the created universe; it is a way that God communicates with us. He also says that a much of this enrichment will be spontaneous and unmeditated. If this is true, how might it affect the way we see our work and our hobbies?

Week 21: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapters 24-25 of Theology and Sanity, “Life after Death” and “The End of the World”—pp. 336-358.

Questions:

1. What are the three “states” we can be in at any given time in our lives/at the end of our lives? (p. 336)
2. Why does Sheed speak of the “formidable finality of death”? Why is death final if the soul lives on? (p.335)
   
3. What, according to Sheed, are the two categories that all of our choices are ultimately between? (p. 338)
   
4. Define mortal and venial sin. (p. 338)
   
5. Why can’t the soul of someone who is separated from God go to Him after death? Who sends people to hell? How do we know that hell is not a contradiction of God’s love? (p. 340-1).
   
6. What is the cure for self-love that we find in purgatory? (p. 342)
   
7. Define Beatific Vision. (p.343)
   
8. How can the happiness of heaven be total, but not equal, for all? (343-4)
   
9. How can the saints be more with us in heaven than our neighbors on earth? (p.347)
   
10. Who will be saved from worshipping the Anti-Christ? How? (p. 352)
    
11. When will we have our bodies restored to us after death? Why will we have bodies in heaven? (p. 356)

Reflection Questions:

1. Americans seem to be flippant about hell. People will casually condemn someone who cuts them off in traffic or joke about partying with sinners in an infernal after life. But, if we really thought about what hell means, would we ever joke about it or wish it upon our worst enemies?

The Distributist Review

This is a very informative blog about Distributism, an economic philosophy promoted by G.K. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc. They've put out a request for new readers and I thought you might be interested.

The Distributist Review: A Request To Our Readers