GB Favor for the ACDA festival

On November 12, I was able to attend the ACDA festival at Frazer UMC. I got to the church at 1:45 and stayed until 3:10. During my time at the festival I was able to hear several performances, and among these performers was our very own Faulkner University chorus. The whole experience was very meditative. There is something about hearing harmonious praises sung to God that soothes the mind and soul. I personally loved our Faulkner chorus the most, and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to experience the God-given talents of so many young men and women at the ACDA festival.

GB Favor Seminar

What I got from this seminar is that the books are not difficult, they are timeless and timely, enabling of listening skills, and capable of expanding horizons. Why we can read the Great Books can include for pleasure, joy, leisure, education, and to assist in cultivating various virtues. Great readers become great readers at whim and by reading because it delights them. We should read as a person of charity and graciousness. We should read actively, read what our favorite authors have read, and give deep attention to our readings. There are only few who read passionately, several who read moderately and many who read poorly. We should strive to be excellent in reading.

Interpretive Essay Week 3

How Can You Know For Sure?

            Descartes’ A Discourse on Method focuses heavily on the idea that reason is superior to faith. In the book we find that Descartes is trying to discover truth and in doing so he also discovers what is morally true. Descartes realizes that before he can begin to argue what is true he must argue what is real. Therefore, he questions himself and his own existence, making sure that he himself is real. By questioning his own reality, Descartes makes the famous quote, “I am thinking, therefore I exist.” (p. 29) The quote brings the reader to the realization that in order to think one must be real because without thought there would be no consciousness of reality or what people perceive to be reality. If what is true can be known using The Method, then Descartes is also able to discern what is morally true using The Method.

            In order to discover what makes Descartes’ findings true, we must first look at his method of knowing what is true. Descartes has a four-step process that he follows to make his conclusions with. The first step is the “step of facts” as some might say. The first step is to, “never accept anything as true that he did not incontrovertiblyknow to be so.” (p. 17) What Descartes is trying to accomplish by the previous statement is avoiding all prejudice and premature conclusions (p. 17), and to include nothing in his judgments other than which has made itself so clear and distinct that he would have no reason or logical, reasonable chance to doubt it. For example, 2+2=4. There is no doubt associated with the mathematical fact, and that is what Descartes is trying to convey to the reader.

            The second step is mostly a “problem solving step.” In this step Descartes’ goal is to, “divide all the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as many as were required to solve them in the best way.” (p.17) An example of this step is when a person is trying to make an outline for a paper. They find themselves faced with the problem of writing a paper, so they divide the paper into as many sections as possible to give themselves the best solution possible for making a good grade.

            Some might call the third step the “step of order.” Descartes’ primary focus in this step is to, “conduct his thoughts in a given order, beginning with the simplestand most easily understood objects, and gradually ascending, as it were step by step, to the knowledge of the most complex; and positing an order even on those which do not have natural order of precedence.” (p.17) An example of this step would be a staircase. Each step has its purpose, which is to provide a place to stand or step. Each step has its own place. And each step has its own order, which is one after the other.

            Step four could be called the “big picture step.” Descartes describes the fourth and final step as being one in which he “was to undertake such complete enumerations and such general surveys that I would be sure to have left nothing out.” (p. 17) an example of the fourth step is the God’s point of view. God can see the whole of life and has a very broad perspective because He sees the past, the present, and the future, not just the present.

            The search for truth begins with Descartes knowing that truth exists because of his statement. If one has the ability to think and think about themselves thinking, then they can know that they are in at least some form of reality. Descartes argues that there is nothing true about the statement other than the fact that it is very clear that in order to think one must exist (p. 29). From this realization, Descartes concluded that almost anything that is clear and distinct are true, but that it can be very hard to be able to identify what we conceive to be distinct (p. 29).

            The search for moral truth begins when Descartes decides to look for the source from which he had learned to think of something more perfect than himself. Realizing that the source was himself, he then came to the incontrovertible realization that because he was the source that there must be a nature that was more perfect than him (p.29). The realization that there must be a nature that is superior or more perfect than the human nature would naturally point to the idea of God because it is inherently known that if man was made by a Creator that the capacity of the Creator must be greater than that of the man because the man is capable of only what the Creator has allowed him to be capable of. Also, the man is not equal to the Creator because the man does not inherently know without thought that he exists and because he realizes that there exists a nature that is more perfect than himself.

            “I am thinking, therefore I exist” has shown Descartes that he can be incontrovertibly certain that he exists. From this Descartes can also know that anything that is clear and distinct is most likely true. Descartes then realizes that he is the source of knowing that there is something more perfect than himself. The realization of this knowledge leads him to know that there has to be a nature more perfect than his own, and this nature could belong to none other than what we know to be God. In conclusion, objective morality can be found from finding objective truth using The Method.

Works Cited

Descartes, René, and Ian Maclean. A Discourse On The Method Of Correctly Conducting One's Reason And Seeking Truth In The Sciences. Oxford University Press, 2008.

The Restless Rebel

The Restless Rebel

            Dante’s Inferno is a beautiful and poetic description of the nature of sin and the consequences thereof. In our journey through Inferno we see the incontinent, the violent, and the fraudulent. While some sins are considered greater than others and therefore more deserving of harsher punishment, we see a clear picture of how every sin reflects rebellion against God. This rebellion farther separates the residents of hell from God according to the sin that characterized their life. As we go farther down into the pit of hell and see the one rebelled first, we see the worst sin of all, betrayal. It is at this point in the story that the reader can truly see how rebellion traps us and can separate us farthest from perfect Love.

            As Dante and Virgil pass the Giant’s Well and arrive at the top of the bottom of hell, also known as Judecca, they notice that “the shades are all covered up in ice, and clearly seen, like wisps of straw in glass.” (34.11-12). Judecca is where all traitors and benefactors are punished. As Virgil and Dante continue walking in the formidable and icy home of “the creature who once had the lovely face,” (34.18) they keep their eyes open for “the emperor of the reign of misery.” (34.28). When the two walked far enough down the path to be able to see the father of lies, Virgil stops Dante to behold the devil in all his fullness. Beelzebub had three heads each chewing the three greatest traitors known to man, Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius. He had matted hair going down his huge body, and he was trapped in ice. His black, scaled wings were continuously flapping and turning Cocytus to ice, and he was crying to be set free.

            Satan’s helpless and defeated state paints a clear picture of the unavoidable justice of God. Satan is found in a situation where his rebellion has not only landed him at the center of the earth, but his rebellion is keeping him there too. The devil’s feet are trapped in ice and have prevented him from being able to leave hell no matter how hard he tries. The center of the earth is the farthest point from God there is. This extreme separation from God explains the frigid and iced over setting of this part of hell, and the devil’s constant flapping is why this part of hell remains iced over. The wind generated from his huge wings makes it impossible for the ice to thaw out. God has placed the devil at the center of the earth where he is trapped because of his betrayal. Therefore, as the first rebel, Satan’s ultimate goal is the go against the judgment of God. If the devil stopped resisting and let the ice thaw, then he would be giving into God’s sovereignty because the devil has resisted God at every turn since his fall. If the devil gave in now he would be in submission. This is closely related to the fact that Satan resists God’s victory over sin and the grave by trying to lead people astray. Similarly, the devil resists God even though he knows that he cannot be freed from the center of the earth unless he stops flapping his wings.

            After we see Satan in his steadfastness to resist God, we see clearly that all sin no matter how offensive is direct rebellion against God. We see the levels of hell and the people that reside in them, and from this we can measure the rebellion of their hearts. It makes sense that the incontinent would be the closest to God as compared to the violent and fraudulent. The incontinent encompassed those who struggled to control themselves. One could argue that the incontinent rebelled against God, but not with less desire for rebellion in their hearts. An example of this is found in the residents of Limbo. Limbo was home, in part, to the righteous pagans. The pagans were not desiring to sin or rebel against any higher power according to the moral code that characterized their lives. In fact, many of their works would lead one to suspect that they were trying to find a higher power. The violent would come after the incontinent given that they were either violent to their neighbor, oneself, or God. If they were violent towards their neighbor, they would be rebelling against God’s commandment to love one another. If they were violent towards themselves, they would be rebelling against God’s temple. If they were violent towards God, they would be rebelling against perfect Love. The fraudulent would be last because their lives are not only characterized by all the sins of incontinence and violence, but they also have forsaken any moral code because natural law informs everyone that it is wrong to lie or steal. The fraudulent have completely and deliberately rebelled against justice and goodness and are deserving of a harsher punishment. Satan would be found below any of the sinners because he was the one who led man astray in the beginning. If it had not been for Satan’s rebellion sin would not exist.

As we can see, all sin whether incontinence, violence, or fraud is characterized by rebellion against perfect Love. This is ironic given that much of sin, especially the sins discussed in Inferno, can be traced back to worldly love or passion. As we went further into this piece of art we saw the consequences that sin brings about. Dante presents a unique perspective on separation from God and the punishment of sin through Inferno. We should use poetic masterpieces like Inferno to help us remember that sin is deadly, and that no matter how long we can run with sin God will eventually cut down the rebels.

Natural Law

I liked that Dr. Gregg pointed out that natural law is found in everyone. No one accepts people murdering innocent people because everyone knows that it is wrong. In every society today murder of the innocent is considered to be evil, and no one can change it. He made an interesting point when he started to talk about someone taking the life of someone who is in pain. This was interesting because of each person’s innate sense of value that is put on human life. This is proof for his point that natural law is just like gravity, it is something that can be proven but not explained. The only question that I would raise based on the arguments that were made would be: based on the fact that natural law would put the same value on life in each person’s mind, then why were there societies that put zero value on the life of a slave?

Creative Essay The Big Why

The Big Why

            I was dreading the new semester of school coming up right after Christmas break. I was going to be enrolled in Biology 2, Precalculus, Great Book 2, and playing a sport. Not to mention jamboree. I could not bear the thought of all the homework, practice, and workouts that I would be dealing with. It seemed as if my life was about to go into maximum overdrive like the Olympics or the Iron Bowl. How was I going to have any free time after workouts, practice, ad studying for my friends, family, and falling asleep with Dorito crumbs around my mouth? Could this be the end of life as I knew it?

            As I was having all of these thoughts swarm my brain at once, I heard a projecting heroic voice call out to me from a distance. The voice called out “Stephen! Why do you look so downtrodden? Why do you look so spent and discouraged?” As the voice approached me and I was able to make out a figure to associate with the noise, I saw that the mysterious inquirer was none other than Perseverance. He was clothed in an AC/DC shirt and always carried a super cool surf green Fender Telecaster guitar around with him. When Perseverance approached me sitting on a one of the rings of Saturn, he told me of the difficult times that he had to face in order to become the best guitar player on the planet, and he told me why I should not be discouraged.

             Upon meeting me Perseverance said “Boy, why are you so upset?” “School is only getting harder and my time to do all of the work is depleting,” I answered. “Sit up and let me tell you a story” he said. “I was once like you when I was learning to master the guitar. I had to realize that time is limited, but that I could make time for the things that I truly wanted to do. All of the challenges of learning to play the guitar better than anyone else was very hard at first, but as time passed I realized that it was very doable. I had to get myself in a routine.” After Perseverance told me this I stopped to think for a moment. After a few seconds had passed I answered him saying, “I suppose that could be the case for me as well considering I thought that last semester was super hard until I got myself on a set schedule.” He replied, “That’s the spirit! Do not ever let opposition or challenges allow you to shy away from success, after all, God does expect us to use the things we were given, including our brains.” 

At this my face began to light up, but Perseverance could tell that something was still bothering me. “What else is troubling you?” he asked. “I feel as if the classes and workload along with the practices and club functions will be too much for me to handle and cause me more stressful times than fun times,” I answered. At this, Perseverance answered me saying “Why are you so worried about things that have not even come to pass yet? God has a plan for you and your life – to bring honor and praise to His Name. Nothing in life worth having comes easy. If you want be a student athlete who graduated with honors then you will have to earn it. Is it possible? Of course! Many have done it before you.”