Announcement

1. Announcement • We will have our class on Jan. 18 at the Soc-Science Conference Room 3 and 4.

2. What we will cover today? • Road Map • Topics to be covered today • The Problem of Evil and the Unique Christian Message • The Answer to the Problem of Evil: Jesus Christ and the Resurrection • Debate: Is Christianity True? Yes or No?Why?

3. Outline of Our Course • Understanding our Faith: Theology • What we Believe (have Faith) in: Revelation • Passing on the Faith: Scripture and Tradition • Jesus Christ: Focal Point of Our Christian Faith • Faith: Our Response

4. Outline of Our Course • Understanding our Faith: Theology • What we Believe (have Faith) in: Revelation • Passing on the Faith: Scripture and Tradition • Jesus Christ: Focal Point of Our Christian Faith • Faith: Our Response

5. Road Map God Faith Existence Jesus Christ Knowledge

6. Analogy of Faith and Revelation Revelation Faith Revelation Faith

7. Reasons to believe: Christianity is True Authority Faith Revelation

8. Reasons to believe: Christianity is True Authority • Why? Trust • Expertise • Experience • Evidence they have seen

9. What we will cover today? • Road Map • Topics to be covered today • The Problem of Evil and the Unique Christian Message • The Answer to the Problem of Evil: Jesus Christ and the Resurrection • Debate: Is Christianity True? Yes or No?Why?

10. The Problem of Evil and the Unique Christian Message • Key Question • A Picture Story of Suffering • The Focal Point of the Christian Message: Jesus Christ • The Unique Christian Story!! (The Chart of Alternatives

11. The Focal Point of the Christian Message: Jesus Christ • We have come to believe in God's love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person (Jesus Christ), which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. DEUS CARITAS EST 1 Benedict XVI

12. The Focal Point of the Christian Message: Jesus Christ I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.

13. The Focal Point of the Christian Message: Jesus Christ He would either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

14. Jesus Claims to be God Claims were False Claims were True He knew his claims were False He did not know his claims were False He is Lord He made a deliberate Misrepresentation He was sincerely Deluded Reject Accept He was a liar He was a lunatic He was a hypocrite He was a Demon The Unique Christian Story!! He was a Fool for He died for it!

15. The Answer to the Problem of Evil: Jesus Christ and the Resurrection • The Problem of Evil and the Unique Christian Message • Story of Faith: Healing of the Paralytic

16. The Answer to the Problem of Evil: Jesus Christ and the Resurrection

17. Story of Faith: Healing of the Paralytic (Mar 2:1-12)

18. Discussion: • What is disturbing or inspiring about the story? • Based on the story, what are your questions about Jesus Christ?

19. Debate • Is Christianity True? Yes or No?Why?

20. The End

21. Story of Faith: Healing of the Paralytic (Mar 2:1-12) • Mar 2:1-12 And when he returned to Caper'na-um after some days, it was reported that he was at home. (2) And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not

22. Story of Faith: Healing of the Paralytic • even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. (3) And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. (4) And when they could not get near him because of the crowd,

23. Story of Faith: Healing of the Paralytic • they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. (5) And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."

24. Story of Faith: Healing of the Paralytic • (6) Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, (7) "Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

25. Story of Faith: Healing of the Paralytic • (8) And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts

26. Story of Faith: Healing of the Paralytic • ? (9) Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your pallet and walk'? (10) But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--God, saying,

27. Story of Faith: Healing of the Paralytic • "We never saw anything like this!" he said to the paralytic-- (11) "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." (12) And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God.