Journal entry on readings associated with Plantinga, Ch. 1

1. Imagine the argument that Steven Jay Gould describes between the letter writer to the New York Times and himself. What would each say? Are there some things on which they would agree? On which points would they differ? (Assume that the letter writer accepts Pius' statement.)
2. In Norris' essay, the sin most often mentioned is pride. Why is pride sinful? Does it deserve the strong language that Climacus uses to describe it? Can there be institutional pride as well as personal pride?
3. Plantinga says that “people have ... longings especially when they are young because that is normally a time before we have become jaded.” What kinds of experiences leave us jaded? Since “longing is an ingredient of hope” (as he asserts later), one expects older people to have, in general, diminished capacity for hope. Do you find this to be so? What concrete steps can we take to expand our hopes for others?
4. David B. Hart, in prescribing tools for battling nihilism (the alternative religion of our culture), says “It takes formidable faith and devotion to resist the evils of one's age, and it is to the history of Christian asceticism--especially, perhaps, the apophthegms of the Desert Fathers--that all Christians, whether married or not, should turn for guidance.” The Norris article provides an example of a person who seems to have retreated from this other religion with the help of writings from these Desert Fathers. How is it that their wisdom has been helpful to her? Does her example lead you to think that Hart's suggestion has some real merit?
5. In the introduction (prior to “Key Terms”) to the article by Fang Li Zhi, it says “he makes a ... claim that at the very least, one cannot entirely disentangle religious values from scientific undertakings.” What evidence/examples does Fang use to support this claim? Provide a more modern-day example you have observed where you see religious values and scientific endeavors/conclusions intertwined, and explain how the former has “informed” the latter.