The Problem of Evil

Bros:

As indicated in your textbook in its discussion on the Book of Job, "the dilemma of why the good suffer and the wicked prosper in this life is known as the problem of evil" (Newland 249). However, the problem is not so simple as to say that only one side perishes while the other thrives. Ultimately, we all experience suffering in some way, often in what seem unjust or undeserved circumstances. It is this kind of suffering--the stuff that seems unfair--that defines the "problem of evil" and which the author, Jay Sklar, of the article ("Why Does God Permit Evil?") I gave you addresses in his essay.

In a well-developed essay of at least three, full paragraphs, give a summary of the article, including the author's name and the title of the article in quotations in the introduction of your essay.

Then give a well-argued and reasoned response to the article, including any agreements and/or disagreements you have. If you recognize any seeming inconsistencies in the author's argument, please state them.

Your concluding paragraph should be a reflection on your own sense of what purpose suffering gives us in our lives.

This is due, Wednesday, May 20, 2009 on the blog or typed hard copy under the following heading:

Your Name
Bro. Rob Peach, FSC
Rel 011.06
May 20, 2009

Into the Film: A Review of Penn's Adaptation

Brothers,

In a well-crafted essay of at least five, well-developed paragraphs, please give your reaction to Sean Penn's film adaptation of Into the Wild, basing your essay off of the following five questions:

1. First of all, what was your overall reaction to the film? Explain in detail.

2. Interpret various images or themes as presented in the film.

3. What are three lessons you learned by watching the film? Explain in detail.

4. To what biblical themes that we've discussed in class do the film relate?

5. How is Alexander Supertramp's journey a spiritual one? Be detailed in your response. If a specific Old Testament biblical passage comes to mind, please reference the passage by indicating the book, the chapter, and the verse numbers. (Think prophets of Israel: How is Chris "Alex Supertramp" McCandless like one of the prophets? Explain.)

This assignment is Due: Tuesday, May 5 by class time. It must be typed or submitted to the blog.

Your heading should be as follows:

Your Name
Bro. Rob Peach, FSC
REL 011.06
May 5, 2009

Into and Out of the Wild: Ch. 16-17

Bros:

As we come closer to the concluding pages of the story about one man's journey into the wilderness to not only find, but create himself, I would like you to write an at least three paragraph reflection on what you believe is the most important lesson to learn from his story.

Please use chapters 16 and 17 as reference points, enlightening your classmates as to what you think are the major insights to be gained from the final chapters of this powerful story.

What are some themes, symbols, images, metaphors and other other literary techniques that people should be aware of in understanding the deeper meaning of the text.

Have at it, and be sure to quote from the text, using the proper format for quotations such as follows:

Krakauer writes, "..." (#).
For instance, "..." (Krakauer #).
According to Krakauer, "..." (#).

This reflection is DUE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2009 by class-time on blog or typed, hard copy. It will be worth 10 points, so put the proper intellectual effort into this.

Brother Supertramp, FSC

p.s. don't forget to head your entries with the following:

Your Name
Bro. Rob Peach, FSC
Rel 011.06
April 22, 2009

Exploring Chapters 10-12

Bros:

You created the questions and so you answer ONE of the following in a WELL-DEVELOPED paragraph (or two or three) that quote(s) from the text for support (for formatting guidelines see earlier posts where I explain it.)

Please indicate which question you are answering by retyping it above your answer.

This blog response is Due Wednesday, April 15, 2009 by class-time on blog (or typed, hard copy if you cannot log-in).

Please follow proper heading format:

Your Name
Bro. Rob Peach, FSC
Rel 011.06
April 15, 2009

The questions:

• What does Chris' performance on his high school cross country team say about his character?
• How did Chris' childhood and adolescent years influence his young adult venture into the wilderness?
• How did Chris change throughout college? Why?
• In chapter 12, Carine says, " 'I think my parents' worry was mixed with hurt and anger. But I didn't feel hurt by his failure to write. I knew he was happy and doing what he watned to do (125).' " Why do you think she said this? What does this say about Carine's relationship with Chris?
• What is the meaning of the epigraph at the beginning of chapter 11?
• Did Chris' family life and what he found out about his father's tainted past have an influence on his decision to strike out into the wilderness? Explain.
• What does Walt say is the hardest part of dealing with Chris' death?
• What is the significance of Chris' gift of an expensive telescope to his father for his father's birthday?
• Why do the police first disbelieve Wayne when he tells them he knew Alex?
• Describe Chris' "dark side" as told to us in chapter 12.
• How does Walt's background as a musician reflect on Chris' natural independence?
• Would it have been possible that Chris' family could've foreshadowed his sudden departure, not just away from home, but from society as well? Explain.
• How could Chris' rather frustrating personality be, at the same time, considered "magnetic"?
• Rewrite one part of chapter 12 in one to three paragraphs through Chris' point of view.
• Describe and define some symbolism found in chapter 10.
• Why do you think Chris took his machete and gun with him to Atlanta?
• How is it fitting that it never occurred to some members of Chris' family that the dead hiker could be Chris?
• How did Chris' disappearence change Walt's demeanor?
• What did Chris feel about his attendence at Emory University? At college in general?
• What about Chris' personality baffled his parents?
• What is the meaning or significance of the what Chris writes on his first W-4 form before working for Wayne?
• What did the Alaska State Troopers mostly find in Chris' journal? What does this say about his mission?
• In chapter 11, Walt asks, " 'How is it that a kid with so much compassion can cause his parents so much pain?' " (104). Answer this question as though you were speaking to Walt McCandless.
• What does Chris' rejection of his father's warning say about his quest?
• Why were Chris and Carine so close?
• How would you feel if your father never told you he had a wife and got divorced previous to marrying the woman you call mother?
• What does Chris' mom's guitar symbolize (see chapter 11)?
• What happened to Walt's first wife? What did this cause in Chris?
• What is ironic about how Sam McCandless reacted towards his half-brothers' death?
• What kind of talent did Chris have? What does this say about his character?
• What part of Walt's personality did Chris resent? Why?
• Why do you think Chris was such a capitalistic entrepreneur, yet one who threw away his money later on in his young life?
• In chapter 11, Krakauer describes some of the close relationships Chris shared with some family members, Carine especially. Why do you think it was so easy for him to just get up and leave?

The Journey Continues: Ch. 4-9

Bros:

As with I, John Baptist De La Salle, it is up to you to find your own meanings in reading the text. The only way for a story to become relevant, after all, is for you to fully invest yourself into it as if you were an archeologist trying to uncover some long buried secret about existence.

Anyhow, you create the questions and so you answer ONE of the following in a WELL-DEVELOPED paragraph (or two or three) that quote(s) from the text for support (for formatting guidelines see earlier posts where I explain it.)

Your questions should focus on discovering and explaining the literary techniques we discussed in class earlier this week as they are revealed in one of the chapters between four and nine.

This blog response is Due Wednesday, April 8, 2009 by class-time on blog (or typed, hard copy if you cannot log-in).

Please follow proper heading format:

Your Name
Bro. Rob Peach, FSC
Rel 011.06
April 8, 2009

The questions:

• In chapter four, Alex explains in his journal that he lived on the street with whinos and bums. He then says then, " 'God it is great to be alive!' " How is it ironic that he is very happy being poor, but could not stand life being a wealthy young man?

• In chapter four, how important is the desert? Why? What are some important things that Alex says about it?

• In chapter five, Alex decides to stop the tramping and settling down in Gulfo City. What does it mean that he almost got to the point of opening a bank account consdiring how adamant he is in leaving behind the capitalistic ways of modern society?

• In chapter four, what are three things that Walsh finds in the floorboards? What do you think they symbolize?

• In chapter four, Alex's Datsun is found in a bear-paw poppy field, a wildflower that is rare and found in an isolated corner of the Mojave Desert. What does this symbolize?

• When Krakauer asks the Alaskan people about Christopher "Alex" McCandless, they say that he is just like "any other tramper that has come through the area." What caused them to form this stereotype about these types of people and why do they apply it to Alex?

• In chapter six, Alex tells Ron Franz that "the joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endless changing horizon, to each day have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, Ron, you need to lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy" (Krakauer 57). Why does Krakauer bring this letter to Ron into the story? What does it suggest about Alex's character? What does the letter and its message symbolize?

• In chapter seven, the belt that McCandless makes is a symbol of what? What is the meaning of him giving it to Wayne Westerberg at the end of the chapter?

• In chapter five, we find out that McCandless is interested in classic authors, especially Jack London. What sparks his interest in London? What does this say about McCandless' character?

• How is the detrital wash symbolic of Alex becoming truly free? (see chapter four)

• In chapter four, when Walt, father of McCandless, says that he is worred about his son and that things "did not add up with the Datsun being abandoned and Chris getting a hitchiking ticket" (31-32) show how McCandless' parents is limited to one point of view about society? About their son?

Enter the Wild: Author's Note, Chapters 1-3

Bros:

In the opening pages of Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer's account of the journey undertaken by Christopher "Alexander Supertramp" McCandless, we are introduced to a young man who is in search of truth and beauty--something that he beleives can only be found in the unfettered existence and pure wilderness of the American frontier. At the end of chapter three, Krakauer does well to sum up the philosophy that inspired McCandless' break from the constraints of the "civilized world":

[...]The trip was to be an odyssey in the fullest sense of the word, an epic journey that would change everything. He had spent the previous four years, as he saw it, preparing to fulfill an absurd and onerous duty: to graduate from college. At long last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence.

Driving west out of Atlanta, he intended to invent an utterly new life for himself, one in which he would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience. To symbolize the complete severance from his previous life, he even adopted a new name. No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny. (22-23)

In this way, McCandless voiced his protest against what he saw were the excesses of modern society, bound by an irrational reliance on money and business and industry and war and politics. Only when man ventured into the unknown, free of the illusions created by false societal ideals of fulfillment could he truly discover the human spirit, the God in everything.

That said, I would like you to, in a well-developed paragraph, share your initial thoughts upon reading the opening chapters of Into the Wild. Please be sure to quote the text as a way to illustrate any points you make in reference to the story. The format for doing is would be as follows: Krakauer writes, "...." (#).

This blog response is due by classtime, Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

Remember to place a heading at the top of your response:

Your Name
Bro. Rob Peach, FSC
Rel 011.06
April 1, 2009

In the meantime, please continue reading through chapter seven.

Brother Supertramp, FSC

Finishing Up: The Growing Years and Onward...

Ok Bros:

You made up the questions, now you answer them. Please be sure to quote from the text for back-up.

Remember that the format for quoting goes like this:

Leo Kirby, FSC, speaking in the voice of De La Salle writes, "Bro. Peach, FSC was often annoyed by his students, particularly one, named, Kris Sabatini, who grew up to become a raging lunatic" (45).

Notice that the period goes after the parenthesis, which encloses the page number from which you pulled the quote.

You must answer in depth three (3) of the following questions. Pleas re-write the question and place your answer below.

Please be sure to indicate at the top of the page:

Your Name
Bro. Rob Peach, FSC
Rel 011.06
March 24, 2009

Your blog response is due Tuesday, March 24, 2009, by class time.

God be blessed,
Bro. Peach, FSC

The Questions:

• Where are the Brothers in the world today? How did the Brother get to where they are in the world today?
• What type of teaching method was used to help all students stay focused at one time and to help the teachers teach the students at one time?
• Why were the years between 1679 and 1685 called the "honeymoon years"?
• Why did the Brothers teach French instead of Latin in their schools?
• Where did De La Salle first build his schools and why?
• What four problems occurred with the "honeymoon years"?
• For what reasons did the Church and government protest De La Salle's schools?
• Did the youngsters who worked on farms do anything else? If so, what?
• Why was De La Salle so modest?
• When De La Salle wrote Meditations for a Time of Retreat what was he really writing about?
• In what ways did De La Salle show saintly perseverance?
• How and why did De La Salle continue to work even though his health was going downhill?
• What gave De La Salle the strength to give up all his belongings?
• When did De La Salle's health start declining? Did he let his failing health interfere with his duties? Explain.
• Why were establishing city schools so important to De La Salle's mission?
• What gave De La Salle's teachers and fellow brothers the strength to dedicate their lives to the poor?
• Why do you tink writing became a hobby for De La Salle?

I, John Baptist de La Salle: The Seed Years

Brothers,

In Chapter Two of I, John Baptist de La Salle, entitled, "The Seed Years," we are given an account of de La Salle's radical sacrifice in which he gave up everything for the sake of educating the poor of France. Acting as St. La Salle, Bro. Leo Kirby, FSC, writes, "I gave up my salaried position to a poor pirest, and I gave away my money to feed teh hungry. From that time on, I got much closer to the children they taught. I could now truthfully say, 'We Brothers'" (25). Here, we get a sense of how important self-sacrifice is in the life of a Christian. Only when one "takes up his cross"--or dedicates himself to a cause greater than himself--can he truly begin to experience God's kingdom of love on earth.

That said, I would like you to discuss one theme (a unifying idea or subject of a given text) portrayed in "The Seed Years". Support your discussion with back-up from the text; use quotes and format them properly (as modeled for you above)! Notice above how I discuss the theme of self-sacrifice as being an important part of the Christian's call to duty and relate it to De La Salle's life using a quote from the chapter.

Please be thorough and thoughtful in your response. This blog should be at least one paragraph in length, but may very well exceed that length, especially if you get involved in your discussion of the theme you choose. Always ask yourself "how" and "why" when discussing the points you make about a particular theme. When you insert quotes, you must interpret what the author means by them.

This is due Tuesday, March 17, 2009 by class-time.

Brother Rob Peach, FSC

Meeting a Saint: I, John Baptist de La Salle

Bros:

In Chapter One of I, John Baptist de La Salle, entitled, "Roots and Wings," the author speaks in the perspective of De La Salle, telling us of his upbringing and the initial spark that led De La Salle from the "clerical" duties of the priesthood to the founding of something that he "wouldn't have touched the project with the tips of [his] fingers" if he knew where it would lead him (Kirby 21).

In a well-developed paragraph, due by classtime on Wednesday, March 11, I would like you to give a personal response to the beginnings of De La Salle's story. Questions to consider:

• What are some observations about his early life that strike you as interesting or odd?
• What defines "vocation" according to what you read of De La Salle's early life?
• How does De La Salle experience God in his life according to the voice of Brother Leo Kirby, FSC, who wrote the essay in the persona of De La Salle?
• How does De La Salle's early life and call to the priesthood and later to the mission asked of him by Adrien Nyel parallel an Old Testament story of God's call to a prophet? (be specific)
• Why is De La Salle relevant to your own life today? From the little you've read, what about his life could you make relevant to your own?
• What was the role of suffering in shaping De La Salle's knowledge of and approach to everyday life?

If you should at all refer to something in the text, please format as follows: Speaking as the person of De La Salle, Bro. Leo Kirby, FSC, writes, "Adrien Nyel, who later became a good friend of mine, was by experince and nature an originator of projects. I guess he was the spark; I was the bush he set afire. Together, I think, we made a pretty good team" (Kirby 21).

The above quote is placed in quotation marks with an introductory phrase (Bro. Leo Kirby, FSC, writes...) and is cited with the last name of the author and the page number from which you took the author's quote in parantheses, followed by a period.

In order to respond on this blog, you will click the header, I, John Baptist de La Salle, and then click the "post comment" link at the bottom of this prompt. You will then type your response with a heading that is formatted as follows:

Your Name
Bro. Rob Peach, FSC
Rel 011.06
March 11, 2009