#18

1. The three "Originals" are "Original Innocence, Unity, and Nakedness." "Original Innocence," which is the man, "Hadam", being alone after God created him. He has no gender, and he seeks his identity and inner life. This is the ability to have relationships, and "it" is created in God's image. This is the freedom to give and receive God's gifts of love, but "it" has nobody to share them with. "Original Solitude" is when the "hadam" leaves his mom and pop, which is its decision for freedom. It clings, which shows a commitment-based relationship. Him and her become one body, which illustrates mutual self-gifts. "Original Nakedness" is the when the first people of the Earth felt no shame in being naked. They weren't embarrassed and felt that it was normal to be naked. This leads me to believe that they were comfortable with each other, and valued all life as the same.

2. The Song of Songs is a collection of wedding feast songs written for a husband and wife to sing to each other. Its attitude toward sexuality is that the married couple should engage in sex in order to feel truly loved by one another.

3. St. Paul says that the body is to be used for love, not for selfish enjoyment that implies no commitment to the other person, which means to do it for reproductive purposes when you are in love, not for pleasure.

4. I agree with the last section that says, "an energy that produces a cosmic...". The other parts I don't agree with because it says sexuality is how we connect to all things, and in the way we parent and work because I don't feel that sexuality connects us to animals or plants, and that we don't have sexuality while we parents or work. I would take out the first two sections and leave the definition as only the last part.

#17

Sexuality is the feeling that you want to show your emotions to someone that you care about in an extreme way. Humans are sexual because they have the mindset that to in order to show someone that they love, they need to express it in a physical manner. This manner is sexually, and can be done many ways. The right time is when you feel that you are truly in love with someone that you know, for sure, feels the same way about you. This time comes after much time spent with that person, and should be expressed when you are alone with the person in a place that also shows how much you care about them: not the back of a car. The only thing that should be avoided is sexual actions that are done without any feelings that the two people for each other; they should care about one another. The best advice I've been given about sexuality was actually from my best friend's girlfriend, and she said, "No matter what you do in life, make sure that your first time is special; make sure you are truly in love with the person you are doing it with, and make it remember-able."

#16

I have suffered many times throughout my life, but there is one time that sticks out in my mind. Almost one year ago, on October 4, 2006 my friend, Mike, killed himself. This devastated his family and all of his friends. There were at least 1,000 people that showed up to his wake, and that's not exaggeration. His death led me to compassionate action because it made me realize that I should love everyone I meet and always say "I love you" to the people around me because one day, I might not be here. I value frienship more after he died because I have realized that everyone is important to someone else, and everything someone does for you they do because they care.

#15

Malcolm Smith II, Edwin Rangel, Michael Boemo, John LaPaglia

Jesus helps us understand and deal with our own suffering by guiding us through the difficult times by always being by our sides, and understanding our suffering by remembering the time when he suffered. Jesus doesn’t have an explanation for suffering, but he never lets us suffer on our own; he stays with us no matter what.

Dear Steve,
I’m terribly sorry about the pain that you are suffering through, and I hope that it will end soon. I will be here for you through these hard times so that I can help you understand it. You have to understand that bad things are bound to happen no matter what, but instead of grieving, try to find better ways to get through this. You can do this by writing your own music lyrics, playing an instrument, or getting involved in activities to take your mind off of suffering.
The first step to grieving and healing is acknowledging the loss. The second step is expressing your feelings, and the last step is taking action in order to move on. If you don’t express your feelings, you are actually cutting yourself off from your friendships. It is better to let your feelings out than hold them inside, and once you let them out, you feel better inside; more relieved.
Even though you are suffering and grieving, you need to try to see the good that life gives us. Take a couple minutes and look around and notice all the beautiful gifts that God gives us for our everyday life. Notice how your family members do everything that they can for you, and how your friends are always there by your side to help you through difficult times.
Through suffering, we all get an outcome of good. It is through this process that we can heal. Since we experience suffering, we learn to deal with it and use it for a good cause. It takes time, but eventually, it will happen, and you need to understand that.

#14

There is no definite meaning for suffering, in my opinion. God never gives us a complete answer. We do know that God has suffered with us (Jesus dying on the cross for us). Jesus overcame suffering, evil, and death by resurrecting and showing that evil does not have the final word. For Christians, the meaning of suffering is to relate to God in the only true way possible. I don't understand suffering or why it happens, but I do feel that we suffer so that we can have a real connection with God and Jesus and felt the way that He felt when he died on the cross for us.

#13

In class we said that the reason for all human suffering is ultimately a mystery. Are you satisfied with an answer like this? Please explain.

The two sources of suffering are natural and moral. Examples of natural is a hurricane, earthquake, tornado, fire, floods, death from old age, etc. Examples of moral choices are rape, suicide, homicide, child abuse, pollution, etc. A mix of both types of suffering is stealing out of a house that was recently hit by a hurricane.

Two main ways that people attempt to explain suffering is that they thought they did something to deserve it, or that they were being tested or taught a lesson by God, or that it was happening for a greater good. The explanation of deserving it doesn't work in the case of innocent suffering, such as a child dying, or someone that never smokes getting lung cancer from second-hand smoke. God testing you or teaching you a lesson doesn't work because it portrays God as cold, mean, and sadistic, and is not comforting to the sufferer.

I agree that the explanation for suffering is a mystery because nobody truly understands why anyone in the world suffers. Some people might think they do, such as using the explanations that they are being tested or that they deserved it, but there are always counter-examples to cut that explanation short. Since the explanation for suffering is in the "Private Self" block of God's Johari Window, I don't think we will ever understand why there is suffering.

#12

Necessary
1. The first necessary loss was when I left preschool to start kindergarten and true schooling.
2. The second necessary loss was when I grew out of childhood and into a mature adult.
3. The third necessary loss was when my brother left home to live on his own.

Senseless
1. A senseless loss of mine was when I left my homework at home and wasn't able to receive points for it.
2. Another senseless loss was when my teddy bear ripped when I was younger and I couldn't sleep with it anymore.
3. Also, a senseless loss was when my dad took my favorite toy away because I was arguing.

Accidental
1. An accidental loss was when I accidently lost my deck of cards because I thought I put it somewhere, but in turn, left it somewhere else.
2. Another loss was when I accidently backed over a ball and it popped.
3. Another loss was when my friend lost my CD because it accidently flew out of the window.

#11

Tragedies always happen, but nobody ever understands why it happens to good people. If I was one of the President's advisors, I would tell him that God has bad things happen to good people because people have free will and choose what they do with their lives. If they make bad decisions to harm people, bad things will happen. Also, bad things happen because we don't know good times without going through the bad. How do you know if you are sad if you have never felt happiness?

#10

Saying that humans are made in God's image means that we are able to receive all of God's gifts with open hands. It also means to share or relfect God's gifts with the world. When we sin, it means we refuse God's gifts, but we are the only part of the universe that can consciously say "No" to the offer of God's good gifts.

The top three gifts that I have received from God is my knowledge, my brother, and my parents. My knowledge is important to me because it is what is going to get me places in life; it'll get me where I want to go. My brother is important to me because he means the most to me out of anyone in the world, and he is always there for me. My parents are important because they give me everything I need to make it in this life and they will do anything to make me the best person I can be.

#9

God is like an over-flowing fountain signifies many different ideas. When I hear it, I think of the water as his love and the actual fountain as us, his sons/daughters. The water flowing over the cement base of the fountain symbolizes God's love flowing onto us.

God is the life- and light-giving sun also has many interpretations. I think that this means that the sun is shining down on us, just as God and his elements shine down upon us. I think that the light from the sun symbolizes God's love, and whatever the light shines upon is what is receiving His love. We, the humans, could be receiving this love, along with the plants, animals, land, etc.

God is the earth (ground). Everything grows off of it and it is what holds up the world. We depend on the ground to grow food and to walk on.