2009-2010 discussion
Philosophy Books
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Questions_When Bad Things Happen to Good People_ by Harold Kushner
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Analysis: Does the author personally know the people that he is talking about in the book?Application: What would you do if you had a child born with a birth defect?
Synthesis: Would you be able to bring a child in the world that you knew was going to soon die of a birth defect?
Application: Can you apply this book's theme of bad things happen to good people because god wants them to, or that everything happens for a reason to your own life? Synthesis: Can you develop a proposal which would disprove the priest's conclusion that it was an appropriate time for the five deaths of the people on the bridge?
Evaluation: Based on the book title, what did you first think of the book? What do you think would be a more sufficient title for the book? Why?
Analysis: Does everything happen for a reason?Application: Would you change your whole personality if you became handicapped?
Synthesis: Does the author use a variety of sentence structures within one chapter?
Analysis: What does the author mean by "repair" on page 23?Application: How would you feel about god if he made one of your innocent kids have a life limiting disease like what the author experience?
Grammar: How did the author use quotes from the bible?
Application: Harold constantly says "why does bad things happen to good people", what if these people where bad, how would this book change.Evaluation: If you had to give this book to an atheist or someone who was agnostic of God, do you think they would like this? Why or why not?
Grammar: At the begginning of every chapter the first sentence is capitalized but the first letter is bigger than all the other ones and everything else is small, what is the point of this strategy?
Analysis:What do ou think Wilder means when he says, "God has a pattern into which all of our lives fit."
Application:
Do you know another instance when you felt something bad should of not happened to you because you were a good person but it did?
Evaluation:
Do you think blaming things that happen to you on God is bad or good to do?
Sarah wrote: "Analysis: Does everything happen for a reason?Answer: I think everything happens for a reason because saying that this just happen to happen wouldnt make sense and be pointless. Like for example when he says in the book people defend God and say you did something bad to deserve it. I believe God wouldnt put us on this world for no reason. I believe there a point behind everything that happens. Its like making bad things only happen to bad people. Thats like something that you would see coming and that would be pointless. Like i thing bad things happen to people to see wat they would do under this circumstance and how they would go about it. Also to get them ready for anything. Life would be pointless if evrything was justifiable and you knew how God was running the world. So i wouldnt blame it on anybody because you dont know whether theres a reason behind this or not. I think life is like one big test, the test you need to pass out of any test there is.
Donovan wrote: Application: What would you do if you had a child born with a birth defect?Answer: Honestly i really don't know how i would deal with that because growing up I lived with a sister who had a birth defect. Its really stressful because you have to worry so much about that child and its really sad because they don't get the chance to live like normal people. Also a lot of people taunt them and treat them differently knowing that they didnt choose to live this way. It really takes a lot of energy from you and you have to be a person whose mentally, emotionally, and physically ready for this. It effects you in so many ways you would never think it could. So nobody can really say if they can or cannot because its something more than what you would think. Like the boy who was born with a birth defect that was hurting them in so many ways. They didnt know if they could handle it but it wasnt their choice.
Application: Do you think God has punish you for something you did wrong in the past? Grammar:Why do you think the author capitilized words that wasnt in the start of a sentence?
Evaluation:Do you think this book will make you think diffrent about god?
Grammar-How does the author begin and end each chapter?Evaluation- do you agree with the authors perception of god not being good?
Appilication- if you were in the rabbis position how would you have handled it and how would you feel about your son?
Application : If the same situation that happend to the eleven-year-old boy, happened to you, would you believe that God was punishing you with blindness?Analysis : How would you answer the question that he asked, "Can suffering be educational?" (p. 19)
Evaluation : How effective are the quotes from the Bible that he used ?
grammar 1. on page 14 last paragraph second line: why does the author capitalize pronouns in the middle of the sentence if it's not a noun? analysis 2. do you think all good people flourish and bad people wither and die?
application 3. if a family member or someone you know has sclerosis, how would you comfort tht person to let them know it will be ok?
Julie wrote: "Analysis:Do you think Harold Kushner's opinion and view on the question "why do bad things happen to good people" would be different if he were not a Rabbi (without such a high regard for God)?
Yes, because most people that are part of a religion base their thoughts and actions on what they believe in. I feel if Harold Kushner was part of a different religion he wouldn't say good things happens to bad people because the bads thing in life happen to good people. he makes it seem that there is a true reason for all bad things but I disagree.
Evaluation: In the book when bad things happen to good people the author harold kushner often ask the reader what right god has to take the life of a singal person in order to teacher a lesson to another. Judge the value of the life of a singal human being to that of a lesson that needs to be taught.Analysis: in the book Kushner says that if a man who knows nothing about surgery were to walk in to an operating room full of doctor performing an operation
he may think that the doctors were attempting to harm the patient as opposed to helping him, while someone who did know about surgery would understand that it was for the patients own good. What is the underlying theme of this analogy?
Grammar: hat 3 dramatic fragments can you find in the pages you've read so far?
Sarah wrote: "Analysis: Does everything happen for a reason?Answer: Yes everything does happen for a reason. It may seem as if it happens by coincidence, but I guarantee God has a reason for everything that he does.
Taliyah wrote: (Julie:) Do you think Harold Kushner's opinion and view on the question "why do bad things happen to good people" would be different if he were not a Rabbi (without such a high regard for God)?(Taliyah:) Yes, because most people that are part of a religion base their thoughts and actions on what they believe in. I feel if Harold Kushner was part of a different religion he wouldn't say good things happens to bad people because the bads thing in life happen to good people. he makes it seem that there is a true reason for all bad things but I disagree.
"
Why would a different religion constitute a different response? The majority of the major religions today a monotheistic, and it has become human nature to blame the God which we regard so highly. If you disagree as to his idea of why bad things happen, then what is your opinion? Where do you think bad things come from, if not from a higher power?
Taliyah wrote: " grammar 1. on page 14 last paragraph second line: why does the author capitalize pronouns in the middle of the sentence if it's not a noun? "The author capitalizes specific pronouns only when those pronouns are taking the place of something holy, in this case God himself. It can also be found in many other places throughout this book, as well as others when making a reference to God and, often times, Jesus. To me, it gives them a sense of superiority. Just like we always capitalize the letter "I." It is similar in that regard. If we capitalize ourselves, then of course we would capitalize God, even in his pronoun sense. I am curious, however, how this began. Is it like this in the Bible?
Donovan wrote: Application: What would you do if you had a child born with a birth defect?If I had a child with a birth defect I wouldn't really care. Because to me people are all the same they just have different characteristics. I feel that I would treat my child the same as if he or she didn't have a birth defect. Just because there is something mentally or physically wrong with you doesn't mean you can't live life. Even though it maybe challenging at times I will all ways be by my child's side to help.
Kim wrote: "Analysis : How would you answer the question that he asked, "Can suffering be educational?" (p. 19) "I believe that suffering can, indeed, be educational. When a child sticks their finger in the fire, they suffer. Through that suffering, they have obviously learned that if they are to ever stick their hand in there again, they will experience the same kind of suffering. It is human nature to avoid suffering, and so you "learn from your mistakes." If you experience something that causes you pain, you will therefore avoid it. It has been a learning experience.
Julie wrote: "Analysis:Do you think Harold Kushner's opinion and view on the question "why do bad things happen to good people" would be different if he were not a Rabbi (without such a high regard for God)?
Answer:Yes i believe that Harold Kushner was a bit bias to the question "why do bad things happen to good people?" He is indeed a Rabbi which puts him in the position where he includes his opinion as well as tell the truth. However, he stated real life scenarios and based his information off of them. Therfore, the book wouldn't have been affected by his opinion, but more on the facts. In conclusion, Kushner's view would be different if he weren't a rabbi.
..."
Fatouma wrote:Evaluation:
Do you think blaming things that happen to you on God is bad or good to do?
My opinion is that i think is bad because God knows what he wants to happen. He does everything for a reason. So if something happened to you, it didnt just come out the blue. You deserve everything that happens to you even if you dont think so. what you think may be right can be wrong.
Kim wrote: "Analysis : How would you answer the question that he asked, "Can suffering be educational?" (p. 19) "I think suffering can be educational because when you do something wrong you suffer the consequence and you learn not to do it again. Some people dont always not do it again but they know whats going to happen. Everybody learns something new while suffering.
Taliyah wrote: "analysis 2. do you think all good people flourish and bad people wither and die?..."
Answer: Yes and no. Yes because good people always win and the bad people would always loose in someway or another. Sometimes they would have a change of heart. I dont think that bad people would all wither and die. They will in fact suffer for the consequences of their actions. No because some good people havent done anything wrong but end up suffering like mentally challenged people. They haven't done anything wrong.They just have a birth defect so now they can't handle certain situations like those without a birth defect like theirs.
Deitrich wrote: "Application: Do you think God has punish you for something you did wrong in the past? Answer:No I do not believe that God punishes you for something you did wrong in the past. I believe everyone makes mistakes and if that was the case, everyone would be punished. When you make those mistakes, it is up to you to repent and all is forgiven. Bad things happen to good people as well as good things happen to bad people, that's just the way of life and no one can predict or explain that. So no, I don't believe that your past has anything to do with your present or future and some bad things just happen, God doesn't punish you.
..."
Deitrich wrote: "Evaluation: Do you think this book will make you think diffrent about god?
..."
Answer: Ofcourse, because I am a christain and I have gone through some unberable things. It gets me wondering why he is doing this to me. In the book, the author has a lot of peoples stories and in those stories the people would question god and their friends would have great answers to the reason why misfortune happened to them. Those stories made me realize that everything happens for a reason and in the end your misfortune would turn out to be a positive thing so you shouldn't be mad when something bad happens to you. Think positive and move on.
Kim wrote: "Analysis : How would you answer the question that he asked, "Can suffering be educational?" (p. 19) "Answer: I do believe suffering can be educational. As a Christian, I feel that everything that happens in my life I can grow closer to God from. Just as Jesus died on the cross, his suffering was supposed to help us understand that there is a God. It depends on how you look at things also. Everyone who goes through things don't look at as educational. You can learn to just be a more loveable person because life can be sorten just as the family whoes daughter died suddenly, without any sign.
"Fatouma wrote:Evaluation:
Do you think blaming things that happen to you on God is bad or good to do?
Answer:I believe blaming god for undesireble moments in your life is not good at all.If something bad has happened to you ,in the first place,you should always think of what you did in the past for it to happen to you. You should never try to point the blame at anyone else because there is always one pointing back at you.
"Sarah wrote: "Analysis: Does everything happen for a reason?Answer: I was brought up to beleive everything does happen for a reason.In my opinion, sometimes god puts us through trials and tribulations so we can experience things that will make us stronger for the future.i also beleive god allows us to make mistakes so we can have room to grow as human beings. No one is perfect and mistakes help us in ways that are sometimes hard to explain.
Sarah said: Would you change your whole personality if you became handicapped?Answer: Honestly speaking if I became handicapped I would probably change my personality a little. I would most likely look at the world different. Just like Helen found out she had M.S. She would have never thought she would have that, but since she did now she would have a whole new attitude. The things she thought was fuuny may not, and the friends she hung around would maybe change also. Things like becoming handicapped will take its toll on me.
Donovan wrote: Application: What would you do if you had a child born with a birth defect?Answer: I would accept the fact that my child has a birth defect, and provide for them just like i would do any other child of mine with out a birth defect. Although, i know it would be more of a task to raise that child as opposed to raising a child with out a birth defect. The child with the birth defect would alter my life in so many ways, such as the doctor apppointments, and schooling. I think it would be a big challenge, but i would be up for the challenge.
Sarah wrote: "Analysis: Does everything happen for a reason?Answer: Well Sarah, i think that everything does happen for a reason. I think different things happen, and we may not understand why the things happen, but i think that we almost always learn from every thing that happens. At least one person will get something from what ever happend. The reason for these things happening, i honestly dont know.
Julie wrote: "Kim wrote: "Analysis : How would you answer the question that he asked, "Can suffering be educational?" (p. 19) "I believe that suffering can, indeed, be educational. When a child sticks their f..."
Response: I completely agree. Especially about the child situation. We can, and do, learn from our suffering.
Sarah wrote: "Fatouma wrote:Evaluation:
Do you think blaming things that happen to you on God is bad or good to do?
My opinion is that i think is bad because God knows what he wants to happen. He does everythin..."
Yes i agree with you. I think the same way
Application : Knowing that your child had a disease, would you blame it on God or call it a misfortune?Analysis: If Kushner where a Christian instead of a Jew would his outlook on punishments be the same?
Evaluation: Why do you think Kushner’s opinion about the occurrence of bad things in life are just misfortunes versus tests or teaching moments?
Breanna wrote: "Application: Can you apply this book's theme of bad things happen to good people because god wants them to, or that everything happens for a reason to your own life? Synthesis: Can you develop ..."
Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes bad things happen to you as a consequence of things that you have done in the past. God uses these things to get your attention. Since Kushner's reference is the bible, it states the way that you should live. It also states that you will have tests, trials and tribulations. God is testing you to see how strong you are and if you are ready for what might be next in your life. Kushner’s child having a birth defect was not all the way bad; maybe it was just a test to see how much he could take and if he would keep his faith.
Sarah wrote:"Evaluation:Do you think blaming things that happen to you on God is bad or good to do?"My opinion is that i think is bad because God knows what he wants to happen. He does everything for a reason...in the beginning it might seem kind of bad to us, and we blame god. But finally result comes out to be good if we have patience. God knows what, when and why to do, so we should have patience and depend on god for anything that happens in our life.
Do you think Harold Kushner's opinion and view on the question "why do bad things happen to good people" would be different if he were not a Rabbi (without such a high regard for God)?
Evaluation:
How effective are the examples he gives to introduce concepts and thoughts?
Grammar:
How does the author use quotes from the Bible intermingled with the narrative?