Religion HW

Religion Grade 7
5 Questions--Write 5 Essay Questions you think should be on the Cumulative Test (That's Nice Teacher Speak for "Big-Old Religion Final"). If you answer thoroughly you may get a bonus point or two.

Here Are Mine:

1. What are some revolutionary aspects of Jesus’ message, then and now?
There are many revolutionary aspects of Jesus’ message. Some of these controversies fade away with cultures and time. When Jesus was alive, for instance, the Jews viewed God as more distant and more terrible than we see Him now. The Jews were shocked when Jesus told them to call God “Father”, and when He described the Father as having tender, motherly aspects they were astonished. Although some of these ideas fade into everyday thought and seem normal to us, other parts of Christ’s message are still shocking to today’s world. The call to the priesthood, the truths about the morality of many accepted medical procedures (i.e. “assisted suicide”), and—in this age of Relativism—the Truth we proclaim. These teachings repulse the world, including many Christians! This doesn’t change the fact that they are fundamental to Jesus’ teachings, to His Faith, and that of the Church: Now, and forever.

2. What does the Church believe happens at the Consecration? What is it called, why do we believe it, and is it a symbol or not? Explain.
The Eucharist is the pinnacle of all Catholic teachings. The truth of this matter of faith is unique to Catholicism, and has cost believers their public reputation and even their lives. We believe that, as the priest consecrates the bread and wine the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they are transubstantiated into the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, in the appearance and likeness of bread and wine. This is called the transubstantiation. It is not just a symbol. If it were, why would most of Jesus’ disciples have left when He first told them “Eat my flesh, drink my Blood”?

3. Why did Jesus choose to die for us? Why didn’t He choose another way to save us?
Jesus died to save us from our sins. We do not know what His plan truly is, but it possibly was in His Divine Plan to "dignify the flesh", to "suffer for our sins", to "break the power of death" and to "crush the skull of Satan". Sin's effects on us, and the consequences of sin, are described vividly in the Bible; as thorns, as suffering, and as death. Jesus suffered so that we might not have to die ourselves and remain dead. He took up his cross--a symbol of humanity's sins--so that he might die in humanity's stead, thereby winning for us the opportunity at eternal life.
Sin is an action or decision that takes us a step away from God. We cut off a part of ourselves and stain it, make it deathly ill—or even kill it. We harm our soul. Imagine what the entire universe has done to itself: The sins would choke and kill the soul instantly. And that is why the Word became Flesh, just to die for us. He died so that we would not die and die once and for all, for eternity, body and soul. Without Christ’s sacrifice, we would at least cease to exist. At worst, we’d immediately be thrown into the Fiery Pit. But because “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” [John 3:16] God sent his only Son to die for our sins, to take our just punishment on Himself so that we might live.
Of course, being God, Jesus might never have become Jesus. He might have remained the Word, and God could have just snapped His metaphoric fingers and cleansed us of all sin, saved us, destroyed Satan, cured Cancer... But then, would He have glorified the flesh? Would He have reaped such wonderful crops as the Apostles, as of the Church? In the scenario I described above, there would have been a certain breaching of Free Will. In a perfect world, where there is no suffering, how can we choose Good when there is no Good to be in contrast with normality, or evil?
By dying upon the cross, Jesus gave us the chance to convert. To suffer for Him, with Him, for the glory of God. In His sufferings, we also see His Mercy, His Love. Also--no one would have cared about a normal death. But as God, Jesus came down and became man (and in just that shocking truth, He lowered himself to what we might equal to becoming an adored pet), and not only did He do that, He also died one of the most humiliating deaths: Scourged, crowned in thorns, on a cross.

4. Where do we get the Seven Sacraments, and how can we be sure of it?
The Seven Sacraments were given to His Church by Christ Himself. There is evidence all through Scripture, with prefigurements throughout the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament. For example, Christ taught that believers were to be Baptized in the name of the Trinity. This is where we received the Sacrament of Baptism. The first Confirmation was performed at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the Twelve and Mary. Our Eucharist, what we center our Mass around, was founded during the Last Supper where Jesus commanded us to take and eat His Body and His Blood. We know that these are all true through the teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church, founded by Christ Himself when He made Peter the first Pope. From there, these traditions—Sacraments, Scripture, Doctrines—have been passed down through the centuries to today.

5. What were Jesus’ wishes not only for His Apostles, but also for all believers?
After the Last Supper, just before Jesus was arrested, He went out in the garden to pray. He prayed to the Father for the Apostles, and for all His disciples throughout the ages. He prayed that the Father would keep them “one” like the Son and the Father are one. Jesus wishes, dearly, that we would not create Schisms in His Church, His Bride. He does not ask the Father to take us out of the earthly world, but to keep us from the evil one. The evil one hates their message, and this evil lies in every persecution and temptation Christians endure for Christ. Jesus prayed that we might be sheltered from this. Jesus also asked that we would go into the world, to proclaim the Truth—even in the face of disbelief, relativism, and persecution. Lastly, Jesus prays that one day all His disciples will be with Him in Heaven to see His glory clearly, face to face.