1. Explain what a self-fulfilling prophecy is.
2. Why do you think Maher goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of Religion in earnest?
3. Why did Maher’s father “quit the Church”?
4. Identify two things mentioned by Maher, in the Trucker’s Church, that Christians believe but are not in the Bible.
5. How does Maher explain the fulfilment of Books of Prophecy?
6. Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances? Refer to the Axial Era.
7. What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religions leaders?
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1. Explain what a self-fulfilling prophecy is.
ReplyDeleteA self-fulfilling prophecy is something that causes itself to come true. For example, the way a person treats you can determine how you will act. Therefore, you have fulfilled a prophecy.
2. Why do you think Maher goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of religion in earnest?
I think Maher goes to the trouble of giving his childhood biography so that the viewers can understand his own religious history and background. This introduces his own beliefs and allows viewers to see how Maher’s background affects his criticism of religion.
3. Why did Maher’s father “quit the Church”?
The reason given by Maher’s mother as to why his father “quit the Church” was because they used birth control, something frowned upon by the Church.
4. Identify two things mentioned by Maher in the trucker’s church that Christians believe but aren’t in the Bible.
Two things mentioned by Maher in the trucker’s church that Christians believe but that aren’t in the Bible are the virgin birth of Jesus and the modern laws on issues such as abortion. (?)
5. How does Maher explain the fulfilment of the Books of Prophecy?
Maher explains the fulfilment of the Books of Prophecy in the human building of nuclear weapons and the pollution of the planet. He explains that we are already on our way to fulfilling the prophecy of an Armageddon.
6. Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances?
People are more motivated to believe in God in poor circumstances because they need a “protector” or “Ubermensch”. In the Axial Era, the wars and battles occurring left people with little hope. This is the era when religions started to develop, as they gave people in the wars/battles something to believe in and something to hope for. The religions preached of a God who looked over His people and protected them, so this allowed people to believe that God would get them out of the circumstances they were in.
7. What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religious leaders?
Maher states that both pop stars and religious leaders dress well in that they wear expensive clothes. He adds to this by stating that religious leaders continue to dress like this despite the fact that Jesus dressed poorly.
1. Explain what self phophecy is:
ReplyDeleteaccording to web dictionary, self prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true.
2. Why do you think mayer goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of religion in earnest?
i think mayer goes to the trouble of giving his childhood biography, so the audience gets and understanding of they relegious whys he was brought up, and how he does understand the limitiations in the church and so forth.
3. why do you think mayher's father "quit" the church?
according to the video, mayhers father left the church because he was frowned apon for the reason that his wife and himself used birthcontrol.
4. identify ttwo things mentioned by mayher in the truckers church that christians believe that aren't in the bible.
the virgin birth of jesus
some modern laws. i.e abortion.
5. how does mayher explain the fullfilment of the books of prophecy?
maher explains this by explaining how the world found nuclear weapons before they found peace. he explains that we as a whole pollute our planet and are on the way to destroying it.
6.Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances?
many people would be moer motivated to believe in god under poor circumstances for the reason that they have his rock bottom and there is not one else, so they there for look for a type of "ubermensch" to guide or better yet protect them.
7.What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religious leaders?
maher compares the dress of pop stars to religious leaders in the sense of cost. he explains how religious leaders dress with expensive clothes, however questions it because jesus did not.
1. Explain what a self-fulfilling prophecy is.
ReplyDeleteA self fulfilling prophecy is something that comes true by itself, with no external help
2. Why do you think Maher goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of Religion in earnest?
This shows that he was brought up as a Catholic and that he had to sit through church like everybody else. He was bored during church and was thrilled when they did not have to go anymore. By telling us this it makes it easier to relate to him
3. Why did Maher’s father “quit the Church”?
They started using birth control and they did not want to face the church with guilt.
4. Identify two things mentioned by Maher, in the Trucker’s Church, that Christians believe but are not in the Bible.
Modern ideas on abortion and the virgin birth (..i’m not sure if this is right?)
5. How does Maher explain the fulfilment of Books of Prophecy?
He believes that we will fulfil the prophecy, but through nuclear weapons, pollution, global warming and killing each other not through peace and good will. For example, the rising in sea levels through pollution and global warming.
6. Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances? Refer to the Axial Era.
Religion is used as a sense of hope when everything is looking dim. When people have nothing left, and nobody to turn to, they believe that they can turn to God and he will listen to them and love them no matter what they have done. For example in the Axial Era people had nowhere to look for hope except for God. God is our hope that there is a better place than the place we are now.
7. What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religions leaders?
He says that they both spend lots of money to look good, even though they preach that how much money you have and how good you look is not an issue. Especially Religious leaders, who are supposed to live a life of poverty because that is what Jesus did.
1) Explain what a self-fulfilling prophecy is.
ReplyDeleteA process by which ones expectations of another person eventually leads the other person to behave in a way that confirms the expectation. This explanation can be pointed towards events and circumstances, as well as people.
2) Why do you think Maher goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of Religion in earnest?
Maher introduces us to his childhood before beginning his criticism to show that he was brought up and had to practice as a Catholic. Making the assumption that we, going to a Catholic school were the intended audience, Maher may have been trying to show us something that we could relate to. As in recent times, going to church, is seen by younger generations to be an obligation. Through doing this he also shows the audience why he feels so strongly detached from the church and understanding that his questions about the religion are innocent and mean no offense to anyone watching.
3) Why did Maher’s father “quit the Church”?
Maher’s mother said his father “quit the Church” because they started to use birth control and that was frowned upon by the church. Therefore so not to feel guilty, Maher’s father quit the church.
4) Identify two things mentioned by Maher, in the Trucker’s Church, that Christians believe but are not in the Bible.
Maher mentioned some points that are believed by Christians but are not in the Bible. One such point was that of ‘Mary’s virgin birth’, he pointed out that it was only briefly referred to in two of the four Gospels and if it were true, it would be an important fact that would be in all the Gospels. Going further on this point he also says that the gospels were written after that time, so there would be no evidence and they were written by ‘men’. Another point mentioned was that of the ‘original sin’, he said that, in the Bible it states that Adam and Eve were sinful but it doesn’t specifically state that every person is born with the original sin.
5) How does Maher explain the fulfilment of Books of Prophecy?
Maher shows that we are fulfilling the prophecy ‘the world will come to an end’, by using nuclear weaponry and by other means of polluting the planet. He believes that as long as we try and fulfil the prophecy ‘world peace’ we will in turn be fulfilling the prophecy ‘the world will come to an end’, because in attempt to bring peace, people will always try to dominate causing war and destruction.
6) Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances? Refer to the Axial Era.
When people think have nowhere else to turn, if science wasn’t there, if the war would never end, they would be seeking and would find a tiny ray of hope by having turned to God. The people of the Axial Era had lost all hope of survival, when they found God. God was seen to be acting as their protector from their harsh reality, they believed they had a chance and that God would shield them from any upcoming danger from the war.
7) What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religions leaders?
Maher draws our attention to the fact that pop stars and religious leaders dress very well, in extremely expensive clothing. He understands that in modern times people look up to people and respect people more by the way they dress, however in his criticisms, he draws on the question of why clothing should matter to religious leaders. He questioned, since Jesus dressed poorly why would religious leaders dress in a sophisticated manner? Shouldn’t they follow the image that the Bible portrays?
1. Explain what a self-fulfilling prophecy is.
ReplyDeleteA self-furfilling prophecy is one that causes itself to become true, this can be direct or indirect.
2. Why do you think Maher goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of Religion in earnest?
Maher gives his childhood biography as it is important to know about his beliefs that way it begins to give the viewer a greater understanding of why he is criticizing the church the way he is.
3. Why did Maher’s father “quit the Church”?
Maher's father quit the church as he used birthcontrol and he knew that this was fobidden by the church so he quit.
4. Identify two things mentioned by Maher, in the Trucker’s Church, that Christians believe but are not in the Bible.
1. The Virgin Birth
2. ???
5. How does Maher explain the fulfilment of Books of Prophecy?
The fact that we discovered nuclear weapons and how this relates to polluting the earth and how by trying to bring people together and forming a world where everyone gets along, this will be the begininning of the end as there will always be someone trying to reign supreme and they will do this through war.
6. Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances? Refer to the Axial Era.
In the Axial Era, this was a low point and people then came to see God as he was a way of support and someone to turn to, this is also the same for people in poor circumstances. They need someone to turn to and the idea that they are being taken care of.
7. What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religions leaders?
Both pop stars and religious leaders wear expensive clothes. This was not right in Mayer's mind as he pointed out something that was in the Synopic Gospel's. Jesus says 'Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God'.
This is significant as all religious leaders are very wealthy, what does this line say about their future then?
Phoebe Yang
ReplyDelete1. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true naturally.
2. Maher wants to justify his criticism of religion by using his own experiences. He can also make the believers of religions question themselves about their faith if they share similar experiences or processes of becoming a believer as Maher.
3. They broke the rule of the church by using birth control.
4. He questioned virgin birth.
5. Maher states that humans are causing our own destruction by using nuclear weapons, causing global warming etc. He also states that the people who wrote the books in the New Testament already read the Old Testament before writing, hence they could say that the prophecy is fulfilled whether or it is fulfilled or not.
6. They are at their wits’ end and need a superman figure to give themselves comfort and hope. This is proven by major religions springing up in the Axial Era, when there are many troubles.
7. Both parties wear expensive clothing. Religions leaders seem to be rich, which is contradictory to the description of Jesus and the teachings in the Bible.
1.Explain what a self-fulfilling prophecy is.
ReplyDeleteSelf-fulfilling prophecy is when you make a prediction and the decisions you make directly impact that predication to come true. Hence a predication that causes itself to come true.
2. Why do you think Maher goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of Religion in earnest?
He states his childhood biography so viewers are aware that he was apart of the religion and he has proofs he and put on his statements about his views of religion.
3. Why did Maher’s father “quit the Church”?
Maher’s father so called quit the church because of his use of birth control, as it was not aloud in the catholic religion.
4. Identify two things mentioned by Maher, in the Trucker’s Church, that Christians believe but are not in the Bible.
Two things mentioned are modern ideas, such as abortion and birth control and the second being the idea of a virgin mother of Jesus.
5. How does Maher explain the fulfilment of Books of Prophecy?
Maher explains that we are fulfilling the prophecies through the use of nuclear weapons, pollution and wars; as these are causing our own destruction.
6. Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances? Refer to the Axial Era.
Through the axial era we believe in religions and faith when we have nothing else and it is through theses that we acquire some sort of hope as to things getting better.
7. What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religions leaders?
He claims that they both were expensive clothes, even though the teaching in the bible do not refer to riches of any sort.
1. Explain what a self-fulfilling prophecy is.
ReplyDeleteA self-fulfilling prophecy is a prophecy that is made true by an individual. This prophecy can be set by the individual or someone else. This can be direct or indirect in this manner
2. Why do you think Maher goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of Religion in earnest?
I think it was an important thing to do as it shows that he understands religion as he was once part of the church so there is no bias and people can not accuse him of being ignorant of knowledge of the church and religion (reducto ad hominem)
3. Why did Maher’s father “quit the Church”?
Maher’s father quit the church because they were using methods of birth control which the church is against.
4. Identify two things mentioned by Maher in the trucker’s church that Christians believe but aren’t in the Bible.
Two things mentioned by Maher in the trucker’s church that Christians believe but that aren’t in the Bible are the virgin birth of Jesus and the modern laws on issues such as abortion. (?)
These two things he mentioned were the virgin birth and its impossibility and also some modern laws that were not mentioned in the bible or by jesus.
5. How does Maher explain the fulfillment of Books of Prophecy?
He talks of prophecy being the world ending, he continues to talk about humans being the way the world will end from our pollution the cause of global warming and our nuclear weapon arsenal which has continued to grow and is at the point were it has the power to destroy the world.
6. Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances? Refer to the Axial Era.
In human nature people tend to need something to turn to when everything starts falling apart and going wrong, so something that people can turn to is God and religion is something that cannot be explained and part of the transcendental dimension and this can sometimes cause miracles which is what they want. In the Axial era is when a lot of religions were founded and became popular as times were so tough that everyone was turning to God and spreading his message and saying it’s part of his plan.
7. What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religions leaders?
He draws the parallel that they both dress very ostentatiously and different to attract attention from people and take interest in them or what they do and learn about them and possibly follow them.
Benjamin Plummer
ReplyDelete11 Edwin
Questions:
1) Explain what a self-fulfilling prophecy is.
2) Why do you think Maher goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of Religion in earnest?
3) Why did Maher’s father “quit the Church”?
4) Identify two things mentioned by Maher, in the Trucker’s Church, that Christians believe but are not in the Bible.
5) How does Maher explain the fulfilment of Books of Prophecy?
6) Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances? Refer to the Axial Era.
7) What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religions leaders?
Answers:
1. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prophecy that directly or indirectly causes itself to come true.
2. Maher goes to the trouble of giving his childhood biography so as the audience can see that he is speaking form experience and that he is not just making things up. It shows that he knows what he is talking about so people can’t bring up the argument that “you wouldn’t know, you’ve never experienced religion, Christ etc…”
3. Maher’s father ‘quit’ the church because the Catholic Church banned the use of birth control methods.
4. Two things mentioned by Maher in the trucker’s church that Christians believe but that aren’t in the Bible are; the virgin birth of Jesus and the modern churches dogmatic laws on issues such as abortion, birth control and euthanasia.
5. Maher explains the fulfilment of the books of prophecy by saying that humans now possess the means of destroying themselves through nuclear weapons, pollution, climate change and modern warfare.
6. People would be more motivated to believe in God when they were in poor circumstances, such as in the axial era, as they would want to believe in a figure that could look after them and protect and save them from the horrors of what they were going through. They would also want some consolation that however bad it got for them while they were alive, there was a guaranteed ‘happily ever after’ for them once they died.
7. The parallel that Maher draws between pop stars and religious leaders is their love of fine and decadent clothing as well as their ornate jewellery and the props of their trade.
Kim West
ReplyDelete1) A self-fulfilling prophecy is an idea regarding the future and what is yet to happen, that one sets in order to make it come true for them. For example, the way in which one is spoken to, will determine the way they will react to it, which therefore becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
2) Maher needed to explain his early childhood and it’s involvement in religion so as there was no way that the audience could disregard the message he was trying to portray because of who he is. Also, by demonstrating Maher’s past and how it was heavily influenced by religion, this shows the audience that Maher’s opinions are valid because he knows exactly what he’s dealing with, thus increasing the validity of his documentary. If Maher had not outlined his early childhood, the audience would have little idea of who he is and where he came from, therefore allowing the audience to disregard his views because there is the possibility of him not knowing what he is talking about.
3) Maher’s father quit the church due to the church’s negative views on contraception methods. However, this should not be taken superficially by saying that contraception was the only reason he quit the church, rather it was the idea of the church banning something which was not written in the bible specifically. That is, the bible did not outlaw certain contraception methods, but it was the church that interpreted its scriptures to ban the contraceptive pill.
4) One is the virgin birth of Jesus which was only briefly mentioned in two of the four gospels. The other may have been the church’s modern laws on issues such as abortion and contraception, but I really can’t remember the second one.. Sorry.
5) Maher uses the examples of the discovery of nuclear weapons before peace to explain the fulfilment of the Armageddon prophecy. This outlines the idea that the predictions about the future found in the bible are already beginning to come true and fulfil themselves.
6) The motivation to believe in God more often than not comes from times when there seem to be no hope for a better life the way things are, such as during the Axial era which was one of the most torturous periods in our history. This is because religion and the idea of God provides people with answers, hope and a pathway to guide them through hard times, allowing people to put faith into believing that there is a better life out there. These products of religion are needed no more than in seemingly impossible times.
7) The idea of money and expensive clothes being important to both pop stars and religious leaders is pointed out by Maher during his documentary. This conveys the thought that both religious leaders and pop stars need to take pride in their appearance so as they can earn the respect of the public and therefore earn money.
1. A self fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that causes itself to become true. It can be direct or indirect
ReplyDelete2. it is important because it gives us background knowledge that he understands the religion he was once a part of (helps create no bias). If background info wasn’t given then the audience wouldn’t know anything about him and would disregad his thoughts/opinions (reducto ad hominem)
3. He quit the church because it (the church) banned the use of birth control methods.
4. One thing that Christians believe but are not in the bible is laws on birth control. Another includes euthanasia (it isn’t in the bible).
5. he explains the fulfilment of the book of prophecy by stating that humans now possess the means of destroying themselves, climate change and nuclear weapons
6. When poor circumstances occur, such as the axial era people like to believe in a ‘supreme being’ because they want to believe in a more powerful figure so they will be looked after and be protect.
7. He draws the similarities between the pop stars and religious leaders that they both love fine clothing and expensive jewellery.
1. Self fulfilling prophecy is something that causes iself to come true.
ReplyDelete2. It is important as it gives the viewer more credibility to Maher, as he was once religious but now is demonstrating the missing gaps within religion.
3. He left the church because of birth control (eg, the contraceptive pill)
4. That abortions are wrong, there is nothing in the bible about aboritions. This woould be because abortions were not around at the time, so the christian beliefs are moulded as time goes on. Also laws.
5. He uses irony. Eg, Finding nuclear weapons before finding peace.
6. People need something that they believe will get them through a tough time. Usually in these times they will turn to god, wether they have previously believed or not. The Axial Era is a prime example, people turned to god when they believed they needed help, or had nobody else to turn to.
7. He compares pop stars to major religious personalities. As they have expensive materailistic items, just like the man they he interviewed had. This man beleived his expensive clothes were a very important part of him and his 'profile'.
Daniel Holten
ReplyDeleteYr 11
1. Explain what a self-fulfilling prophecy is.
Self-fulfilling prophecy is a prophecy that fulfils it self, an example of this would relate to horoscopes, where those who read them consciously think about what was said and actually make it come true by relating everything they do to the horoscope.
2. Why do you think Maher goes to the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of Religion in earnest?
So that no-one watching the documentary could say that he has never believed in a god or hasn’t witnessed faith, because he has but has formed his own opinion.
3. Why did Maher’s father “quit the Church”?
Because the church did not believe in abortion, and Maher’s farther thought this was ridiculous.
4. Identify two things mentioned by Maher, in the Trucker’s Church, that Christians believe but are not in the Bible.
Not all of the gospels mentioned that Mary was a virgin throughout the birth of Jesus. Also he talks about how some new laws have been added in, when previously weren’t mentioned throughout gospels.
5. How does Maher explain the fulfilment of Books of Prophecy?
Due to very deprived and scarcity, people looked for a motivation and in a sense a light to guide them through these rough times. This then created the ‘ubermensch’ figure, it’s role including the reformation and guiding abilities to those in need.
6. Why would people be more motivated to believe in God when they are in poor circumstances? Refer to the Axial Era.
People are more likely to turn to god in poor circumstances because no-one really wants to be alone or even feel a sense of rejection, every one wishes to be comfortable and when they are outside this comfort zone as such they panic, and demand help and answers in this they turn to god. They are most likely going to turn to god when they are in need because they are scared, no-one wishes to die or be become poor, but yet those who are rich and live comfortably cant care less for those in need, because there is no need to feel loved or watched over because their only worry is being comfortable.
7. What parallel does Maher draw between the dress of pop stars and religions leaders?
Maher discussed that the apparel of pop stars and religious leaders were in fact very similar; this included things such as the cost, even the expensive rich look to which they had accumulated, in saying that he compared this to the fact that Jesus was a man of simplicity and is lack of sophistication which the religious leaders have acquired. He also poses the question shouldn’t these leaders reflect the image portrayed within the bible.
I am pleased with your appreciation of how adverse circumstances give rise to religious Faith. It is no accident or coincidence that amidst talk of an impending global economic crisis, that Church turnout for Christmas 2008 was the highest it had been for quite some years.
ReplyDeleteThe question that you really need to ask yourself is - Is it really Faith if we only turn to it in bad times?
I am disappointed, though, with the answering of question 3. I would really have liked to see more of your make reference to the difference between Biblical teaching and law and the Dogmatic teaching and law that has developed since the inception of the Catholic church.
Melad najem
ReplyDeleteHope this one goes through
1, explain what a self- fulfilling prophecy is.
A self fulfilling prophecy is a certain aspect of life IE a message that makes it self come true
2, why do you think Maher goes through the trouble of giving you his childhood biography before beginning his criticism of religion in earnest
Maher does this so that the viewers can understand that he was once part of the religion causes a sense of equality IE no biased and having background experience to back his claims. He also does this to make a connection between him and his viewers. His troubled religious background proves that he seeks answers
3, why did Maher’s father quit the church
The reason is because the father wished to use birth control and the church said no
4, identify two things mentioned by Maher in the trucker’s church that christens
Believe but aren’t in the bible.
The Abortion and the virgin birth of the lors