1) Discuss the theological virtue of hope in relation to natural human restlessness.
Restless Heart: In being human, we always desire more, regardless of how successful our lives are.
Theological Virtue of Hope: The virtue that transforms human restlessness and desire into union with God.
Augustine’s Confessions: "You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you"
C.S Lewis: describes this restlessness as “There was something we grasped at, in the first moment of longing, which just fades away in reality.”
Two Responses to Restlessness:
1) Despair: human beings are condemned to desire something they will never be able to satisfy reflects fundamental meaningless of human existence.
Disillusioned Man: believes “that no relationship, job, or activity will fully satisfy him”.
Presumes union with God is assured, and thus other goals take precedence over God
2) The Fools Way: problem lies w/in the object (seen as imperfect)
Trying to calm the restless heart by searching for the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect relationship, the perfect hobby
Theological Virtue of Hope: Nature of theological virtue, fixated on God
Human Restlessness can become a source of attraction for God.
True Hope:
Transforms restlessness/desire into desire for union with God.
Prevents us from seeking fulfillment in things that appear to satisfy us
Helps us see good things, by seeing them in relation to supreme end, union with God.
Foretaste of union with God
Is the opposite of Hell, where utter despair is absence of hope
Succeeds faith, since it is by faith we are even aware of a possibility of union with God
“In times of doubt, in times of death and tragedy, in times of vicious injustice, in recognition of our own sinfulness, it is all too easy to become like the disillusioned sensible man and fall into despair by giving up on the possibility of complete happiness.”
2) Discuss the distinction between intention and foreseen consequences in light of withholding life-sustaining treatment from a patient.
Welcoming Death VS Seeking Death
Definitions:
Euthanasia:
The intentional