Questions on Belief and Theology

According to Pascal’s Wager, why is it reasonable to believe in God? If we live as if God exists and we are right, we have Heaven. If we live as if God exists and we are wrong, we haven’t lost anything because our life was meaningless anyway. If we live as if God doesn’t exist, and He does, we have lost everything! In conclusion, there is nothing to lose by believing in God, but everything to lose if we don’t.

Why is it reasonable to believe in Christianity? Jesus claimed to be God, so either He was a liar, lunatic, or Lord. He CANNOT just be a good moral teacher. Liars lie to gain some reward, Jesus didn’t “gain” anything beneficial on earth. Lunatics don’t make sense but Jesus was intelligent, reasonable, and His followers testified to this by becoming martyrs. Also, Jesus rose from the dead and it would have been impossible to steal His body.

Why is it reasonable to believe Catholicism is the fullness of truth? Writings of the early church fathers show that Catholics still believe the same truths that the earliest Christians believed (i.e. pope, Eucharist, etc.) Also, Jesus established a Kingdom (the Church) and it was structured after David’s Kingdom from the Old Testament. The Davidic Kingdom had a priest-king, queen mother, prime minister, and sacred ritual oaths. These must be fulfilled in the Church Jesus founded. The Catholic Church includes all of these: Jesus, Mary, the pope, the sacraments.

Trilemma - C.S. Lewis’ argument to defend Jesus’ divinity through the three possibilities of Lord, Liar, or Lunatic.

Davidic Kingdom - Kingdom from the Old Testament that was a foreshadowing of the Kingdom Jesus came to establish.

Early Church Fathers - refers to the men who were taught by the Apostles or the disciples of the Apostles; these earliest Christian theologians help us understand the meaning of scripture.

What was the role of the queen mother in David’s Kingdom? The queen was the mother of the king; she interceded on behalf of the inhabitants of the kingdom; she brought their petitions before the king.

What was the role of the prime minister in David’s Kingdom? He was “second in command” to the King; he governed temporal affairs; he possessed the King’s authority to rule the Kingdom when the King was not able to; he acted as a father to the inhabitants of the kingdom; given the keys as a symbol of his authority.