Setting the Foundation, Building the Framework
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• Chapter Two:
  The Gospel of Creation
  1. The Light Offered by Faith
  2. The Wisdom of the Biblical Accounts
  3. The Mystery of the Universe
  4. The Message of Each Creature in the Harmony of Creation
  5. A Universal Communion
  6. The Common Destination of Goods
  7. The Gaze of Jesus
• Chapter Three:
  The Crisis and Effects of Modern Anthropocentrism
  1. Technology: Creativity and Power
  2. The Globalization of the Technocratic Paradigm
  3. The Crisis and Effects of Modern Anthropocentrism
     • Practical Relativism
     • The need to protect employment
     • New biological technologies

Discussion:

1. How did I respond to Pope Francis' visit to the U.S. last week? What made the biggest impression on me? What hopes do I now have for what may come of his visit?
2. In Chapter 2, the language about God is patriarchal, and in places, male dominant. How is the use of male dominant language heard by those who believe they also are in the image of God, but can never be patriarchs?
3. How am I able to worship the Creator FOR all creatures and IN UNION with them?
4. How can I open my heart more authentically to universal communion?
5. How do I to feel the cry of the earth as an ailment or disfigurement?
6. For what benefits of technoscience do I feel the most gratitude and appreciation?
7. How is my relationship to nature confrontational?
8. How do I participate in possessing rather than receiving from nature?
9. How instead will I extend a friendly hand and accept the hand offered?
10. How is my freedom (space for alternative creativity) diminished by the dominant technological paradigm?
11. What does "integral human development" mean to me? What does "social inclusion" mean to me?
12. What, in my view, are the greatest barriers to integral human development and social inclusion today?

Reflection:

1. How do I experience the mystery of incarnation in my everyday life?
2. How does my indifference to cruelty toward fellow creatures of this world affect the way I treat other human beings?
3. How does my indifference to the suffering of other human beings affect the ways I relate to the resources of the earth?
4. In what ways am I complicit in handing over responsibility for the use of power to the blind forces of the unconscious, of immediate needs, of self-interest, and of violence?

Resources:

Presentation slides: https://prezi.com/uhcs9hm19ptw/

Presentation as PDF: http://1in7b.net/encyclical/Week2.pdf

Facebook Discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OurCommonHome/