Yap, Paula C.2014-23128Faith and ReasonThe purpose of this paper is to give reaction to the TV sitcom watchedReynolds vs. Reynolds: The Cereal Defense. In focus of Macs behavior upon watching the show, people with strong religious affiliation affect their judgment in identifying fact from fiction.In the episode, Mac believes that he, with genetic mutation in X-men, can procreate a son capable of bending steel if he inseminated the right woman; yet he does not believe in evolution and claims to be a solid creationist. Mac might have perceived that if Creationism were possible, why wouldn't a boy with supernatural ability be. Cognitive Science published a research about people's judgment about fact and fiction is affiliated by their religious and nonreligious backgrounds during childhood. It says that its difficult for young children to differentiate between fact and fiction after they have been exposed to religion. The researchers suggest that religious teaching and exposure to miracle-based stories give children a more common acceptance of the impossible, despite whats actually realistic.When Macs credibility was questioned, he refuses to deny his strong belief that God created the universe and justifies his statement that evolution does not exist to prove the others wrong. Likewise, people seem to have developed characteristics against what the church teaches, and they do not realize it. An individual who goes around insisting that they are always right is an arrogant person. People who behave like Mac seems to display the contrast of what their religion solely teach them. Every religion from another claims they are right and the others are wrong. People with exclusivist beliefs typically explain other religions as either in error, or as corruptions or counterfeits of the true faith. In monotheistic faiths, references to God are used in constructs such as "God's Chosen People". People with inclusivist beliefs recognize some truth in all faith systems, highlighting agreements and minimizing differences, but see their own faith as in some way ultimate. (Boundless) Self-confidence imparted through religion is tolerable, but arrogance of alleged superiority is not. Like Mac, strongly religious people being involved in arguments tend to insist that their assertions are right when in reality they fail to find logical evidence to support their claims thus they easily slip through fallacious statements. Moreover, they are disadvantaged of identifying fact from fiction because they interpret their holy scriptures too literally. St. Augustine warns about taking the Bible too literally, he took the view that the Biblical text should not be interpreted as properly literal, but rather as metaphorical.(Maas) For instance, Samuel Rowbotham supported the notion of a flat Earth, based on literal interpretation of certain biblical passages. In 1956, Samuel Shenton took over the Universal Zetetic Society, which would later become the Flat Earth Society. The Flat Earth Society took the position that the Apollo Moon landings were a hoax, because the photos of Earth taken from Apollo 8 was spherical and not flat. Though science, throughout the years, has proven that indeed the earth is not flat, the Flat Earth Society still exists today under president Daniel Shenton. These are Bible references that the Flat Earth Society think supports the notion of a flat Earth, because if taken literally, according to Flat-earthers, the Bible says the Earth is a flat circle, the Earth has ends, edges and four corners, the Bible tells about a tree so high that it was visible from the ends of the Earth and so on:He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth... (Isa. 40.22)...the four quarters of the earth. (Isa. 11.12)...I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth... (Rev. 7.1)...that it might take the earth by the edges... (Job 38.13)...the nations will come from the ends of the earth... (Jer. 16.19)Due to extreme theological devotion, religious people are deprived of truth and worse, they are willingly denying the truth before their eyes. Consequently, making themselves appear foolish before others. Strong affiliation to religion caused Mac for being unable to figure out that his claim of having a son with supernatural ability is fictitious. It is inevitable that ones deductive reasoning is affected by the impact of the church towards his life. He cannot have full control over what might influence him or not. Nonetheless he can't point out fingers to blame for the results of his own judgments. Thus, one must find the balance between critical thinking and belief whenever being involved in arguments. St. Augustines "entire intellectual and spiritual development," Pope Benedict stated in his third audience on the African Doctor (January 30, 2008), "is also a valid model today in the relationship between faith and reason, a subject not only for believers but for every person who seeks the truth..." (Olson)References

"Beliefs - Boundless Open Textbook."Boundless. Boundless. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.Corriveau, Kathleen H., Eva E. Chen, and Paul L. Harris. "Judgments About Fact and Fiction by Children From Religious and Nonreligious Backgrounds."Wiley Online Library. Cognitive Science, 3 July 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.Maas, Anthony."Biblical Exegesis."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 5.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1909.7 Dec. 2014Olson, Carl. "Augustine's Confessions and the Harmony of Faith and Reason."Catholic Answers Magazine. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.New International Version. Bible Gateway. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.