E
ethereality
Guest
Steve Ray has a talk on YouTube arguing that, according to the Bible, belief means obedience, rather than intellectual agreement or understanding. Is it okay to receive the Eucharist if you’re not cognizant of any mortal sin and are obedient to Church teaching, even if you think God probably doesn’t exist? According to Steve Ray, the answer appears to be, ‘Yes’, because one does believe if one is obedient, that obedience demonstrates belief.
After extensive reading and noting all the problems with the apologetics of Trent Horn and others, I have come to the conclusion that I have no good reason to believe in God, i.e. to believe the Catholic Church. I am now a Christian in spite of the evidence, not because of it. I continue practicing the Christian faith perhaps from psychological weakness, that I want God to exist, but at the same time I have reached a fatalistic fatigue: I’m tired of knocking at the door. I’m ready to regard God as a “Sunday only” kind of thing, because I’m tired of praying to silence and reading the same Bible over and over again.
Reciting the Nicene Creed bothers me: What does it mean to believe it? Do I or do I not? If someone were to put a gun to me and say, “Do you believe everything in the Nicene Creed?” I would have to say, “I don’t know if it’s true, but I hope it’s true.” Does that constitute belief? Am I lying when I recite it at Mass?
It seems my efforts to learn more are at an end, as well. I cannot afford to purchase any more books, nor would I have the time to read them except a little on weekends, and Catholic Answers seems to have no more to give me: I tried calling Trent Horn recently, and was bitterly disappointed. I was not allowed to ask my original question (asking Trent to defend his frequently assumed ‘principle of sufficient reason’), and I was not allowed to remain on the air for more than a brief moment. It seemed they did not want to interact with me. It seems to me that I have exhausted “Catholic Answers Live” as a resource: They don’t want to engage in a lengthy, serious debate on the air; they only want Intro to Philosophy questions for Trent Horn to easily answer. There is content in the Catholic Encyclopedia, but much of it I have already read, and it only takes me part of the way (and of course it cannot answer the questions it raises). I’ve already read Trent Horn’s book, and many others. I know the Christian faith better than many others, thanks in part to Catholic Answers, and to some extent that only makes my despair worse, because I am forced to ask, “Is this really all there is? Are these really the best arguments in defense of Christianity?”
I suppose I’m posting this here just to double-check that it’s okay for me to continue receiving the Eucharist on Sundays, and with some small hope that someone will have some resource for me, or open some door. Perhaps I need counseling for depression (medical treatment), but that is another problem in itself (lack of healthcare access).
After extensive reading and noting all the problems with the apologetics of Trent Horn and others, I have come to the conclusion that I have no good reason to believe in God, i.e. to believe the Catholic Church. I am now a Christian in spite of the evidence, not because of it. I continue practicing the Christian faith perhaps from psychological weakness, that I want God to exist, but at the same time I have reached a fatalistic fatigue: I’m tired of knocking at the door. I’m ready to regard God as a “Sunday only” kind of thing, because I’m tired of praying to silence and reading the same Bible over and over again.
Reciting the Nicene Creed bothers me: What does it mean to believe it? Do I or do I not? If someone were to put a gun to me and say, “Do you believe everything in the Nicene Creed?” I would have to say, “I don’t know if it’s true, but I hope it’s true.” Does that constitute belief? Am I lying when I recite it at Mass?
It seems my efforts to learn more are at an end, as well. I cannot afford to purchase any more books, nor would I have the time to read them except a little on weekends, and Catholic Answers seems to have no more to give me: I tried calling Trent Horn recently, and was bitterly disappointed. I was not allowed to ask my original question (asking Trent to defend his frequently assumed ‘principle of sufficient reason’), and I was not allowed to remain on the air for more than a brief moment. It seemed they did not want to interact with me. It seems to me that I have exhausted “Catholic Answers Live” as a resource: They don’t want to engage in a lengthy, serious debate on the air; they only want Intro to Philosophy questions for Trent Horn to easily answer. There is content in the Catholic Encyclopedia, but much of it I have already read, and it only takes me part of the way (and of course it cannot answer the questions it raises). I’ve already read Trent Horn’s book, and many others. I know the Christian faith better than many others, thanks in part to Catholic Answers, and to some extent that only makes my despair worse, because I am forced to ask, “Is this really all there is? Are these really the best arguments in defense of Christianity?”
I suppose I’m posting this here just to double-check that it’s okay for me to continue receiving the Eucharist on Sundays, and with some small hope that someone will have some resource for me, or open some door. Perhaps I need counseling for depression (medical treatment), but that is another problem in itself (lack of healthcare access).
Yes, if you want to believe and are trying to believe–then it is an act of faith to reciite the parts of the Creed you find difficult to grasp/believe. If you mean in spite of certain knowledge or against your well-formed conscience, then no, it’s not an act of faith, but of habit. Only you can know the difference. Still, discussing this with a priest would be the best thing to do, as someone else wisely suggested. 