Books for those who doubt

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Though my husband was born and raised Catholic and attends church weekly, he is starting to question everything about his faith. He even questions whether Jesus was the Messiah or just a very great man! I heard the “Handbook of Christian Apologetics” recommended on Relevant Radio and bought it for him. He is muddling through it, but it doesn’t seem to strike the right chord.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and found a book that was helpful? I guess faith truly is a gift.

Thanks
 
Dear Friend

Your husband is at the threshold of a deepening of faith. He is exploring every aspect of his faith even to the point of doubting the basic truths of faith, this is a point of huge reversion for him. He needs to consume literature on the faith, read and read and read …and pray and pray and pray! In order to deepen faith must be reassessed, taken to pieces and remade, this period is hard for you, but he needs to go through it. Take heart don’t worry, don’t pressure him , this is a path the Lord is taking him on

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
Thanks, Theresa. I agree that this period of questioning will help him deepen his faith and make his beliefs clearer. I am hoping that the Catholic Forum family, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, will be able to recommend some appropriate reading material to help him on his journey.
 
Perhaps you should start him out with something smaller and less systematic. Has he read “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis?
 
Dear friend

Start at the beginning, first pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and then read the four Gospels, slowly, pondering them and contemplating on them, letting Christ speak to him directly through His Word…Read Catholic Answers online on any point that is striking as something of a problem to him. Advise him to read any book that contains conversion or reversion stories by other people, this will make him feel less alone.

Everyone at some point suffers doubts, it’s not a bad or strange phenomenon, it is a growth process. Jesus called Himself the Son of Man, imagine if He had said, ‘I am God’ they would have crucified and killed Him there and then! But He said ‘I am life’ who is life but God? Jesus said ‘I come not to judge but to give life abundantly’ who can do this but God? Jesus said ‘I and the Father are one, to have seen me is to have seen the Father’…so Christ Jesus slowly and surely through scripture revealed His Divinity, in the Transfiguration showed Himself as Divine, as God. ’ I give my life, I lay it down freely, I give it no-one can take it from me’ all of these words and many more throughout Sacred Scripture reveal Christ as part of the three persons of the Holy Trinity of which is and remains a mystery, but God is truine and Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. In His ressurection He is glorified and in every miracle , in every word that is utter Divine wisdom and in every healing which is God’s realm only and in, by and through God life is healed and ressurected in mind, body and spirit, only God can do this. So Jesus in His ministry of three years revealed His Divine nature veiled in humanity. Jesus slowly revealed He is God.

You husband may benefit from a Spiritual Director and/or regular meetings with his Priest, because they will be able to lead him into a deep reading not only of scripture but of profitable books for his salvation and personal peace.

He may also wish to pray more to the Holy Spirit, (who has become my personal favourite of the Trinity under great and good spiritual guidance of my Priest) who enlightens the mind and heart and leads and counsels us, for our benefit and those around us.

God Bless you and your husband, you remain in my prayers, much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
I recommend “The Everlasting Man” and “Orthodoxy” by G. K. Chesterton and “Faith and Certitude” by Fr. Thomas Dubay.

These books helped me on my journey back into the faith. The “Jesus was a really great (or enlightened) man” type of argument just doesn’t hold. Look at what we know.

Jesus said that He was God. He said that He would be persecuted and killed because of it. He told His followers that they would be persecuted and killed for believing in Him. He told them that they had to adhere to the faith in the face of persecution and torturous death and that He would reward them in Heaven for it.

Either Jesus was exactly who and what He said He was OR

He was not but believed that He was (in other words, He was insane) OR

He was a manically evil person who deliberately deceived people knowing that He was sending them to a horrible death. Those are really the only options.
 
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Teresa9:
Your husband is at the threshold of a deepening of faith. He is exploring every aspect of his faith even to the point of doubting the basic truths of faith, this is a point of huge reversion for him. He needs to consume literature on the faith, read and read and read …and pray and pray and pray! In order to deepen faith must be reassessed, taken to pieces and remade, this period is hard for you, but he needs to go through it. Take heart don’t worry, don’t pressure him , this is a path the Lord is taking him on
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:clapping: Dear Teresa,

As a frequent doubter myself, I loved your words here. I’ve read entire books that tried to explain what you have written in one paragraph.

I also liked your other suggestions about spiritual direction. I was also thinking, if her husband is up for some “hard core” stuff, he might just check into The Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross.

Alan
 
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http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon1.gif Re: Spirituality IndividualityThe Self & God
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Originally Posted by RS1
Thank you for your answer White Dove. Does someone have suggested readings? More guidance that strikes at the heart of my dilemma?

This might be helpful to you. It was to me. Pere Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.'s* The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life. *

It speaks of spiritual growth in stages, conversion, followed by deeper conversions. Such as the changes accomplished in the Apostles of Jesus as they first recognized Jesus, and began to follow Him, then built their lives around Him being conformed to Him and assimilating His teaching, and then experienceing their own weakness and even defeat culminating in a transformation, such as wrought by the glance of Jesus after Peter had denied Him. Peter converts now at a deeper level not of ego but the death of that ego that seeks itself for itself.

My synopsis is poor but the book won’t let you down. It incorporates the purgative effects of life situations when we allow God to form us, conform us and finally transform us. As God increases and we decrease, we become more ourselves for we let go of our idols (which are empty and deceptive leading us nowhere) and live in Truth for Truth, hallowed by the very Spirit of God.
**Eucharistic Adoration **

savior.org/newdevotions.htm

Dear friend

I found this post on another thread and copied it here as the book may help your husband

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
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