Does being catholic make you wiser?

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Does you religious choice make you wiser? Smarter? Make better choices?
 
I personally think it depends.

I want to first note that someones intelligence does not determine the truth of things.
Atheists can be smarter than theists, theists can be than atheists, it does not change anything.

Now, I think if you really try to live your life according to Catholic teaching, the truth will set you free and in turn make you more wise as the holy spirit will be on your side.

And to be fair, I don’t think smartness makes any difference on loving people either.
There have been smart people that dont love, and smart people that do love. Same goes with
less intelligent people. So in the end, while I would say yes to the answer, I would also have to say its a case by case basis and in the end does not matter.
 
evangelical said:
Does you religious choice make you wiser? Smarter? Make better choices?
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The question is ambiguous.

First, what exactly is meant by “Catholic” or “religious choice” here? Do you count the ones that have been baptised? The ones that say they are Catholic during census? The ones who try to follow Church teaching?

Second, what is being compared? Is the question “Are Catholics wiser on average?”? Is it “On average, would someone be wiser if he was a Catholic?”? Is it “Are all Catholics wiser than any non-Catholic?”?

If the question is “Is everyone who claims to be a Catholic during census wiser than anyone claiming to be non-Catholic?”, the answer is obviously “No.”. If the question is “On average, would someone be wiser if he was a Catholic trying to follow Church teaching?”, the answer is obviously “Yes.”.
 
evangelical said:
Does you religious choice make you wiser?
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If a particular religion is true, and if one is oriented towards that truth, then naturally such a person will have a better chance than they otherwise would have of being able to apply truth to any given context. To put it another way: if your basic presuppositions about life are valid, you will be in a better position to come to valid conclusions when you attempt to reason about life’s circumstances. Or again another way: you can’t give what you don’t have.

But being in a better position to do something does not necessarily lead to an expectation that that something will be accomplished.
evangelical said:
Smarter?
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Yes and no. Native intelligence is one thing; its cultivation is another, and Catholicism has historically done a fine job of cultivating natural intelligence.
evangelical said:
Make better choices?
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You are in a better position to make better choices if your understanding is better informed by truth. But again, this does not imply that something will necessarily come of your better position. Knowing what one ought to do does not mean one has the strength, the discipline, the virtue to do so.
 
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do you still feel this way clarkgamble? Remember we are not here to feel special or to have no trials. We are here to love and serve God no matter what He brings our way 🕯️
 
A wise man loves everyone and scorns no one while at the same time never compromising the love one has for the lord because perfect love comes from God.

In a fallen world this is a difficult thing to do. Even peter denied Jesus 3 times. We are in a spiritual war against our fallen nature; make no mistake.
 
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clarkgamble said:
That I was nobody special was a depressing thought.
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It isn’t correct to infer from that answer that you are no one special. We should thank God every day for being made special by His grace and by the redemptive work of Christ, to say nothing of the simple glory of being human.

And theologically, the notion that God favors His people with material prosperity is a notion derived from Calvinism and eventually things like Hagin and his so-called Word of Faith Gospel. That is not, however, the historic Christian faith.

But of course Catholics are more likely to go to heaven than they otherwise would have been if they had been unbaptized or even if they had been Protestant.
 
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Does being catholic make you wiser?
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Absolutely! The very search for God and conversion makes one wiser. Then baptism brings with it many spiritual gifts which enable one to become wiser still.

“A new creature”

1265 Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte “a new creature,” an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature,"69 member of Christ and co-heir with him,70 and a temple of the Holy Spirit.71

1266 The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:
  • enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues;
  • giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit;
  • allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.
    Thus the whole organism of the Christian’s supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.
evangelical said:
Does you religious choice make you wiser? Smarter? Make better choices?
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Yes. The Catholic Church is the true Church through which God pours out His sanctifiying grace. This sanctifying grace is a share in God’s life. One becomes united to Jesus Christ and this union, without anything else, makes one wiser. But there is even more. Because the Church is the Teacher of God’s wisdom (Eph 3:10). Therefore, if one learns God’s wisdom, one becomes wiser.
 
Following Jesus makes you wiser and since Jesus founded the Catholic Church it would be wise to follow Him.

😉
 
My opinion is that the Catholic CHurch contains a WEALTH of wisdom, and faithful and educated Catholics have a great possibility of being wiser, If they pay attention. 😇
 
clarkgamble I agree with your teacher because many Catholics have suffered much and many have not had long lives or lived affluent lives these past 2,000 years.

We are Catholic because we were Baptised Catholic. But, how well educated are we in the Catholic Way of Life? How faithful are we in living the Catholic Way of Life?

I agree with you, we are very lucky to have the Gift of Faith to some degree. But I think most of us realize our Faith could be stronger. We are correct to constantly wonder about our place in the scheme of things. Each of us has a God given mission to perform and many of us older folks realize we have had a series of missions.

That we think ourselves nobody special is a mark of humility unless one thinks that being special is a proper goal. We are here to serve God by being of loving service to others. IT is enough to think that God does love me and is forgiving my sins when I confess them sincerely and renew my personal effort to do His Will with humility.
 
For me as a convert yes definately…i have to put in the work and self study to grow my spiritual life and learn these things which were never taught to me in life but it has blessed me immensely and i actually have hope even though the situations of my life that bring me pain are still there…i find peace in the midst of the storms.
 
It is wise in the sense, that it orients the appetite both sensual and rational to the end that truly matters. It will be foolish to not know the truth of the disaster of sin and come to hell where there is no escape.
 
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