C
Cimachol
Guest
I felt a connection with St. Teresa of Avila. St. Augustine’s “Confessions” is also great.
How do you know if you really have *faith* and not just "intellecual assent"?
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L
Lucretius
Guest
Did I act out of true love, or did I act because it made me feel good? What if God makes it painful and difficult to do acts of Charity…
Do I believe because of my society and upbringing, or would I eventually become Christian if raised in a non-Christian environment? Can I shout the parts of God’s truth that society rejects from the rooftops…
Do I believe this because God revealed it, or do I believe it because I, with my own intellect, find it true? If philosophy is faith seeking understanding, what happens if God takes away understanding…
Is Job’s righteousness genuine, or is he righteous merely because God blessed him with material riches, good health, and a good upbringing? What happens if God takes those away…
Do I believe because of my society and upbringing, or would I eventually become Christian if raised in a non-Christian environment? Can I shout the parts of God’s truth that society rejects from the rooftops…
Do I believe this because God revealed it, or do I believe it because I, with my own intellect, find it true? If philosophy is faith seeking understanding, what happens if God takes away understanding…
Is Job’s righteousness genuine, or is he righteous merely because God blessed him with material riches, good health, and a good upbringing? What happens if God takes those away…
L
Lucretius
Guest
How do we know Job is faithful to God? Because God took away all the other possible phony reasons for Job to act faithful to God. If Job was righteous because of his wealth, he wouldn’t have continued being righteous after losing it. If Job was faithful because of his health, he wouldn’t have continued being faithful after developing boils. We know Job is truly righteous because even though it was painful and seemingly harmful in multiple ways for him to be righteous, he was still righteous.
In the similar way, if you lost the understanding of faith, would you still believe? Can you even ever know?
One of the reasons God allows suffering and lost is so that we can come to know our true selves. As far as I’m aware, you can’t figure out yourself ultimately whether you have faith or not, so you must trust yourself over to the Lord: if He finds that your faith is lacking, He will show you without fail, either through natural or supernatural means, and often through trials, like the one Job suffered.
Am I posting this very comment to win praise and show off my intelligence, or am I doing it out of love for you? I think the former…
Christi pax,
Lucretius
In the similar way, if you lost the understanding of faith, would you still believe? Can you even ever know?
One of the reasons God allows suffering and lost is so that we can come to know our true selves. As far as I’m aware, you can’t figure out yourself ultimately whether you have faith or not, so you must trust yourself over to the Lord: if He finds that your faith is lacking, He will show you without fail, either through natural or supernatural means, and often through trials, like the one Job suffered.
Am I posting this very comment to win praise and show off my intelligence, or am I doing it out of love for you? I think the former…
Christi pax,
Lucretius
L
Lucretius
Guest
The Desert Fathers were monastics and hermits living in the Middle Eastern and African deserts in the second and third century, basing their lifestyle on Christ’s forty days fasting in the desert. Their wisdom and sanctity were well known, and their students wrote down some of their sayings and actions, which influence Christian monasticism and asceticism ever since: coptic.net/articles/sayingsofdesertfathers.txt
Christi pax,
Lucretius
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