How to address "hard questions" from parents about religion?

[Elena321]

Double posted by accident.
Please ignore.

I visited my parents tonight and my dad (I’m an adult) said that while he is a Catholic by birth/culture/baptism he,even now at 70 something years old doesn’t know which religion (if any) is right and that they all seem to have some “baloney” in them and that things like the immaculate conception don’t sound realistic/make rational sense and that maybe the story of Jesus and Christianity was made up by some men in some point in history etc…

How would I give a well reasoned response to this?
I,personally also struggle with belief and somedays believe but other times wonder if the concept of God,Jesus,Catholicism etc is just a concept made by our minds and that this understanding of the concept of God or Holy Spirit etc would be “wiped out” if our brain got severe Dementia and our perceptions were wiped out/severely affected.
IOW,is God only real if we can perceive Him/form a concept about him?

I hope that makes sense!

Elena

 

[pianistclare]

Get him a copy of the US Catholic Catechism for Adults…it has the catechism, BUT includes many articles that explain the concepts, why we believe as we do as well as inspiring Saint stories. When he asks something, take that topic and read it aloud to him. That way it’s not an argument with YOU, it’s a piece scholarly of information.
it’s just easier and less daunting to comprehend.
amazon.com/United-States-Catholic-Catechism-Adults-ebook/dp/B007R6BN1K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492960410&sr=8-1&keywords=US+Catholic+Catechism+for+Adults

Equally helpful:
The Catholic Answer Bible: same deal, similar format

amazon.com/New-Catholic-Answer-Bible-American/dp/1592761860/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492960544&sr=8-1&keywords=Catholic+Answer+Bible

All you can do is provide solid answers. It’s up to him to believe.
Good luck.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I’m a great believer in honesty. Why not tell your father that you also struggle with some of these questions and then explain why you choose to be Catholic despite the struggles. You must find some truth or relevance or benefit that keeps you connected. Share those things with him.

 

[angell1]

Double posted by accident.
Please ignore.

I visited my parents tonight and my dad (I’m an adult) said that while he is a Catholic by birth/culture/baptism he,even now at 70 something years old doesn’t know which religion (if any) is right and that they all seem to have some “baloney” in them and that things like the immaculate conception don’t sound realistic/make rational sense and that maybe the story of Jesus and Christianity was made up by some men in some point in history etc…

How would I give a well reasoned response to this?
I,personally also struggle with belief and somedays believe but other times wonder if the concept of God,Jesus,Catholicism etc is just a concept made by our minds and that this understanding of the concept of God or Holy Spirit etc would be “wiped out” if our brain got severe Dementia and our perceptions were wiped out/severely affected.
IOW,is God only real if we can perceive Him/form a concept about him?

I hope that makes sense!

Elena

hi elena,

I will address the part about people making up the story of Jesus.

most of the first followers of Christ went to their gruesome deaths, either by the Jews or the Romans.

how likely would it be to make up something of that enormity in that scenario? generally speaking, if someone is lying, they don’t joyfully die for it.

 

[pianistclare]

IMO that won’t work.
He will simply point out that all the other religions have “scholarly information” as well.
Which will take her right back to his original statement that he can’t know which one, if any, is right or true–especially if he’s been Catholic for 70 years and is already aware of what the catechism and its concepts say.

.

you a trained catechist?
This is what we of with RCIA classes. Works fine, especially when the person leading is keenly interested in the person gaining knowledge, as I’m sure she is.
Likely he’s not aware of what the church teaches. That’s the whole point.

 

[Assyrian412]

It seems that he is going off of the assumption that all religions are equal or somehow make equally valid claims. Like a previous poster had suggested, be honest and speak with him about your doubts. Then, look at what sort of claims other religions make vs Catholicism, the different moral standards in comparison to Catholicism, the strong historical arguments for the Church, and the willingness of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd century Christians to die for the faith.

It sounds like in order to have a good conversation with him, you will need to do some research of other world religions.

I also suggest looking into the ante nicene Fathers (Church Fathers before the Council of Nicaea, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd centuries). The writings that have been preserved predate the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire. You will notice that they speak of confession and the sacrificial nature of the eucharist just like we have 2000 years later. They were also willing to die for their faith.It is pretty extraordinary that these practices have been preserved for this long. The faith that was founded on a crucified Galilean that was once punishable by death became the official religion of the Rome Empire.

Why would people make up a faith and then give up their lives for a lie?

 

[venite_adoremus]

This thread has been posted twice. See other thread too.

 

[Elena321]

Get him a copy of the US Catholic Catechism for Adults…it has the catechism, BUT includes many articles that explain the concepts, why we believe as we do as well as inspiring Saint stories. When he asks something, take that topic and read it aloud to him. That way it’s not an argument with YOU, it’s a piece scholarly of information.
it’s just easier and less daunting to comprehend.
amazon.com/United-States-Catholic-Catechism-Adults-ebook/dp/B007R6BN1K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492960410&sr=8-1&keywords=US+Catholic+Catechism+for+Adults

Equally helpful:
The Catholic Answer Bible: same deal, similar format

amazon.com/New-Catholic-Answer-Bible-American/dp/1592761860/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492960544&sr=8-1&keywords=Catholic+Answer+Bible

All you can do is provide solid answers. It’s up to him to believe.
Good luck.

Thanks Clare.I think buying him the Catechism for adults is the best option.
Sometimes I wonder if priests aren’t doing enough to help people grasp the Catholic faith because in my dad’s 70 something years he’s never even heard of-been told about the Catechism.

 

[Elena321]

IMO that won’t work.
He will simply point out that all the other religions have “scholarly information” as well.
Which will take her right back to his original statement that he can’t know which one, if any, is right or true–especially if he’s been Catholic for 70 years and is already aware of what the catechism and its concepts say.

.

Lol,yes he’s very likely to say that.
He isn’t aware of the Catechism/what it states but last night he was stating that other religions also have “bibles”/instruction books and that he’s confused about the whole thing.

 

[Elena321]

I’m a great believer in honesty. Why not tell your father that you also struggle with some of these questions and then explain why you choose to be Catholic despite the struggles. You must find some truth or relevance or benefit that keeps you connected. Share those things with him.

Last night I said to him that in all honesty,some people (ie:like myself) never stop struggling with these questions or can’t say with 100% certainty that it is real but I find that the teachings of Jesus are “best” comparibly to any other religions (although there’s likely some value in all religions) and that Jesus teaches its better to have humility than to be arrogant,be kind to others,help the less fortunate,not “worship” money,help others instead of being self absorbed,turn the other cheek etc and that his teachings/values “appeal” to me.
I could see by his expression that this answer wasn’t sufficient though.

The irony is though that my father actually is all these things/applies these things in life.
For example he’s kindhearted to people,helpful,caring father,a good listener,tries to make people’s day brighter and says sorry if he has upset someone etc.
He sells at the markets and once he (by chance) had a painting of Jesus and this guy asked how much it was and my dad could see he really wanted it so he gave it to him for free and the man was so happy.

 

[Elena321]

It seems that he is going off of the assumption that all religions are equal or somehow make equally valid claims. Like a previous poster had suggested, be honest and speak with him about your doubts. Then, look at what sort of claims other religions make vs Catholicism, the different moral standards in comparison to Catholicism, the strong historical arguments for the Church, and the willingness of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd century Christians to die for the faith.

It sounds like in order to have a good conversation with him, you will need to do some research of other world religions.

I also suggest looking into the ante nicene Fathers (Church Fathers before the Council of Nicaea, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd centuries). The writings that have been preserved predate the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire. You will notice that they speak of confession and the sacrificial nature of the eucharist just like we have 2000 years later. They were also willing to die for their faith.It is pretty extraordinary that these practices have been preserved for this long. The faith that was founded on a crucified Galilean that was once punishable by death became the official religion of the Rome Empire.

Why would people make up a faith and then give up their lives for a lie?

At the same time though,I don’t want to give him the impression that I think Christians are more kind or moral than people from other religions.
Perhaps it should be this way in theory,but in reality I know of many people who are Muslim,Agnostic,New age types etc who also help the poor,treat others in loving,harmonious and respectful ways etc.
Regarding morals-I think Christian and Muslim religion have different morals than new age “spirituality” type religions as they are not ok with abortion etc but I think taking this approach might come on “too heavy” for my dad.

 

[Logical2]

Some people need to c signs and wonders to recognize the supernatural . churches that have apostles and prophets have more spiritual demonstration . other wise you are listening to someone’s memorize d commerentary. It can be as easy as watching the TV program “its supernatural” with sid. Roth. Or watching the 700 club when they pray and demonstrate praying healing and knowledge.