I have some questions for Catholics as an Agnostic. Don't know if this website is the right place to ask

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I was a former Catholic a few years back. I gradually over a few years moved away from Catholicism until I realized I was agnostic. Is anyone here interested in a discussion to answer a few questions of mine, and I will answer questions if you want. Perhaps there is an apologist website I should go to instead to talk to a real apologist? I am interested in this dialogue because I have never been settled in my ideas, politically, and religiously I am always questioning my own ideas in order to find the most logically sound ones. To start off, the main thing that pushed me away from religion was the contradictions between reality and the bible, If I cannot trust the bible to give accurate information then what basis can I understand the nature and existence of god?
 
LCNorconk said:
To start off, the main thing that pushed me away from religion was the contradictions between reality and the bible, If I cannot trust the bible to give accurate information then what basis can I understand the nature and existence of god?
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This is a very broad question and difficult to answer. Maybe you could point out somewhere you see the “contradictions between reality and the bible” and we could discuss that.
LCNorconk said:
Perhaps there is an apologist website I should go to instead to talk to a real apologist?
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I would recommend listening to or reading Trent Horn. He has a good book “Answering Athism” which might help.


He also has a call in show quite often where he answers questions that atheists have, which might help. Go here and type in the words… Why are you an atheist? …in the search box, to listen to some past shows.

I’m happy to discuss any topic you would like.

God Bless
 
It takes study … deliberate book work and also field work.

Some people pursue biblical archeology.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/magazine/

Consider that the Bible was not written in English. English didn’t exist.

Jesus did not speak English. English did not exist.

So you need to study Hebrew and Aramaic and Greek [and Latin].

Jesus chose not to write anything, depending instead on his apostles and disciples.
 
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1 Great Fathers
2 Apostolic Fathers
2.1 Clement of Rome
2.2 Ignatius of Antioch
2.3 Polycarp of Smyrna
2.4 Papias of Hierapolis
3 Greek Fathers
3.1 Justin Martyr
3.2 Irenaeus of Lyons
3.3 Clement of Alexandria
3.4 Origen of Alexandria
3.5 Athanasius of Alexandria
3.6 Cappadocian Fathers
3.7 John Chrysostom
3.8 Cyril of Alexandria
3.9 Maximus the Confessor
3.10 John of Damascus
4 Latin Fathers
4.1 Tertullian
4.2 Cyprian of Carthage
4.3 Hilary of Poitiers
4.4 Ambrose of Milan
4.5 Pope Damasus I
4.6 Jerome of Stridonium
4.7 Augustine of Hippo
4.8 Pope Gregory the Great
4.9 Isidore of Seville
5 Syriac fathers
5.1 Aphrahat
5.2 Ephrem the Syrian
5.3 Isaac of Antioch
5.4 Isaac of Nineveh
6 Desert fathers
7 Modern positions
8 Patristics
9 See also
10 References
 
Hello LCN, I hope you are not overwhelmed with replies.

I would say we can know God through our rational insights regarding ourselves and the created world around us. We can also read from other men who have thought much about this and canvas the best of their insights as we judge them. Also of course there is the direct route of asking and challenging God through prayer and see if the answers come (whether we think of it from God or our own reflections).

Lastly, may I ask what it is about the Bible that is problematic remembering that it is a collection of books written by men that the Church has decided were touched by God in some way?

Regards and good luck…
 
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LCNorconk said:
I am always questioning my own ideas in order to find the most logically sound ones. To start off, the main thing that pushed me away from religion was the contradictions between reality and the bible, If I cannot trust the bible to give accurate information then what basis can I understand the nature and existence of god?
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Perhaps you should view the Bible as a spiritual guide book rather than believing it contains the exact answer to everything.

Pursuing your spiritual growth isn’t always about just being logical. God is in the heart.
 
MT1926 said:
To start off, the main thing that pushed me away from religion was the contradictions between reality and the bible, If I cannot trust the bible to give accurate information then what basis can I understand the nature and existence of god?
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I think you will have to be more specific than this. The Catholic Church doesn’t teach that everything in the bible is to be taken literally. The bible isn’t a textbook, science book, nor even a history book. It is a group of books, each different.

Perhaps a place to start is to understand the Catholic teaching about divine revelation-- what it is and what it isn’t-- and the senses of scripture.
 
LCNorconk said:
To start off, the main thing that pushed me away from religion was the contradictions between reality and the bible
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How so?

Are you saying that you wanted to treat the Bible as if it were a science book or a history book? That would be a mistake. Although there is history in the Bible, not everything in the Bible is historical narrative. So, if you found a “contradiction” between science or history on one hand and a non-historical narrative of the Bible on the other, then the proper conclusion is that you’re misinterpreting the Bible.

Robert Frost wrote:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Emily Dickenson wrote:
“Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.”

Now, would you complain to Dickinson, “there is no such carriage! A carriage cannot hold death and immortality as passengers!”, or disparage Frost, asserting, “show me the paths! They do not exist! This is not ‘reality’!”…?

No; of course not. You would read their words as they had been intended to be read.

Or what about reading an ancient account that makes use of the understanding of science of the day in order to make a point about philosophy or love or life? Would you discount his understanding of these, just because it’s written from the perspective of science that has since been disproven?

No; of course not. You would, I’d hope, seek to understand the context of the writer, and utilize that context in order to understand what the writer was attempting to convey.

Just so, the Bible tells us stories. Some are historical, others are poetic. Some utilize allegory. All attempt to teach us how to approach salvation.
If I cannot trust the bible to give accurate information then what basis can I understand the nature and existence of god?
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The Bible does give you accurate information. Don’t expect it to be a science book, though. 😉
 
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