Need help with Faith

[Greg_Schmidt]

Hi guys my name is Greg Schmidt and lately I am having some faith issures. I am in high school right now and learned biology and Darwins theory. I believe in God, but sometimes I wonder about if he is real or not. What things can I do to enhance my faith in God and the Lord.

 

[1ke]

Hi guys my name is Greg Schmidt and lately I am having some faith issures. I am in high school right now and learned biology and Darwins theory.

Well Greg, the first lesson you must learn is to think critically and think for yourself. Not everything you learn in school is (a) true or (b) the whole story.

Regarding evolution specifically, the books Icons of Evolution and Darwin’s Black Box should give you “the rest of the story.”

Read, read, read and learn that there is a world beyond your textbooks.

I believe in God, but sometimes I wonder about if he is real or not. What things can I do to enhance my faith in God and the Lord.

Prayer, frequent confession, adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, attending Mass-- these are ALL powerful weapons against doubt and despair.

If you do not know your faith very well, I suggest you study that too. Amy Welborn has some good books written for young adults-- her Prove It! series is very good. You can google her, she has a website. Mark Hart-- the Bible Geek-- is good too. He has some things on You Tube, and his website is on the Life Teen site, which you can explore here. The Life Teen website could give you some ideas and connect you with other Catholic teens.

 

[Rommegrot]

Hi Greg,
I think it is very common to have questions come up when you start learning more about evolution and science. I took an anthropology class in college that focused on human evolution. The gradual changes from an ape-like creature to a human are evident in the fossil record. Like you, I had to reconcile nature with God.

Check out this article: catholic.com/library/Adam_Eve_and_Evolution.asp and this quote from it:

“Concerning human evolution, the Church has a more definite teaching. It allows for the possibility that man’s body developed from previous biological forms, under God’s guidance, but it insists on the special creation of his soul.”

The way I look at it , science and God do not oppose each other. In fact, science should bring us closer to God because it involves looking at His creations in greater detail. Specifically with evolution, God set things in motion, set the rules, gave nature free will (just like us), and gives nature a helping hand once in a while.