Seeking and finding

[Jerok]

There are plenty of people who are honestly seeking the truth with an open mind and open heart who have not found God. True or false?

Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

I’m curious on your thoughts on this. According to the Bible, it seems those who seek honestly will find God. Does this mean they will also find the Catholic religion? Does this mean that people who say ‘I am seeking the truth’ and turn out atheists were actually not searching openly and were closed to the truth?

Thanks!

 

[Big_Ro]

I’m not really sure I understand your question. God is not hiding. In fact, he seems to seek us out. If a person is seeking God and truly wants to find him then all they need do is open their heart and accept him. I think, and please correct me if I’m worng, you are speaking of people who want some proof of God or want God to open up the ehavens and maybe have his angels sing a tune or two in order to accept the he is present. Furthermore, I don’t think that finding God is some sort of singular event. It’s a process. A lifelong process in my opinion. Take this passage in the Gospel of Mark for eaxample:

“Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

So, it seems that Christ is clearly telling us that “finding” God to use your term is only the beginning. What we do and how we react to the resistance of the world is more important. I think that the people you referring to would fall into one of the first three categories. I hope this doesn’t come across as uncharitable or harsh or as an admonishment. I just think that people often use a lack of “proof” for God as a way to deny their “stiff necked” attitude. In Hebrews, it says that Faith is believing in things not seen. Faith should be childlike. We accept it without question. Then we work to understand it for the rest of our lives.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father runs out to meet his lost son and embraces him. This is a description of how God treats us. So, we don’t have to do much seeking. If people are seeking and not finding it must be that they are unwilling to accept that God has already found them. This is why pride is such a serious sin.

Peace.

 

[jtodisco]

Disclaimer: I’m not going to pretend to be a wise theologian by any stretch of the imagination.

Well I won’t say your question is easy to answer, but I’m going to say that people who are sincerely searching for the Truth will eventually find God if they persevere and are open to His promptings. However, I wouldn’t use the Bible quote you refer to as justification for this belief necessarily. When Jesus is saying this to His disciples He’s speaking about believers who are asking for God’s help in prayer, not about non-believers who are searching for Truth/God.

However, if you read the beginnging of Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans, then you can make a solid Scriptural argument that those truly seeking God will find Him. Here’s the passage in particular that I’m thinking of:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they becam efools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.” - Romans 1:18-23

The Church teaches that one can come to know of God’s existence through the faculty of reason. I’m nearly positive there was a better statement to this effect made in the Catechism than this one, but this is the one I found:

286 Human intelligence is surely already capable of finding a response to the question of origins. The existence of God the Creator can be known with certainty through his works, by the light of human reason, even if this knowledge is often obscured and disfigured by error. This is why faith comes to confirm and enlighten reason in the correct understanding of this truth: "By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear.

Also, Saint Thomas Aquinas is known for his rational proofs of God’s existence, etc.

So I would argue that, with perhaps some rare exceptions (i.e. if you were living in an extremely remote part of the world and had never had any contact with Christianity whatsoever) you would eventually find God if you truly were openly seeking Truth. God wishes to have a relationship with all of us as we are all His children, so God would surely give everyone chances to know Him. But because God respects our free will, He would not force us into belief of course.

 

[fhansen]

There are plenty of people who are honestly seeking the truth with an open mind and open heart who have not found God. True or false?

Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

I’m curious on your thoughts on this. According to the Bible, it seems those who seek honestly will find God. Does this mean they will also find the Catholic religion? Does this mean that people who say ‘I am seeking the truth’ and turn out atheists were actually not searching openly and were closed to the truth?

Thanks!

Given enough time and grace, I believe the answer would be ‘yes’. But some die at birth and others are invincibly ignorant due to cultural background or lack of opportunity and God judges by the heart so those who are better informed along with those who are less informed all need to do the best they can with what they have and God will do the rest-and whatever that is we can be sure it will be fair.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. From Luke 12:48