Seeking Answers

[nick_stamper]

Hello everyone, as of right now (and probably for at least a year) I have one question that i hope can at least have some light shed on it for you guys. Religion is based on faith, hope, love I understand, but my question is does anyone know WHY it is based on faith? Is there any scripture or any personal beliefs as to why god CHOOSES not to physicaly reveal himself? Is there some reason as to why he wants us to have faith. I have struggled with this for a while now and hope someone can help

 

[LilyM]

Hello everyone, as of right now (and probably for at least a year) I have one question that i hope can at least have some light shed on it for you guys. Religion is based on faith, hope, love I understand, but my question is does anyone know WHY it is based on faith? Is there any scripture or any personal beliefs as to why god CHOOSES not to physicaly reveal himself? Is there some reason as to why he wants us to have faith. I have struggled with this for a while now and hope someone can help

God DOES choose to physically reveal Himself in the person of Jesus Christ - who for us Catholics is still very much alive and present in every Tabernacle of every Catholic Church thanks very much And He also continues to physically reveal Himself in every single part of creation.

Sometimes people just don’t see Him there in front of their noses They didn’t when they crucified Him and they don’t now.

 

[nick_stamper]

Well, unfortunately that never crossed my mind, however obvious it may be thanks for the insight, however, if he has chosen to reveal himself in the past, why does he wait so long to reveal himself again?

 

[Petergee]

I know this is not exactly the question you asked, but it reminds me of the atheist canard “I would believe in God if God gave us some incontrovertible evidence like say, we discovered through telescopes the words “Jesus is God” written in huge letters on the moon.”

We know that if that was discovered, within five minutes atheists would have already come up with dozens of atheist “explanations”: it might be just a freak natural result of volcanic lava flows/meteorites, “Jesus” is a very common name in history, who knows who it means, and besides what does “God” mean anyway, and maybe we’re all God, etc.etc.

In fact God DOES reveal himself to all of us if we only look honestly at the world, at our neighbours and at ourselves. St Thomas Aquinas said that God gives every man the sufficient means of salvation, provided there is no barrier put up by the man himself.

Secondly it’s an atheist myth that belief in God requires faith whilst atheism does not and is strictly rational. We ALL make leaps of faith. We have to use reason to help us discover what is more probable and what is possible or impossible - finding rational truths supports the truths we affirm by faith.

 

[FightingFat]

I think this is an essential question for everyone.

Life is a series of challenges and learning experiences. We find that difficult though it is, we often learn the most from the most challenging events in our lives.
You know the saying “if you love someone set them free”? That’s what God has done to us. In our arrogance, we have turned away from God. We have free will to do that if that’s what we want, but, ultimately, we all acknowledge what the Church refers to as an irreducible and eternal seed inside of us that craves God. It is what keeps us searching for the truth of our being, a truth that can only be found in our creator. God has made it so that we can come to some comprehension of him through natural reason. He has also made himself known in time (what we call Revelation). Revelation takes hold of human reason and elevates it-- allows it to truly fulfill its potential-- takes it to where it wants to go, its natural conclusion.
The ironic paradox we all encounter as men and women is our finite nature and infinite desire for God. We are unique in all creation- the imago dei. Although we have a finite existence and all must face the reality of our physical demise, we conceive and crave the truth of our infinite souls.

 

[1ke]

Also, keep in mind that God did reveal himself directly to Adam and Eve in the beginning, and this was to be the relationship with all of mankind. They were in God’s friendship, and had direct contact with God.

Their sin, Original Sin, changed that relationship with God in a fundamental way. Christ restored the possibility of Salvation, being with God directly after death (Beatific Vision), but we were not given back the preternatural and supernatural gifts that Adam and Eve possessed which would allow us that direct contact now.