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TrinityKnot
Guest
I’ll be praying for you…
Sometimes, we just have to move away from these kinds of people if they’re bringing us down and making us feel bad/stressing us out. I myself am sort of going through this right now, except not with atheists and I’m no where near losing my faith. But I do have friends that make me feel like I’m not pretty enough, adequate, etc. You just have to decide “enough is enough!” and start hanging out with people who uplift you.
My “friends” are into drinking, partying, etc. Some are very vain, some are very lustful, etc. In my bible class this week, the verse was 2nd Tim 3:1-3:
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
The “disobedient to their parents” is a big one for me because we’re all minors and drinking/partying involves lying to our parents. I kept thinking, “you know, if I’m supposedly christian/catholic and I’m doing what they’re doing, what sets me apart from them? Why am I not setting a good example?” Plus, drinking would get in the way of my other activities like dance because I’d be so unmotivated the next day to get up and go to practice.
So I’m avoiding them by focusing on my academics, getting a job, and getting more involved w/ my church, etc. It’s sad and of course I had some good times with them, but I just realized some distance from them would really benefit me and my spiritual/emotional health. I’m also praying the rosary a couple times a day and it helps. A LOT.
Keep praying, and try to avoid those guys; they’re obviously not good for you and you deserve so much better. :hug1:
Sometimes, we just have to move away from these kinds of people if they’re bringing us down and making us feel bad/stressing us out. I myself am sort of going through this right now, except not with atheists and I’m no where near losing my faith. But I do have friends that make me feel like I’m not pretty enough, adequate, etc. You just have to decide “enough is enough!” and start hanging out with people who uplift you.
My “friends” are into drinking, partying, etc. Some are very vain, some are very lustful, etc. In my bible class this week, the verse was 2nd Tim 3:1-3:
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
The “disobedient to their parents” is a big one for me because we’re all minors and drinking/partying involves lying to our parents. I kept thinking, “you know, if I’m supposedly christian/catholic and I’m doing what they’re doing, what sets me apart from them? Why am I not setting a good example?” Plus, drinking would get in the way of my other activities like dance because I’d be so unmotivated the next day to get up and go to practice.
So I’m avoiding them by focusing on my academics, getting a job, and getting more involved w/ my church, etc. It’s sad and of course I had some good times with them, but I just realized some distance from them would really benefit me and my spiritual/emotional health. I’m also praying the rosary a couple times a day and it helps. A LOT.
Keep praying, and try to avoid those guys; they’re obviously not good for you and you deserve so much better. :hug1:
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fred_conty
Guest
I may help if you would scan this site for some of the topics that others are bringing up to you.
There is a wealth of info you can find on just about any subject. So this can be a great source of what you need to reply to about anyone and to any question.
If you do what was just said, then that should also help you strengthen your faith as well.
However God is the source of our faith since he is the one who gave it to us in the first place.
So God will help you if you pray to him and ask him. Here is one prayer that will do just that.
“O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love you, and I beg pardon for all who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love you.”
Repeat this pray over an over as many times thru the day as you can. This will strengthen your faith. This is the prayer that the angel taught the little children at Fatima to say.
It will not only help you, but it will help those who are tormenting you, for Jesus said to love those who persecute you.
Get a green scapular and keep it on you. For Mary gave this to us as her gift to help us. And here is what this scapular will do according to Mary.
. Conversion of those who do not have the faith
. Reconciliation to the Church for those who have lost/strayed from the faith
. Assurance of a happy death
. Strengthening of the faith for those already in the Church <<=================== NOTE
. Protection from Satan
Mary also said,
“The GREATEST GRACES come from using the scapular but these graces come
in direct proportion to the degree of confidence in me which the user has.”
When you carry the scapular you are carring around with you the gift of Mary’s special help.
Whenever you feel the need for help in your faith, just hold the scaplar and then say,
“Mary you promised to obtain great grace to strengthen my faith, please help me now as you pledged.”
Then forget about it and it will happen.
More than just a thought.
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jsaldar
Guest
Don’t give up. I work with a bunch of atheist. They attack my from all angles. I learned not to even pay attention to their jokes, and insults. It seems that they are constantly thinking about God and how to disprove his existence so that they could convince themselves about it. This should make you search for literature about the Catholic faith, because maybe you are not as well informed about it as you should be. Just remember your neighborhood doesn’t represent the whole world. There are still Catholics out there. Even very highly educated ones. Come to this website and you will witness what I’m talking about. God Bless you. Pray for strength.
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen
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Blue_Horizon
Guest
Try and take the self-imposed pressure off yourself.
You are not the Messiah - if you do not have the skills/education to explain your faith to outsiders then you do not have to - you only have to live your faith quietly and humbly.
Next, it is called “Faith” not reason.
Some of it you will never understand.
There will be times when none of it will make sense.
Make acts of belief in Belief itself in those times of darkness.
Believe more in His Person (Trust) than lesser things of belief (which we all get confused about at times).
If at times you cannot walk towards Jesus (because the Light has temporarily gone) then keep walking away from the Darkness (the emptiness of the world) … its almost the same thing and God will reward you for it.
"And Jesus said to them, “Do you also wish to leave me?” And Peter said, “No, to whom else should we go…” A fairly lame reply, but acceptable enough to Jesus.
You are not the Messiah - if you do not have the skills/education to explain your faith to outsiders then you do not have to - you only have to live your faith quietly and humbly.
Next, it is called “Faith” not reason.
Some of it you will never understand.
There will be times when none of it will make sense.
Make acts of belief in Belief itself in those times of darkness.
Believe more in His Person (Trust) than lesser things of belief (which we all get confused about at times).
If at times you cannot walk towards Jesus (because the Light has temporarily gone) then keep walking away from the Darkness (the emptiness of the world) … its almost the same thing and God will reward you for it.
"And Jesus said to them, “Do you also wish to leave me?” And Peter said, “No, to whom else should we go…” A fairly lame reply, but acceptable enough to Jesus.
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lylebr
Guest
I really appreciate you guys, because Sometimes I feel lonely to talk about these things, and where I live, I don’t find anyone to talk about it. This is weird, because despite the most part of people are Christians, i feel lonely, because they are not engaged Christians.
They say that I don’t have to believe in something which comforts me rather than it’s true, and i should stop believeing on fairy tales.
It’s hard for me, to give the Hope Inside of me everyday (1 Peter 3,15), but I’ll try, I know that inside of me my faith makes sense, hard is, to show to everybody that it truly makes sense. Thanks!
They say that I don’t have to believe in something which comforts me rather than it’s true, and i should stop believeing on fairy tales.
It’s hard for me, to give the Hope Inside of me everyday (1 Peter 3,15), but I’ll try, I know that inside of me my faith makes sense, hard is, to show to everybody that it truly makes sense. Thanks!
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pete_29
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steve_b
Guest
In order to give proper reasons to others, one needs to know the faith well, that one professes. Too many people unfortunately, don’t know their faith because they don’t follow these steps. Notice Peter says these must be added to faith in ever increasing amounts. iow it doesn’t ever end in this life. Otherwise as Peter said, one will be ineffective in both cases and they will fall.
2 Pet 1:
*5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. *
*10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, *11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Our primary responsibility for each one of us, is to respond to the grace God gives all of us, that gets us to heaven. What you’re experiencing is a test. You wouldn’t take a hard test without studying for it would you? Until you’re better equipped to handle what you’re experiencing both with yourself and these circle of friends you have, find a new circle of friends… immediately. They will drag you down before you drag them up. Start studying your faith diligently and don’t stop. Ask the blessed mother for her assistance, and follow those 7 steps Peter gives. Notice, education/knowledge is near the top of the list.
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mgoforth
Guest
Why are you hanging around these people?? If they’re making it hard for you to embrace your faith, then don’t talk to them anymore. You can still pray for them, of course, but don’t associate with them at all. Allowing people to put these ideas in your head is not smart and possibly a near occasion of sin for you.
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katesmom
Guest
- 8 minute YouTube Link:
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Callin
Guest
Keep in mind, just because there are more atheists than Catholics living in your neck of the woods and they can gang up on you in discussions, doesn’t mean they’re right. In lots of other places, the religious are more numerous.
You won’t hear this from your friends, but atheism has its troubles. For all that it claims to rely on science, you can’t discover or disprove God in a laboratory, now can you? They’ve taken quite a leap of faith themselves.
If they’re gonna play the “comforting” card, don’t forget that people probably believe in atheism because it’s comforting too. No judgment at the end of our lives, the ability to really get away with anything, eat drink and be merry. Probably makes them feel pretty good.
Pray to God for guidance, and pray for your friends too.
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arabic99
Guest
I think something that may not have been considered here is that it is not necessarily the concept of God within the Catholic Church that is open to reasonable dispute, but rather, it is the attributes assigned to this God that go way way beyond all that is reasonable and logical.
The Day of Resurrection for example, and it’s supposed raising of the dead “physically” goes against everything that has ever been observable in this material existence. Yes, God may on rare occasions perform miracles, mainly through a Divine Being, but to assign such miracles onto dead people can turn people away from God altogether.
Jesus returning literally on a cloud. The sun literally not giving its light. All these factors go AGAINST observable reality. Is God lying to us with observable reality???
The literal interpretation of the significance of the Eucharist. Has science EVER seen the transformation of bread molecules into human flesh molecules?? I mean “literally” seen bread change into flesh? I’m just posing a question here, it may well have happened and I’m not here to question God, but objectively, it can be seen to be far too unreliable and against observed reality.
Just some brief thoughts as to why this happens quite often. I think if the OP was blindly following his faith, maybe he would still be Catholic, but a little bit of questioning can easily result in atheism, or more commonly moving towards a faith more in line with science.
The Day of Resurrection for example, and it’s supposed raising of the dead “physically” goes against everything that has ever been observable in this material existence. Yes, God may on rare occasions perform miracles, mainly through a Divine Being, but to assign such miracles onto dead people can turn people away from God altogether.
Jesus returning literally on a cloud. The sun literally not giving its light. All these factors go AGAINST observable reality. Is God lying to us with observable reality???
The literal interpretation of the significance of the Eucharist. Has science EVER seen the transformation of bread molecules into human flesh molecules?? I mean “literally” seen bread change into flesh? I’m just posing a question here, it may well have happened and I’m not here to question God, but objectively, it can be seen to be far too unreliable and against observed reality.
Just some brief thoughts as to why this happens quite often. I think if the OP was blindly following his faith, maybe he would still be Catholic, but a little bit of questioning can easily result in atheism, or more commonly moving towards a faith more in line with science.
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Questionshf
Guest
I love it when people question my faith. When I was younger I believed so much in God that it scared me so I decided to “turn away” from God for a while (except every time I was scared I would pray my but off!) But as hard as I could I cannot think of one reason why God can not possibly exist. Its harder to believe that we came from apes or we came from a bang because God is the only one that could have started the universe. I still actually ask my friends to persuade me that God doesn’t exist. It just doesn’t make sense to believe that he doesn’t.
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mgoforth
Guest
So of course all Catholics are just blindly following their faith and completely ignoring science and logic? Hmmm…too bad St. Thomas Aquinas isn’t with us anymore, you really might have set him straight.
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arabic99
Guest
I’m quite confident that the blessed St. Thomas, were he to be alive today, with the observable science that has been evidenced to date would very likely have assigned a completely spiritual significance to the issues I raised above, making it much more in line with rational thought and scientific reason, and not persisted with such literal interpretations.
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Peter_Plato
Guest
I doubt it. St. Thomas had a very clear understanding of the difference between appearance and reality. Your idea of “rational thought” and “scientific reason” appears to be a faith in appearance with no distinction between that and reality.
The appearances of things in our universe and in the realm of our experience are contingent and could have been vastly different. What we “know” through experience is the result of the order that God embedded in the natural world and in our brain function. It could have been otherwise. God could have willed it differently.
The artifacts available to scientific inquiry are contingent and have no necessary referents in the actions of God. If God chooses to make a reality (i.e., the Body and Blood of Christ) take on the appearance (to us) of bread and wine, He can do it.
St. Thomas understood this and that is why he made a distinction between the changeable appearance of things and the reality of the thing in question.
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arabic99
Guest
Yes I agree with you Peter Plato. When a human body “appears” before me, the “reality” is that there is a spiritual nature to it that does not “appear” visible to the eye.
However, for all of eternity God has never categorically gone against rationality and nature with His Will. The Catholic Church claims that he does on a daily basis in the Eucharist, in the entire concept surrounding eschatology, and you are telling me that because science has proven that bread categorically cannot structurally change into human flesh, it is an “appearance” that is not “reality”???
Who is God trying to fool? Is God in love with His creation or is He trying to confuse His creation, creating one reality in science and another reality in religion.
My friend there is only one reality and God does not interfere with it, He never has, and He never will.
Just my thoughts as to why there is a rise in atheism. Religious doctrine and teaching, if it leads people to deny science, is nothing more than superstition.
God is not a theatrical magic show
However, for all of eternity God has never categorically gone against rationality and nature with His Will. The Catholic Church claims that he does on a daily basis in the Eucharist, in the entire concept surrounding eschatology, and you are telling me that because science has proven that bread categorically cannot structurally change into human flesh, it is an “appearance” that is not “reality”???
Who is God trying to fool? Is God in love with His creation or is He trying to confuse His creation, creating one reality in science and another reality in religion.
My friend there is only one reality and God does not interfere with it, He never has, and He never will.
Just my thoughts as to why there is a rise in atheism. Religious doctrine and teaching, if it leads people to deny science, is nothing more than superstition.
God is not a theatrical magic show
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Peter_Plato
Guest
The Eucharist is unique in the sense that it is the manner in which God feeds us real food and drink (His Body and Blood) under the appearance of bread and wine.Yes I agree with you Peter Plato. When a human body “appears” before me, the “reality” is that there is a spiritual nature to it that does not “appear” visible to the eye.
However, for all of eternity God has never categorically gone against rationality and nature with His Will. The Catholic Church claims that he does on a daily basis in the Eucharist, in the entire concept surrounding eschatology, and you are telling me that because science has proven that bread categorically cannot structurally change into human flesh, it is an “appearance” that is not “reality”???
Who is God trying to fool? Is God in love with His creation or is He trying to confuse His creation, creating one reality in science and another reality in religion.
My friend there is only one reality and God does not interfere with it, He never has, and He never will.
Just my thoughts as to why there is a rise in atheism. Religious doctrine and teaching, if it leads people to deny science, is nothing more than superstition.
God is not a theatrical magic show
payingattentiontothesky.com/2011/03/25/the-eucharistic-theology-of-thomas-aquinas-–-fr-robert-barron/
Science is the literal reading of nature, just as someone reading a story or article can stick to what the words literally say and refuse to see that the words can signify something more than just literal meaning. Religious doctrine and teaching does not deny science, it is a recognition that when “reading” nature and the cosmos, just like a good story, we are not restricted to just the literal (scientific) sense.
Certainly, science gives us the literal sense of nature, but surely you are not insisting that meaning in the cosmos is by definition restricted to only that. Science has nothing to say about the qualitative realities of nature; science is strictly concerned with quantitative or measurable values. For example, water is quantifiable as H20, its phases, physical properties, etc., but it has a non-quantifiable reality as refreshing, rejuvenating, exhilarating, etc. In addition, water carries all kinds of symbolic meanings as spiritually cleansing, unfathomable mystery, the dark abyss, etc., that religious beliefs would characterize as the non-literal reality of water, that science and the scientific method cannot even begin to touch because these are simply beyond the reach of science.
Surely, you are not insisting that we can only read nature in a literal way, as if the book of nature cannot point beyond itself?
If you are, your position is simply mistaken because you would be assuming that all reality is only quantifiable in scientific terms, but there is no reason to believe that to be true. Science is one way to interpret reality. To claim it is the only way is to make a metaphysical claim that cannot be proven by science. :newidea:
npatrol:God is not trying to confuse anyone, like a good author, he is saying “Use your mind to think out of the box and not be so literalistic and fundamentalist in the way you look at reality!” A good author has many dimensions to a story; a plot may have many layers. Why must God be restricted to the grammar, conventions, syntax and literal meaning of a five year old when writing in three dimensions?
“Trying to confuse us?” Are you kidding? Why must God be limited to your narrow perspective?
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arabic99
Guest
So when the Day of Resurrection is upon us, are you saying that your body is “quantifiably” and observably raised from its grave?
Will this body that you now occupy be “quantifiably” and undeniably confirmed that it belongs to your soul, the soul of Peter Plato, and that it’s the same body as Peter Plato’s body before it physically died??
Are you saying that when the bread and the wine has been blessed, that it is, or is not, “quantifiably” the molecular structure of Jesus’ body and blood? Is it a literal and quantifiable change, or a symbolic and non-quantifiable change?
Will this body that you now occupy be “quantifiably” and undeniably confirmed that it belongs to your soul, the soul of Peter Plato, and that it’s the same body as Peter Plato’s body before it physically died??
Are you saying that when the bread and the wine has been blessed, that it is, or is not, “quantifiably” the molecular structure of Jesus’ body and blood? Is it a literal and quantifiable change, or a symbolic and non-quantifiable change?
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Peter_Plato
Guest
You ought to be able to deduce the answers to these questions from my post. I get a sense that you are trolling and that the description “religious truth seeker” is not an accurate depiction of your motives.
The Big Bang radically altered the quantifiable properties of the universe from “nothing” measurable to virtually immeasurable. These measurable properties that you extol so highly have radical dependencies. The only reason they are functional in a scientific sense is that they have remained somewhat constant so scientists can apply them with some consistency.
The 200 “known” constants that make the universe the entity that we understand it to be took on their “fixed” or constant status at the Big Bang event. Cosmologists concede that any of the actual settings could have been radically different and could have resulted in a completely different universe.
For one example, watch this video:
youtube.com/watch?v=ncsuh_5l6Hw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
It seems to me that God who could bring into existence a universe “from nothing” and fine tune the constants that make the universe what it is in an instant of time could also have the wherewithal to be present under the appearance of bread and wine if He so wishes.
Your problem, it seems to me, is that you have an absolute faith in science which is dependent for its method on the contingent nature of the universe, but have very little faith in the absolute power of God on Whom the universe is radically dependent.
For my part, I will, with good reason, maintain my faith in the absolute power of God and only place a measured faith in the relative power of science to measure, using its limited means, the creative action of God in the universe.
Science can only make use of contingent means but God has access to immeasurable resources. You can maintain your faith, and I will mine. Thank you. :ballspin:
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