Trying to Find God

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deu8

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Hello there,

Twenty-something guy here. Raised protestant (Methodist to be precise) from a young age. Grandparents very strong in faith, parents are nominal with father being theist at best but mostly agnostic. I was very active in church when I was younger. Began investigating CC in my college years and fell in love with it. But as time went on, there was so much I disagreed with. Started to move away from God in general. Read some books on religion, philosophy, atheism, etc. They made sense to me and the more I thought about it, the more atheism made sense to me. That has been my home the last three or four years.

Fast forward to present day and even with my training in physics, biology, and the other natural sciences (my college major) and being involved in medicine (on way to medical school), I still have the thought that there is a creator, a god. This is a thought I can easily reconcile with my education. It doesn’t have to be science OR religion/god. It can be science AND religion/god. And I truly do believe there is enough evidence to support the validity of the CC.

I suppose I just need some thoughts that will help point me in the right direction. Even if I don’t agree with some of what the CC teaches, I can accept it. I view it as a parent/child relationship.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,
DZ
 
I don’t have any advice, other than it is good that you have the attitude of accepting things you don’t agree with. That’s at least in the right direction - the attitude Catholics should have about things they disagree with/don’t understand fully. Just keep that in mind throughout your journey. If you can, I would find a good priest and have a talk with him.

Anyway, I mainly just wanted to respond to let you know you’re in my prayers! 👍
 
Deu, God bless you for your sincere searching for God, for truth.
In a sense it’s God’s search within you.
Perhaps, often (in blind faith) ask God to lead you, because you can’t find you way with certainty unless God is drawing you the way He wishes you to go.
Kind wishes and prayers
 
I was raised for a long time without going to church but I finally found the Catholic Church. Pray to God asking him to guide you. 👍
 
Since you’re headed to medical school it sounds like you’re not necessarily opposed to studying. 😉 Therefore, I’d suggest that although your schedule will be very demanding in the coming years, try not only to find God and draw closer to His Son Jesus, but try to become better informed about Him and His Church.

It’s interesting to meet people who are very well educated in their respective fields, but don’t seem to be well-informed about matters of faith. For example, I know someone in the medical field (not a doctor) who is about to obtain her Ph.D., and who takes astrology very seriously. I’m not saying that you have this profile; I’m just trying to point out that years of dedicated study in one area may not necessarily serve one well in all aspects of life.

First of all, I’d recommend doing daily Scripture reading, maybe 2-3 paragraphs per day, and just meditate on those throughout the day. You could start with the Gospel of Mark* if it’s been a while since you spent time with Scripture, because Mark’s style is straightforward and easy to understand.

Then, as time permits, delve into different aspects of the faith that interest you, and especially those you might find perplexing. Perhaps you could select 2 or 3 books that you could slowly read throughout the year. Or if you have a significant commute, get some DVDs that present teachings on different subjects. Possible sources are:

ignatius.com/

*At Ignatius Press, Meditations on the Gospel of Mark is featured currently, by Adrienne von Speyr.

sophiainstitute.com/

store.pauline.org/English/Books/tabid/126/List/0/CategoryID/654/Level/a/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName%2cProductName

tobinstitute.org/
 
Oh, yes–and then, if at some point you’re ready for further inquiry, find an RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) group at a parish near you.

RCIA is for those preparing for entry into the Church, as well as those who are not fomally entering and would just like to take classes to become better informed about Church teaching.
 
deu8 said:
Hello there,

Twenty-something guy here. Raised protestant (Methodist to be precise) from a young age. Grandparents very strong in faith, parents are nominal with father being theist at best but mostly agnostic. I was very active in church when I was younger. Began investigating CC in my college years and fell in love with it. But as time went on, there was so much I disagreed with. Started to move away from God in general. Read some books on religion, philosophy, atheism, etc. They made sense to me and the more I thought about it, the more atheism made sense to me. That has been my home the last three or four years.

Fast forward to present day and even with my training in physics, biology, and the other natural sciences (my college major) and being involved in medicine (on way to medical school), I still have the thought that there is a creator, a god. This is a thought I can easily reconcile with my education. It doesn’t have to be science OR religion/god. It can be science AND religion/god. And I truly do believe there is enough evidence to support the validity of the CC.

I suppose I just need some thoughts that will help point me in the right direction. Even if I don’t agree with some of what the CC teaches, I can accept it. I view it as a parent/child relationship.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,
DZ
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I would recommend you read -Suprised by Truth- by Patrick Madrid.

It will keep your attention and help your understanding at the same time.

Just keep looking and you will find the answers.

Just a thought.
 
I would just like to say that there are probably very few people who have always believed everything the Church teaches for their whole lives. The majority of Catholics, whether for their whole lives or not have probably struggled with multiple Church teachings, and had to come to terms with them.

I used to believe in the Death Penalty.
I used to believe in the Southern Baptist view on drinking. IE: not a drop/ dry counties.

I’m sure most people on these forums have overcome things like this.

You might want to watch some episodes of The Journey Home with Marcus Grodi on EWTN. A lot of the episodes are free to watch/ or at least listen to on EWTN online.

Also, I have to say that if Atheism has been your ‘home’ for the past several years, but you still believe the Catholic Church is basically valid then I’d say that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. There’s definitely something deeper going on in your life, and I personally would pray about it. If you don’t pray, then I’d talk to a priest about what’s going on in your life.

Just find a local parish and ask to see one, or you could set up an apointment via email or w/e. Just a thought.
 
I have studied biology at college and university level and although I was tending towards belief at the time, it was seeing the intricacy of living things that convinced me more that there must be a Creator behind it all. Cells, for instance, are so wonderfully complex and I find it hard to believe that they just ‘evolved’ to be that way.
 
SilverCamellia said:
I have studied biology at college and university level and although I was tending towards belief at the time, it was seeing the intricacy of living things that convinced me more that there must be a Creator behind it all. Cells, for instance, are so wonderfully complex and I find it hard to believe that they just ‘evolved’ to be that way.
Click to expand...
Agreed.

What are the chances that a planet formed near a star and developed the exact perfect atmosphere and so on and so on. Yes the universe is some 14.5 billion years old and this almost unfathomable time frame can allow for a significant amount of evolution. Heck look at what 65 million years has accomplished here on Earth. It sort of goes back to putting a thousand monkeys in a room with typewriters and given enough time they would eventually produce Shakespeare. In theory this is a true statement. In practicality, it is bunk. The number of letters, words, sentences to be formed makes it darn near impossible.

Additionally, a lot of scientists bemoan faith as believing in something without evidence. But it comes down to interpretation of evidence. My faith, or blossoming faith I should say, is rooted strongly in reason and rationale. I don’t typically believe God is involved in every little thing happening. For instance, someone is healed of cancer after receiving chemo and radiation. No I don’t think God performed a miracle, sorry. I think science did. But without God, no science. But I do think He interjects when truly needed and for slightly more serious matters (not downplaying sickness, but it happens to us all and eventually the end comes).

Glad to be working my way home, even if in a reluctant manner.
 
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