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ejp123
Guest
a question I am stumped with is “why do I believe the catholic faith?”. or what are reasons to believe? just looking for some responses to this question. thanks
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ejp123
Guest
a question I am stumped with is “why do I believe the catholic faith?”. or what are reasons to believe? just looking for some responses to this question. thanks
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Michael1966
Guest
Hi EJP
I think we can only ever answer that question for ourselves. For myself, belief (faith) in Jesus Christ preceeded having any reasoned argument, and I see my faith as a result of a gift of God. I dare say my upbringing was influential, though that wasn’t Catholic itself, and I did spend a number of years exploring various faiths and atheism until God called me back. Reasoned arguments then help support my faith, but they are not the reason I have faith. For me it was/is primarily an experiential drawing of God - a “heart strangely warmed” as John Wesley put it. I very much relate to Wesley’s view that our faith is drawn from scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. The Catholic faith is obviously rich in tradition being, as we believe, well-connected to apostolic times. That is not to say other churches cannot also reach back to see what has been passed down through the ages.
I think these days we’re all encouraged to have a good “apologetic”, but I wonder how often that is the real reason people believe. Personally today prayer and scripture reading support my faith more than reasoned arguments, but that is not to say reasoned arguments can’t and don’t help. The Catholic Church has such a beautiful prayer tradition, in the mass, in the divine office, in personal devotional prayer, and that is important for me - more important than reasoned arguments.
It’s a great question though - why do each of us believe what we do? If we understand the range of genuine reasons why people believe that may help us communicate the beauty of faith lived, and may communicate a little of the richness of the faith as lived out in the Catholic Church.
I think we can only ever answer that question for ourselves. For myself, belief (faith) in Jesus Christ preceeded having any reasoned argument, and I see my faith as a result of a gift of God. I dare say my upbringing was influential, though that wasn’t Catholic itself, and I did spend a number of years exploring various faiths and atheism until God called me back. Reasoned arguments then help support my faith, but they are not the reason I have faith. For me it was/is primarily an experiential drawing of God - a “heart strangely warmed” as John Wesley put it. I very much relate to Wesley’s view that our faith is drawn from scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. The Catholic faith is obviously rich in tradition being, as we believe, well-connected to apostolic times. That is not to say other churches cannot also reach back to see what has been passed down through the ages.
I think these days we’re all encouraged to have a good “apologetic”, but I wonder how often that is the real reason people believe. Personally today prayer and scripture reading support my faith more than reasoned arguments, but that is not to say reasoned arguments can’t and don’t help. The Catholic Church has such a beautiful prayer tradition, in the mass, in the divine office, in personal devotional prayer, and that is important for me - more important than reasoned arguments.
It’s a great question though - why do each of us believe what we do? If we understand the range of genuine reasons why people believe that may help us communicate the beauty of faith lived, and may communicate a little of the richness of the faith as lived out in the Catholic Church.
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BA11
Guest
I believe in God because I feel him and see him working in my life even when I turn my back on him at times. I believe in Jesus because our creator sending his son to die for my sins is the greatest love story ever told. After that, it’s a matter of personal preference and what brings me closer to God. I’m of the opinion that all paths acknowledging the true nature of Christ and what he did lead to paradise.
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Goya
Guest
This is an excellent question that every Catholic should ask themselves regularly.
I have asked this question 1,000x, and have always been CONFIRMED in the Faith, even if there are certain individual issues with which I have difficulty (one such, just came up yesterday, concerning whether or not Jesus could have sinned).
Often times the answer to the question pivots on, as St. Peter put it, in John 6:68 (threabouts)–“Master, to whom shall we turn? You have the words of eternal life”. The Catholic Church is the Church that Jesus founded. To whom [else] shall we turn? Is any difficulty I have with this doctrine or that, worth leaving the Church that Jesus founded? Is any inconvenience worth turning my back on the Bride of Christ? Rejecting 2,000 years of history, Tradition, and Apostolic Succession? On Christ present, body, mind, soul and divinity, in the Eucharist? On the express authority Christ granted to St. Peter and his successors, to ‘bind and loose’? On the express granting of the Keys to the Kingdom, to St. Peter, and Christ’s thrice repeated command to St. Peter, to ‘feed my sheep?’
NOTE: Protestants will tell you that the Bible has the ‘words of eternal truth’–but the Bible doesn’t contain the totality of the Truth–else there would be no need for a Church, which is what Christ left us–not a bible. The Bible rather, informs us of this Church. Hence no protestant denomination can satisfacorily serve as the answer, ‘to whom else shall we turn?’
I have always concluded in the negative, each and everytime I have a run this analysis, and therefore been re-confirmed in the Faith. Every single time.
…and yet I always continue to expose myself to the question you pose, as not exposing myself to such challenge, would leave me with a blind, superficial faith, with the consistency of paper. I am a ‘cradle Catholic’, because my parents baptized me as an infant. I remain Catholic, out of a conscious, reasoned, decision, revisited, reiterated, renewed, and confirmed, constantly.
Hence challenging my own faith, and exposing it to challenge and adversity, serves to deepen my faith, strengthen it, solidify it, and render a consistency more akin to steel than paper.
I believe this is the essence of apologetics. We go out and mix it up with non-Catholics; we expose our faith to challlenge, have weaknesses exploited, and at every juncture, we’re called upon to revisit this fundamental question:
…and to share our answer to this question, with the world.
Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.
J
JRKH
Guest
Excellent answers above.
For me - even when I was away from the Church - I could never reject God or Jesus outright. So - for me - the reason I believe is because I cannot NOT believe. I mean - If I do not believe in God - whet else is there??? What’s the alternative???
As for why do I believe the Catholic faith? Partly because that is the faith I was raised in, but largely because of the Eucharist - the real presence.
Then there are the things that Goya mentions above, the history, the Apostolic succession, the consistency and logic of the faith. No other Christian Church (except the EO) has anything close to it.
Now finally - as to understanding what we believe - I still don’t understand most of it. But that is why it is called faith.
For me the greatest help was when I read Mt 22:36-40 and in this found the root and the key to understanding so many things in the Church…It isn’t about rules…It’s about Love.
I hope this helps just a little.
Peace
James
For me - even when I was away from the Church - I could never reject God or Jesus outright. So - for me - the reason I believe is because I cannot NOT believe. I mean - If I do not believe in God - whet else is there??? What’s the alternative???
As for why do I believe the Catholic faith? Partly because that is the faith I was raised in, but largely because of the Eucharist - the real presence.
Then there are the things that Goya mentions above, the history, the Apostolic succession, the consistency and logic of the faith. No other Christian Church (except the EO) has anything close to it.
Now finally - as to understanding what we believe - I still don’t understand most of it. But that is why it is called faith.
For me the greatest help was when I read Mt 22:36-40 and in this found the root and the key to understanding so many things in the Church…It isn’t about rules…It’s about Love.
I hope this helps just a little.
Peace
James
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georget
Guest
These are all such good answers. For me I have no logical answer, I just know He’s there, and He always has been, He’s never left me, even as I ran from Him, He came for me, and now I know after all these years and after all the things I’ve done, that must have offended Him, I know He loves me, there are times I can feel Him all around me, and other times I can’t feel Him at all, but when I look back over the years I can see His handiwork all through my life, I’ve never been good at debating and I was a terrible student especially at science, so I’ve never been able to prove anything to anybody, but I think if you saw what I’ve seen in my life, maybe you would believe too. I still remember coming out of church after midnight mass on Christmas over 50 years ago, and being handed a box of rock candy and being surrounded by the Sisters and the rest of choir boys, it was snowing, and I remember knowing God was all around us, and all was well with the world. Since then I’ve strayed many times, even pretending He wan’t really there, hardening my heart, wallowing in sin, experiencing the deaths of many whom I’ve loved, growing colder inside, only praying now and then, running away from a church I saw becoming as empty as the promises they made, sneaking back in every now and then to say a prayer, alone, the prayer was always the same, O God, if only I could be that little boy again holding that box of rock candy and to feel those feelings again, well it took awhile but I do feel those feelings, often, and when I do it’s overwhelming, when I receive communion tears flow, and I know He’s there and I love Him for loving me and I mean it when I say “I’m not worthy”. And I love the church he built for us with all it’s angels and saints and sinners, and when I walk in those doors nobody knows who I am, but I know I’m home, and I belong. That’s why I believe. Sorry for going on so long, but I’ve wanted to let this out for a long time.
God bless
God bless
L
LegoGE1947
Guest
I was not raised a Catholic (actually I was raised not to attend church at all). I became a non-Catholic Christian at age 26 and remained so until 10 years ago at age 55. I was in and out of so many different denominations and sects that by year 2002 my head was spinning! My wife happened upon EWTN on cable tv and became interested in the Catholic faith. At first (during RCIA) I just thought “Well this is just going to be another “thing” like all the other churches we’d been in and out of” But it was somehow different, The first time I ever attended a Mass I sensed a “presence” that was never there before. And eventually the Catholic faith “grew” on me. Now, in 2013, I can’t imagine being anything or anywhere else. I don’t know why God would want me here because I don’t have a lot to offer him, but I’ve heard he loves me.
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Michael1966
Guest
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LegoGE1947
Guest
I only wish I could find some stability in the rest of my life!
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georget
Guest
God bless you brother
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