Why choose the Catholic faith?

[ejp123]

A challenging question I have been asked is, With so many gods and religions over the centuries, why be catholic? What makes it any more right or true than the others? In it’s simplist form, I try to chalk it up to Jesus as a real person in history and trusting his authority and word. Just wondering what others might think about these question. Thx

 

[MichelleEsme]

The sacraments, our fullness of truth, a deeper, closer more personal relationship with God. The whole, full, deep truth we come to realize.

There’s many reasons as to become Catholic. . .
Those are just the ones that came from the top of my head :blushing:
Hope this helped!

• Michelle

 

[Scoobyshme]

A challenging question I have been asked is, With so many gods and religions over the centuries, why be catholic? What makes it any more right or true than the others? In it’s simplist form, I try to chalk it up to Jesus as a real person in history and trusting his authority and word. Just wondering what others might think about these question. Thx

The Catholic Church is different than all other religious organizations in that it is more of a Divine organism than a mere man-made organization like the others. It is the Body of Christ! It is indefectibly holy, because it has, as its head, Jesus Christ (God - 2nd Person of the Blessed Trinity), and has, as its soul, the Holy Spirit (God - 3rd Person of the Blessed Trinity). It alone also has the fullness of Divine Revelation, which God wants mankind to know.

 

[TomD123]

A challenging question I have been asked is, With so many gods and religions over the centuries, why be catholic? What makes it any more right or true than the others? In it’s simplist form, I try to chalk it up to Jesus as a real person in history and trusting his authority and word. Just wondering what others might think about these question. Thx

I have a good book called “Proof of the Truth of the Catholic Faith”
It makes good arguments.
My own take is this:

1. There is a God (reason tells us this)
2. Christ is historical
3. Christ claimed to be God
4. The historical evidence points to the fact that Jesus’s claims were backed up by miracles and prophecy fullfillment
5. The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ. It is the oldest Christian Church and the most logical choice for a Christian.
6. Many miracles prove the Catholic Church.

This is very simplistic and each point above involves a lot of discussion but thats my basic outline.

 

[aprilfloyd]

A challenging question I have been asked is, With so many gods and religions over the centuries, why be catholic? What makes it any more right or true than the others? In it’s simplist form, I try to chalk it up to Jesus as a real person in history and trusting his authority and word. Just wondering what others might think about these question. Thx

Hi ejp123

I have tried to get to the root - why be a Catholic? when there are so many choices of gods and religions. I was born a Catholic, so I have tried to understand why my parents chose it.
I can’t find any evidence for one religion or god over another or none. It would be fascinating if we could discover any answer.

 

[aprilfloyd]

The Catholic Church is different than all other religious organizations in that it is more of a Divine organism than a mere man-made organization like the others. .

I think it is safe to assume that there is no proof of any God. In that respect any religions who claim they have a god do so on a equal footing. No one can say that one religion is more true than others. They are are all man-made. Until we have evidence I feel that best you can say is that the above just an opinion.

 

[ahaley]

I’m appalled that nobody has mentioned our awesome headwear.

Alan

 

[MaryT777]

The sacraments, our fullness of truth, a deeper, closer more personal relationship with God. The whole, full, deep truth we come to realize.

There’s many reasons as to become Catholic. . .
Those are just the ones that came from the top of my head :blushing:
Hope this helped!

• Michelle

Nicely stated.
Mary.

 

[aprilfloyd]

My own take is this:

1. There is a God (reason tells us this)
   .

Hi Tom,

With all due respect is this not just the ‘god of the gaps’ argument. As we have no evidence, then this ‘gap’ in our knowledge, must be attributed to a god. I don’t find that intellectually satisfying or rigorous.

 

[Gricken]

I think it is safe to assume that there is no proof of any God. In that respect any religions who claim they have a god do so on a equal footing. No one can say that one religion is more true than others. They are are all man-made. Until we have evidence I feel that best you can say is that the above just an opinion.

That’s a rather large assumption. Can you support it?

 

[MaryT777]

I’m appalled that nobody has mentioned our awesome headwear.

Alan

:tiphat:

 

[R_C]

A challenging question I have been asked is, With so many gods and religions over the centuries, why be catholic? What makes it any more right or true than the others? In it’s simplist form, I try to chalk it up to Jesus as a real person in history and trusting his authority and word. Just wondering what others might think about these question. Thx

The Catholic faith embodies all that every other religion ever aspired and hoped for, all the while casting aside all the imperfections and shortcomings through a faith that is in perfect accordance with reason.

The Catholic faith spread like love all over the world immediately, changing and shaping history and civilization for the next two thousand years. No other religion has had such a major impact on the history of humanity.

We can also show through reason that our beliefs are sound not just because they are divinely revealed, but because any other belief that contradicts ours can be shown to be unsound or less perfect.

Finally, the Catholic Church acknowledges that everything good in other religions comes from God and predisposes all men to the fullness of the Good News that Christ entrusted the Church to reveal to all nations, so that all may be His disciples in His Church, all the while acknowledging that the merciful Christ will not negate salvation to those who do not know Him or His Church through invincible ignorance but strive to be virtuous men to the best of their ability.

 

[aprilfloyd]

That’s a rather large assumption. Can you support it?

I would argue that it is accepted that there is no proof of Gods. From reading a lot of the posts the argument FOR god is based on the lack of evidence that there is NOT a god. The ‘god of the gaps’ so to speak. The believe in God is based on faith or hope that there is one.
I have never seen or read any proof.

 

[Gricken]

I would argue that it is accepted that there is no proof of Gods. From reading a lot of the posts the argument FOR god is based on the lack of evidence that there is NOT a god. The ‘god of the gaps’ so to speak. The believe in God is based on faith or hope that there is one.
I have never seen or read any proof.

I would argue that most of the arguments for god rely not on faith, but on how illogical the idea that this universe came together on it’s own is. I would argue that you seem to rely n faith to prove god DOESN’T exist.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

Hi Tom,

With all due respect is this not just the ‘god of the gaps’ argument. As we have no evidence, then this ‘gap’ in our knowledge, must be attributed to a god. I don’t find that intellectually satisfying or rigorous.

People mistakenly apply the god of the gaps arguemnt to far, far to many things. The God of the gaps specifically is “We don’t know how it happened, so it had to be God.”

This is not the argument being made.

We can reasonably arrive at the conclusion of the existence of an overarching deity (God). Since matter can neither be created nor destroyed through any process of the physical universe (one of the fundamental laws of physics), the universe could not have created itself. (note, when I say universe, I mean all of existence, period, including any past, present, future, super or sub universes that may exist) Since it is impossible for the universe to have created itself, it stands to reason that a force outside of our universe must have created it. Further, since creation is an intelligent act, it requires an intelligent actor. i.e. God.

This is not a god of the gaps argument, this an affirmative argument, stating that there is no other possible conclusion. The rest flows logically once you’ve accepted this premise.

Don’t go around calling affirmative arguments god of the gaps arguments, it only makes you look bad.

 

[R_C]

I think it is safe to assume that there is no proof of any God.

So, dismissing even the proofs through reason alone given by St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa contra Gentiles?

Ok.

Then explain this video to me, during the epiclesis or invocation of the Holy Spirit to descend in the Eucharist.

Explain why and how in the Basilica of Siena there are 223 consecrated hosts that remain incorrupt since 1730 (of an original group of 351, subject to scientific examination up to this very day).

Explain why there is a blessing with the exposed Eucharist in a place called Lourdes that leads to sudden healings, being documented by a medical bureau and reviewed by an international commission of medical specialists, independent of the Catholic Church and including skeptics - illnesses including blindness, cancer, tuberculosis, sclerosis?

And I am just mentioning three drops in an ocean.

Let me tell you…before these you can either be humble enough to remain quiet, or be so full of pride as to come up with your own personal alternative explanations.

Ultimately it is not safe to assume so, it is incredibly unsafe and unsound, especially since the majority of humanity has always believed in an afterlife and in a superior Creator, and especially since Christianity has changed and shaped humanity not just by its incredible message of love and self-sacrifice, but by the ability of its followers to interact with God to unprecedented degrees.

 

[TomD123]

Hi Tom,

With all due respect is this not just the ‘god of the gaps’ argument. As we have no evidence, then this ‘gap’ in our knowledge, must be attributed to a god. I don’t find that intellectually satisfying or rigorous.

Um…how is this the God of the gaps argument at all??? Do you even know what that is…because I didn’t even make ANY argument for the existence of God. I simply stated that we can know God exists through reason.

I would argue that it is accepted that there is no proof of Gods. From reading a lot of the posts the argument FOR god is based on the lack of evidence that there is NOT a god. The ‘god of the gaps’ so to speak. The believe in God is based on faith or hope that there is one.
I have never seen or read any proof.

You clearly haven’t read much philosophy then. I assure you, arguments for the existence of God do not rely on lack of evidence to the contrary.
Look at St. Thomas’s 5 arguments
Or St. Anselm’s ontological
or any of the others…

I think your’e not being too rigorous in your logic here…

 

[snarflemike]

I think it is safe to assume that there is no proof of any God. In that respect any religions who claim they have a god do so on a equal footing. No one can say that one religion is more true than others. They are are all man-made. Until we have evidence I feel that best you can say is that the above just an opinion.

This claim reveals an astonishing level of ignorance. It will be hard to take anything you write seriously after such a claim.

 

[Praying7]

I like this question a lot…Why choose the Catholic faith?

You are right this is a challenging question and a very deep question.
People can have personal reasons or deep reasons.Personal reasons can be that it works for them or it fits their goals in life.

The Catholic Faith is not about its sacraments. It is not about its priests or even about the pope. It’s not about do this or don’t do that. It’s about a person. A very special person whom you meet and fall in love with. That person is perfect God and perfect man. In the Catholic faith, a Catholic’s life becomes centered on that person and just loving him. You search for him, get to know him little by little then you fall in love with him. And usually when you fall in love you grow to love what your lover loves and hate what your lover hates. You feel their pain and also their joy. You do everything to make them happy since when they are happy, you are happy. It is a religion of loving this person totally. And how can you love him? By following his teachings as closely as possible. The Catholic Church has been and still is the guardian of his teachings.

Faith is a very important virtue since it means believing, believing that the Catholic faith has not corrupted the teachings of Christ at all. They are exactly as he taught them. For over 2000 years, the Church has undergone conflicts, trials, sufferings, massive killings like in Rome but it has stood firm. It has not even changed. In it, there are countless individuals who have given their very lives to affirm the truth of its teachings. But the most important thing to remember is that the Church is founded on Christ himself who is God.

You need to be careful with other religions. The more truth a religion has the more stable it is. It really matters what its foundation is. God is truth itself. So if it is founded on truth then it is founded on God. But how can you know that what is there is the truth? Well…I don’t know. I am not trained or formed enough to brave this question. However, I believe this is where faith comes in. That is why we say ‘I believe’ not ‘I know’. However, something that can stand the test of time must be something of substance not based on lies or just personal ambitions. We usually say that a person of character is a person who is not moved by circumstances or easily influenced by others. They make decisions based on very solid truths. The same goes for the Catholic faith. There are things it fights for that no one else really cares about anymore. For example, the evil of contraceptives or euthanasia. But I would like to chose a very interesting one, the fact that the priests remain celibate. This has lasted for +2000years. This no small thing. It could be argued that this is old fashioned and with increased technology surely he can balance the two responsibilities of being a priest and a husband. Yet, this has remained. Also the fact that there are no women priests. Nowadays, we see women entering more and more into the working world and areas they weren’t in before. Yet, look…no women priests and there never will be. This shows the Catholic faith is based on more solid grounds that aren’t easily swayed by even time itself.

Personally, I love it because it is about Love. It is not a set of rules that if you break one, you go to hell and that is it. It is about Love. God is LOVE. I am free to love him or not to love him. The sacraments are means to bring two lovers closer and closer together. They long to be together. However I suggest that you talk to a professional apologist who can give you very excellent answers or to a very well-formed priest.

On a last note, pray about this. God is the best person to turn to. You may look to the greatest authority on the Catholic faith but if you don’t pray, it will come to nothing. I highly recommend the rosary. Say each prayer as it is the only prayer you are saying in the entire day.

Forgive me for my long reply.

 

[Love4All]

The Catholic faith embodies all that every other religion ever aspired and hoped for, all the while casting aside all the imperfections and shortcomings through a faith that is in perfect accordance with reason.

The Catholic faith spread like love all over the world immediately, changing and shaping history and civilization for the next two thousand years. No other religion has had such a major impact on the history of humanity.

We can also show through reason that our beliefs are sound not just because they are divinely revealed, but because any other belief that contradicts ours can be shown to be unsound or less perfect.

Finally, the Catholic Church acknowledges that everything good in other religions comes from God and predisposes all men to the fullness of the Good News that Christ entrusted the Church to reveal to all nations, so that all may be His disciples in His Church, all the while acknowledging that the merciful Christ will not negate salvation to those who do not know Him or His Church through invincible ignorance but strive to be virtuous men to the best of their ability.

:clapping:

Very well said.