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Incomplete
Guest
But even with that, you’ll get similar people. My point was that you keep asking questions that ultimately come down to “but maybe God doesn’t exist.”
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jmcrae
Guest
They certainly didn’t doubt the existence of the spirit world. They believed in God, or gods, and in spiritual things.
Even the term “natural selection” implies an intelligence behind the scenes making value judgements that “this is better, and should be kept. This is worse, and should be discontinued.”
Only you can make that decision, to believe or not. It takes a leap of faith. No one can prove it to you.
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PathDiagnosis
Guest
I will attempt not to do that. I will read responses and try to at least imagine that God/gods/spirit world(s) exist.
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jmcrae
Guest
Abraham was the first person in recorded history to realize that there is a God. It happened to him in the middle of the night.
His reaction was not to think, “OH, so that’s what that is. Isn’t that interesting?” and then roll over and go back to sleep - no.
He immediately got out of bed, dressed in his best clothes, ran outside, built an altar, and captured a variety of different animals to offer in sacrifice to God.
God responded by making a Covenant with him.
If/when it ever dawns on you that there is a God, you will most likely react in a similar way - you will want to do something - something that for want of a better word will probably look “religious” to the various bystanders and onlookers. They’ll say, “Oh, look - he’s got religion.”
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CopticChristian
Guest
Why do you need God? You don’t unless you believe you need God. There are all the proofs, etc and the notion that if there is a God then there is a reward etc…but to believe you do not need God is your perogative?
Why do you need to be Spiritual? You don’t unless you belive you need to. The Secular world is filled with “Spiritual People” and it is not a God thing…it is just a need. If you choose not to be Spiritual then don’t.
There is nothing wrong with believing that there is no God, no Creator, no afterlife unless you are not certain. Uncertainty puts a dent in this thought.
Why not go about life without explanations? You should if it works for you.
This is Catholic Answers. I have answered your questions. After reading your posts, seeing you continually posting your thoughts, do you have a Catholic question? If you truly believe that there is no purpose then all you are going to get from many people is reasons for having a purpose. I believe that, others believe that.
If you believe that you have no purpose in life, if you believe that this is all we have, if you believe that all this suff is poppycock then understand that when you post what you believe it just results in resistance.
Perhaps there is a nihilist site that would concur with your thoughts. It is my belief that you may have some difficulty in adhering to these thoughts as you do have memory, you do have imagination. You state former Catholic convert from Protestanism so you have some memory of that. It is impossible to not think about what you experienced at that time. This is tough for you.
So I wish you well. You don’t believe in any of this so I won’t say I will pray for you even if I will because you don’t believe in this anyway…
P.S. you do have 105 posts on Catholic Answers…
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PathDiagnosis
Guest
THANK YOU!
I get it. Assuming that story is true, Abraham knew of God, and felt a “draw” to worship. In the same way, we do things for people who love. I get it. Know, I just need to be convinced of God, then what religion. Objectively/historically, Catholicism is the only one that makes sense to me.
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CopticChristian
Guest
P.S.S. 108 posts.
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Tenofovir
Guest
Thomas Aquinas’ 5 Ways are convincing. I would recommend you pick up the book Aquinas by Edward Feser (available as Kindle ed too) and also The Last Superstition by the same. Visit also Ed Feser’s blog at edwardfeser.blogspot.com and follow the discussions there. Thomas Aquinas 5 Ways are compatible with any cosmology you like.
Another interesting book to read is Vox Day’s The Irrational Atheist. Vox also had an interesting debate with an atheist on the existence of God/gods. I think the debate petered out but you can also find it on his website.
Anyway, thinking about the important question “Why is there anything at all?” is bound to lead at least in some way to God. As for evolution/natural selection/etc. remember science is an evolving venture and it is provisional at best. Evolution even if true, and I think it is true in most regards, does not deny God in any way, in fact evolution is more compatible with a non-tinkerer God. Behaviour of matter and energy (laws of physics) gives rise to life and us. It’s convincing the God of classic theism (and Catholic Church/Christianity) is sustaining a very rationally ordered universe, right down to quantum theory.
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John_Paul_Jones
Guest
An athlete desires practice and exercise to be in top performance; his desire is not a form of weakness but a aspiration to become better. So to it should be with most religious people (at least for Christians), a belief in God isn’t a weakness, but am aspiration to become a better person - both for the sake of themselves and for other people.
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PathDiagnosis
Guest
Thanks. Might as well continue here.
Whatever reading/studying I do is just because I happen to be born in a well to do country, educated, and money to purchase books to access to the internet, etc. I mean, I have the LUXURY of being able to study religion and then pick one. Others do not, or have less means. I just have trouble with the idea of being a certain religion to picking one (being able to go to church etc) because one has the luxury to do so?
What about impoverished villages, etc? They are limited to whatever spirituality exists in their locality, which might not be Catholic. Whatever they conclude to may not be true, assuming the Catholic Church is true. But then, Catholic theology states something along the lines of “those who through no fault of their own do not know to Gospel…can be saved…etc”. I hope you understand this concern.
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PRmerger
Guest
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PRmerger
Guest
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Tenofovir
Guest
People in the developing world, where I spend much of my time, are usually more religious. They usually lead harsher lives then the rest of us. I think it is the luxuries which drive people to other points of view. After all, the bling is attractive. The language in the Bible pretty archaic and the modern secular pop world of media pseudo-intellectuals far removed from God. It’s easy to lose faith this way.
Yes it does. Again I think these people have less to worry about then people in the West, in this regard.
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Incomplete
Guest
But none of this has anything to do with whether or not God exists.
And you’ll also note that there are people who believe in God who don’t have the mental capacity to read. There are other ways to learn of God for other people, but in your case reading seemed a good suggestion.
You having the luxury to study religion and others not having that does nothing to prove or disprove God.
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Julia_Mae
Guest
You can’t start a flame war the mods won’t allow it. I am Catholic because God called me directly to the Church. There is a God. I have never “practiced religion” I don’t think. Maybe I should, probably a lack on my part. As for why I go to Mass, to Adoration, all of that: I just like it.
Why do we have to? Do we have to? Yes, we do.
God came to earth to be human with us, that we might go to Heaven. That we, here, become Christ to one another. He also provided a means by which that can happen, a means by which we are transformed. The Eucharist is the central means by which this happens. But the Gospel isn’t about wearing scapulars or reciting prayers. To be Christ to another is about love, charity, forgiveness and self-sacrifice. Prayer is of the spirit, not the mouth.
The more you are about others, the less you are about self, the more you are about Christ.
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PRmerger
Guest
If you ever hear someone say that you should respond: That is nonsense. Religion comes from the Latin word religare, which means “relationship”.
So to say the bolded section is akin to saying the nonsensical: Christianity is not a relationship but a relationship. :whacky:
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PathDiagnosis
Guest
I can’t prove it I wasn’t stating it as fact or even theory in the way that gravity is a “theory” but as rather a possibility. To me, it seems more likely that Catholicism is another invention rather than the Catholic explanation that it is God’s final revelation and everything else before it was a precursor or “man searching in the shadows”, etc. But, I could be wrong. Trying to figure that out.
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Tenofovir
Guest
On what basis do you say that?
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PathDiagnosis
Guest
Every civilization (I think) had/has some spiritual element, maybe Christianity is just another one of those elements and thrived because of favorable conditions, etc. The idea that everything else before was a a precursor seems like an invention/excuse.
I could be wrong.
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Tenofovir
Guest
Christianity reduces to Christ. If Christ did not rise from the dead then He was not God, then Christianity is false. Theism may still be true then, based on natural theology.
The fact that people have a need for something beyond themselves may be an argument for and against theism. But then, not everyone has such a need, take you for example. You don’t feel you have such a need. Many people did not and do not. Likewise many people are happy with materialism. Many people see no need for an after life. Many just want to switch off when they die and many faiths actually had that sort of belief. Assuming this can be judged on empirical grounds, I think evidence cancels itself out regarding peoples’ needs to be spiritual and so creation of religions and the opposite. Besides hell is a terrible place to create. Why bother?
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