Sections:

1)Some Ideas on the Existence of God

2)Why be a catholic?

3)Crisis of Faith & the instiutional church

4)Atheism: "Help My Unbelief"

5)Atheism, faith and love

6)"Faith Through Crucible of Doubt" (Two Prophets: Dostoevsky and St. Thérèse of Lisieux)

7) In search of God - and of Christ

 

SOME IDEAS ON THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

There are very strong arguments FOR the existence of God (beware of the word "proofs" - St Thomas Aquinas, the greatest of the theologians spoke of the five "WAYS" to God)… and there are no proofs AGAINST the existence of God.

ARGUMENTS FOR EXISTENCE OF GOD: 1. COMPLEXITY of man and the universe…. Too marvellous to be the product of mere chance…2. CONSCIENCE (Cardinal Newman's argument). Everything we do is either right or wrong.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST EXISTENCE OF GOD: 1. SUFFERING AND EVIL IN THE WORLD: If there be a God, how can he permit so much suffering? Answer: about 90% of world suffering is caused by the abuse of OUR free will…wars, social injustice, drugs….etc. But evils such as cancer, not caused by man's free will, are permitted by God possibly to remind us of the transience of this life… to help us purify our souls. NATURAL DISASTERS, such as floods, are explicable only in the light of eternity where THIS life seems like a few moments of time.

In this whole matter it is most important to have an OPEN MIND and lead a good MORAL LIFE… then only can we hope to find TRUTH …The immoral man does not want truth because it will disturb his pleasant, subjective, easy mode of life.

DIVINITY OF CHRIST: from the existence of God to the divinity of Christ is a vast leap and is possible ONLY BY THE SPECIAL HELP OF GRACE OF GOD.

1. SUPERNATURAL, SPECIAL, PERSONAL gift of God: Christ stressed this point often: "Nobody comes to ME UNLESS THE FATHER WHO SENT ME DRAW HIM." "flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, Peter, but my Father in Heaven."

2. FAITH CAN BE LOST OR INCREASED: St Peter: "You carry your faith around in fragile vessels." Faith can be lost by repeated, unrepented grave sin…by lack of prayer and the sacraments. "God is not mocked" St Paul warns us. INCREASED: Apostles to Christ: "Lord, increase our faith." Faith is like an organism - it must be constantly nourished and sustained - and protected.

DIFFICULTIES OF FAITH: since in faith we are dealing with the infinite nature of God we must expect that our LIMITED, finite brains cannot grasp God's complexity. St. Augustine: "If you were not Incomprehensible, Lord, you would not be God." Cardinal Newman: "Ten thousand difficulties don't make a doubt."

Don't be surprised if at each stage of your life you have varying degrees of difficulties in faith…To weather these crises, two points must be stressed:

· IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER: the humility to admit our limitations and ask God's help. "Lead kindly light amid the encircling gloom, lead Thou me on… "In prayer the Holy Spirit (whose role is to lead us to Christ) inspires us, directs us and warns us of dangers.

· NECESSITY OF LOVE: St John: "Anyone who fails to love can never have known God because God is love." St Augustine labours the point that a refusal to love, is an obstacle to faith. So we must try to love, SINCERELY AND UNSELFISHLY, other people, especially our own family.

FAITH is not just believing in things but primarily a PERSON - CHRIST - given us by God as our BROTHER, the Leader, unique and incomparable. Christ wants to lead us to a happier and FULLER life. "I have come that you may have life and have it to the full." He wants us to LIVE - not just exist. He wants us to know REAL love - not just the transient, physical substitute. The commandments are sign posts to real liberty and happiness - not kill-joys. The Catholic faith brings its rewards even in THIS life and so Pope Leo XIII could write: "The Catholic Church has for her own immediate and natural purpose the saying of souls…. yet in regard to things temporal she is the source of benefits as manifold and great as if the chief end of her existence were to ensure the prospering of our earthly life."

Like the man in the Gospel we must often say to Christ:

"LORD, I BELIEVE. HELP MY UNBELIEF."