note the shill reviews...ignore them. brilliantly skewers materialism as demonstrably false.
by Pope-Urban-III 2017-08-19
We all come to God with the wrong attitude in some way; that's the whole point. "I believe Lord, help my unbelief." The important thing is we head towards Him; He'll help us. If we came to Him with the completely right attitude we'd already be saints.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have; we might not have the answers but we will have something.
by Pope-Urban-III 2017-08-19
The mainstay of existence itself is available to us - and to all, Catholic or not - in Adoration. Find a church that offers it nearby and go spend some time there. You can just sit and think. Take your girlfriend as a surprise before a date.
Here is a quick and basic rundown of multiple arguments for God's existence with Aquinas's Five Ways in here as well. Breaks it down very well, in my opinion.
by QuietBravePhantom 2017-08-19
Ohhh, I thought you were someone else. Anyways here read this
TL:DR - Objective Good exists and it is God. This is proven and demonstrable through logic and reason.
You exist and you can become a child of this goodness if you so choose. This is fulfillment and meaning as a human being and we exist to enjoy this infinite Truth and Love. We aren't aimless creatures mere byproducts of chance but divinely created beings loved immensely.
by NDAugustine 2017-08-19
Sure, I understand. One of the reasons I enjoy being a theologian (working and studying at Notre Dame currently) is that it affords me the opportunity to answer the questions that folks like you had when they were kids, but never got answered. The intellectual life among many priests is non-existent and that found its way into the pews. Catholic homilies are mostly terrible, lack any substance, etc. You have a lot of people who believe X simply because someone says so, but fewer people are able to articulate why they believe.
I hope these may help
this too
note the shill reviews...ignore them. brilliantly skewers materialism as demonstrably false.
We all come to God with the wrong attitude in some way; that's the whole point. "I believe Lord, help my unbelief." The important thing is we head towards Him; He'll help us. If we came to Him with the completely right attitude we'd already be saints.
My recommendations for reading are Answering Atheism and/or The Last Superstition followed by Aquinas . You can also go to Adoration, find one nearby here if possible. Just go and sit.
The Church cannot lose itself, though parts may be hidden or injured for a time. The Church will not end up being a leftist social justice organization, though she has much to say about Social Justice (and it's not what people think - Justice and Charity is a good overview. Look for an FSSP parish nearby, or a parish with perpetual adoration, or one with lots of confession times to find a strongly rooted faithful one.
The Church has handled that situation from literally the beginning. Read [1 Corinthians 7:12-14]. There's a simple convalidation process that the parish priest can walk you through. As to marriage itself, Three to Get Married can help you understand the great vocation, gift, and cross that is marriage.
You will find that the Church is the bulwark you see, but it is only that because of faith in the God who established Her - Chesterton's The Everlasting Man is a good read in that area.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have; we might not have the answers but we will have something.
The mainstay of existence itself is available to us - and to all, Catholic or not - in Adoration. Find a church that offers it nearby and go spend some time there. You can just sit and think. Take your girlfriend as a surprise before a date.
And you may want to read *Answering Atheism * or *The Last Superstition * as an introduction to Aquinas and the intellectual history of the Church; which is unimaginably rich.
Augustine's *Confessions * is, of course, always recommended. Perhaps read it with your girlfriend? It may provoke some seriously good discussions. If you feel you need a "study guide" *I Burned for Your Peace * by Kreeft is a good one.
If you'd like, PM me and I'll send you one in honor of Lent.
Check out Pints with Aquinas by Matt Fradd. Haven't personally listened to it but his podcast comes highly recommended by a plethora of users here.
A good book that goes over this stuff, among other things, is The Last Superstition by Edward Feser.
Here is a quick and basic rundown of multiple arguments for God's existence with Aquinas's Five Ways in here as well. Breaks it down very well, in my opinion.
Ohhh, I thought you were someone else. Anyways here read this
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/metaphysics.html
https://toptalkedbooks.com/amzn/1587314525 (you can find an ebook version online easily)
TL:DR - Objective Good exists and it is God. This is proven and demonstrable through logic and reason.
You exist and you can become a child of this goodness if you so choose. This is fulfillment and meaning as a human being and we exist to enjoy this infinite Truth and Love. We aren't aimless creatures mere byproducts of chance but divinely created beings loved immensely.
Sure, I understand. One of the reasons I enjoy being a theologian (working and studying at Notre Dame currently) is that it affords me the opportunity to answer the questions that folks like you had when they were kids, but never got answered. The intellectual life among many priests is non-existent and that found its way into the pews. Catholic homilies are mostly terrible, lack any substance, etc. You have a lot of people who believe X simply because someone says so, but fewer people are able to articulate why they believe.
If you're at all interested in these questions - and I suspect you are - I would recommend David Bentley Hart's Atheist Delusions - the title is not his own (the subtitle is what he wanted). It's an excellent book, however. Hart is a polymath. A trained philosopher/historian/theologian, he really undermines a good deal of the 'new atheism' (which I disliked as Nietzschean anyway - Nietzsche would chew those guys up were he alive). Ed Feser's The Last Superstition is likewise very good. Feser is one of the most careful thinkers out there.