Credo: Why I Believe

In my last blog I gave a rational explanation for what faith is.  Today I would like to give a personal account of why I have faith.

 First I believe because I myself have questioned and doubted.  I have grappled with every question in my life and have found that only the Catholic Church has satisfactory answers for me.  In many ways I really do sympathize with those who struggle to believe.  There are a lot of difficult situations out there.  There are a lot of personal experiences we can have that make it hard for us to accept the answers given by the Catholic Church.  I completely get why there are certain Church teachings that are hard to swallow.  I get it and in many ways do not blame people for not accepting them.  But most of the time people don’t accept them because they either don’t fully understand them or simply because they are unwilling to change the way they live their lives.  The answers are there, we just need to truly seek them out.

 Secondly, I believe because I am broken and need the power of Christ in my life.  I can honestly say I do not judge people who live a lifestyle I disagree with.  God knows I have done plenty of things I am not proud of and would probably be living in a way contrary to what I believe if it weren’t for the grace of God.  There are so many self-help books out there that try to tell us that “we can do it.”  Or that “the power to succeed is within us and we just need to tap into it.”  The truth is, WE cannot do it.  We do not have the ability to succeed or overcome obstacles on our own.  It is only Christ in us that can.  We need grace.  People are absolutely right in saying that it is ridiculous for the Church to expect a married couple to not use contraception in this day in age or for someone who struggles with homosexuality to spend the rest of his life alone.  But they are wrong when they say the Church expects THEM to.  The Church expects them to rely on CHRIST to do that for them.  “It is not I but Christ who lives in me.”  It was not me who made it to my wedding night a virgin.  It was Christ pouring His graces on us that allowed us to make it.  It is not I who has not resorted to the use of contraception in our marriage; it is Christ walking in us by the power of His Spirit.  It is not I who refuses to look at pornography; it is Christ in me that gives me the grace to refrain.  Every sin and temptation I have struggled with in my life has only been overcome by the grace of God.  We all need God’s grace.  I am not above falling.  I am still nothing more than a sinner.  It is Christ who uses me in spite of my failings.  That is faith.  Faith is what takes over where our natural powers and abilities leave of.  Faith is allowing Christ into our natural world and allowing Him to sanctify it.  This is easier said than done and takes a lot of trust.  So if this is not where you are at, I get it and understand.  I challenge you to simply say pray every single day this simple prayer of Peter’s, “I believe Lord, help my unbelief.”  Or even more simply, “Lord please increase my faith.”

 Lastly, I believe because I have met Christ.  I do not see Jesus as an idea but a person.  He is my best friend.  I have studied and come to understand, although not fully, who He truly is and not some idea I made up.   If he is a real person and I can trust him then I have no choice but to abandon myself to His will.  If I really trust who He is then I have no choice but to believe everything He teaches.  I put my trust in my friends and parents but that is putting trust in finite and fallible people.  It makes more sense to put my trust in a perfect and infinite being.  So many people will say, I think Jesus was a good man and had some good ideas but I just don’t believe He was the son of God.  Well if he was not the son of God he was a bad man and not a good man because he would have lied to many people and convinced them he was.  A liar cannot be a good man.  A liar would not die for his life.  If Jesus was telling the truth then He becomes someone we can trust above anyone else. When we begin to do this we can begin to form a relationship with Him.  When we do this we will fall in love with Him.  The only natural response to this love will be obedience to His teachings and His Church.  It is not about rules.  It is about relationship.   Think about it, every relationship has “rules” and boundaries.  If we don’t follow them, then the relationship suffers.  However, rules without relationship are pointless.  If we want true faith we have to have true relationship!

 

If you are Catholic but really struggle with things the Church teaches or have fallen away I encourage you to do the following:

1.  Come home and get involved in your parish.  Surround yourself with a community of people that can help you on your journey.

2.  Study.  Read and ask questions of people that are well versed in Theology and Philosophy.

3.  Be open to the answers you will recieve through your study.

4. Pray: The simple prayers listed above but also try and take some time in silence every day.  Even if it is just 5 mintues.  Unplug and I bet you will eventually start to hear God's voice

5. Go to the sacraments of the Eucharist and Confession as often as possible.

 

This journey is not easy but it is one that makes our lives truly worth living!

Credo

To begin my exposé on faith and reasons for belief I would like to address this first blog specifically to unbelievers.  I will do a second part to this specifically addressed to Catholics in my next entry.  Remember that I am open to having a dialogue and friendly exchange; however I will delete all hateful comments.  There is no reason to be unkind or spiteful, even if you do not agree. 

 Last summer I read a pretty large portion of the book The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.  I stopped reading it part way through not because I disliked it or disagreed with it, but because it was hateful.  I know a few atheists and they quite honestly are not nearly as hateful or rude as most of the authors and speakers out there who claim atheism.  Most of the major atheists out there tend to insult believers and tend to insult their intelligence.  They claim that faith in God is just a delusion not rooted in rational arguments or evidence.  This attitude is mainly fueled by a misunderstanding of what faith is and of the type of arguments that are used to argue for the existence of God.

 Why do I believe in God?  Why am I a Catholic?  The answer to both of these questions begins with the fact that I have faith.  But what is faith?  Hebrews 11:1 states, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” The dictionary defines faith as “confidence or trust in a person or thing.”    However, it also defines faith as, “belief that is not based in proof.”  This is where I disagree.  Often times those of us who genuinely have faith don’t seem to understand what it really is.  We tend to use that second dictionary definition.  Have you ever been told by someone when asking a question about something the Church teaches, “Well we can’t fully explain that, you just have to have faith”?  I’m guessing if you have gone through enough years of religious education you have heard that at some point.  Well that sadly is the answer given by a well-meaning poorly educated catechist.

 So then, what is Faith? 

 “Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. As personal adherence to God and assent to his truth, Christian faith differs from our faith in any human person. It is right and just to entrust oneself wholly to God and to believe absolutely what he says. It would be futile and false to place such faith in a creature.” (CCC 150)

 To spell this out a little more clearly let us first talk about what Faith is not.  Faith is not a feeling or emotion.  True faith is an act of the will.  Faith is also not something based only on experience.  While experiences can deepen our faith or give us a different perspective on life, they do not offer support for or against the faith.  If faith is any of those things then it is a faith divorced from reason. 

 

Here is the key to understanding faith; true faith is something that is rational.  True faith is firmly grounded in reason.   Our culture today is rooted in materialism and scientism.  This means that if you cannot put it under a microscope and empirically prove it to be true it must not be true.  That is actually quite ridiculous.  There are some things that science has not answered and never will answer.  For example, can you scientifically and empirically define love and prove that it exists?  Or can you scientifically and empirically define the meaning and purpose of life?  How about goodness?  No, these are what we call Philosophical questions.  These questions can only be answered by Philosophy and Theology.  However, faith is not opposed to science or reason either. 

 

“Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason.  Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth.” (CCC 159)

 The human person is composed of body and soul.  The two powers of the human soul are the intellect and will.  In the intellect dwells our power to reason.  We then use our reason to cause the will to act.  Reason is what allows us to prove, discover, and understand the world around us.  Reason, when used properly, leads us to discover truth.  However it cannot work alone.  As stated above, reason or science does not have all the answers.  Reason can only take us so far.  Reason takes us to the threshold and it is faith that makes us step over the threshold.  In faith the human intellect and will cooperate with divine grace.   Reason is the natural power, while faith is the supernatural power. 

 You see there are certain things that are revealed by God but are not understandable, discoverable, or provable by reason.  These are truths that have a certain level of rational explanation but could not be discovered by reason alone (for example the Trinity). We cannot prove these particular truths empirically; however we can answer all the arguments and against them.  Then there are those things revealed by God & understandable, discoverable, or provable by reason.  These are things like the moral law and the existence of God.   Keep in mind that the proof for these things is not scientific or empirical.  It is a philosophical proof.  This means that we prove that belief in them is rational and logical.  Then there are things not revealed by God but known only by human reason, for example the quadratic formula or a theorem in Geometry.  True faith picks up where reason leaves off.  It is not something we make up to simply explain something we don’t have an answer to.  Rather it is the answer to the things science cannot answer.   Bl. John Paul II said it best in his encyclical, Fides et Ratio, “Faith and reason are like two wings in which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” 

 

If you are someone who does not believe you need to understand a few things.  True faith is rooted in reason.  There is historical and philosophical proof to back up what we as Catholics believes.  It is not a fairy tale or nice story told to explain what we cannot like Greek Mythology was.  There is a 2000 year intellectual tradition to back-up what we hold dear.  Have you truly explored and studied that?  Have you truly read everything that is out there?  Can you honestly say science has explained away without a shadow of a doubt the existence of God?  Simply because you don’t understand it does not mean it is irrational or illogical to have faith.  True faith is not just something based in sentimentality or emotion, but rather something backed by the irrefutable truth that there is something bigger than myself responsible for everything around us!

The Republic of Texas?

So I know I said I was going to start blogging about Faith and reasons for belief and I will, but I had an interesting thought that I felt the need to blog about. 

 This morning on facebook I came across a link to a petition for Louisiana requesting to secede from the union.  I know I recently said I would seriously consider moving to Texas but we need to think about this a little.  Let me start off by saying that I’m not opposed to the idea of Texas, Louisiana, and some of these other more conservative red states seceding but I think we need to step back and rationally think about this for a  bit. 

 To begin with, what is our true motive for this?  I think a fundamental flaw in our society is that we think we can create some sort of utopia here on earth.  We think that we can have Heaven on earth.  The reality of this is that we cannot.  We are called to further the kingdom of God and work against injustice but we are NEVER going to have a perfect society.  We live in a fallen human world, and there will always be sin and corruption. We are not citizens of this world; we are merely pilgrims on a journey. 

 Second of all we have to remember that extremes are never good.  The spiritual life teaches us that very clearly.  We have to live our lives rooted in truth and in a balanced way.  I mentioned in a previous post this week that in our culture today no one recognizes anything as evil anymore.  We don’t want to say something is sinful or wrong.  Well that is not the correct way to live.  But neither is being overly pious and living in a way that everything is sinful.  This we call scrupulosity, this is also not the correct way to live.  The problem with extreme liberalism is that it destroys the moral order, the family, gives people a false sense of compassion, and destroys any sense of truth our society has.  The problem with extreme conservatism is that it creates an “ever man for himself” mentality and does not take into consideration the human condition with a true sense of compassion. 

 I would be afraid that a country that was composed of only red states would not solve the issues we have as a nation.  I think we would have a whole new set of problems.  Once again don’t get me wrong, if things get really bad I’m thinking moving to Texas and joining the secession is better than the alternative, however what kind of society would that create?  For example would it be a more racist society?  Those states already have a tendency to be more racist.  In the process of fighting against the redefinition of marriage would we react with hatred of homosexuals?  I’m not ok with gay marriage and gay adoption but I am also not ok with gay bashing and hatred of gays.  We would we have some sort of compassion for the poor and government assistance programs or would we eradicate those things completely?  Would we allow immigration and welcome those who need a better life or would we completely close our borders and have even stricter immigration policies than we currently do?  I’m just speculating here.  I don’t know what would happen but I think we need to think about these things a little bit. 

 

I know where Catholics stand on all those issues and I have a feeling we would still have things we have to speak out against in a “red state” world.  The Catholic position in political life goes much deeper than no abortion.  The pro-life issue maybe the biggest and most important issue but it is not the only issue. If Abortion was illegal our job would not be over.  So would seceding be a better situation than what we currently have?  Maybe, in some ways, but let’s not be too quick to divide this country up yet.  We can’t make a perfect society.  Maybe we need to work harder in Evangelizing the current culture and country we have rather than making a new one.  I know some of us may end up with no choice and end up having to go the “let’s move to Texas and secede” route.  However, I think we need to remember that while it could be better and provide solutions to some things it will come with a whole new set of problems.  Our job as Catholics will never be complete whether we remain the United States of America or divide into The Socialist States of America and The Republic of Texas! 

The Year of Faith

Pope Benedict XVI has declared this the year of Faith.  I can't think of a more inspired and wonderful proclomation.  Even though I'm about a month behind in response to that and the posts I made earlier this week I have decided I'm going to dedicate the remainder of this year of Faith (now until October 2013) to focus my blog on explaining the reasons for belief in the one true faith and reflect on what the nature of Faith truly is.  The first official post of this will be coming next week!  Please be on the lookout, read, and share.  I will encourage comments from people of all faiths and backgrounds with these I just ask that it be kept a respectful DIALOGUE!  Let's get some good healthy discussion going this year (this means all hateful and disrespectful comments will be deleted)!

Looking forward to the first post next week!  Have a blessed weekend!

"Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged"?

I felt inspired to write yet again today and so I did!  I think that this needed to be said in order to clarify what I wrote yesterday.

“Don’t be Judgmental”, and “learn to be tolerant”, seem to be common phrases/themes we hear or see in our culture.  First of all, our understanding of both of these things is severely skewed.  To begin with, tolerance is gravely misunderstood in our culture.  Tolerance in a sense has become the god of this generation.  Tolerance DOES NOT MEAN I have to keep my mouth shut and keep from commenting when I disagree with someone.  Tolerance DOES NOT MEAN I have to simply accept beliefs and lifestyles different than my own.  Tolerance DOES NOT MEAN everyone is free to believe in whatever they want to choose their own truth.  As my friend Chris Stefanick says in his talk on moral relativism, “you have to DISAGREE with something before you start TOLERATING it.”  Tolerance means I simply put up with something I don’t like.  I can still LOVE someone and disagree with them.  To say that homosexual actions, contraception, abortion and voting for Obama is wrong is NOT INTOLERANT! To say that there is such a thing as absolute truth and that one religion is more right than another is NOT INTOLERANT!  To have moral convictions and stick by them is NOT INTOLERANT!  For example, most people in my family do not believe a lot of the same things I do.  They are wrong in their beliefs, period.  Does that mean I love them less or we can’t get along?  No!  Can we have intelligent dialogue and conversation?  Yes!  Are they 100% wrong?  No!  Are there a lot of things they get right?  Yes!  Do I still respect them and see good in them?  Yes!  Believing that someone is wrong does not mean you are intolerant nor does it mean you hate them. 

 Secondly, one of the most common things I hear is, “We shouldn’t judge people.”   That is absolutely correct!  We should not judge people, only God can judge people.  However, what people mean by “not judging others” is not what Jesus meant by this.  For example in today’s culture to go up to a friend or family member and say, “I don’t think you should be having sex outside of marriage”, or “you shouldn’t be getting drunk every weekend” would elicit a response like, “don’t judge me, I’m a good person even if I do those things, who are you to tell me what to do?”  That my friends is not judgmental.  That is actually doing our Christian duty of loving our neighbor.  That is showing care and concern for another.  We actually are called to judge actions.  We can’t judge PEOPLE, but we can judge ACTIONS!  What is the difference?  Well judging actions is calling someone out and telling them what they are doing or have done is wrong.  Judging people implies that you assume the state of their soul.  To tell someone they are going to hell because of what they are doing is judgmental.  To tell them something is sinful is not judgmental; it is actually loving and scriptural. 

 “‘If your brother* sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.  If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.  If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17)

 As Pope St. Felix III said, "Not to oppose error is to approve it; and not to defend truth is to suppress it; and indeed to neglect to confound evil men, when we can do it, is no less a sin than to encourage them."  When someone corrects me for the way I am acting or for what I am doing, I don’t see it as judgmental.  I actually often take some time to think about it and take it to prayer.  More often than not I realize that the person who provided the criticism is correct and I am thankful for that.  Why?  Well, because I can then use what I have learned or discovered through the situation to grow in virtue and holiness. 

 The mentality behind these two concepts is truly ruining our culture and causing serious moral degradation in society.  No one wants to call anything evil or sinful anymore.  It seems like the only sin in society anymore is having moral convictions and telling someone they are wrong.  As Pope Benedict said before he became pope, “We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires.”  This is a scary thought.  I think we can all agree that Hitler was an evil guy and what he did was pretty messed up.  However, I seriously wonder that if Hitler was alive today and committing the same evils if we would think they were wrong.  We would honestly try and stop him?  I seriously question the fact that we would.  Someone would surely say that we were being “intolerant” or “judgmental” if we disagreed with him. 

 Here is the problem, people see Christians as judgmental and intolerant because they haven’t been given the whole message.  They simply see Christianity as a list of rules.  Christianity is not simply a belief system; it is a RELATIONSHIP with a living God.  The best part about it is that when we are wrong about something, or someone calls us out on a sinful action, is that there is mercy and forgiveness available.  The mercy of Christ is infinite.  He desires nothing more than for us to recognize our faults and imperfections so that he can forgive us and begin to heal us and make us whole again!  Today's Gospel from Luke says it well:

"The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance."

Jesus was not “tolerant” in the way today’s liberal leftist are want everyone to me.  He was and is tolerant in the way that he loves us in spite of our sin and weaknesses and calls us to become who we are meant to be.  There is hope, joy, and love in Christianity.  Are there Christians who can be judgmental and truly intolerant?  Absolutely, but most often than not the culture simply tells us we are behaving that way, when in fact we are being loving. 

 

In conclusion, it is because I love my family and friends that I will continue to call a spade a spade.  I will continue to refer to things as immoral and sinful when they are.  If you disagree with me, fine, but please be TOLERANT yourselves and accept the fact that I am simply preaching what I have come to discover as the truth and I will not back down from it simply because it offends someone.  If it offends you and you disagree then let us TOLERATE one another so we can go lovingly enjoy a beer or a good glass of whiskey as we laugh and discuss those things we can agree on! After all once I have said my piece, I can’t change your heart or mind.  I’ll leave that one to the Holy Spirit and pray for you in the quiet recess of my own heart while we enjoy that beer or whiskey together!

Post Election Thoughts

I went to bed early last night, about 9:45.  I decided I didn’t want to wait for them to call the election.  I woke up at about 4:30 this morning to check the results and then workout.  I have refrained from sharing my true reaction because I really wanted to reflect on it and take it to prayer today.  I’ve decided that I need to get my thoughts down. They may seem irrational to some of you but I don’t care.  You can disagree with me but if you do I don’t want to hear it on here.  I will delete any and all negative comments.  Comments that are in agreement with how I am feeling are welcome but I am not in the mood to “dialogue” about this right now.

 First of all, I’m angry at all the Catholics that voted for Obama in this election.  The outcome is mainly on you.  Most of you should know better.  The Church was clear.  You disobeyed.  This makes me angry.  I’m tired of people claiming my faith and my Church and then only following it when it is “convenient”.  I’m sorry you didn’t like Romney as an option, I was not thrilled with him either but he was clearly the lesser of two evils and the best option we had. You have betrayed me and my Church by voting for Obama.  End of discussion.

 Second of all I’m scared.  I had to pause my workout this morning and go check on my daughter who was crying.  As I picked her up to console her, a ton of emotion flooded over me and I must admit I shed a couple tears as I was holding her.  I am terrified of the world she is going to grow up in.  This administration is going to continue to further the culture of death and I truly fear the kind of America my daughter will grow up in.   I don’t think America is going to be able to recover from this.  In addition to the President, the moral depravity that people in certain states voted to legalize is atrocious and God will judge us as a nation for it!  Have mercy on us Oh Lord!

 Thirdly, I feel betrayed by family and friends who refused to see the impact this administration is having on religious liberty.  I understand you may not fully agree with what I believe but for you to go ahead and vote for someone who wants to take away my religious liberties is hurtful. This could result in me losing my job or me being fined and thrown in jail because I refuse to pay for things that violate my conscience. This election was personal and the fact that you decided you look the other way on this issue makes me disappointed.   I still love all of you but I am sad.  I understand some of you may not fully know or understand why I feel this way but I need you to know that I do feel this way.   I hope and pray I am wrong about all these things occurring but for the first time in American History they are real possibilities.

My mother-in-law constantly says to us, “when are you moving to Texas?”  I have honestly always thought to myself that this was unlikely.  After this election I can honestly say that this has become a real possibility now.  I think that it will be the safest place to be when our economy crashes. 

 Lastly, I am still trusting in God. My resolve to Evangelize and fight for our culture is growing stronger within me. I will preach and teach the truth more fervently. I will continue to teach my students the truth regardless of how it is taken. I will share Christ with whomever I encounter. The sense of urgency for us to evangelize has only gotten stronger. If you are a Catholic you must join me and the Church in this mission. It is our moral obligation to preach the truth to others. We cannot go down without a fight. We cannot be silent anymore. Our Catholic faith cannot just be about you or me sitting in the pew at Sunday mass. It has to be about being transformed and going forth to share that joy with others. I am thankful for my Catholic Faith.  I know that Christ is my real King and in Him my true hope lies. However it doesn’t make this any less scary and it doesn’t change how I feel.   If things get bad I will bear the crosses he gives our family and I will continue to praise Him.  I’m sure people will read this and think I’m being an alarmist and over dramatic, but this is how I feel. I honestly think it is a problem that more people don’t see things in this way.  I cannot predict the future and I hope I am wrong about the things I fear, but it doesn’t make the fear itself any less real.   God is bigger than all of this but I firmly believe the suffering and the persecution is coming.  If it doesn’t occur in the next four years, at least the ground work for it will be laid in the next four years. 

 

For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!