Catholic Online Forum

Hi my name is Frank. I'm 14 and I'm new to this website. I became a member to this website because I wonder a lot about life and I want to know more about my religion, Catholicism, from more older or experienced people. My question is my current stae of life. All my life I was raised catholic and I went to catholic schools. I've always had an interest in learning about such subjects as History and Science. I always watched the History channel, Discovery channel, Animal Planet, Science channel and such. I always believed what these channels said and I never really thought of my faith. I would believe in one subject that would totally intervene with Christianity but still be Christian. Well one day when I was 12 I watched the history channel and i saw one of those 2012 shows talking about the doomsday being predicted by ancient civilizations to be in 2012. After the show was over, I thought what if doomsday does really happen in 2012. Then I thought what happens after I die. I thought of all the things I learned regarding science. I than wondered what if there was no God and no Heaven. It was the most depressing day of my life. I thought of all my family who I love so much and all of my friends and Me. I thought about how great they are and how happy they make me. I didn't want them too just die and then just stop existing. They suffered and they did good things, they deserve more then just a infinite state of being unconscience. I want theirs' and my life to mean something. As i type this thinking about this makes me cry because I would never want to live a meaningless life. I really wish i could convey the emotion I have when I think about this topic into the text because it means a lot to me. Well ever since that the topic of God and an afterlife has obsessed my mind constantly and I want to find proof for both. Sometimes I would look into the subjects like the Supernatural, Christian miracles, and creationism but I feel that these things are just fakes and if i look for evidence on the internet I will just find a lot of atheists trying to disprove them. My parents say i should stop thinking about it while trying to help me as my sisters but it's something that's just stuck in my head. I don't know what I should do.

Well i have some questions that I would like to ask you guys:
1. Some of the members who use this website are very intellectual and are people who know of science. How do you be a devout Christian while having a vast knowledge of science which some of it disagrees with Christianity?

2. I have heard a lot about miracles and miracle-workers in the Catholic Church such as Our Lady of Fatima or Padre Pio and it gives me a lot of faith in God but a lot of times I hear skeptics trying to discredit them or disprove them on the internet or TV. Should i truly believe in miracles and are there any which you think are truthful and i should look into. Also where should I go to research them since I see a lot of websites trying to belittle these things.

3. Should I use the supernatural as a justification for after-life? I know there are a lot of phonie ghost shows on tv but sometimes I watch them because I just want to believe in ghosts so I know theres atleast something after we die.

4. Should I pray even if I think it won't work? I've heard a lot of users on this forum say that prayer is a great way to become more faithful but then again i hear prayer just makes you feel better because its a "placebo" and nothing more.

5. Is there any differences between the soul and brain? I knew the brain controls everything in the body including muscle movements, thoughts, and genes control attributes and personality so what does the Soul control in our body besides letting us go to heaven.

Frank Dyke

Frank,

Welcome to COL.

I used to have this fear about doomsday predictions put out by a myriad of sources, some from ancient ones as you pointed out. So far, these soothsayers have a perfect record: They have consistently been wrong. The dates they zeroed in (I don’t remember the exact years, but many were supposed to have happened in the last three decades, I believe) have come and gone, and here we are talking about this today.

So your parents are right in advising you not to dwell on these things. If you read the Bible, Christ said no one but the Father knows when the end will come.

There is nothing wrong with science as long as it serves to give man a better understanding of his environment, the world and the universe. The Church endorses science when it does just this and when it is honest in seeking the truth, and not pervert its role. One way men hijack the tools of science is to move into areas it is not qualified to do so -- especially when in issues of faith and morals they work against what comes naturally to our senses about right and wrong, and the existence of a Supreme Being, who created us and the universe.

The evidence of all these things is around us and science is suppose to help us come to a better understanding of them.

Miracles do happen every day, the birth of a new life, is one example. On a higher plane, the miracles God works that is above our natural understanding is evidence He exists and of His love for us in pulling us towards Him.

To belief in God’s miracles, the fourth point you raised is important: Prayer. It is perhaps the most powerful tool He places in our hands. It’s power is underrated by many, including many faithful Catholics, but getting into the habit of prayer helps us to come to a better understanding of Christ, to have full faith in Him, to be able to accept his tender message to us “Be not afraid” as we journey into the future.

This is just some thoughts off the bat from me at the moment. I am sure others will come along to give you more thoughtful insights.

God bless.

_________________
Ian DC
Blessed Ever Virgin Mary -- Sanctuary and resting-place of the Blessed Trinity where God dwells in greater and more divine splendour than anywhere else in the universe

Thank you for the reply ianJM. A doomsday isn't much a problem in my life anymore but the rest is. I will wait for more replies
Frank

Hello, Frank!

Good questions. Faith and Science are not exclusive, and some famous scientists were also men of deep faith..

Have you ever seen this famous quote by Wernher Von Braun, the first director of NASA?
"Scientific concepts exist only in the minds of men. Behind these concepts lies the reality which is being revealed to us, but only by the grace of God."

Here are links to some articles that I hope you will find helpful and interesting:

http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/ ... olic-faith Review of a new book, Faith, Science, and Reason.

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/s ... c0028.html Proofs for God's existence are many and convergent, by Pope John Paul II (includes scientific proofs)

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/sc ... 85073.html Scientists and God, Pope John Paul II

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/sc ... t-sci.html Science and Technology in the Catechism of the Catholic Church

_________________
Grace

As to the past, let us entrust it to God's mercy, the future to Divine Providence. Our task is to live holy the present moment. - Saint Gianna Molla

Frank,
Welcome to our site. Your questions took faith and courage. Thank you for coming here to seek answers. We may not always be right and you certainly have the right to disagree with our viewpoints. Many of us do not entirely agree with each other but we keep coming back because we enjoy this arena of fellow Catholics from the world over sharing ideas about our faith. We have a fellowship here too. We also have some rules and every forum needs those. Now about your questions.
1. You can be a scientist and still be a true Catholic. You don't have to agree with everything science says and you don't have to agree with everything Catholics say but please have an open mind. We are all learning. If science goes against your ideas of Christianity then make your belief or faith an exception to that particular maxim of science. It may not have been written with Christianity in mind. It may not be true. Know that God has a plan for you which involves goodness and blessings. You don't have to agree with everything science says for more will be revealed to you as you grow in faith just let it go for now.

2. Miracles do happen and they give us a good feeling and come from the merciful hand of the triune God. Look at the miracle of the eucharist which happens at every mass. Look at the miracle of God forgiving your sins after having gone to confession. Look at the miracle of life when a baby is born. Saints have wrought miracles through intercession and often been the vessel through which God grants miracles. Yet, we do not need to witness miracles to have faith. Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit and is strengthened by trusting in the Holy Spirit. Bob and Penny Lord have books on miraculous events which the Catholic Church has approved. Look this up on a search engine.

3. Believing in the existence of ghosts is something between you and your priest and/or spiritual director. I personally do believe in the possible existence of ghosts, but I more strongly believe in the Holy Ghost. Rather than seek truth in speculative matters know that there IS evil in this world and also know that there IS good in this world. Th evil comes from demons and satan and the good and love comes from the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Our hope and trust is in Jesus who saves us from the nothingness or possible torture and condemnation in an afterlife.
4. Prayer changes us. Prayer is a form of faith even if you "pray to the bedsheets" so to speak. The Holy Spirit calls us to prayer. I know you may have been influenced to believe that prayer is just an "opiate" in itself. But that is not true. It has far more reaching benefits than just making us think we need it. Every sincere prayer makes its way and is presented to God on His Holy Throne. He hears your every prayer and He answers every prayer is His own way and in His time. Prayer can avert great disasters. Prayer brings great blessings on those prayed for and upon those who pray. Prayer can and will give you peace and blessings beyond your wildest imagination. Always begin your day with prayer and end it with prayer.

5. The brain and the soul have a direct relationship to each other. But your soul was given to you by God in fact you might say that your soul could be a "piece" of God and He wants it back as He wants you to be with Him in heaven for all eternity and share in His glory. And that brings us back to the "rules" mentioned earlier. God gives us rules to guide us and help us when we are tempted to go astray.

Frank, these answers are just my opinion, but they have worked for me. Others may have different ideas. Some of us are on different "paths" as we seek our way on our pilgrimage to truth and holiness.

_________________
Pax et Bonum


Schultzz

Science, real science, does not disagree with Christianity. Truth is truth, whether it comes to us through revelation or through science. If you ever doubt this, remember that the Big Bang theory was first proposed by a Catholic priest!



Miracles have happened, and no doubt will happen in the future (you can see one every day at Mass). Apparitions of the Virgin Mary and the like are helpful to some in sustaining and building their faith, and not so helpful to others. Don't worry so much about what others think of them. Believe in miracles in general, and meditate on those that seem to you to be particularly instructive or nourishing to your faith.



The Church tells us what we need to know about life after death. Really, it's a much better source than television shows about ghosts. Casper the Friendly Ghost is a lot of fun, but not much help with theology.




Prayer always works. It may not be immediately obvious how, but it does.



They're entirely different, but not unrelated. I'm not smart enough to be able to explain this one.

_________________
Lawrence M. McKenna, Jr.

Well thanks people so far for the replies. I'm sorry if some of the questions seem a bit random or doubtful but still these replies are helping . No, I never did know the Big Bang theory was proposed by a catholic priest Lawrence. That is pretty interesting, too bad many people use that theory for other reasons. I'm not afraid of science in general, it's just the ones that try to explain where we come from and who we are just kinda discomforts me. Well I have to go to school, bye.

Okay I'm not trying to be greedy but just wondering if more people could reply to this topic since I need all the help I can get concerning this. Maybe a staff member can move this topic to a more appropriate section of the forum. I just want to let people know that the responses I received were helpful but I still am not fully answered on some of my questions or I just feel like I want more comforting. Another question I would like to consider is about knowing if God is trying to communicate with me. I don't know how God plays a role in our life or even how much he controls it but sometimes I feel without God or I don't feel a love that other faithful people say they feel from God and that when things go wrong In my life or totally away from what god would do In my life it feels as if it's just me and no one else living my life. I do not know if this is bad or just foolish but I would ask God at night to show himself too me or to perform some miraculous event that would give me faith but nothing happens. Could God not be giving me some sign like this because I'm not religious enough or is it because God do these things because there would be no point to faith. But I still want some sign from him. Another thing I'm concerned about is concerning the responses. I'm just 14 and I don't know a lot academically so I'm not sure if I should trust someone (I do not mean to offend anyone at all. I just want truthful answers and learn from you guys) who posts on the form regarding what they do. You wouldn't learn science or theology from someone who has an occupation in something completely different. This is mainly concerning when people on here talk about science or try to tell people what is scientific fact. I don't know so how could I trust?(Again I'm not calling people who post here know-nothings I just what to know the truth). Regarding Miracles, I have 2 problems with them.
1. I only want to hear the Christian side of a miracle and never research the skeptic side.
2. I usually try to keep myself away from miracles because when I hear a story of a miracle I would be all happy and joyful but if I hear some skeptic speaking against it, I always take their word and feel as if it was all a lie and I feel sad all over again. Its a cycle that I want to stop.
Every time I hear an answer for a question my mind makes a thousand more questions. All I'm asking if you could just help me and answer my questions to the best of your knowledge. P.S. Don't forget my previous questions please.

Frank

Frank,

Good for you to be asking these questions and testing and stretching your Faith. It's just like you're building muscles for sports.

I know you say you've been in Catholic schools all along, but I wonder what sort of Catechism you've been taught. Have any of your teachers gone over the Baltimore Catechism with you in class? Here's a link to one revision of it: Baltimore Catechism If you click on the blue links, you'll find little chapters with the questions and answers. Your grandparents' generation was taught these questions and answers in first through seventh or eighth grade. They were usually memorized word for word.

It's not used so much anymore, but it gives a very reasoned approach to understanding the Faith, step by step, building up from the most basic questions to ones that are more complex. I think you'll appreciate it, if you've never seen it before. Some of it may seem simplistic, but it's useful to start little and see how one statement allows for the next statement to be true and so on. If you have seen it and it's old news, there are some similar works that might you might be ready to look through.

On miracles... I've never looked such things up, but maybe they're searchable on line. Whenever anyone is canonized a Saint nowadays, the testing for the miracles is very, very rigorous. You might see if you can find the information on the miracles attributed to St. Padre Pio, or Blessed Mother Theresa. I think they involved medical miracles and they involved a lot of xrays, medical testing, and many, many interviews with the doctors. There's really and truly no other explanation. You might check that stuff out if you want to know about miracles and also see how they hold up to the skeptics.

If I could make some small suggestions: You might want to start more topics with one question at a time. You also might want to use more paragraphs in your writing. It seems easier to read when there's some "white space" on the page.

_________________
Rose West
"May God help us not to spoil His work" (Bl. Mother Theresa)

Frank,

Welcome to the Forum!



Yes, you should truly believe in miracles - especially those that have been approved by the Catholic Church. Personally, I enjoy reading about miracles that involve the Blessed Sacrament. There are some accounts of Eucharistic miracles at this web site:

http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst ... gl_mir.htm

(just scroll down a little)

That is a Catholic web site and is not sceptical.

_________________
James Daly

"It is the Lord." (Jn 21:7)

Woah...

A pretty......"coincidental" event just happened right now. Well it's night time here, 11:00 P.M. to be exact, and I was just reading these posts. After a while I logged off and got off the internet, about 40 minutes ago. Anyways, I felt depressed, like I always do, about what I'm going through so I said a prayer asking God like a fourth time for a sign. While saying the prayer I thought whats the use, so I went back to my computer. As I was starting up the internet someone came through the door, my Sister's boyfriend Mike bringing something to my sister, Kari, who was staying here. Mike and Kari are both in their early 20's and have a baby. Let's say they don't have the best of relationships. Before this event happened Mike and Kari were arguing on the phone about Mike not coming over her like they always do . Well anyways Mike walks in through the door with 2 tickets to a Blues Travelers concert here in Pensacola, Florida. Kari loves the Blues Travelers so she of course accepted it. Mike said that he was lucky because if he had left later the tickets would have been sold out earlier and also he was expecting the concert to happen on a later event. Kari also had her share of "coincidences" saying before this happened she looked up what was happening in Pensacola and she saw the upcoming concert. She was excited about it but she never knew of it before this or made any plans about going to the concert with Mike. Neither did Mike have any plans on going. Also keep in mind the last few hours between them were spent arguing. Coincidence? maybe. Sign? maybe.

What do you guys think?
(I swear I'm telling the truth.)

Frank,

Skeptics who do not believe in the existence of God have always been around but unfortunately they are growing in strength and numbers today. They are now a powerful force because of the wide publicity they receive from the media and also because in their ranks are prominent people -- celebrities, professors and educators, politicians -- you name it, they are everywhere around us.

It is easy to be swayed by their views because of who they are, we can’t escape their presence and I have to admit that growing up in such an environment is tougher today for young Christians who are trying to establish a connection with God. We could, however, make a decision not to listen to these people.

You said the stories of miracles made you feel good and this is exactly what they are meant to do, give us hope that eventually after all the trials and tribulations we have to go through living in this world, there is a life beyond death free from these troubles. God intervenes in this world through His miracles from time to time to strengthen this hope in us -- that He will save us.

The skeptics, those who do not believe in God, would not want us to believe in this hope.

But compared to the miracles you read in the Bible that Christ worked during His ministry on earth, the Catholic Church never compels anyone to believe in any miracles that we hear of and see today. The Church never says of any one of them as “This is a miracle from God”. The most it will say of them is that it hasn’t been possible to find an ordinary natural explanation for such phenomenons but we can consider them as signs from God if we want to.

So believing in modern-day miracles is not a requirement for us to be faithful Catholics. You are free to choose one way or the other, but you are not being disobedient to God if you don’t believe in them. Believing in them, though, when the Church says of any miracle as worthy of belief, like those at Fatima and Lourdes, can attract attention to the Catholic faith and assist us in our believe in God.

Is God trying to communicate to us? The answer is, yes. Every day, in everything we do God speaks to us what is the right thing for us to do, and what isn’t. Prayer, as been emphasized quite a bit by members here, strengthens our communication with Him and allows us to do what He wills for us. Even in your loneliest moments, He is right there beside you, but it is a question of whether we want to listen or talk to Him.

_________________
Ian DC
Blessed Ever Virgin Mary -- Sanctuary and resting-place of the Blessed Trinity where God dwells in greater and more divine splendour than anywhere else in the universe

Are you still around, Frank?

You've got to read this story that Fr. Z posted today:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/12/st-juan-diegos-miracle/

He also makes some excellent points about why we need to believe in and ask for miracles.

_________________
Rose West
"May God help us not to spoil His work" (Bl. Mother Theresa)

+

In case of continued lurking....

Frank,

Basically, what everyone else said!

1) We believe that, in studying nature, we can come to know God, because He created everything, after all, so it has His stamp or tag on it. Everything that exists can tell us something about God. The beauty of fractals in maths would be an example. A lot of world-class scientists have been or are believers - the big bang theory was the 'invention' of a Catholic priest, Einstein believed in God, one of the priests I know worked for CERN (the particle accellerator thingy)... not to mention the fathers of modern experimental method, Mendel (genetics) etc.

Sometimes people teach ideas in science class that aren't proven, but at your age they will often teach you as though their hypotheses or theories are fact, rather than present them as the most commonly held view or the one they think best fits the evidence. In some cases this is pretty harmless, but in other cases they use so-called science to push ideological ideas - an example of this would be the books and tv shows of Richard Dawkins.

2) As Catholics, the only miracles we're strictly obliged to believe are those in Scripture, pretty much... but we have to believe in the possibility of miracles, even today. [someone correct me if I err, please!] Those which are declared miracles by the Church are worthy of belief not just because the Church says so but because the Church asks a whole bunch of scientists, often atheists or non-Catholics, to investigate them and find out whether or not they are truly inexplicable occurrences. The best example of this is the medical bureau at Lourdes. Info here. Another example of the procedure would be the investigations into alleged apparitions - this from the COL mainpage might interest you.


3. Ghosts... There have been saints and other non-canonised holy people who have had visions of the Holy Souls (those suffering Purgatory) coming to them and requesting prayer. Some of them lived out their lives with an almost constant awareness of them. So if we think of ghosts in this way, then I suppose I believe in them. But a lot of phenomena that people seem to associate with ghosts nowadays, I would probably be more inclined to associate with demons - the poltergeist stuff, for example, or anything by which a person felt or actually was threatened.

I don't think that the idea of ghosts should be used to justify belief in an afterlife - but rather, it has its basis in our faith in Christ and His Church... or failing that in some kind of sense of justice, because most people want to believe that the good are rewarded and the wicked punished - it's natural to believe that - and they don't always seem to be in this world.

4. Pray anyway. At your age, all my prayers started with 'I'm not sure You exist but I'm going to tell You anyway...'. But you don't need to recite prayers, just talk. And listen too. Even if you aren't sure you believe in God, He believes in you.

5. There is a difference between the soul and the brain, but they're pretty much mashed together because your soul is what makes you alive. It's the difference between a person and a corpse. It's what makes identical twins so different. Yeah, I can't explain it either...

_________________
Jules Xx


What will become of sinners?

Frank,

It is good to question, to examine, to inquire, and to be honest with ourselves and others, seeking Truth; we cannot naturally grow and mature in our humanity or in wisdom without sounding the depths of our being, of existence, and contemplate the natural world around us, both the seen and the unseen. In that honest assessment we must conclude there are those things which are knowable by reason and those things which remain shrouded in mystery we cannot explain completely.

Skepticism can be very helpful in the pursuit of truth, of what is knowable by reason. Properly applied, it seeks to consider and keep open alternative explanations until the number of reasonable possibilities are reduced. The purpose of a healthy skepticism is that reduction, toward Truth, toward the advancement of knowledge; it is a process of elimination. Skepticism is not healthy when it is dishonest, where it is employed to preclude valid possibilities and falls into negativity and cynicism - "An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity."

We should never allow doubt to descend into cynicism. Doubt is natural and normal and healthy. It compels us to contemplation and desire for Truth. We should not be ashamed of doubt. But we should also never be comfortable in doubt. Doubt calls us to seek. Doubt raises questions for which we must find answers. Yet some questions do not have answers - they are not knowable completely. And on these questions we find ourselves at a crossroads, at the limit of our understanding. Yet, we are not alone.

At the precipice of human knowledge, of things knowable, the pursuit of truth may seem at an end. But questions remain for all of us; questions of meaning and purpose which must be answered, but for which we cannot definitively know the answer. Reason and facts assist us, pointing us in the right direction, narrowing the possibilities, but at some point we are left to decide which possibility we will choose. At some point we need to take a stand, and decide - in this I believe.

In one sense, this is faith and it is not necessarily rooted in God. Many people put their faith and hope in other than God. They choose to take a stand which does not include God in their understanding of our purpose and meaning, but do not be fooled into thinking that because it does not include God, it is somehow not an act of faith beyond what is knowable. It may be reasoned, but it is not reason alone.

Christianity, on the other hand, is a direct encounter with God. Doubt and the precipice of human knowledge, and the longing it inspires within us is answered with faith in God, hope in God, and love of God through grace.

Christianity is not in itself unreasonable. As has been said, the existence of God can be reasoned by Nature and in the natural and moral law, in the existence of objective good, or the Good - the existence of God is rational. Reason and facts assist us in contemplating God in His nature and in our own. Our long history in all the peoples of the earth we find an orientation toward the religious, toward the supernatural, toward God, in recognition of the necessity of the existence of an 'entirely other' outside of ourselves which cannot be explained away by cultural immaturity - the void filed by God exists; the precipice of the unknowable is real and tangible.

Also in history and tradition we find specific and extraordinary encounters with God where He reveals Himself and animates the relationship between His people and Himself - miraculous and supernatural encounters. Further, He directly intervened on our behalf with a reconciliation through love and sacrifice, such that we may have eternal life. These miraculous events transpire within human history - there is a Christian historicity which admits in historical fact the person of Christ, the founding of Christianity, and the Church which is not denied in serious secular history. However, where reason ends and the encounter with the Divine begins, there is Faith.

When all is said and done, when all of the facts and information available is presented, no one can lay God on the table for you and conclusively prove Him out. He can be shown to be rational and reasonable and probable, and the best argument can be made for God, but no one can scientifically prove God to you. There will always be skeptics and cynics.

Standing at the precipice, all things considered, alone in our personal decision, standing in doubt, yearning for truth, we find for hope, and we act in love, and leap in faith -or we do not.

You ask, what should you do? Seek and you will find. Never stop seeking for Truth. Always be open to it. Be hopeful. Be loving. And encounter God.

Pax et bonum

_________________
-Brian

"This is the horrendous and hidden poison of your error: that you claim to make the grace of Christ consist in his example and not in the gift of his Person." - St. Augustine correcting Pelagianism

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but I would caution us all against looking for small miracles and taking them as "signs" of what we should do in our lives. For one thing, those signs can be pretty conflicting, even within minutes of each other.

More than that, God gave us each an intellect and reason. If we see something we think is a "sign from God," we need to take a step back and properly intepret it in the light of everything we know. To blindly follow such things is to be superstitious, which is at worst a grievous sin and at best foolish.

_________________
Rose West
"May God help us not to spoil His work" (Bl. Mother Theresa)

Frank,

I hope you've been able to read these additional posts. I can only offer my prayers.

_________________
Valerie Garcia
vals1990@yahoo.com

"Listen, O my son, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father, that by the toil of obedience thou mayest return to Him ....." St. Benedict

Amen, Rose. I'll admit that I myself have been guilty of believing in certain omens, in spite of my sometimes highly unjustified pride in my 'intellect'. I think that it is noteworthy that although the Bible teaches trust in God, it is also highly anti-magical unlike several other world religions. Not to say however that Christians never 'run the train off the tracks'.

It seems to me that a couple of our best sources for advice are the Bible, Catechism, and prayer. The teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola on discernment of spirits can also be a good systematic and down to earth guide on how to make good life decisions and especially how to avoid some of the worst mistakes.

_________________
David H.

Yes I am still here and I have read these new posts. Thank you all for the support of advice you've given me. Maybe I might understand more when I'm older and I go to a Christian college. Some of you might be wondering why would a young teenager be thinking about this. It's because I matured a lot faster than other people when I was younger. Now i have these questions or controversial topics come at me earlier then they should. Well my point is you wouldn't want to live a full life if you knew it meant nothing. I just want to know if my life or anyone's life has meaning.

But really you guys have enlightened me on some of my questions. Maybe not the soul and the brain question but i bet someone will answer that in the future. Besides, more important questions were answered. I will try to increase my praying habit and see where it leads me. The only time I pray really is when I feel if one of my family members, friends, or myself is in danger. I will continue to visit the forum but I don't think I will make much posts. Thank you.

Frank

1. No science that is true science will disagree with Christianity. Made up stuff that scientists claim are not real science and we should not pay attention to that. God is the author of the Universe which is the object of the study of science and He is also the author of Christianity and so if one has Faith (and has studied things for themselves) they will know that it is against reason for both of these to contradict each other since the Author is the same.

2.Miracles in the Catholic Church abound. Just look up some of the saints whose bodies are not corrupted for example. St Bernadette, Cure of Ars, St Catherine Laboure are just a couple of examples. You will always have people that do not have Faith trying to justify their lack of faith by attacking those who have Faith. Do not believe everything you hear but do your own investigation and find the facts for yourself. Those who argue against our Faith cannot explain why the above saints are corrupt and so they make up unreasonable arguments that you can see through as false and based on nothing. The same goes for any miracle that people have such as the miracle of the sun in Fatima. A whole bunch of people attested to that but the disbelievers will say that it did not happen, and that those people that were there at the time are all hallucinating. So use your head and know that there is a lot of untruth out there.

3.If that helps you as a first step then it is OK but realize that there is no such thing as ghosts in Catholicism-what we have are spirits and not all of them are good.
I find it amazing that some people believe in ghosts and do not believe in the after life. An obvious contradiction. Where did these ghost exist? Not in this life for sure.

4.You should pray and make a habit of it. You can always start with 5 mins a day and increase it as you go along. Scientific studies have found out that people that pray live better lives, get over illness faster and many other benefits- and we believe it is because of the help of God but those who do not believe in God (but believe science) have to come up with their own explanation and so they come up with the "placebo" nonsense because they want to equate prayer to an empty thing (like a placebo). A placebo effect can be claimed in a scientific study where there is a real and an unreal medication (or whatever) given to the subject-for example a pill with medicine and a pill with no medicine. There is no such study with prayer because there is no "prayer that has no active ingredient" and "prayer that has the active ingredient".

5. Humans are made up of body and soul. When a person dies the soul leaves the body (including the brain). So the soul and the brain are not the same.

The Church teaches that “The spiritual soul is the principle of the spiritual mental life, and at the same time, the principle of the corporeal (vegetative and sensitive) life”
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, L. Ott.

The soul has many powers including the intellect, the will, the imagination and memory.
Certain powers that belong to the soul stay with the soul after death and these are the intellect and the will. Others belong to the composite of body and soul and these do not stay in the soul after death-such as the imagination.

_________________
In Christ
Kim, M



"....abstinence and chastity, dispose man very much to the perfection of intellectual operation.” St Thomas Aquinas

Hi Frank,
It is really good to see a teen ask these sort of question, it would be foolish to believe anything without thinking it through first. That being said, Christianity is a lot more complex and has many level and takes YEARS to fully understand it. I think that many people give up their faith before having the true ability to understand it's significance. I am glad that you came here in your search for answers, I will try to give you my personal reasons for choosing faith, though I cannot speak for the Church. It's a bit long so please bare with me

I too love to learn. I am in my 20s and I thirst for more of this knowledge every day, and for that I am thankful. There is still so much for for me to learn about my faith but God has blessed me with an open mind and a need for Him in my life. My background is such: I grew up Protestant, but with a Catholic father and grandmother (she doesn't live with us though). I went to Public school and besides going to protestant Sunday School and saying grace at meals, we didn't do to much faith formation as a family. I attended and graduated from a Physical Education (Health Sciences) program from one of the top Canadian Universities and I just past my one-year anniversary as a Catholic! In my teens I also started to question my faith while public society put pressure on me to drop religion, but I just couldn't give up Jesus.

JESUS IS REAL. It's not just the Bible where Jesus is documented, but also in Roman Historical documents, the Dead Sea Scrolls(found in this PAST century) and the Muslim Holy book the Koran, and in here his biography compliments the Gospels, including being born of the Virgin Mary and many of his teaching and miracles (they just don't believe in His Divinity, or the Holy Trinity). There is no debating in ANY educated community no matter their Religious beliefs that a man named Jesus lived and was revolutionary. The only debate here, is weather or not Jesus is indeed the Christ. Here is why I BELIEVE JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD:

1) Revolutionary thinking:
So here's the deal...It's 2000 years ago and this guy Jesus comes around saying he's the Son of God. Times were tough those days, as I'm sure you know from watching History television, yet here comes Jesus and he's able to gather quite a following with his teachings and miracles. People would have EXPECTED A GOD or Christ to come full of Glory and power and conceit. Yet Jesus was born of the humble, and remained humble through out his ministries. This would be unheard of for a Royal or ruler to act in humility! Instead, our Jesus came to heal the World and serve the sick and the poor. Not very typical for the elite back then.... And since Jesus obviously wasn't looking out for his own interests and was completely giving, even to the point of death, why would he proclaim to BE the SON OF GOD? This would go COMPLETELY against his personality for him to lie about this! He wasn't looking for that kind of attention!

2) Documented Miracles:
Loaves and Fishes, Water to Wine, Blind seeing, lame walking....Remember that each Gospel is written by a different author. It's like today when something big happens 8 different news agencies will cover it, each writing their own account of what they saw. You can look outside the Bible for external accounts as well in the Koran, dead sea scrolls etc if you're not convinced. These things happened, were witnessed by thousands and came from a super natural power, they were not hoaxes!

3) EARLY SAINTS AND MARTYRS:
Jesus had his following, those who knew him well and were with him throughout his life and witnessed his death and resurrection and ascension. None of them renounced their faith and they all stood by their word and proclaimed their witness of Jesus Christ until the point of death. I don't know about you, but if I had to endure torture and death, I would probably cave in and say whatever those bullies wanted to hear to get them to stop! The courage to become a martyr (dying for your faith) can only come from a faith so strong, a 100% certainty in what they believed, plus the knowledge of life after death. If many are willing to put their life on the line in order to hold fast to a claim, I am going to listen to what they have to say.

4) FULFILLMENT OF PROPHESIES:
Jesus fullfilled every prophesy from the Old Testament regarding the Christ, Our Saviour.


About Science and Religion:
Now I can't really speak for the Church and there may be some on here who disagree with me, but I think there exists a FALSE DICHOTOMY in mainstream society...that is to say, we are led to believe that Science and Religion cannot coexist. This cannot be true though- Science is how we make sense of the World around us, observe and educate ourselves! For me, the more I learned in science, the more I learned about our PERFECT "Chance", the miracle of life and just how wonderfully us and our world were designed, the more faith I had in a Creator. Personally, it would take more faith for me to think that our World and our life was some accident in a Godless universe! It's just to perfect and beautiful! The more I learned in science, the more I fell in love with God.

How the BIble came about:
It's good to know this stuff too, just so you can have a clearer understanding of WHY we believe what we do. You probably hear a lot that the "Bible is the Word of God!". This one was BIG at the Protestant church I attended growing up and they would pull quotes out of context and be all preachy about it because they were able to find a nice Bible quote. And Catholics also believe that the Bible IS the Word of God, but it's good to know how it came about. God didn't just come down on a cloud one day and hand a Bible to a publishing company. No, the Bible was actually written by Humans! Huh, tell THAT to my protestant preacher... Well anyways, as Catholics we call it the INSPIRED word of God, meaning that it is not without fault having been penned by humans, but that the humans wrote of their accounts with God and Historical events and hopefully were inspired by God in their words. While we are offered many religious truths in the Old Testament, it wasn't intended as a science manuel, not did the authors of the early accounts have ANY understanding of modern science, so the words would have been ones that they would have been able to understand. In the creation stories for example, we should get from it was that God Created the Earth and the Universe with the purpose create a home for his Humans, whom he made in his image. The earth then the fish then the birds then the land animals and finally humans were made. Hmm, this could almost sound similar to evolution in the order of things... We as Christians still use the Old Testament to set the stage for Jesus. Without the Old Testament and the story of Israel and all the Profits Jesus's arrival would not carry the same significance. I am NOT a Biblical scholar, but I would highly recommend taking an Introduction to the Bible Course or talking to a priest.

Like I said, Christianity is very complex but hopefully you are able to make sense of it and continue to build your faith. I hope I was able to clear some things up for you, sorry for the LONG post!


Being a Christian is about following Jesus, taking care of each other and celebrating life! Keep studying science, but don't let people tell you there is no God! They merely have not been blessed with the intellectual ability to fully understand the complexities of Christianity.
God Bless.

Rachel Helen