The problem of atheism

"How could anyone really know that there is no God?

To know that there is no God is to claim to know all levels and reaches of the universe and reality. But of course, only a being who is omniscient knows this. Therefore, the only being in a position to know that there is no God, is God."

From a PowerPoint presentation of Peter Kreeft's, mentioned on the same Catholic Answers radio episode as my last post.

"What's true for you is not necessarily true for me"

On a recent Catholic answers radio program, a caller, Ann, asked if modern philosophers believe that there is no objective reality and how does that affect the ethics of what's going on in our society today.

Guest, Chris Kaczor answered,”A lot of people, just regular folks are what you might call “relativists”. They think there is no truth. They say things like, “that may be true for you but it's not true for me”. Now among professional philosophers… very few… today hold that position…The reason that philosophers have rejected that view is that that's an example of a self-defeating view. It just cannot possibly be correct. It has to be wrong. And the reason is this. Let me give you another example of a self-defeating idea.

If I say to you “I am not speaking English right now”--well I said that in English right? So it can't be right. So if someone were to say there is no truth, they are asserting that something is true. Namely, that there is no truth. But if it’s true that there is no truth then that statement has to be false. The philosophers have recognized that there is a self-contradiction, a self-defeating nature in these sorts of denials truth.

The good news is that contemporary philosophy has turned away from that kind of relativism. The bad news is that that kind of relativism is still very common in people who haven't really studied the issue very deeply.

You can listen to the whole show here. It is titled, "God and the Problem of Evil".

Religion v. relationship

Something that really chaps my saddlebags: When people start pitting "religion" vs. "relationship". An example can be found on this website. Mute your speakers. A song starts playing with no visible means of shutting it off!

Typically the argument goes like this:

"Christianity is not a religion. A 'religion' is man trying to reach God by his own effort. Christianity is a 'relationship' because it is God reaching out to man."

The problem with this is that that is NOT the definition of the word "religion." Evangelicals simply made it up in the 1970s so they could make a sermon point and it stuck. It's is nothing more than a meaningless, trite phrase.

According to Peter Kreeft in Catholic Christianity, "The word religion comes from religare in Latin and means 'relationship'—-relationship with God."

So while it is true that God reaches out to man, and that man would never reach out to God without Him first enabling Man through grace, the phrase just makes Christians sound unitelligent by creating definitions out of thin air.

A spiritual anniversary

Four years ago today, on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, I received the Our Lord's Eucharist for the first time on almost 30 years. During the previous 27 years I had been a Plymouth Brethren (2 years) and a Regular Baptist (25 years), and a staunch anti-Catholic for most of that time.

Then the Lord called me home to the one Church that he himself instituted. All others are in violation of Jesus' prayer for the unity of all believers as set forth in John 17. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Only one.

You can read my reversion story at http://bit.ly/dZploP. And read my blog at The Cathoholic.

Four years and counting

Today is the four-year anniversary of my first confession to a Catholic priest in over 27 years. I am truly blessed. God be praised!

What Is The Catholic Church ?

"There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing. These millions can hardly be blamed for hating Catholics because Catholics “adore statues;” because they “put the Blessed Mother on the same level with God;” because they “say indulgence is a permission to commit sin;” because the Pope “is a Fascist;” because the Church “is the defender of Capitalism.” If the Church taught or believed any one of these things, it should be hated, but the fact is that the Church does not believe nor teach any one of them. It follows then that the hatred of the millions is directed against error and not against truth. As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed all of the untruths and lies which were said against the Church, we probably would hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.

If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because he called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other-worldly. Since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. ... the Catholic Church is the only Church existing today which goes back to the time of Christ. History is so very clear on this point, it is curious how many miss its obviousness..."

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, as quoted at:
http://fiatvolvntastua.blogspot.com/2009/06/bishop-fulton-sheen-on-catholic-hatred.html

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

In remembering Father's Day tomorrow, let us not forget our Heavenly Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

From http://www.saltandlighttv.org/