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Q: We don't need religion. Hear me out. If Jesus were to come down from Hevan and say "I am the son of God" and showed us all of is water to wine stuff, scientist could test it and then Christianity would become a science and all other religions would be be proven wrong and therefore not be religions.

That was my little prologue, here is my question Is it possible that our societies have reached a point in which we can admit there is no need for religion and have good morals without a book or God(s) to tell us what they are?

Brilliant QUESTION!!! I applaud you for you search for the question of WHo am I? Where did I come from? and where am I going? Beautiful. I have an equally beautiful answer but first.

I think that you are missing the mark just a tad abou the whole miracles thing and the true reason that Jesus came. He did not come to do miracles. He only did miracles so that people would believe that He is God in the Flesh who will be given over to death so that he could free us from it. He became man so that man could become like God. That is he became mortal so that man could become immortal. But that is besides the point. Your question was why isnt natural law Good enough and why should religion be put to the way side.

Well because if I dont belive that man is created in the image and likeness of God and he is just a creature with no eternal destiny and no seed of glory within him then I will treat him like just a creature. I will treat him like I treat my cow. I will be nice for now but if I have to I will kill him and eat him he is just a cow. I will be nice to my mother but if I have to she is just a creature and I can kill her if she gets in the way of my happiness.

We would have to put society as the ultimate Good because our morals would be based on what is fair and good for the society. So like Hitler, Marx, and other Socialists and communists who put society as number one and people where just parts to make that society work they could easily kill people for the sake of making society work or if they got in there way or if they just didnt like you.

BUT BIG OLE BUTT!

IF man is greater than just an ant and not just because we are smarter, but because We are made in the image and likeness of God. If that despair that we feel in our Heart when we think of death as complete nothingness is because man was made for eternal bliss. That feeling we get at the happiest moment of our life and we realize it still could have been a little more perfect or when you realize that the glory of winning the olympics or a world series is over so fast. WE have that thirst in us that little despair telling us we were meant for an eternity of Complete Happiness. That we have to treat eachother as we are. Made in the image and likeness of God. How much more we treat a human when he has the dignity of God. Every great mass killing and trajedy even the Muslim terrorists is because they dont respect the dignity of Human life. That dignity is the driving force of True Christianity. In catholisicm We believe that Man in being created in the image of God gives great dignity but The very fact that God would become man to atone for the sins we have committed just shows how much greater dignity we have for being people. SO by God revealing himself in religion he reveals man to himself. You could never get rid of religion.

You know why

Because people Have been trying to kill religion for 2000 years. It was legal to kill christians for 300 years after christ and on the 313 year Christianity took over the entire Roman empire. It spread from 12 men to Millions in 300 years. The catholic Church has been around and everybody has tried to kill her but christ said . The Gates of Hell shall not prevail.

. Science can't prove love, science can't prove ideas, science can't even prove science. But science does prove the greatness of God for having designed us so smart. Think abou it. The very fact that there is life on earth is statistically almost impossible its like then multiply that to the possibility of intelegent life on earth which is another 1 to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 then to the very fact that we individuals are here online at this very moment multiply another trillion to that. Science would lean towards a Creator. Any gambling man would. Also the micro biologist, archealogoist and astronomist less than 1 percent are atheist because they appreciate the great design and complexity of life and the cosmos. 50% of all sociologist and psychologist are atheist because they are putting to much trust in the hands of the mindless masses and have a human explanation for all the evils of society. But so do I. God is good and being Good he gives people the freedom to choose their ends. It would be a Bad God that would force everybody to do Good and not let them choose. SO if you do Good you have merit for doing good, if you do bad you dont. BUt any way Good question.

I hope I was of some help to you. Read this it will blow your whistle or float your boat or your preferance. It is from a secular magazine
http://www.travelintelligence.com/wsd/articles/art_755.html

Q: I am Catholic..but I very interested in finding out about different religions..is that weird? hah

My question is: How many sects (right word?) does the Protestant church branch out to? (ex: Baptist, Methodist, Lutherans, etc..) How are their beliefs different from the other Protestant sects..(ex: How are Baptists different from Presbyterians?..etc) How are they all different from the Catholic Church?

Thanks so much!

You should really explore the depths of your own faith. Before you research others. I have an easy proposition for you.

go to www.ewtn.com

go to library
then audio library

then type "Mother Angelica" in the search or "Father Corapi" and listen to just one of these speakers concerning the catholic faith and if it interests you keep researching it until you know everything about the catholic faith which is the church that Christ founded 2000 years ago and when you finish learning everything you can move on to the other faiths. IF you can exhuast the depth of the catholic faith in this lifetime I will write you a check for $100, 000 and I will drop the catholic church and become an atheist. Because all other christian churches just interpret the bible a certain way, but the Catholic Church published the Bible. It was Catholics who wrote the New Testament and Decided which books would be in it. ThE Church was founded in the year 36 AD and the finalization of the NEw Testament occured in the middle 300's. Not only that but the CHurch offers you something infinitely greater than any other Church could ever offer. The Sacraments. Especially the greatest Sacrament. The Eucharist. I would Die for the Eucharist. Millions of early christians (Catholic) died because they would not deny that the Eucharist was Truely the Living God. Jesus is truely there. When you go to ewtn and look up Mother Angelica find talks on the Eucharist or if you Look up Father Corapi listen to the easter triduam Holy Thursday. It will Change your life. I would suffer a thousand deaths for the Catholic Church, but only after I have listened to their talks. They are both modern Day saints.

Q: Well, I kinda have a probably sometimes at night. I think about death. I wonder, what will it be like when I die? What will it be like if my family dies? Why do people have to die? Can't we just live our life? When I die, I will die. I give deep thought into being gone.
Sometimes, to cheer myself up, I say to myself that there will be another life after death, another life in heaven where it's the dream I always wanted! Then, I just cry myself to sleep.
I hope you can help with my problem. Please don't tell me to go to a therapest. I really don't want to.

~Jazz~

Dont worry these are natural fears. I used to have them and now I can't waite to die. If you go to www.peterkreeft.com and go to the audio files he has a book on Everything you ever wanted to know about heaven. It is really Good StuFF!!! God bless you I will pray for you. WHen you get scared focus your attention to the center of you heart and realize that God sits at the seat of you conscience when you want to do his will and just talk to him like you do a friend who is always there for you and loves you more deeply than you could ever love in return.

Q: Hello, you responded to my question about religion earlier. I thought I should deal with some of the arguments you put forward, since I thought that they were either weak or contained some misconceptions.

Here is what you said in your reply:

"If you are a true materialist then you would not mind If I killed you. Because why waste our time living if we are just going to die like a leaf fallen from a tree."

Well, being a materialist does not make me a nihilist. Nihilist believe that life is meaningless and pointless and can be quite depressing people to be around. I, however, choose what my life means: I think everything through and make it good for myself. I don't have any problem with that, and I value my life very highly.

Then:

"But even the tree knows there is a God. Everything that is known is known from cause and effect. If you see a new born calf you would know it has a mother right? Right. See creation is an effect. You and me are here because of some previouse cause adn they just go back and back and back one effect and cause to another. But answer me this. How can something come from nothing. How can a universe be created if there is nobody to create it."

This is the First Cause argument, and it is quite weak really. There are several possibilities when trying to answer "what was the first cause?"

1) There was no first cause as such because our ideas about cause and effect are incorrect, or because cause and effect didn't really work before time existed.
2) There was a line of causes stretching back into infinity.
3) There was a first cause, and...
i) It was not your god.
ii) It was your god.

So there are several possibilities, of which your answer is only one. I see no reason to pick yours in particular.

Then you said:

"I have all of your answers I am not a feel good hippy, I am a catholic. I REAL catholic not these people you see who know nothing but rules and regulations those people are sheep. I have my degree in Theology. theo=God ology=logic God logic. I know stuff that will make you cry tears of joy. Email me at baseball@stthom.edu if you are interested."

This is all very nice, but a bit worrying. Saying "I have all your answers" is a bit over-confident, especially for someone who is only a student. Also, it is quite a claim that you know things that will make me cry tears of joy, though doubtless a good psychiatrist or trickster could get such a result.

Incidentally, "theo" comes from "theos", which does indeed mean "god", but "-logy" comes from "logos", which means "word" or "writing" or "understanding" or "thought".

Finally, you said:

"We are not just some accident. Do you look at a building and think that all that design came about by accident."

When I look at a building, I certainly do not think it just popped up out of nowhere. But when I look at things in nature, like people or plants or animals, I see the result of millions of years of fascinating evolutionary processes. And when I look at the non-biological world, I see the result of lots of simple rules interacting in extremely complex ways to produce beautiful and bewildering results. And I see a lot of good fortune (and bad). But I don't see a god, because everything's a bit too messy and inconvenient for that, and besides there are much better explanations.

Thankyou for responding, though, and it would be lovely to hear your reply to this posting.

I recommend checking out www.peterkreeft.com and going to the audio files its rather interesting to say the least. However I leave you with this either God exists or He does not exist, and we must of necessity lay odds for (A) or against Him (B).
A)
If I wager for and God is -- infinite gain;
If I wager for and God is not -- no loss.

B)
If I wager against and God is -- infinite loss;
If I wager against and God is not -- neither loss nor gain.

In the second case there is an hypothesis wherein I am exposed to the loss of everything. Wisdom, therefore, counsels me to make the wager which insures my winning all or, at worst losing nothing.

Q: I'm atheist and i'm just curious what christians and creationists think about dinosaurs. like where they came from, when they lived, etc. Any christians ive asked about this just kind of avoid it

Catholics are not idiots. We believe everything that has occured in nature and hold firm to the commitment of FAITH and REASON. Evolution did occur of time and dinousars did exist. You need to read the bible with the church as your guide. Because if you do you will learn that the OT and creation story is not historical it is symbolic to show the origins of the hebrew faith and to prepare the way for the coming of God in the Flesh. Go to www.ewtn.com and go to library and then audio library and type in a key word and you will recieve tons of helpful info.

No wonder you are an atheist all the christians you have meet are idiots. Dont ask your questions on here go and look in solid places. Go to ewtn and you will be amazed at the reason behind the catholic Faith.

Q: Today I decided to completley put my faith and trust into God, I really took him into my life today. However, I just started going to church last year so I was never baptised and never confirmed. Can I still expect to go to Heaven? What exactly does being confirmed or baptised mean?

Dont listen to the advice of those fools. You can still get baptised and confirmed. You will be transformed. The official teachings that Christ has handed down and has been deposited over the past 2 thousand years can be found here.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3E.HTM

I am so excited for you. Go to the nearest Catholic Church and get signed up for RCIA and you will recieve all your sacraments in less than a year. If you die before you recieve them you will still be saved because you have made the commitment to do what he wants. God bless you.

Q: Ok here is a question that ponders my mind my mind, any ideas about the answer?? Where do the dinosaurs come in the bible?? and also if God existed forever then what was he doing before he created earth??

The dinosaurs are not in the bible. The bible OT and NT, are not to be taken as History Books, although they do have historical truths in them. The old testament especially is a way of expessing the origins of the hebrew faith. God is eternal he exists outside of creation.

St. Thomas Aquinas answers all of your questions in detail check out:

http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/home.html

Q: What do the numbers after a person's name mean in the bible?

ex- Mark 16:16

Mark 16:16 means

The Gospel of Mark Chapter 16 verse 16.

or John 6:24-36 means

The Gospel of John chapter 6 verse 24-36. I recommend you read the Gospels and acts.

Q: In your opinion (meaning that if you tell me what you think you'll get a 5), do you think that people should miss out on church in order to do yardwork, study for an exam, play in a soccer tournament, etc? I just want to know what qualifies as an acceptable excuse for not going to church. What other good reasons are there for missing church? -no I'm not trying to avoid going to church-

Thanks!

Ok listen. You dont go to church because you have to. In the old testament there were a bunch of laws that had to be fulfilled and that just sucked. If you think of going to church as a requirment then you do no justice to God for having come in the flesh to make a new law a perfect law. Love one another as I have loved you. Selfless love. We go to church because we want to thank God together as a community of believers. To many people think life is just what ever they want and they dont think of the impact of community. I am a catholic and I used to go to church because I felt obligated but then I realized. Why would anybody give up there entire life to dedicate themselves to God. If i dont even like going on one day a week for an hour. So I asked. It turns out man has no peace but in doing the will of God. Think about it is Gods will we love each other and be nice and forgiving and make sacrifices for each other and live pure and good lives. Say you dont you feel guilty knowing your doing something you shouldnt have or knowing you should have done something but didnt. Our heart is restless until it rests in God. To many people just ask God for stuff and they are like what God didnt give me this he must not exist etc. Why would God do anything for you if you only talk to him when you want something. He is around us always but we only remember him when we want something that is not a way to treat a parent. So you go to church every sunday to thank him and praise him for your life hear on earth and I go everyday know because Jesus is truelly present in the Eucharist Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Being around Jesus everyday has got to have a positive impact on your life. The only reason to miss church is if You are sick or Forced to work because of extremely impovershed income.

Q: Do you believe in Palmistry?

It is a source for demonic possesions. I would stay away if I were you. If you dont believe in the devil go find any drug addict, porn addict, prostitute and ask them if there is a devil.

Interested in more read this

http://www.thecatholiclibrary.org/Documents/orders/ssp/article1.php

Q: I am looking for a religion but I want one thats right for me. Can someone tell me every religion out there and what its about? Also for religions that require you to go to church is it possible to just stay home and do what you would at a church and still have it not be a sin?

Listen to my audio. I answer all of these questions in a lecture I gave recently.

http://www.peterkreeft.com/audio.htm

you can also email me at baseball@stthom.edu

Q: Hello everyone. I am, currently, a strong agnostic. However, I am always interested in improving what I know, do and believe in order that I might adopt the most reasonable philosophy possible. Therefore, I ask you if you have a really good reason why I might reconsider what I believe. I would love to hear reasons for changing my mind - it is something that, perversely, I take much pleasure in doing!

To help you along, here are my current beliefs summarised (but badly!):

1. I am a materialist. That is, I do not believe that there is anything other than the material world. I do not believe in the supernatural or the spiritual, nor in gods, magic or souls.

2. My ethics are broadly utilitarian. That is, I judge my actions according to the level of harm and benefit derived from performing them. I also use (and I think the idea was first put forward formally by Kant) the principle that I call "if everyone did it". When we perform some actions, the harm done is so minor that it does not really matter if one person does it (so utilitarianism fails to stop you doing it), but "if everyone did it" then the world would be harmed very greatly. So I do not perform such actions as littering, shoplifting, wasting water etc. My ethics are also partly informed by the sense of morality hammered into me by parents, teachers, and (IMO) the rigours and necessities of survival (ie evolution).

3. Because I am a materialist (see #1), I accept the latest scientific theories as the best possible explanations for the way the world works and its origins. Questions unanswered (or unanswerable) by science I either answer with pure reason or mark as "unknowable". Note that I do not "believe" scientific theories, but am merely *convinced* by them.

4. My general philosophy as regards other people's behaviour is, "live and let live"; ie I am a libertarian. So long as no-one is harmed by your actions and you are capable of making rational decisions, you should be free to do as you wish. It would be nice if everyone were as morally upright as me (see #2), but human nature seems to dictate that most people will not think so hard about their ethics as I do.

And those are all the salient points as regard my belief system. I now make a request of you when you proselytise for your various beliefs:

If you are an evangelical, Protestant, fundamentalist Christian, please think your answers through VERY carefully. I have been arguing with fundamentalists for a very long time on the Internet and am well versed in (and indifferent to) most of the standard arguments from that group. I am quite tired of people trashing evolution because "it is just a theory", or telling me that Christianity is ONLY about having a personal relationship with Jesus, and everything else that is promulgated by poorly-educated and immature Christian fundamentalist debaters. Everyone should think their answers through carefully, of course, and be sure that they are well-structured and properly written, but this group IN PARTICULAR should take care.

Thankyou for your time. Please respond!

If you are a true materialist then you would not mind If I killed you. Because why waste our time living if we are just going to die like a leaf fallen from a tree. But even the tree knows there is a God. Everything that is known is known from cause and effect. If you see a new born calf you would know it has a mother right? Right. See creation is an effect. You and me are here because of some previouse cause adn they just go back and back and back one effect and cause to another. But answer me this. How can something come from nothing. How can a universe be created if there is nobody to create it. I have all of your answers I am not a feel good hippy, I am a catholic. I REAL catholic not these people you see who know nothing but rules and regulations those people are sheep. I have my degree in Theology. theo=God ology=logic God logic. I know stuff that will make you cry tears of joy. Email me at baseball@stthom.edu if you are interested. We are not just some accident. Do you look at a building and think that all that design came about by accident. Hear are some of my best arguments and you can listen to them I have them online. http://www.peterkreeft.com/audio.htm

Q: I'm SO scared!! My Bat Mitzvah is in the second week of October! My hebrew school is very layed back and say that the hebrew is not the important part of becoming bat mitzvah. But, i don't want to make a fool of my self!! I have been practiciing very hard but when i go up in front of people to talk all my practiciing goes down the drain! Practicing in front of my parents won't help at all. How can I fell confident about my ceremony??

Take my advice it is the advice of the Hebrew Saints. Be humble. Know the truth about who you are and about who God is. Expect to fail and expect to do horrible. Dont just worry about it know it. So if you mess up you wont be dissappointed and it will be know problem for you as it will no longer be a concern. Second do it as if you are going to die right after and this bat mitzvah is your only way to show God you love him. He is a God Father. Do every action with deep leave and reverance as a sign of your love for him and He will make everything perfect I promise. This is the way of the Saints. Love. Show your love to God with every step you take and every word you speak. He will bless you. Like a Father blesses his Son who does even the smallest thing to please him So to he will bless you. Take your hebrew faith very seriously.