I am catholic and have been praticing religously for 24 years, though the last 6 years I have been unable to do so because of a 'faith crisis'. When I really began thinking of how earth was created, universe and so on, I came to a point in my thoughts where I concluded that there is no way that something can come from nothing. How can God create himself? I used to believe so deeply in God and everything that goes with christianity, but cannot bring myself to even pray anymore because of this feeling or idea I have, I also have three young children who I do not even bring to church and feel very guilty. I would very much love to make sense or rationalize my belief in God so that I can go forward. Does anybody have an answer?

Thanks

-- David Fica (dfjoist@tbaytel.net), October 05, 2004

Answers

God did not create Himself. He is self-existing, the Uncreated. Never had a beginning, He has simply always been there.

It's pretty mind-blowing when you try to figure it out, but then, we are not meant to understand it completely.

-- JJ (nospam@nospam.com), October 05, 2004.

In our limited direct experience, nothing exists unless it came into existence, unless it had a beginning. That leaves us with one of two possible scenarios ...

(1) An infinite series of causes and effects stretches back into eternity. That however is illogical, because a series consisting of finite causes and effects cannot itself be infinite and uncaused. That which is infinite cannot be composed of finite parts.

(2) There is an uncaused cause which/who is infinite and eternal, which/who is responsible for all else that exists. We call this uncaused cause God. We know He is a "who", not a "what", because of the obvious intelligent design in the things He caused to exist, that is, the things He created.

There are no other possibilities. Take your pick.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), October 05, 2004.

Yet, if God did not create himself, and thus does not exist, neither coidl the Universe arise under natiral cnditions on its own, surley soemtign mad eit as well...

This i an old quandry, oen that Bth science and rleigion cannot answer, yet that effects both. Even the most Stalworth Atheist is confoudned to think of the whoel Universe emerginmg from nothignness, which surley it must hve if their is no creator. Likewise, the beeliver is trapped in suhc awe in wondering where God came form, or tryign to grap his infinity.

Amid the two posiitons, their is similitude, but with Beleif on God, their is soem closure, of not understanding, for God is infinite, and everlasting. I shall try to elaborate later.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), October 05, 2004.

"..Does anyone have an answer?"

Yes. You need to pray and ask God to help you grow stronger faith. You make it way harder than it is. You will never understand every thing about the Universe or how God created it. You only will understand what God allows you to. Its realy that simple.

You are also responsible as the Father of three young children to lead them to Christ. It was the same God who made those three beautiful children that you don't believe in...

Get the words "cannot bring myself..." out of your mind and start saying " I will" and pray. This will get easier because God will help you if you help yourself.

May God bless your three children and their Angels.

-- - (David@excite.com), October 05, 2004.

May God bless your three children and their Angels.

Don't forget the fairies and the leprechauns, too! :)

-- DC (skeptickk@yahoo.com), October 06, 2004.

david--

over a century ago, air travel was considered to be a fallacy. the human mind couldnt really conceive of it. the same can be said of God-- maybe at the "end of time" we will be given understanding of Him.

-- jas (jas_r_22@hotmail.com), October 06, 2004.

David, I don't understand God either, but I know He is real. He has been with me and my family through so many trials in our lives that I hate to think of what could have been if not for Him. If I may, I want to tell a story that my daddy told. I didn't know of it till after he had passed on, and my mother brought out an old tape that was made of his testamony in church one Sunday. It was amazing to hear his voice and to hear his words.

About 2 months after my parents adopted me (my sister who is also adopted was 4 and I was 6 months old.) my daddy had a massive heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. They were able at that time to stablize him, but later in the night he had another. This time it was worse. The doctors pronounced him dead. To make a long story short he woke to the suprise of the doctors and nurses and was apparently talking to himself about God and dying. The doctor asked my mother if he was a religious man and mother told him that he was and the doctor said he had something to tell her that daddy had said..... He told the doctor that he DID die and that it was cold and dark and he had a lonly feeling. That it was as if he were in a frightening void. He said he wasn't sure how long he had been in this state, but suddenly he was in what appeared to be a green lush meadow and was walking toward a voice and although he couldn't see anyone he felt as if someone were leading him by the hand, taking him toward that voice. He said after a time he appeared at a gate that was one solid pearl and that the voice called to him and the door opened and he saw the light of God! He also said he could look back and see mother lying on the floor crying as the doctors told her that he had died. He said he knew he shouldn't and really he wasn't sure he wanted to, but he asked God if he could go back. He said he explained that he wanted time to see his children grown. To at least give him 20 years to see his younget to adulthood so our mother wouldn't be burdened with raising babies alone.....

Now some may never believe this but the day daddy died I went and had coffee with him that morning and we talked about my up coming birthday. He died that afternoon. That was in Feburary and I turned 20 in May.

Have I ever seen God face to face? Not in the way you think, but whenever I look at my children, I see God. Whenever I think of my daddy and my momma and how they looked together, I see God. When I look all around me and the wonders of this vast and beautiful world in which we live, I see God! David, we will never fully understand, nor are we meant to, but by faith and by simply living everyday we believe. Take a look at those 3 beautiful babies you have and think beyond the act that brought them about and go deeper into their creation. How are any of us formed? We aren't here by chance. We were created by a very loving and amazing God.....Our God, Our Father! Have faith, David. We all go through periods of doubt, but it will pass if you only pray and believe with all of your heart ! God bless you and your wonderful family !

Thanks and glory be to God!

-- Suzanne (james-betsy@sbcglobal.net), October 06, 2004.

I had a lot of similar thoughts at one time. I was brought up in a very religious family and taught now to question anything about our faith. I couldn't do that and as I got older I began to question all of it. As a result I have done a lot of thinking about many aspects of the Christian faith and where I have netted out is that I know I am clearly Christian but I don't quite share the views of any of the established Christian religions. However what made a lot of sense to me was reading the book "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking. It is not a religious book, it is a science book for the layman which explains where the universe comes from according to the big bang theory. It made perfect sense to me, however for the big bang to happen there must have been a force before the universe to start it. That is where I believe God fits into the equation. For the record it is amazing how many top quantum physicists believe in God. Anyway I have learned that I don't need to take all religious teachings at face value but to think about them, question them, talk to others about them and then form my own opinion. when I go to church now I may not go away from it having agreed with everything I have heard but I do always take something away with me.

This worked for me, hope it helps in some way.

-- Tripper (dont@email.me), October 06, 2004.

Maybe no two catholics have the same ability or same amount of education - certainly no two catholics have the same mind - but our faith isn't a matter of personal opinion. "It" is a public object, not a private whim. The faith - the Good News, i.e. Gospel, the "what" that we claim we believe is objective and hence knowable by all.

Sure you may not know it as well as I do. You may have different insights as to what this or that doctrine means...but the faith itself is ONE. And God is one.

The question then is this: are you willing to do what it takes to learn what it is or not?

Or should God and all the angels cater to human laziness and just infuse each of us with knowledge? No. God made us rational beings...we learn all we learn step by step. And he reveals his truth to us in the same way, step by step.

You may not know it all, or understand it all...but the faith isn't opinion or whim, it's truth. And knowing and accepting and following it will lead you to God who alone has life and is salvation.

-- Joe (joestong@yahoo.com), October 06, 2004.