Skeptical Faith

Google Image My life as a young Catholic was pretty tribal. Our family had a Catholic doctor, went to a Catholic-owned cafeteria (on the few occasions when we didn’t eat at home), and (on the even fewer occasions) when my parents – and later when I was a young adult - went out for a beer, went to a Catholic-owned tavern. We never missed Mass on Sundays and cheered for Notre Dame. My three brothers and sister and I went to Catholic schools and two of us became priests. Most of our family’s friends were Catholic. We were interested in the celebrities who were Catholic. They included stars like Bing Crosby, Gregory Peck, Loretta Young, Grace Kelly, Spencer Tracy and James Cagney. I must admit that I still like hearing that contemporary stars, like Liam Neeson, Robert De Niro and Stephen Colbert, are Catholic. And I was pleased when I learned that my favorite standup comedian, Jim Gaffigan, is Catholic. A New Appreciation I had an epiphany relatively late in life regarding m...

Google Image  Despite what you may think about a guy who used to be a priest, I’ve had my ups and downs with faith. Doubt has come in various forms, but mostly it has been a basic doubt about God’s existence. Once I was able to get past that – that God exists, that he/she created the world in some unknown way (obviously through evolution) and so must be able to do about anything – the related beliefs didn’t seem like a big deal. Eventually, I came to the point of deciding I had to decide, and I decided to believe, undoubtedly aided by the Holy Spirit. I’ve never looked back. That doesn’t mean that doubt has disappeared. I’ve come to see doubt as a necessary part of faith. If belief were a certainty, there would be no need for faith. And if faith were certain, there would be no liberty to reject God. Uncertainty is the Norm I also eventually saw that uncertainty is the norm for human knowledge. There’s a lot of uncertainty in science, for instance. In the search fo...

Google Image Last week’s blog, “Does Everything Happen for a Reason?” was prompted by an article in America magazine by Eloise Blondiau called “The Gospel According to Goop.” Goop, in case you’re as clueless as I was, is a company owned by actress Gwyneth Paltrow that sells upscale clothing, cosmetics and advice about “wellness.”   Its website offers such indispensable articles as “The Science – and Magic – of Forest Bathing” and “Is There an Upside to Narcissistic Parenting?” The company has been criticized by health-care professionals for offering products whose usefulness is questionable. In June 2017, for instance, “a Goop blog post promoted Body Vibes, wearable stickers that ‘re-balance the energy frequency in our bodies,’” according to Wikipedia. A Vague Spirituality But Blondiau’s problem with Goop runs deeper. The company promotes the idea that “we have power over our health that Goop can help us to harness,” and promotes a “vague spirituality, telling Goop...

Google Image Writing in America Magazine, Eloise Blondiau describes author Kate Bowler’s view of life before being diagnosed with cancer. “It was certainty, plain and simple, that God had a worthy plan for my life in which every setback would also be a step forward.” After her diagnosis, Bowler appeared to give up on philosophizing, succumbing instead to a sort of desperation. “Every day I prayed the same prayer: ‘God save me. Save me. Save me. Oh God, remember my baby boy. Remember my son and my husband before you return me to ashes. Before they walk this earth alone.’” Her three questions, common to people going through personal crises: “Why?” “God, are you here?” and “What does this suffering mean?” "God Needed an Angel" What comments did she hear from others? “God is writing a better story;” or “God has a better plan;” or, perhaps worst of all, “God needed an angel,” Bowler adding, “because God is sadistic like that.” And, of course, “Everything happen...