Skeptical Faith

  Google Image A man in his 40s has recently lost his mother. At first, he was able to take her death in stride. He tried not to think about it. But after a few months, the man, who was divorced and has no children, found himself profoundly affected. So many things reminded him of her. He felt abandoned, lost. He found himself talking with her, telling her how much he loved her and missed her, and trying to share special moments with her. Yet, if you asked him, he would say he didn’t believe in the afterlife, nor in God or religion. He hadn’t practiced a religion since his youth. But did he still carry the residual effects of growing up with faith? If he thought his deceased mother could hear him, does that mean there is something of faith left in him? For full disclosure, some details of this scenario have been changed, but it is based on an acquaintance of mine. And the honest answer to my questions above is “I don’t know.” Not Unique The man’s situation certainly is not ...

Google Image It’s undoubtedly true that the Nazi concentration camps produced many atheists, not only among survivors but among those who know about them. “Where was God?” many of them and those of us who empathize with them might ask. “How can a good and loving God allow such horror?” We ask that question though it wasn’t God who subjected humans to the gas and torture chambers but “man’s inhumanity to man.” We may ask similar questions of lesser “horror,” and if it doesn’t result in atheism, it may contribute to a tepidness in our faith or our search for faith. “How can God allow the illness that I’m subject to? What did I do to deserve it? Why don’t things ever go my way? I’m a believer or trying to be. Shouldn’t I get a break?” Clashes with Theology Despite the fact that this kind of thinking clashes with theology based upon the Bible or our church’s teachings, many of us cling to the idea that God punishes and rewards us in this life. And it seems to be based on God’s whim...

Google Image Apart from the pope, Catholic leaders don’t often get positive media coverage. They are an easy target. They often say publicly what people don’t want to hear, bucking contemporary views on many topics. I agree with many of the bishops, especially on matters of doctrine. With others, not so much. I admire Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, N.M., who has been publicly advocating for serious conversations about how to achieve nuclear disarmament. When discussing religion, politics or social policy, it’s sort of the elephant in the room. Who wants to imagine, let alone discuss, the possibility of nuclear war? It’s among those problems we perceive as unsolvable. In terms of the famous St. Francis prayer, it appears to be among “what we can’t change.” But is it, really?    Two National Laboratories Wester is trying to initiate discussions about it, at least, beginning in his own archdiocese which is home to two national laboratories — Sandia and Los Alamos — w...

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom Google Image Many self-helpers advise “not to compare yourself to others.” I believe that’s good advice, at least when comparing yourself to people you perceive to be better off – financially, emotionally or physically. But what about those you see as being worse off? Many of us of a certain age received an admonition from our parents when we didn’t “clean our plate” to the effect, “Think of all the poor children in Africa who don’t have enough to eat.” Today, we may scoff at that idea, but I think we should rethink it. Isn’t it good to know how people – perhaps the vast majority of people on this earth – live? And shouldn’t that make us more grateful, more generous, less wasteful and better human beings? $2 a Day I think so. I have a sign on the bulletin board next to where I write these blogs. In 60-point type, it says: “Nearly 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day.” The sign has been there for at least 10 years, so the numbers may hav...

Google Image Back in 2018, I wrote a blog with the title, “Clinging to Archie Bunker’s God.” The character masterfully played by the late Carroll O’Conner in the 1970s TV comedy “All in the Family,” Bunker had his own take on traditional Christian doctrines, including that of the inerrancy of the Bible. "God don’t make no mistakes,” declared Archie. “That’s how he got to be God.” For those too young to remember Archie, who in 2005 was listed as number 1 on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters, Wikipedia says Bunker was characterized by his bigotry towards “… blacks, Hispanics, "Commies," gays, hippies, Jews, Asians, Catholics, "women's libbers," and Polish-Americans….” Bunker was presented as a Christian, however, and “… often misquotes the Bible. He takes pride in being religious, although he rarely attends church services ….” Poster Boy Bunker could be the poster boy for today’s pseudo-Christianity , in which so many of us substitute popular “wi...