Skeptical Faith

Google Image Due to time restraints caused by my moving out-of-state, Skeptical Faith blogs are, as they say in show biz, "encore presentations." This one was published in 2014. It’s no secret that many people, believers and non-believers, struggle with faith. Like non-believers, many believers have doubts and questions. Some have spent lifetimes of struggle with questions about God. For various reasons, believers have come down on the side of faith. Many of us, like the psalmist says, simply “cling to him in love.” Today’s believers can’t bank on the artificial props of the past, however. They can’t depend on God as an answer to many questions about the natural world, or assume that most people (including family members) are like-minded or attend church regularly. And modern society, with all its advantages in prosperity (in many parts of the world) and advances in technology, has brought an unprecedented amount of anxiety, stress and “busyness,” all obstacles in the sea

Google Image Due to time restraints caused by my moving out-of-state, Skeptical Faith for the next few weeks will be, as they say in show biz, "encore presentations." This one was published in 2019. I’m not big on hearing the opinions of celebrities on politics, religion or any field other than their own. But the interview of comedian Steven Colbert by CNN’s Anderson Cooper isn’t about Colbert’s opinions but about his personal search for God and how it relates to grief and suffering. I know Colbert is a fierce political commentator and that Cooper’s network is associated with the political left. But this isn’t about politics. It’s about one man’s view of what all of us experience, and struggle with accepting, and attempts to answer the question, “How can suffering be redemptive as some religions claim?” Cooper’s mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, best known as fashion designer and heiress to the fortune of the famous Vanderbilt family of New York, died recently at age 95. Colbe

Google Image Due to time restraints caused by my moving out-of-state, Skeptical Faith for the next few weeks will be, as they say in show biz, "encore presentations." This one was published in 2018. 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.” But 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

Google Image Due to time restraints caused by my moving out-of-state, Skeptical Faith for the next few weeks will be, as they say in show biz, "encore presentations." This one was published in 2019. It’s no secret that many people have stopped going to church. At most churches, you can observe what national polling data have  indicated . Many say they get nothing out of religious services. Some complain about lame homilies. Others say they don’t find God in church. Many say it’s simply a boring waste of time. I get all that, though my experience has been otherwise. I’ve come to appreciate, and even love, the Catholic mass. But it hasn’t been automatic or simply a part of growing older, which some people think makes you more amenable to religion. (People my age, it is believed, are closer to death and are more likely to be intimidated into faith.) I believe I’ve worked at understanding and appreciating the Mass, and it’s paid off. Nothing in Common? What I don’t get is t