Skeptical Faith

Google Image Fox News interviewed former president Donald Trump in early June and among the questions was one on the meaning of religion. I’ll provide his answer, but first, a caveat. This is not a blog about politics, although like with all issues, the interests of faith and politics often overlap; that is, advocating for faith eventually may take you to advocating for or against a candidate or political issue. So, here’s what the former president said, according to several news outlets. I have made no changes to the text. “Religion is such a great thing. It keeps you, you know, there’s something to be good about. You want to be good; you want to…It’s so important. And I don’t know if it’s explained. Right. I don’t know if I’m explaining it right now, but when you have something like that, you want to be good. You want to go to heaven, okay? You want to go to heaven.” Why Be Good? “If you don’t have heaven, you almost say, ‘Oh, what’s what’s the reason?' ‘Why do I have to ...

Google Image I was working on my bike a couple of weeks ago and in lifting it onto a rack where I could move the chain freely, I put my right arm under the seat, which has springs. As I lifted the bike, the springs painfully pinched the underside of my arm. Immediately a large, ugly bruise formed, a dark red, nearly black blotch surrounded by lighter red, about an inch and a half in diameter. Obviously, blood vessels under the skin had burst, forming a reservoir of blood. But now, days later, the bruise’s color has changed, indicating that the body is repairing itself. The immune system kicked in and white blood cells got to work. After a few more days, I expect the entire bruise to turn yellowish, then after a few weeks, the bruise should disappear altogether. Much More Complex I looked up this process online, and, of course, it’s much more complex than I’ve described. But it’s incredible, really, that this phenomenon occurs. I’m reminded of Psalm 139, thought to have been wri...

Google Image If you’re a Christian, or seeking God in the Christian tradition, do you ever feel like you don’t quite measure up? I do, and I mentioned this in a roundtable (literally) discussion with fellow parishioners in our parish of Pax Christi last year and an elderly woman (about my age, that is), responded, “Did Jesus ever ask you to measure up?” I didn’t know how to answer that question at the time, but after thinking about it, I think I would answer, “Well, no, not me personally, but there are plenty of instances in the gospels where Jesus appears to require perfection or near-perfection. “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” comes to mind. Some commentators say that means that you should strive to be as close to God’s perfection as possible. Maybe, but that’s not how the translation goes. Do We Reflect Our Beliefs in Our Lives? I think this way not only about me, but about Christians and other religious people. I write often in this bl...

Google Image I recently read an online article from the publication, desiringgod.com, based on research by the Pew Research Center that reports that “roughly 70 percent of high school students who enter college as professing Christians will leave with little to no faith.” Yikes! Does that mean that education is a danger to faith? The short answer, in my opinion, is no, at least if the religious student is prepared and the higher education is provided in an objective manner. And, not to encourage conspiracy theorists, I hope objectivity is still a value in higher education. Another article in the same publication quoted a Pew finding that asked the rhetorical question, “ What was the word that many of the respondents used to explain their lack of belief?” The most common answer: “ Science!” Learning About Evolution Here are some of the specific factors young people who participated in the study provided about their loss of faith: (1)  “Learning about evolution when I went...