A logical look (part two)

"Similarly, in our experience every event is determined by a cause. But that cause in its turn is itself an event determined by a cause. An infinite series of causes would give no explanation of how the causation ever began. There must therefore be an uncaused Cause, which is the ultimate Cause of the whole nexus of events which proceeds it."

Everything known to humans has a beginning, something that caused it. We may be here from evolution and the earth very well may have come from a mixture of gases. But, someone had to create the single cell amoeba for it to evolve, someone created the gases for the "Big Bang" to occur. There has to be a beginning somewhere.

A logical look (part one)

I have to admit, religion has always been hard for me. I tend to be a very logical person. It is hard for me to read of the stories from the Bible and believe they could actually take place, they just aren't....logical!! Luckily for me there is the Catholic Church. I am always amazed by the proof and history the Catholic church has to back up their beliefs. They don't just accept things because that is what they are told, they research, and prove it. I recently started taking RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults).

Though I am a cradle Catholic I have never been confirmed so I have decided it is time. At our last meeting we were given an excerpt from The Belief Of Catholics by Ronald Knox, in it he discusses five proofs of God that St Thomas Aquinas spoke of. It is kind of long and I am to ADD to sit here and discuss it all in one post :o). So I am going to go over each proof in separate posts.

"1. In all motion, or rather as we should say, in all change you can separate two elements, active and passive, that which is changed and that which changes it. But, in our experience, the agent in such change is not self-determined, but determined in its turn to a higher agent. Can this process go on ad infinitum? No, for an infinite series of agents, none of them self-determined, would not give us the finality which thought demands; there must be, at the beginning of the series, however long, an Agent who is self-determined, who is the ultimate Agent in the whole cycle of changes that proceeds him."

So basically, if you have a line of domino's; the domino's will just sit still in the line until someone puts them in motion. This law applies to all objects. Nothing moves that isn't put into motion by something or someone. So for us to exist, for this earth, for this solar system, for everything we know of to be in motion, there has to be an Agent that pushed the first domino.

Catholics DO NOT Believe

Just a refresher, it would seem that some Catholics out there are a bit confused on what we believe.

That the Pope is God and can do no wrong;
That anybody or anything may be
worshipped or adored besides the True God;
That the Blessed Virgin is equal to God;
That images may be worshipped;
That indulgences give permission to
commit sin;
That a Mass can be bought;
That forgiveness of sin can be bought;
That sin can be forgiven without true sorrow;
That scapulars, medals, crucifixes, and
other sacramentals can give graces without
proper dispositions on the part of the user;
That non-Catholics will all be damned;
That all Catholics will go to heaven;
That the Bible is the only rule of faith;
That anybody may interpret the Bible;
That Our Lord Jesus Christ established many Churches;
That outward piety is profitable without charity of the spirit;
That all religions are the same.


And just in case some of you Catholics out there forgot...

Non-Catholic denominations claim that they did not begin new churches, but merely "reformed" the old one. In answer we ask, Did the True Church exist at the time of the founding of these new churches, or not?
If it did not, then Christ's promise to be with His Church always had failed; His Church had died, and no human reform could possibly have resurrected it. If it did exist, then those who invented new doctrines were not reforming it, but founding new churches.

What is the Church? --The Church is the congregation of all baptized persons united in the same true faith, the same sacrifice, and the same sacraments, under the authority of the Sovereign Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him.

Are not all religions the same? --No for truth and error are not the same; faith and unbelief are not the same.

How can we prove that the only true Church of Christ is the Catholic Church? --We can prove that the only true Church of Christ is the Catholic Church, because:

1. Only the Catholic Church possesses the marks of the Church established by Christ; that is, Unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity. (See Chapter 73 on The Gates of Hell)
As a matter of fact, only the Catholic Church claims to have all these four marks of the True Church, the marks so evidently set by Christ.

2.The history of the Catholic Church gives evidence of miraculous strength, permanence, and unchangeableness, so showing the world that it is under the special protection of God. The Catholic Church has proved itself indestructible for almost two thousand years, against every variety and number of formidable enemies. The Church suffered from persecution and outside attacks, and from schism and heresy within its own ranks, yet still lives.

In spite of corruption and persecution, in spite of the combined forces of error and evil, the Catholic Church has continued to live and to carry out its purpose, as its Founder promised. The indestructibility of the Church, as has been proved by history, is alone enough to mark it as divine. God alone could have preserved it so long. The Church is the only institution which has proved itself an exception to the law of decay and death. It has watched the birth and decay of every government on earth for almost 2000 years. After every attack against it, it rises, the Bride of Christ, ever fresh and fair.



(taken from; All teachings on this page are from: MY CATHOLIC FAITH: A Manual Of Religion
MOST REVEREND LOUIS LARAVOIRE MORROW, S.T.D. BISHOP OF KRISHNAGAR Copyright 1949 By Louis LaRavoire Morrow)