Great article Jennifer! One thing I’ve found too that really opened my perspective of God working in my life is the acceptance that He has me right where I am for a specific reason. If you really look at the friends you have, the place you work/ your occupation in general, or the situation in life He gives you, you realize that it’s all for a specific purpose. I used to grumble when I wouldn’t get a certain job or when I’d be asked to relocate from a place I really enjoyed living, for my job. It was a never ending unhappiness and it often showed based on how I’d pursue certain tasks at work. But when I came to realize (must have been the Holy Spirit) that maybe I should be looking around for how I am to impact His kingdom through my specific place in life or circles of friends, God became really visible. Life also began to have an exciting twist in looking each day for how I was to serve God and I have never quite experienced anything like it. In a sense, it’s freeing because you are in essence saying to God “no matter what happens in life, it’s all for your glory!”.

A.M.D.G!

Great post, Jennifer.  And thank you, Rodan, for your comments as well which have helped me to appreciate the journey that Jennifer took from Atheism to Catholicism and that it must have been very difficult.  I think you too, Rodan, can make this journey.  One thing that jumped out at me from your posts was cynicism.  Try step # 2 above, the cynicism fast.  I think you are searching and that’s why you are here no matter how much you kick and scream. :) God love you.

Good article! Recently I was thinking about this and decided I really should go on another silent retreat!

Why do atheists point out how stupid or irrational they hold those who have found the comfort of God? I suspect that it has a certain amount to do with the anger and upset-ness of the soul in losing God or giving up hope on many desires that we simply find in our heart. I know once when I was trying to explain to an atheist that it wasn’t irrational to believe in God, he simply started raising his voice and his eyes got watery as we talked about the possibility of it.

Nobody should say that believers and atheists are stupid. It’s incredibly disrespectful and lacks the maturity and humility to seek wisdom with an open heart.

Anyway, thanks Jennifer for some enlightening words. While atheists may scoff at it, it truly is useful advice. God bless you richly.

Well said, Steven.

What if you find, no matter how hard you try, that you cannot give up some worldly desires?  For instance, I live alone, am homebound, and am very lonely.  All I want is a dog for companionship.  I have tried so hard to give up this desire, but every time I see a dog on the street or on TV, the desire returns. I can give up TV, but how can I give up seeing with my eyes.  I even dream about having a dog.  I’m willing, but the flesh is weak.

In my opinion, since we live in a world of relativity we will always have opposing thoughts, words and deeds. It is just a fact of this life at this time in this world.  In this same sense, Athiests are playing what the world considers the negative hand while Christians are playing the opposite positive one.  On top of all of this, lay the concepts of awareness, consciousness and spirituality.  We are all spiritual beings living within a material body, having experiences, each day, which lead us in becoming aware of who we are. This aware of ourselves occurs at different levels for everyone just as there is many different ways to learn.  Criticism of one another has no place in a world of learning and self awareness.

Rodan’s comment reminds me of Eli rebuking Hannah because he thought she was drunk; she was praying silently at the temple, her lips were moving but her voice couldn’t be heard (1 Sam 1:9-19).

What harm is our foolishness if our belief in God leads us to love others better?

Great article Jennifer! Rodan-I’ll pray for you. I’m not troll-baiting but, why do the “atheists” that comment on religious blogs always seem so close-minded? Aren’t they supposed to be the ones who are most open-minded? Tolerance is a two way street. Giving my life to God has no affect on anyone else’s life (except that maybe I’m nicer to people than I would be otherwise)

@Rodan: Invisible is not the same as non-existent. Oxygen is invisible. Your only real proof that it exists is that it interacts with other things - including you! God’s the same way.

Surgery hurts 100% of the people who undergo it, but would you not argue that the pain is necessary? Christianity may “hurt” some people - mostly their feelings, I would argue, but it is not for the purpose of hurting but for the purpose of bringing about genuine health and healing to their lives.

You think that women are benefitted by abortion and contraception? In reality, the only people who actually benefit from those things are men who want to use women as objects of pleasure and hide the results; businesses who make money off the abortions and pills sold to women; and politicians who receive campaign funds to promote both as “solutions” to problems women face when in fact it solves nothing.  Abortion and birth control do not stop incest or rape - they just cover up the misdeed. My advice to you, where it concerns women’s rights, is to actually read Humanae Vitae so that you can understand why the Church says no to these things. You may not agree, but I think you’ll begin to understand and your arguments, at the very least, will be more informed.

May God bless and keep you, my friend. I hope your intellectual pursuits may someday prove fruitful.

@Rodan: Judge not lest ye be judged is the most frequently quoted by those on the road to damnation. It’s also the most frequently misunderstood quote of the Bible, and one of the few that atheists know by heart. What Christ meant was that we are not to judge hearts, as people often behave in ways that are completely inappropriate and offensive when they are deeply wounded spiritually. Thus, we are told to love our enemies as it is a sad truth that those who make themselves the most difficult to love are often those who need our love the most.  However, we are commanded by Him to judge behaviors and not just to judge those behaviors but then to let the person who is doing those behaviors know just how harmful what they are doing is and to instruct them in how to get the things they want out of life without hurting other people. It’s called fraternal correction, and it is considered an act of charity.

Rodan - What’s your goal? To harden hearts? I tried living without God for much of my life, running from him like Jonah. After a chain reaction of events, I discovered new life, a treasure trove in Catholicism. What do you have to offer me? The memes of Reddit dripping with condescension and arrogance?

Rodan - I know God exists because I’m alive - none of us would be here if He were not :). He may not be visible, but there is other evidence of His existence. As for the rest of your statement, you owe Christian scientists the knowledge of the existence of microorganisms that cause and spread diseases and infections. Hence, you can thank God for that, too.

As for medical surgery, it isn’t true that they always have the patients informed consent before proceeding. They don’t have it in the case of an infant, or an underaged child, or even a patient who has been knocked unconcscious, and it would be cruel beyond belief for them to deny a life saving treatment in such circumstances. Would you wait for a child to be full grown and able to give informed consent before submitting them to cancer treatments? I think not. The same is true with baptizing children as infants and chatechizing them as young children. We hold that these infants and children are being born on a battlefield. We do not wait until they have been mortally wounded to provide them with as much protection as we can possibly afford them. What loving parent would? To do so would be both incredibly irresponsible as well as uncharitable. Therefore, just as in the case of the infant who cannot give their informed consent to treatment by a doctor - we take responsibility for giving consent on their behalf.  The child may be angry, resentful, or reject outright what we have done later, but as parents we do what we feel is in their best interest with all of the information we have at hand.

Furthermore, no adult is ever admitted into the Catholic Church without being given full information on what the Church believes and teaches. Thus, no adult is ever without informed consent.

The Catholic Church acknowledges many mitigating circumstances. For instance, if a woman has an ectopic pregnancy - one in which the egg implants into the fallopian tube as opposed to the womb - the Church does not consider it a sin for the woman to receive life-saving treatment, even if that means the baby dies as a result - provided that everything within the power of the physician is done to save both. If a woman must receive cancer treatment, but to receive the treatment might cause the child to die, it is acceptable for her to receive treatment provided that everything is done to save the infant as well as the mother. There are many cases in which we recognize mitigating circumstances, but there are some cases in which there are no circumstances under which a thing would be acceptable.

No, Catholicism does not stop a person from doing what is evil. However, PRACTICING Catholicism can and does. Shame is only for those who have committeed sin, and women who have been raped have not committed a sin - they have been sinned against. The Catholic Church has not now nor has it ever in the past shamed a woman for the sins done to her - only for those done BY her. This is not necessarily true of individuals, as we all know that individuals fail to live up to Church teaching all the time, but it is true of the teachings of the Church herself.

Abortion and birth control, though, actively encourage the abuse of women. Incidents of domestic violence and violence against pregnant women in particular have risen dramatically since Roe v. Wade.

Women take birth control for a lot of reasons, but what it really boils down to is that they feel like abstinence would make them less lovable. These women don’t see abstinence as a choice for them because they see sex as their only real currency with men. That’s the bottom line. Men want women to take birth control because they don’t want the responsibility and self-sacrifice that children would require. Translation: They are using her as an object of pleasure and don’t want the “consequences” of what they are doing. That’s a large part of the reason, btw, that violence against women - in particular pregnant women - has gone up so dramatically since Roe v. Wade.

As for why I brought up the topics of birth control and abortion, you mentioned women’s rights - which, for atheists and agnostics, is usually code words for abortion and birth control. Thus, I replied to explain our position. Or did I misunderstand what you meant by women’s issues?

Finding God in Seven Days:

Step 1: Go to Adoration Monday through Saturday.

Step 2: Say thank you by reciting the ‘Salve Regina’ to Mary immediately after the priest says ‘Ite Missa Est!” on Sunday.

Done… now you found Him.

The trolls are frisky today.

Beautiful, as always, Jennifer! Brandy, I also greatly enjoyed reading your comments, which were logically and charitably presented. Thanks for the illuminating early evening reading :) God bless!

@Rodan: The phrase “fraternal correction” does have a lot of syllables in it, so I apologize if it confused you. I will try to explain it in a way you might be able to understand. If your mother admonishes you for getting a bad grade, it is because she loves you and wants you to have the very best chances of success in life. It isn’t because she hates you or because she thinks you’re a terrible person. On the contrary, it is precisely because she believes you are capable of more and better than what you have shown that she admonishes you. This is the nature of fraternal correction - we do it not to condemn someone for what they have done wrong but to challenge them to live up to their fullest potential.

There is no person, no matter how disagreeable their disposition or behavior, who is not loveable. Christ loves everyone, no matter how horribly they may act, and if I am to follow Him as I desire to do then I must learn to love everyone as well. The person who acts in a hateful or disagreeable way toward me is a gift from God to me, someone sent to teach me how to love as Christ has loved by practicing His teaching to love those who hate you and bless those who curse you. I may not succeed at all times, my own will may get the better of me sometimes, but these people provide me with opportunities to try again.

Many people aren’t going to like what I say or do - especially when I am doing what Christ wants me to do or saying something that is true. The Truth may set you free - but it often stings the pride and makes you miserable first. I’m not called to be liked. I’m called to love, and sometimes love requires me to say or do things that other people don’t like or don’t want to hear. The only person I’m interested in pleasing is Christ.  Fraternal correction takes courage, because it requires you to put aside your worries about what someone else is going to say or think about what you are saying.  It means being willing to lose a close friend or even a family member because they don’t like what you say.  Real love is like that - risking everything to save another, even if the other person doesn’t think they want to be saved right now.

I have no resentment toward atheists, anymore than I resent blind people. If anything, I find it’s usually atheists who resent Catholics and Christians in general. They don’t like being told that they are dependant upon God to be good, or that they need God to love fully. They don’t want to hear that they are sinners (we all are) or that they need forgiveness for the things they’ve done wrong in their lives.  Those are hard truths, and pride makes them even harder to hear. Truth is truth, though, and I’d be no friend of yours or anyones if I wasn’t willing to say those things to you. I don’t want any soul to be lost to Hell. I would like nothing better than for every person on Earth to admit that they are broken so they can be healed like I have been. I know there are many, too many, who won’t choose to be healed, who would rather stay broken than do what it takes to be healed.  But it doesn’t stop me from trying anyway to reach out to them and to let them know it’s there if they want it.

Rodan….“I resent you labeling me as ‘negative’ while calling christians ‘positive’ just because we have opposing views.  What happened to ‘Judge not lest ye be judged?’  You might want to practice the humility that Jennifer suggests.”
My statements were not specifically addressed to you, but meant as a general anf broad look at this issue.  This is not my personal feeling and why I clarified my statement with “what the world considers”. And as far as “Do not judge lest ye be judged”, I believe the last line of my paragraph is clear about how I feel concerning judging others….. Criticism of one another has no place in a world of learning and self-awareness.  I apologize for not making this more clear.

I have no problem believing that Atheists love their families.  Why wouldn’t they?  God gives humans the ability to love.  God is love (not “Love is God,” mind you).  That’s the disconnect for the atheist.  Without God, love is just chemical signals firing in the gooey mass of the human brain.  What good is that, really?  Come to think of it, what good is *anything* without God?  Everything becomes pointless.

—-

“Judge not lest you be judged, for whatever measure you judge with shall be measured out to you.”  In other words, only judge if you are able to hold up to the same scrutiny (i.e. you don’t have a splinter or a beam in your eye with respect to the issue being judged). 

No one can go through life without “judging,” even on issues of morality and human behavior.  People usually throw that verse around as a defense against being srutinized.  When light shines in dark places,you will hear, “Don’t judge lest you be judged!” being shouted from the darkness.  Interpretation: “Don’t shine that light on me!”

Rodan - You feel alienated by our responses? Read your early comments! What was your intention?!?

An interesting question (at least to me) is this:

We all know of Christians who gave up that belief system and became atheists.

And, we all know of atheists who gave up that belief system and became Christians.

I think it’s clear that in either case a person can be on the receiving end of shunning and social disapproval, although in the case of the person who becomes an atheist I believe it’s of a type which confirms their worst suspicions of Christian behavior (tribally-based rather than truth-based) and thus tends to drive them away with a feeling of increased certainty, even self-satisfaction, about their decision. In the case of the person who becomes a Christian I believe it’s of a type which reminds them of their own past bad behavior and tends thereby to be merely painful but neither adds to nor detracts from doubt of the correctness of the decision.

But in the end, what does the atheist who becomes a Christian “get” for the trouble of changing worldviews in a fashion that typically forces them to uncomfortably and arduously re-wire their life and social network?

I mean, what does he “get,” apart from the kinds of things which require you to first believe in Christianity to say that he has “gotten” them. I mean, you can say he gets the experience of the presence of God, but I suppose those moments are few and far between. You can say he gets a divine indwelling and a flood of grace enabling him “both to will and to do…,” et cetera. But he doesn’t believe he’ll get that while he’s still an atheist, or he wouldn’t be one; and he probably doesn’t know about it anyway, having had little time to learn the Christian concepts and jargon involved.

So I ask this question, “What does he get?” because it seems to me that while he is outside, it isn’t terribly obvious that he’d get any benefit from being inside. The whole thing looks like a lot of effort with little reward except having his peers think he went nuts and start laughing at him behind his back. He may gain new friends, but they may not be the kind of people he cares to have as friends or feels comfortable around anyway.

I suppose that the only thing he “gets” is the sense that, if it really is true, then he’ll finally know that it’s true from having dealt with the matter himself. This matters a lot to some folk who obsess about the truth of things congenitally. For others, it doesn’t seem like a significant benefit.

What about you folks? Anybody want to tell me, not what the atheist eventually gets for converting, but what he anticipates getting when he doesn’t yet believe but the concept has first raised itself in his mind?

He anticipates that which the human heart naturally longs for yet cannot find apart from God: pure, genuine, unconditional love.  As G.K. Chesterton said, “Even the man that knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God. He just doesn’t know it at the time.”

Great post and thanks for the link on the definition of humility at catholic.net. I have found as I stumble my way seeking God that there is wisdom in your suggestions…I began 12 years ago when I, a chronic alcoholic, was blessed with the gift of desperation and became willing to get sober in AA and through that have come full circle back to the faith of my catholic childhood. I rely on God’s grace to keep me sober a day at a time and pray with hope that he changes me so that I can be useful. I am grateful there are some really terrific catholic blogs I can gain inspiration from and enjoy reading the articles and the comment sections.

Once I believed this kind of speech, now I am ever more amazed at what powerful mind game is all this stuff. I have confronted more than one believer, who came up with this kind of recipes, with what church teaching has to say on the topic, and the fascinating thing is that they usually have no reasonable explanation, but afterwords they still keep saying the same things as before. For the record, this is excerpt from an article on faith from catholic encyclopedia.

And just as the light of faith is a gift supernaturally bestowed upon the understanding, so also this Divine grace moving the will is, as its name implies, an equally supernatural and an absolutely gratuitous gift. Neither gift is due to previous study neither of them can be acquired by human efforts, but “Ask and ye shall receive.”

So, there is nothing you can do, no steps, no recipes, nothing, that will guarantee you the faith. You can ask, but just as with any asking for something you don’t have the right to, it is up to the asked to decide if he wants to give you what you asked. And he can very well decide not to give you the faith, despite any effort you put in asking. While if he decides to give it to you, he doesn’t need your asking as is evident from the case of saint Paul and other people with similar experiences. Christian god is god of predilected. As simple as that. Has always been and will always be.

Awesome!!! Step 2 is where I’m struggling right now. People at work approach me to complain about others. I like the advice to say something positive about them when approached with negative. This will definitely change the flow of the conversation and throw them off their negative path.

Anyone who says that Chritianity is empty headed obviously has not read Aquinas, Lewis, Chesterton,etc.  A great deal of thought is required to process the great Christian classics.

The sciences, and specifically the scientific method, are in existence because of the idea that a rational God exists.  This thought is what fostered early scientific advancement.  The very idea that a God does not exist because it cannot be seen physically, and that the world is made up of a series of random events breaks all laws of rationality.  Godlessness and reletavism fall completely flat when put up to standard tests of logic.  Unfortunately, we live in a world where logic and reason are not taught, and so we have a great deal of empty headedness insisting that Christians are empty headed.

Great post Jennifer ! Thank You !

Jennifer,
The most glaring thing that stands out in my experience with my reversion is that it does NOT happen on OUR time schedule. In our world of immediate gratification we think that as soon as we ask, we will then immediately receive.  This takes us right back to your Step #1. Part of humility is to say and to know that God’s plans work when He knows that it is the right time. That was the case with me. Thanks for this much needed post.

“Our hearts are restless, O God, until they rest in Thee.”  Saint Augustine

God is our creator, we are here by His design, we are created to love and be loved.  When we die, the only thing we have to take with us to eternity is how well we loved God and our neighbor.  Eternal life with LOVE or eternal damnation with the father of lies.

Big stakes here, folks.  God is constantly pursuing your heart and soul, and He longs for your love.

“We are all called to be great saints, don’t miss the opportunity.”  Mother Mary Angelica

Pax

I have commented before and have asked for help because I am not sure how to handle myself around a wife who is baptized Catholic but sometimes hostile to the faith.  However she is more Catholic than me in some of her advice to me…ie don’t be cynical.  I wish that I could see this more while it is happening than in reflection.  I dunno maybe if I had more humility I could see this instead of hindsight years later.

Second I love the prayers, Lord, I believe, heal my unbelief.  Also from St Philip Neri: Lord watch over me for is you do not I shall betray you by the end of the day. (Something like that)

Great article Jennifer as usual. Re: step 2- about 10 yrs ago I gave up saying anything negative about anyone for Lent. I had to do it for 3 yrs in a row. It completely changed my life.

Dear Jennifer,

Thanks for bringing out the most underrated philosopher, and his challenge, to the world.

One thing I’ve found that needs to be often restated to atheists thinking about the wager is that it is not supposed to function as an argument that is meant to somehow prove the existence of God (though, ironically, it does). Instead it merely proves that one is rationally obligated to try out his experiment, since they have very little/nothing to lose, and a potentially infinite, in every way imaginable, gain.

I dare unbelievers to accept.

They’re in for such a delightfully big (and certainly not always pleasant) surprise.

Yours in Christ,
CS

I would have to say that Athiest or not, those who believe there is no God or cannot find any evidence of God, truly do not understand the concept of unconditional love.  I say TRULY because they do not understand REAL love.  This is not to say that they do not show love in the only way they know how; that they are not affectionate and do not do lovely and nice things for others.  But the right thinking of unconditional love exhibits certain principles that God Naysayers just do not get, such as, finding their own happiness in another’s successes; allowing another to fail, allowing oneself to fail; or seeing the difference between what’s best for another and not what’s wished for themselves.  In short, letting go of ego and pride. The God Naysayer has a very hard time letting go of Ego and Pride because he/she has a hard time understanding that love is a choice, not a feeling.  To find God one must understand the truth of God’s Love and choose to live that truth.  It is a love that is unconditional and always forgiving; a love that uses consequences for actions instead of punishment; a love that is for all without an expected return or a love that is strong enough to take the responsibility for guiding and correcting others. This kind of love is humble and could not be cynical; surrounds itself with Godly people and Godly things while continually talking (praying), as friends speak to each other, to God all day, without ceasing, about everything.  Because all these things become a way of life, they happen automatically, thereby feeding the love you give away every minute of each day.

With this kind of love you do not need to prove God or anything to anyone.  You realize that God IS everyone and everything and that ultimately there is NO SEPARATION between anyone or anything.  Losing everything has no sting because what you have with God is everything.  God is all there is. Therefore, Love is all there is.  Getting out of our heads(ego) and into our hearts(soul) may just save us all physically, mentally and spiritually.

Rodan…. typical Atheist question…:>)  Shall I give you the typical Christian answer or can we cut through all that?

Rodan:

Just cause you asked about reading (and I happen to adore reading), I thought I’d poke my head in and answer your question to Jennifer F.

I’ve read Lewis and one book by Chesterton. I’ve never read Aquinas or Augustine.
I’ve read most of Twain.
I’ve read some of Dante (if you’re talking about the Divine Comedy, he’s the only Dante I know of).
I’ve read some of Darwin (took a course in genetics and evolution).
I’ve read most of Gaimon (he’s one of my favourite authors).
And I have absolutely read authors that had thoughts besides Christianity. The Golden Compass and Harry Potter (though I would argue that HP is pretty Christian minus the witchcraft and such) were some of my favourites growing up, so were books by LeGuin, and I read Science Fiction / Fantasy avidly, as well as a wide range of classics - many of which are considered “anti-Christian” and were banned by Churches in Europe and North America.

So stop being a bigot and assuming that Catholics are never exposed to other types of thought. Living in North America, its kind of impossible not to be. Yeesh. Your continued insistence that we are empty-headed and close-minded is rude and insulting - this is no way to have a real conversation with someone who has opposing views.

Rodan..  God loves you unconditionally, but that does not mean that man returns God’s love in the same way.  If you continually fight against God and CHOOSE to go your own way, eventually God will give you what you wish for. You will still be loved as a wayward child, but lost to Him forever in hell.  Following God’s will by returning His love, is a much better choice because then one can live happily as a child of God, with God, in love forever in heaven.

No brush off.. just wanted to know if you would like another version.

Ok Everyone! Wait just a minute…Why are you wasting time with Rodan? Aren’t you aware that he is supposed to have died in the firey lava flow of Mt.Aso when it erupted as a result of a missle barrage that caused the death of his mate and out of grief he followed her into the volcano? Remember??? C’mon….after he ran out of Meganulons to eat, he turned to eating humans,flew around the world causing widespread destruction with the downwash of his wings and eventually destroyed the city of Sasebo. Really now…Prof. Kashiwagi compared the wing photo of a Pteranodon (Greek-wing & toothless) to Rodan’s & concluded that is what he was and shortened the name to Rodan(toothless). Alright, if you’re having trouble recalling all this, rush down to Blockbusters and rent “Rodan- The Flying Monster”- Toho Studios/King Bros. US Release Aug. 6, 1957”. It’s all there. And if he didn’t really die at Mt. Aso, you might gain a better understanding of his attitude. And why what he writes sounds alot like science fiction.

Rodan… I am moving on.  Some food for thought for you…

We have but one free will choice…..to believe or not believe that all was created for a purpose and that there is a plan that goes along with that purpose.  When that purpose, for which all was created, is realized, then all of creation will be returned to the creator.  It is the imperfect mind, living in the imperfect world that tells us that we are separate from God, when truly we are not and can never be separated from Him.  We were conceived and created FROM the essence of God; we are pieces of God, manifested into different forms everywhere as everything in the universe.  We can never be hurt, maimed, killed or destroyed in any way ever.  We are eternal, just as God is eternal. 

There are not some individuals more worthy to live eternally with God than others, because all are made of the essence of God;  all are pieces of God living in physical forms on earth.  The body is of no consequence, except that it gives the spirit of God a vehicle to continue His purpose (will) on earth….to bring Heaven to earth.  Heaven on earth will only happen when each individual understands that they are a piece of God and treat each other as pieces of God as well.  I don’t believe that will happen next year in 2013.  Do you?

I believe that this is a process of many lifetimes for some.  For Christians, who follow Christ, it is not necessary to incarnate many times because we are of the Golden Treasure of Israel; the 144,000 made pure through their sacrifices; rescued IN Christ at His resurrection and taken to heaven.  All humans have been ‘seeded’ through Christ since He became the Head of the Body of God.  In effect, everyone born after Christ’s Ascension into Heaven are Christians…...Muslims, Buddhists, etc., etc..  The catch is that there are still those who were “given up” to Lucifer to pay for the 144,000 saved who still belong to Lucifer and who still populate the world.  These souls still incarnate in many life times for ‘refining’ or paying back ‘Karma’.  It will take a while yet to ‘retrieve’ those who were used in payment to recapture the lost souls of Israel, which is what God has been doing since the day He gave them up in payment.  They cannot come back to Him the way that they are, so they must reincarnate and be refined for as long as it takes.  This is why God is so patient. 

God’s patience has more to do with what He did than what we have done or are doing.  Lucifer could travel back and forth from earth to heaven in the Old Testament - (Job), but God changed that and placed the “firmament above” so that only the Saints could pass through to Heaven.  Lucifer thought that Christ would be “stuck” like him, on earth, after his death, and he would be able to get the 144,000 back again, but He was wrong.  Christ, because He was as God, could pass through the firmament. He did and took the 144,000 IN him, safely to Heaven, out of reach from Lucifer.

..The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom created for Israel at the creation of the World
Jesus said this to the Jews…. examine the Parables in Matthew you will see that the KOH had been in Existence for a LONG time.
God seeded the KOH and left after a long time..the parable states he sent his Lord (Jesus)to recover the Fruit…

The Kingdom of God is referenced as the Future Kingdom…. Jesus speaks of it as such..

In the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus says he is Eating and Drinking ......metaphors for Partaking OF or sharing,,
In the KOH Jesus comes to Harvest Israel..He did not sow but he came to reap or collect the fruit..
after he has done so HE says I will no longer Drink of the Vine (Israel) until I drink it NEW in my FATHERS KINGDOM
aka the Kingdom of God…

Jesus also says In the Kingdom of Heaven I was as one Eating and drinking, (harvesting)
but in the Kingdom of GOD I will be as One who SERVES!! at the Table altar…

No longer a harvester he has now upon ressurection become THE Distributor of wealth or Spirit.
He has Become God and all treasure is dispensed through and by him…
Ephesians..1;22 23 Christ is the Head of the Church (KOG) which is Gods Body.

The Kingdom of God is above the Firmament in Heaven ..created upon the Ressurection of Christ.
as in the prayer THY KINGDOM COME.. it came post Resurrection…..

If you pay attention,,you will notice that the Kingdom of Heaven is NEVER mentioned NOT even Once
post ressurection…....

The planet is the Solid ground of the kingdom of heaven;  the Center of ....this WORLD….aka the Kingdom of Heaven..

I could write about this forever, but I think I have included everything necessary for you to understand the main differences….

Re the original blog posting:  Jennifer, thank you!  This essay is helpful not only for those seeking faith in God for the first time but also for those of us who believe and need clarity on subjects like humility and noticing how we think, reflexively, day-to-day.  Good job!  You helped me today.

  On Religion
    Kahlil Gibran
  Have I spoken this day of aught else?
  Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,
  And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?
  Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?
  Who can spread his hours before him, saying, “This for God and this for myself; This for my soul, and this other for my body?”
  All your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self.
  He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.
  The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin.
  And he who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage.
  The freest song comes not through bars and wires.
  And he to whom worshipping is a window, to open but also to shut, has not yet visited the house of his soul whose windows are from dawn to dawn.

  Your daily life is your temple and your religion.
  Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.
  Take the plough and the forge and the mallet and the lute,
  The things you have fashioned in necessity or for delight.
  For in revery you cannot rise above your achievements nor fall lower than your failures.
  And take with you all men:
  For in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than their despair.

  And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.
  Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.
  And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain.
  You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.

lol I notice your posts have been deleted - but you DID insult Catholics in general by calling us empty headed and insinuating that our beliefs are stupid. So yes, I will respond when you or anyone implies that Catholics are not well-read (with the obvious insinuation being that we are not educated). And in case you haven’t noticed - Jennifer converted to Catholicism from atheism, so I think it’s safe to assume that she HAS exposed herself to other kinds of thought.

Anyway, I thought anyone who might be reading the comments would be interested to know that Catholics aren’t all close-minded and we don’t all shut ourselves off from opposing views, and, shockingly, we read just as many famous works as non-Cathlics :O! I’m sorry you don’t think that I can comment on something that you happened to post publicly (and I wasn’t answering FOR Jennifer, since I don’t know her I have no idea whether she’s read Gaimon or not). I’ll withdraw now :)

FYI, the Jennifer F. that posted a comment is not the author of this blog.  I don’t respond to self-proclaimed intellectuals who can do nothing but throw insults.

ie I don’t feed the trolls.

This has really gone far enough.  God bless.

I just received a phone call from a mother who also served as a sponsor at our parish’s RCIA program. She is concerned about how to go about answering questions from her nearly 20 year old son. I told her that I thought he sounded troubled and that they should seek the aid of a professional, but if she would e-mail his questions to me, I would do my best to give them an answer.

His questions seemed to revolve around a certain crisis of faith and his inability to truly determine God’s existence. I answered all of her questions and sent the return e-mail. When I got back to my inbox, what did I find but today’s e-mail from the National Catholic Register with the link to this article. I promptly read it and sent the link to this mother so she and her son could have more information on this topic.

You can read my response in my blog post at http://brianboru.hubpages.com/hub/Can-Gods-Existence-Be-Proven

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ….I have an easy answer to the question of how to find God.  It’s so easy that I’m almost afraid to share it.  But, I know it’s true, so I must share the gift I have been given.  If you think about it, the answer has to be easy because we are all God’s children, and a loving Father doesn’t hide himself from his children.  In addition, he doesn’t want us all to be rocket scientists to find him, either.  Rather, he is always with us; we just need the key to “find” him.  And, the key is this: “There are absolutely, positively no coincidences.”  What do I mean?  It was with God’s grace that you asked the question to Jennifer; it was through God’s grace that Jennifer chose to answer the question; it was through God’s grace that I read the question and have provided the answer.  The question that I’m always asked when I share the “no coincidence” principle is whether that means that everything is predestined.  The answer is “No,” because you could have not “asked, seeked and knocked” at the door of God because of a temptation not to humble yourself.  Jennifer may have been tempted to write about another subject without answering your question.  And, I could have been tempted to not write this answer.  But we all responded to God’s grace, and here we are.  That brings me to the second principle of “seeing” God; “If it brings you closer to God, or others closer to God, it is from God!”  Do whatever God tells you that will bring you, or others, closer to him, and you will “find” God.  Following Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-46 might be a good place to start.  God bless!

I enjoyed this article Jennifer, thanks for writing it. Andi’m glad you don’t feed the trolls. Unless a person can criticize without being rude or insulting, their arguments aren’t worth listening to after all.

The major difference between Bible-believing Christians and Catholics, is that Catholics believe whatever the priests tell them; but genuine, born-gain, Bible-believing Christians SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES (John 5:39).
-
A friend tells you the truth.  You may disagree with me, but I love you enough to tell you the truth.

To David (4/22)...to clarify your post, Catholics believe the teachings of the Church - sacred Scripture, sacred Tradition, and the Magesterium.  You can read it all for yourself….pick up a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and especially read all the footnotes which reference sacred Scriptures and the writings of the early Church fathers.  After you read all of that, please come back and write your apology.  God bless you as you and keep you.

I’m an atheist because, when given permission to think for myself as a
child, I compared the Bible stories with reality and realized they
belonged with fiction. Believing in the Bible, to me, is like
pretending that Lord of the Rings really happened. Actually, if I was
given the choice, I would rather believe in Gandalf than God, because
Gandalf is at least likeable.
—-
I guess my parents made a mistake in letting me think for myself—or even letting me think.

@ David : And born against Christians ignore 2000 years of Christian history and development, as well as they add some significant hatred against Catholics in their liturgy.

Jennifer,

I’m late to the party as always.  :) And I have a question on this post.  You suggest reading the great Christian authors as part of finding God.  Why just them?  Why not read the vedas, the sutras, writings by the Dalai Lamas, the Talmud, the Koran, the Eddas of Norse myth, the Ulster Cycle, or any other religious writings?

So many people have turned from God and fear showing their love of Christ. Others go to church out of duty, but never show off or practice their faith outside of their church. Returning to or finding God is a difficult task, but He will always welcome you with arms wide open, and the love you will feel will be worth it.

You are talking about finding religion, not God.

“why do the “atheists” that comment on religious blogs always seem so close-minded?”
Atheists are asked to accept the proposition that there is something “supernatural” out there in reality.  To accept that would be so open-minded that your brains have fallen out.

To find God, you must first repent of your sin.  Then you must accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who died and thus paid the penalty for your sins, as your Lord and Savior.  Then you will have access to God in Christ.

You can’t just “accept” Jesus and simply believe “he died” for your sins.  Again, that’s the cult of religion we are entrenched by in our society.  I have tried that but found myself still with sin. John however writes that when we are born of God, we have no sin.  Clear.  Thus merely declaring or trusting does not save us.  There is something deeper that must happen but I have not seen it happen yet so I cannot tell you.  What I have been told is that the cross is a door or portal.  We must “experience” Jesus at the cross and meet Him there.  But first we must stop supporting lies and babylon must fall first.  That’s the hard part (for me).

Praying blindly with a open heart connected with the mental state of belief is powerful. God senses and hears all emotions,needs and wants of every soul on this earth, galzxy and universe. Praying will still be felt by God no matter if you believe or not. Praying no matter what situation in life you go through will still be heard. No matter what the religion, the non-believer and sin, your voice will be guaranteed answered in a mysterious way. Praying as a sinner in life no matter what the action will be heard. I pray if you my brother and sister that read this that you have patience.

Well, a month or two ago I posted here a confession of a kind how hard it is to find God, and as I can see, censorship is on the roll. Perfect, another reason why not to believe in God.
RS