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Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy
| Pete Vere and Sandra Miesel
God Is No Delusion: A Refutation of Richard Dawkins
| Thomas Crean, O.P.
Socrates Meets Descartes
| Peter Kreeft
Sermon in a Sentence: Saint Thomas Aquinas
| John McClernon
New Outpourings of the Spirit
| Joseph Ratzinger
Meet Henri De Lubac
| Rudolf Voderholzer
Marian Devotion in the Domestic Church
| Catherine & Peter Fournier
Joseph Ratzinger: Life in the Church and Living Theology
| Maximilian Heinrich Heim
The Greek Fathers: Their Lives and Adventures
| Adrian Fortescue
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Letter to the Hebrews
| Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch
Chastity, Poverty and Obedience
| Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.
The Blessing of Christmas
| Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Chance or Purpose?: Creation, Evolution, and a Rational Faith
| Chrisoph Cardinal Schšnborn
Island of the World: A Novel
| Michael O'Brien
The Order of Things
| James V. Schall, S.J.
The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand
| Paul Kengor & Patricia Clark Doerner
Seek that Which is Above
| Pope Benedict XVI
Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church
| Pope Benedict XVI
God and His Image: An Outline of Biblical Theology
| Dominique Barthelemey
An Invitation to Faith: An A to Z Primer on the Thought of Pope Benedict XVI
| Pope Benedict XVI
Mother Benedict: Foundress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis
| Antoinette Bosco
Pope Benedict XVI: The Conscience of Our Age
| Vincent Twomey
Ronald Knox as Apologist: Wit, Laughter and the Popish Creed
| Fr. Milton Walsh
Christians in China: A.D. 600-2000
| Jean Charbonnier
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Growing up in an Evangelical home, I recall my parents
occasionally lamenting the defection of a recent convert. In some cases
they had spent months, even years, evangelizing and teaching new Christians
only to have some of them return their old ways of life.
This puzzled me. How could they leave the truth? Why? As a child so much
seemed clear to me: the existence of God, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ,
the reality of sin, and the need for salvation. Now, older and hopefully
wiser, I find that I am more sympathetic and, yet, just as puzzled.
The seemingly clear vision of youth, inevitably tested, either dims or deepens.
The way and the why of how faith comes, goes, withers, or grows is a mystery.
But that doesn’t make for easy excuses. Rather, by God’s grace,
the lessons of life can provide reason for greater faith and hope. But the
theological virtues of faith and hope can be fragile, just as the desires
and secrets of the human heart can be elusive.
In Bible College I became friends with Ben, a brilliant student with a passion
for learning and for truth. We talked, prayed, laughed, and cried together,
sharing our passion for Jesus Christ. We discussed our common love for art
and literature, and Ben introduced me to the work of great authors, including
Walker Percy, the Catholic novelist.
Today, Ben is not a Christian. Following Bible College he moved to London,
earning a doctorate in philosophy. Out of touch for a while, we reconnected
through the Internet and e-mail. Both of us were walking away from Evangelicalism:
I was on the path to Rome and he was on the road to doubt. He began to openly
scoff at the doctrine of the Trinity and the historical validity of much
of the Bible.
Distance and sporadic correspondence made it difficult to gauge what was
transpiring in Ben’s life. Then, after another long silence, he e-mailed,
his bitterness obvious: he was getting divorced. Soon thereafter, he flatly
stated: "I am no longer a Christian." He added: "While no
longer holding to the dogma of Christianity, this is not because I wish
to deny its claims, but merely because I am not swayed by them."
What had happened? How could Ben leave the truth? His faith, so vibrant
years before, had died.
Two years ago I met Bob and Susan, a young couple who had walked a long,
tortured path in a short amount of time. They attended an Evangelical Bible
college together, married, then inexplicably, in the midst of personal crisis,
embraced Wiccan. After two years they returned to Protestantism, but flirted
with Judaism and Eastern religions.
Then, dramatically, they decided upon Catholicism. But on the cusp of entering
the Church they began doubting the validity of Vatican II and Church’s
ecumenical endeavors. At the last moment they changed their minds and became
Catholic. But six months later they began attending a Society of St. Piux
X parish, explaining to bewildered friends that had found the "true
Church." For whatever reason Bob and Susan cannot fully embrace and
hold onto the gift of faith.
As an apologist it’s easy to think of an endless list of reasons to
be Christian. As a convert I know arguments why the Catholic Church is the
true Church of Christ. But while faith and reason are not enemies, faith
is ultimately a gift, a grace. And the cares of the world, fear, bitterness,
and pride eat away at that precious gift.
Pride is often the strongest enemy of faith. Once humility and gratitude
are trampled down, the temptation to rely on our natural abilities begins
to swell. But the human mind and heart are dark without the supernatural
light of faith. "We walk by faith, not by sight," writes Saint
Paul. That doesn’t mean life is easy, but it makes eternal life possible.
(This column originally appeared
as "Only Words" in October 2004 in National
Catholic Register and is reprinted with permission.)
Carl Olson
is the editor of IgnatiusInsight.com. He is the co-author of The
Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code and author
of Will
Catholics Be "Left Behind"? He resides in a top secret
location in the Northwest somewhere between Portland, Oregon and Sacramento,
California.
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G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was one of the finest Christian authors and apologists
of the past two hundred years. Raised as an agnostic, he embraced Christianity as a young man, ultimately entering the Catholic Church
in 1922. He wrote hundreds of essays, as well as novels, short stories, poetry, apologetics, literary
criticism, and nearly everything else imaginable. Dale Ahlquist, president and co-founder of the American
Chesterton Society and author of
G.K Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense, writes, "Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism,
history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology. His style is unmistakable, always marked
by humility, consistency, paradox, wit, and wonder. His writing remains as timely and as timeless
today as when it first appeared, even though much of it was published in throw away paper." Read more
about the life and work of this remarkable thinker, author, and apologist.
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Confessions of an Ex-Feminist
by Lorraine V. Murray
Confessions is the honest and heart-rending account of a woman who was born into a Catholic family, attended parochial schools and
fully embraced the beliefs of her faith, but ran into major roadblocks in college. Amidst the radical feminist college environment of
the 1960's, she lost her faith, and her morality, jumping aboard the bandwagon of "free love." She indulged in a series of love relationships
in college, all of which crashed and burned. Despite the obvious contradiction between feminist teachings and her own experience,
Murray still believed she had to free herself from the yoke of tradition. Attaining a doctorate in philosophy, with an emphasis on the
feminist writings of Simone de Beauvoir, Murray taught philosophy in college. For many years, she launched a personal vendetta against
God and the Catholic Church in the classroom, trying to persuade students that God did not exist, mocking values Catholics hold dear,
and touted feminism as the cure for many social ills. When she discovered she was pregnant, Murray followed the route that feminists
offer as a solution for unmarried women. Much to her surprise, her abortion was a shattering emotional experience, which she grieved
over for years. It was the first tragic chink in her feminist armor.
Read more about Confessions of an Ex-Feminist, or
read an excerpt from the book.
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