Will the Holy Spirit Choose the Next Pope?

The question as to whether the Holy Spirit will choose the next pope cannot be answered as simply as either yes or no. To paraphrase St. Thomas (Summa Theologica I Q. 22 aa. 3-4.) God wills contingent things to happen contingently. This means that the Holy Spirit can and in fact will choose the next pope, but will do so in such a way that fully respects the deliberations of the conclave. If the Cardinals are open to the Holy Spirit they will concur in that choice. If not, they will choose someone else and the Church will suffer, and yet it will survive. All of human history follows the pattern of God commanding or proposing the best course of action in every situation, with humans sometimes saying yes to God and sometimes saying no. Why should this situation be any different? I invite everyone to pray that like Mary the Cardinals say YES to God.

Moral Relativism

A common misunderstanding is that a moral relativist rejects morality. However, just because someone is a moral relativist does not mean that he or she cannot have strongly held moral values. A moral relativist believes that any society can create and enforce whatever  moral laws it needs in order to function and survive. So if  some people feel the need for a right to abortion, pornography, divorce, contraception, same sex marriage, etc. in order  to pursue life and happiness as they see it, without the inconvenience and unpleasantness of having to deal with criticism and restrictions from those who disagree with them, then they also believe it is their right to silence their critics by any means necessary to achieve their goals.

A nation that no longer respects Divine Law nor Natural Law is a nation in which there is no basis for any consensus as to what constitutes a good life or a good  person. So it is that in a relativistic society there is no basis for any agreement between left and right, progressive and conservative, or secular and religious. There is only power politics and the principle that in a relativistic society might makes right.

This is what Pope Benedict meant by the “dictatorship of relativism”.

Atheism and Skepticism

Since atheists are fond of using skeptical arguments to attack theism, I think it is appropriate to apply a little skepticism to atheism itself. So I ask the following question: How could anyone know if they were deceived by an evil demon into believing that God does not exist? Furthermore, if a person was trapped inside a matrix of evil lies and deception, is there anyway to escape and come to know the truth about God?

Certainly it is more likely that an atheist could be deceived by an evil spirit into not believing in God, than it is that all of us could be completely deceived about everything as Descartes proposed in his Meditations. Hence, this is an argument that the atheist should take seriously.

It should also be noted that the empirical sciences are of no help here because for the deception to be successful demons could not leave behind any testable evidence. If there was proof that demons existed, that would constitute strong evidence for the existence of God. So demons must  remain hidden and work through nonphysical means. 

So what would the deception look like? It would begin by asserting that all knowledge is acquired through the senses with the aid of the scientific method. Scientism, materialism, and naturalism provide the foundation for the deception. Knowledge of God is ruled out a priori.

Secondly, it would promote immorality as normal. Nothing keeps the mind from thinking about God any better than the vices of greed, lust, and pride.. A culture that promotes mindless consumerism, sexual promiscuity. and  narcissism is perfect for this.

Finally it would mock religion in general and seek to place restrictions on religious speech and expression. Militant secularism and freedom from religion would be promoted as necessary for a healthy society.  If a person never hears about God, then it is much less likely that they will think about God or believe in God.

Since all the elements of the deception are already in place, only a fool or a willing participant in the deception would refuse to investigate the unthinkable alternative. Maybe God actually exists.

Escape from the deception can come about in many ways. The first step is for the atheist to acknowledge the fact that he might be wrong and may have been deceived.

A second step is to consider the fact that everything that actually exists either came from something that actually exists or, is self-existent and exists eternally and immutably. The material things that science studies are all made of parts that can be put together to make something and broken apart and reformed to make something new. There is nothing in the material world that is eternal or unchangeable. The universe that we know is not eternal, it came from something else. That eternal something else that produced our universe cannot itself be composed of material parts for then it would not be self-existent or eternal. It must be immaterial. The immaterial, eternal, and immutable something else is what  philosophers call God.

But what sort of being is immaterial and eternal? The one thing that we know of that is like that is our own minds or souls. Our minds are not bound by time. We can think of the past, the future, and the timeless. Our minds are not bound by space. Our bodies and our brains are in one place and our experience is limited to that place at that time. Our minds however, can be anywhere and we can think about anything that we choose to think about including abstract immaterial things that are not in any particular place or time. Most importantly we can choose to think about God.

Religion is the result of our thinking about God, and even though most of our thoughts about God may be wrong, it is possible that God is also thinking about us and wants us to know him. That is a possibility that is worth investigating. I believe that everyone who seriously seeks to undertake this investigation will eventually know the truth about God and be freed from all deception, but first you have to want the truth and nothing but the truth. Any thoughts?

"Who do you say that I am?"

Have you ever wondered why Jesus healed so many people? Why he raised some from the dead? Why he changed water into wine and multiplied the loaves and fish? Why he walked on water and calmed the storm? There are some who think most if not all of these miracles did not happen, but were made up by his disciples in order to create the myth of the god-man. The skeptics and the modernists think that Jesus was just a good man who tried to teach others how to be more kind, more generous, more forgiving, etc. They think that everything else that we find in the gospels is pure fiction.


If these people are correct then the apostles were a strange bunch who were willing to travel to the ends of the earth and eventual die for a story they knew was not true. I think that there is a better way to understand the gospels that makes far more sense, at least to me. I believe that Jesus knew from the very beginning of his ministry that his mission in life was to do something far more than to tell people that they should be nice to one another and try to get along. The reason why Jesus came into this world was to bring salvation to a world that was lost in sin. Everything that Jesus said and did was directed toward the goal of demonstrating the fact that he had the power to bring new life to those who were dead in their sins.

When Jesus healed people it was not just because he felt sorry for them and did not want to see them suffer. Every miracle that Jesus did was done so that people in everyplace and for all time would know that he was who he said he was. He was the Son of God who through his death and resurrection would take away the sins of the world and give eternal life to everyone who believed in him.

There is one catch to all this. If you think that you have not sinned and do not need to be forgiven; or, if you think that you are basically a good person and that going to church once in awhile is enough, then I would suggest that you need to read the gospels and find out what Jesus actually said to the walking dead who thought that they did not need a savior.

Suffering - God's Gift to Mankind

One of the most common arguments against the existence of God is that an all powerful and good God would not allow so much evil and suffering to exist. But think what it would be like if no one ever had to suffer. If everything we ever needed was immediately available to us such that we could get whatever we wanted as easily as picking fruit from a tree, then we would be virtually self-sufficient. We would not need anyone else, including God, for anything. In such a world people would soon come to think of themselves as like God or as equal to God.

 Now consider the fact that for there to be many different individuals, each one has to be different in some way from everyone else. Hence, there would have to be different degrees of intelligence, beauty, or strength for there to be different individuals. In such a world, some might think of themselves as better than everyone else. This might lead to them wanting everyone else to honor or even worship them. The most powerful of them might even try to force others to worship them. Some might resist and join with others to fight against those who would try to dominate them. Soon this perfect world with no suffering would become a world of constant conflict or even outright warfare as competing parties sought to impose their will on others.

 I submit to you my conclusion that a perfect world with no suffering is an illusion that cannot possibly exist in reality. Suffering teaches us the truth about who we are. Suffering teaches us that we need God and we need one another both for our existence and our happiness. Suffering is not a good in itself, but it is necessary for us to learn how to love God and our neighbor. Without suffering love is just a word for an emotion that we may or may not feel. It is suffering that forces to love others in deed and in truth. Suffering forces us to make sacrifices for the good of others with the full knowledge that others have made sacrifices for us. Suffering builds relationships that can last into eternity. Apart from suffering there would only exist isolated individuals who would have no opportunity to fully share in the lives of others.

 Suffering is a great gift even if we find it difficult to accept.

The Ascension - One of the Most Important Events in Salvation History

There are those skeptics and modernists who claim that the resurrection is a story told by the early Christians to communicate the way in which they experienced Jesus as alive in their hearts and still present in the community of believers after the crucifixion. Despite the fact that many highly educated people think that this is what really happened, there is one thing that simply does not fit. That is the ascension.

If the disciples were so caught up in their emotions and imagination that they experienced Jesus as still being present with them, where does this story about Jesus being taken up into heaven only 40 days after the resurrection come from? Psychologically it makes no sense. If the memory of Jesus was so strong that it empowered the apostles to go out and preach the gospel to the whole world, that memory would have lasted far longer than 40 days. In fact the New Testament should be full of stories reporting how Jesus appeared wherever the apostles went. But that is not what we find.

What we do find is that the resurrection was followed by the ascension which itself was a bridge to the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As fantastic as that may seem to some, it makes perfect sense if that is what actually happened. As a story that is supposed to tells us about what the disciples were feeling, but is not an accurate account of the actual historical events, it makes no sense at all.

I personally find the attempt to explain away the most important events recorded in the New Testament to be incoherent and unbelievable. What do you think?

Lent: A Season for Our Times

If there is one thing that is true about this time in history, it is that there is more wealth and a greater abundance of material things available to more people than ever before. In addition, there is a general loss of the sense of virtue that is grounded in moderation in the use of all things.

People of great wealth want still more and are willing to put the entire economic system at risk in order to acquire it.

People with relatively new cars, phones, and computers are so enticed by the latest and best models that they are willing to go into debt to acquire these things.

People have more food available to them than ever before, and this results in more obesity than ever before.

In times of great abundance it is important to realize that acquiring still more is not going to make your life any better. In fact the result is often the exact opposite. Things consume our time and attention. They do this both through the time and effort it takes to acquire them, and through the time and attention that goes into using and maintaining them. What is lost in all this is the time and attention that was once given to family, friends, and most importantly to God.

It is not without reason that Jesus said that it is the poor who are truly blessed, (Matt 5:3), and that it was humanly impossible for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God (Matt 19: 23-26).

Those who are wise will reflect upon this and find some area of their life where giving something up or at least cutting back will open up new opportunities for family activities, personal conversation, and prayerful meditation.

Lent is the season for getting your priorities in order and pursuing those things that have lasting value. I pray that everyone who reads this will have a glorious and joyful Lent.

Man's Ultimate End

In addition to the famous 5 Ways, St. Thomas Aquinas provides another distinctly different argument for the existence of God found in the first part of the second part questions 1-5 of the Summa Theologica. It can be summarized as follows:

1. Human beings seek lasting happiness and complete fulfillment that cannot be attained through any finite or created thing.
2. Only something boundless, eternal, and uncreated could satisfy the deepest longings of the human soul.
3. God is by definition the uncreated good and the only Being capable of being man’s ultimate end.
4. A creature would not exist with a potency that can only be fulfilled by God if God did not exist.
5. Therefore, God exists.

The proof of this argument is that anyone who finds God on a personal level finds that which fulfills in a way that no finite created thing can. Only then is the heart at rest as St. Augustine most famously said.

On Saying Yes To God

December 8
Genesis 3: 9-15, 20
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Luke 1: 26-38

Have you ever wondered why there is so much evil and suffering in the world? To find an answer, you need look no further than today’s reading from Genesis. God had prepared a very special garden for Adam and Eve to live in, and was teaching them everything they needed to know about life. However, at some point they decided, with a little encouragement from a serpent, to ignore God’s instructions. They sought to acquire knowledge of good and evil on their own. God’s response was to give them at least part of what they wanted. From that point on people would learn about the difference between good and evil the hard way - through their own experience. The rest is history.

Fortunately God has not completely abandoned us. He promised that an offspring of the woman would one day strike the head of the serpent and win a decisive victory for good over evil. That offspring was Jesus, and the woman whose conception without sin we celebrate today was Mary.

When Adam and Eve said “no” to God they did not realize how difficult it would be for anyone to ever perfectly say yes to God again. Everyone who has ever lived questions and doubts God because of the sin of our first parents. It was God Himself who acted to restore the relationship that we had so badly damaged by preserving Mary from sin. It was that special gift from God that enabled Mary to say yes to God for all of us, and allow Jesus to come into the world to teach us once again how much God loves us and wants to share His life with us.

Human Freedom and the Immortality of the Soul

The recent development of theories that explain the human mind as a supervenient or emergent aspect of the activity of the brain*1 presents a significant challenge to the classical arguments*2 for the ontological independence of the human soul. Simply put, if consciousness and intelligence can be shown to be completely dependent on brain function, then the claim that the human soul has sufficient independence and integrity to survive bodily death would appear to be nothing more than a mere metaphysical possibility.

In this post I will address the question of the immortality of the soul. First, through a phenomenological investigation of human freedom; and, secondly, by showing that recent advances in our understanding of neurological function presents new possibilities for explaining how a human beings can be both free and in control of their own choices and actions.

Lessons from a Snowflake

Of all the wonders in the world, sometimes the simplest things can teach us the most profound lessons. Consider the lowly snowflake. Simplicity, beauty, and unfathomable mystery all crystallized in a few molecules of water. What can it teach us?





Lesson #1:

The world is not a passing illusion derived from random purposeless events.

In a single snowflake there is order, harmony, and directedness that reveals the intelligence and purpose behind every existing thing. The feeling that life is chaotic and meaningless that is frequently communicated in modern art, music, and philosophy is a sign that far too many people have missed this lesson. Their lives may be chaotic and out of control, but the universe is not that way.

Lesson #2.

The world is not a machine in which everything is rigidly determined by impersonal forces and laws.

If determinism and fatalism were true, then every snowflake would be exactly the same. There are of course, certain natural laws that maintain limits on how snowflakes can be formed. But within those boundaries there is unlimited freedom for each snowflake to be uniquely what it is and never to be repeated in any other. If there is freedom and individuality at the simplest physical level in nature, how much greater is the uniqueness of every human being. One of the great lies of modernity is that we are just the products of our genetics and the environment. Don’t you believe it.

Lesson #3.

If the world was either pure chaos or rigidly determined there would be no wonder and there would be no joy.

Wonder is the experience of seeking understanding in a world in which everything cannot be fully explained. In a chaotic world nothing can be explained. In a mechanical world everything can be explained. This is a wonderful world which we can partly understand, but which always retains its mystery. Joy is not found in confusion, nor is it found in cold hard facts. Joy is found in knowing the mystery.

Lesson #4.

People who have learned these lessons know that there is a God. There can be no other explanation for the world as it actually exists.

Atheists live in a world of their own creating. It is either chaotic which leads to the nihilism of the west. Or it is deterministic which produces the totalitarianism of the east. These two points of view miss the reality that the other sees. They cancel each other out and cannot be true. The real world is a world of faith, hope, and joy. This is the world created by Love itself.




Photo: SnowCrystals.com

Are You a Moral Person?

Imagine someone taking a survey on “values” were to ask you that question. How would you answer?

Recently some atheists produced an advertising campaign promoting the idea that you can be good without god. I think those people would answer “yes” without hesitation. It is pretty easy to feel good about yourself if you can make up your own moral rules to fit your life-style.

I also think that the majority of religious people would answer “yes” as well. The reason I think most people would answer “yes” is that my first reaction to the question was to say: “Yes, of course I am a moral person.”

The only people who I think would immediately answer “no” would be either saints who were profoundly aware of their own sinfulness; or, those individuals who had done something they knew to be seriously wrong and had never experienced God’s forgiveness.

Upon further reflection I realized that I too am a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness. So I cannot claim be perfectly moral. Indeed, if I were to make such a claim I would be like the Pharisees who had such wonderful self-esteem that they did not need Jesus or the healing that he alone could provide.
(Luke 18: 9-14; John 9: 1-41.)

Where do you stand in your relationship with God?