A Friend Of Mine Has Lost His Faith..

[LuchaporElRey21]

Here is what he says:

I don't even know if I believe in God the way we were taught to any more. I believe in the Truth. I believe that the truth goes by many names...If you are most comfortable calling it God I respect that. Some call it Allah. Some call it the middle way...for real, though, I know in my heart that there is only one Truth... sometimes I feel as though I cannot find it, but then I meditate, find my center, and I realize that for life there is only one truth. no matter how many people try to claim that their truth is the only truth, I know that there is only one truth. that truth is that I exist. As far as I can tell everyone around me exists as well. I learn from everyone. I discount no one.

* How do I respond?

[goldenchild17]

I think C.S. Lewis "Case for Christianity" should be recommended for him to read. Short and in the first couple chapters basically answers this question.

[angelusdomini]

[quote name='LuchaporElRey21' post='1157014' date='Jan 5 2007, 07:54 PM']
Here is what he says:

...I believe in the Truth...I know in my heart that there is only one Truth...I realize that for life there is only one truth...I know that there is only one truth. that truth is that I exist. As far as I can tell everyone around me exists as well.
[/quote]

I would start here. Your friend apparently believes in the existence of one truth. That is a very good place to start. Ask them what they think about truth i.e. is it possible for two valid contradictions to be true at the same time. Maybe start with the very thing your friend acknowledges as true, namely his existence. Where does his existence come from? You may use St. Thomas Acquinas' argument of the 'uncaused cause'. What is he made of, and what is the world, the uiverse made of? Don't get caught up in the evolution/creation question. Move beyond this, what constitutes his physical existence or that of the universe?i.e. matter (solids, liquids, gases). From science one knows that nothing can come out of nothing or existence cannot come out of non-existence. So where does/did this matter come from. So that you (both of you) may not be entangled in the question of whether all there is to existence is matter (materialism), a good safe guard question here may be what is the difference between a living body and a dead body? There has to be something more than the flesh i.e. matter because the dead body is still matter and yet it is dead. Where did the life that formerly animated the deceased beody come from and where did it go? These are some general questions about God i.e. monotheism.

Secondly- what is the nature of this Truth (God). Does it possess the faculties of thought and will as would be required in order to bring this universe into existence. Again at this point try to avoid the pitfall of the argument over the process as in whether reality as we know it is solely the product of evolution or some other hypothesis. You can approach this from the perspective of nature and the laws that govern it. The fact that no law intrudes on the other or contradicts the other e.g. the law of gravity and the law of conservation of energy. They both work in complementarity and maintain a seamless balance. The very presence of this balance indicates a first thought, in the sense that when Sir Isaac Newton first reflected and articulated the laws governing gravity- he was rethinking a thought that had already been thought before. For example, when one intends to construct a building , he must first think out what he intends to do (even if he does this simultaneously with the construction), so that when another comes along later and ponders over the depth of the foundation or the various struts and pillars used for the building, he is merely rethinking the thought of the author of the building. The same is with our existence. When one ponders over creation and its various laws and peculiarities, one is merely contemplating that which was put ther by its author. This requires a Force/Truth/God who has a mind to think and will to act i.e. a person.
This God must be eternal because if he is not, this means that there comes a point in time when He did not exist which means that he is bound by time. This also means that there must have been some cause which brought him into existence and this means that he is not omnipotent- This is not the true god. A god who is bound by time on the one hand and by power on the other is no god. And the only God we worship, indeed worthy of worship is the tue God. So, we see that whomever we identify as the true God needs to be eternal and omnipotent.
Now, comes a tricky part that brings in the human will and his free act of faith. Does this God who is a person, reveal Himself to us as He really is or are to resign ourselves to the apparent reality that all one can expect is to muddle through life with their own ideas and hypotheses of who God is exactly without ever getting any confirmation or negation? Does this God tell us who He is. This same God who is the One Truth- The Uncaused Cause- who is eternal and omnipotent. Does he have a name by which we are to address Him? Does He reveal toery nature- i.e. that He is Three Persons in One God (Trinity). If so, how? Are we bound, as creatures entirely dependent in Him for our existence and sustainance, to hear what He tells us and to do what He tells us, exactly as He tells us?What about the Bible? Does your friend think that this is part of Divine Revelation?


Just some thoughts. Sorry, didn't mean to go on for so long. This is just a very long qustion. There is actually a thread in the [u]Debate-Table[/u] phorum about the [u]Holy Trinity[/u]- I forget the name. Anyway, there is some pretty interesting posts in there that I think might help you. Also, if you would like some more info. there is a book that was written by Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope BXVI) in the late 60s titled "Itroduction to Christianity" (Ignatius Press). It really tackles this particular issue very well as well as the belief in the Trinity. It may be of some help. Cardinal Ratzinger expresses and explains things with such beautiful clarity its quite an easy read for the subject matter.

Pax et Bonum. AMDG

Edited January 6, 2007 by Angelus_Domini

[Guest JeffCR07]

I would ask him, with Augustine, to reflect on the truth that he has found (that he exists). Now, reflecting he will see that the nature of Truth is such that it is eternal and unchanging. However, [i]he[/i] is not eternal, [i]he[/i] is not unchanging. Thus, that Truth which he has found by turning inward sends him once again outward. That Truth must be grounded in something that is equally eternal, equally unchanging, and that means it must be grounded in something external to him. But what is the only eternal and unchanging being? It is God.

Thus, his reflections will lead him to know the existence of God, and should (I think) then lead him to ask what God is like. All of this is a very fruitful practice, and I would ask you to please encourage him and help him as he engages these questions. If he is aided by those who have wisdom he will see that, ever so slowly, that Truth which he knows in his heart reveals itself to be the Triune God.

Your Brother In Christ,

Jeff