[NewYork123]

Hi, I have been a practicing Catholic my whole life. I was baptized and confirmed and all that. I am 20 and go to college and still attend church on my own. I recently took a class on biology and it mostly concentrated on evolution. I feel so horrible about myself that I would even have the slightest doubt that God exists, because I have been believing my whole life. The things I have learned in class seem to make sense, but then I look outside and know that all the beauty could not have just been formed with one "bang". I believe that God and evolution coexist. I feel like I have so many questions that I have never even thought about questioning before, and it makes me feel very upset. For instance, if Adam and Eve were the first people, and they had 2 sons, how did everyone else come about? How could all the people come from them if there were only 2 males born? But then again, maybe some stories in the Bible are fabricated. I don't really know what I'm asking, just wondering if someone could help me feel better or relate to me in some way. Thanks

[Akoue]

First, try not to feel bad about having doubts. St. Augustine said that working through our doubts is what leads us to a mature faith. Doubt isn't always the same thing as a lack of faith: doubts come and go, they are often transient, whereas faith abides. Confront your doubts, work through them, but don't despair, don't accept the voice of doubt as the final word.

Second, don't hold fast to a literal interpretation of the Bible. The Church doesn't. The Bible doesn't even interpret itself literally! In fact, the Church teaches that evolution is perfectly compatible with the truths of the faith. So be patient and find a good spiritual advisor. Maybe start with your priest. Which leads me to...

Third, talk to your priest. You can do it in confession if you'd be more comfortable that way. But talk with him about how you're feeling. Don't feel it's your job to sort everything out all at once. Allow yourself to receive the help of others. If you have friends or family who are strong in the faith, ask them to help you. If not, again, ask your priest to help you. Be humble, let hom know how you feel about the doubts you are having, that you want to overcome them but need help doing so.

I would start with these.

I wish you all the best.

[JoeT777]

NewYork:

It’s my understanding that Catholics are free to believe in any creation theory that doesn’t eliminate God as first Cause. The Book of Genius is viewed by many to be allegorical; it’s my understanding that our Catholic faith doesn’t require that we believe in a literal Adam and Eve. However with that said, I tend to lean in both a literal interpretation of creation as well as the story of Adam and Eve. On top of that I’m also trained in the sciences. So fire me for not believing in the Big Bang!

I don't understand where the conflict is?

JoeT

[NewYork123]

Yeah I don't really think I have a conflict, I just have minor doubts about all the stories in the Bible. And I don't know if anyone saw that face-off thing on abc awhile ago with the atheist and the Christian men? It just made me start to wonder, and I hate that I even have to wonder. Ahh I'm just rambling

[Akoue]

thank you very much for your help, it makes me feel better

If there's ever anything I can do just say the word. You can post it here or PM me anytime.

You'll be in my thoughts... and prayers.

[Akoue]

Yeah I don't really think I have a conflict, I just have minor doubts about all the stories in the Bible. And i dont know if anyone saw that face-off thing on abc awhile ago with the atheist and the Christian men? It just made me start to wonder, and I hate that I even have to wonder. ahh im just rambling

Fair enough. Just try to keep in mind that we can harness our doubts to move us forward, to a deeper understanding of the faith, a broader knowledge of the teachings of the Church, and a greater intimacy with God. Try not to let the doubts scare you (though I completely understand how they can).

[450donn]

Somebody a long long time ago told me
"When in doubt, doubt the doubt!"
Makes perfect sense to me. If something they are trying to teach you in school is contrary to what the Bible teaches. And I understand that you need to spew the party line to get the grades to graduate, but that does not mean that you have to believe the lies of Satan.

[NewYork123]

Akoue they wouldn't let me rate your answer again because I need to spread it around or something it said haha.. but I really appreciate your kindness

[jakester]

NewYork -

I'll quote Akoue: "First, try not to feel bad about having doubts. St. Augustine said that working through our doubts is what leads us to a mature faith." New York, my belief is that the way God shows us that he loves us is by allowing our faith to be tested, precisely because it leads to maturity. In the book of James, James says that the testing of our faith is more precious than gold. At first glance, it might not seem like it's all that big a deal but if you have the eyes to see it, our faith and its withstanding of trials is ultimately worth more than anything this life has to offer.

One thing that I may disagree with a little is the notion to doubt the doubt. I understand 450donn's point; however, it is my experience that lingering doubt is really there I think to point me to my greater need for understanding. I think God stirs a person towards a mature faith by allowing him/her to experience situations where his/her faith is drawn out into the open. Someone can grow up learning biblical truths in Sunday school or catechism classes but in a sense, he or she is really sitting on those truths because only as people encounter life as a young adult can they really learn and be confronted with self-reflective questions like: what do I believe? What am I hoping in? Is God real? Is God good? What do I want most of all in this life?

For the most part, children and teenagers aren't altogether equipped to really answer those questions because their minds aren't completely developed and also because they haven't experienced enough of life yet. New York, I'd say being in college is really a means to an end in this process I mentioned above. You have to wrestle with what you believe because your faith needs to mature. So my advice isn't to doubt the doubt but ultimately to seek the truth and allow the truth to take you where it leads you.

Lastly, regarding evolution. There have been attempts to reconcile the different views of the biblical account of creation and evolution. My own personal view is that evolution is not compatible with the bible for various reasons that I couldn't begin to chronicle here. There are enough scientific experts out there who can really expand upon the incompatibilities of the creationist and evolutionist worldview:

The Institute for Creation Research

Answers in Genesis - Creation, Evolution, Christian Apologetics

Philosophically, evolution has been used to justify racism (the Holocaust), hatred (the Columbine shooters were heavily indoctrinated by Evolutionist theory), and ultimately leads to despair and hopelessness because evolution (at least the form taught in most colleges and universities) completely denies the existence of a good and loving God who created man for a reason.

Just some of my cursory thoughts. Some may disagree with me and that's fine but I'd be happy to address any rebuttals with further arguments for my position.

[jakester]

Akoue agrees: I actually don't agree with you about the evolution part, but I thought the first three paragaphs were absolutely superb. (Maybe we can talk about evolution on another thread.)

Akoue - okay, why don't you start a new thread and give me the link... I'll be glad to explore this subject more.

[Akoue]

jakester,

You strike me as a very reasonable and thoughtful guy. Even when I find myself disagreeing with you, I always enjoy your posts. And I think that a discussion with you about evolution would most likely be rewarding. But I've seen what happens to threads that try to address evolution and the Bible--they get particularly ugly particularly quickly. So, no offense, but I don't think I'll be the one to get that particular ball rolling.

[Wondergirl]

"Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith." --Frederick Buechner

[Akoue]

"Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith." --Frederick Buechner

We can always count on you to cut right to the chase.

[jakester]

jakester,

You strike me as a very reasonable and thoughtful guy. Even when I find myself disagreeing with you, I always enjoy your posts. And I think that a discussion with you about evolution would most likely be rewarding. But I've seen what happens to threads that try to address evolution and the Bible--they get particularly ugly particularly quickly. So, no offense, but I don't think I'll be the one to get that particular ball rolling.

Akoue - I agree; posts can turn ugly especially because so many people have so much invested in their own worldview: myself included. Perhaps I will start a thread at some point and invite you to the discussion.

Your comments are much appreciated and very encouraging.

[Akoue]

Akoue - I agree; posts can turn ugly especially because so many people have so much invested in their own worldview: myself included. Perhaps I will start a thread at some point and invite you to the discussion.

Your comments are much appreciated and very encouraging.

Maybe we can work together to try to keep things on a good note.
All the best.

[Wondergirl]

Maybe we can work together to try to keep things on a good note.
All the best.

*wondering how I can stir up a hornet's nest*

[arcura]

NewYork123,
You have been given some very good advice here so far.
AND HERE is a good place to spend some time reading and participating because some very knowledgeable people post here.
I will comment on the Adam and Eve subject.
There is no pace in the bible which says that they have just two sons.
Back in those days the birth of girls was not considered important enough to mention.
It is very likely that Cain married a sister.
That is a general belief I have often heard used.
And it does make sense to me.
Please continue to participate here.
I'm sure that you will find it helpful.
I have had some doubts of my own dealt with here and was helped.
I do believe that God IS the creator of all that is seen and unseen and that He started that creation billions of years ago with a bang that was designed His way.
So I also believe in some form of evolution and there are many scientists who believe as I do on that.
Darwin's evolution has been heavily criticized for the many errors science has found in that theory. Often in many colleges those error are not addressed. That's sad.
I also believe that God is the author of life.
Evolution can not make that statement or prove beyond a "doubt" that life evolved by chance.
Being the author of life is why I also believe that there is life of some forms scattered throughout the universe
So give your doubts an airing here. There are several here who would like to help you (and themselves) deal with those doubts.
Peace and kindness,
Fred

[Credendovidis]

Hello NewYork123 !

There are other discussions on evolution on Ask Me Help Desk.

See the science section - LINK.

There is even a religious discussions board with posts on evolution - LINK

:)

.

[Fr_Chuck]

Also we know that esp the OT is the history of the Hewbrew Nation, We don't get the history of many other nations. What we do know is the facts of the bible, the details of exactly how is not always known. While the most accepted idea is that Cain married one of his sisters,

But then we also do not know that God did not create other men and women either.

And accepting either or just not knowing does not change the history we get from the bible.

[NeedKarma]

Hi, I have been a practicing Catholic my whole life. I was baptized and confirmed and all that.

That's how I started too, then, like you, I went to good colleges and university - now I'm an atheist and happy. It's an option to consider, the world doesn't end with lack of belief in a god.