God the Creator

God, who is love, did not want to keep all the Goodness to Himself. He didn't have to create anything, but wanted to out of love. Therefore He created the heavens and the earth. 

When we speak of creation, Genesis usually comes to mind. We are reminded of the six days when He created everything, including man. Then, we are also reminded of what we learned in science class of how everything came into being from the "big bang" 15-20 billion years ago. It seems that we have a contradiction between the Bible and science. 

The Bible speaks of creation in days, but we know scientifically that it took billions of years for everything to be formed. Is there a contradiction? 

If there is a contradiction, then they can't both be right at the same time. However, we know from faith that the Bible cannot contain error, even in history or science, i.e. if it is actually speaking historically or scientifically. To say that the Bible erred on anything is to say that God erred since He is the Bible’s Author. But we know God is Truth and He cannot err. Therefore the Bible cannot err. 

How do we reconcile the 6 days and the big bang? As noted, the Bible cannot err in history or science if it is speaking of history or science. The "days" of Genesis do not have to literally mean 24 hours. We have to remember "that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day." (2 Peter 3:8) 

And so God created the universe. Whatever He created was good. Everything is good, that is, every thing is good (evil is not a thing, but a lack of). Then, after creating the universe, God said, 

"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground." (Genesis 1:26) 

So we know that God made man different from other animals. He made him in His own image and He gave him dominion over everything. The universe was made for man and man was made for God. In this way, we can see that man is above nature, worth more than nature. This is implied in Scripture where it says, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" It tells us that the soul is worth more than the universe. This is also why we hear many people say, "There is no price for human life." Man is priceless. As the Catechism says: 

"God created everything for man, but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him: What is it that is about to be created, that enjoys such honor? It is man that great and wonderful living creature, more precious in the eyes of God than all other creatures! For him the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rest of creation exist." (CCC 358) 

How is man different from other animals? Man is different from other animals because he has an intellect and a will. Man is a rational animal. God did not make man a robot, but a being with free-will. Other animals act on their instincts, but man can choose what he wants to do. He alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life (CCC 356). 

This is why man is "great." He exists for God and God alone in a special way, which is in union with Him. He is the only creature which end is seeing God face to face. Animals don't have this end, but man does. That is because he has a soul. And the soul is where the image of God is found as it "possess a nature that enable it to God." (Summa Theologica I, 93, 8) 

Man is also not a thing, but a someone, a somebody. He is not an object, but a subject. Not an it, but an I. More specifically, he is a person. A person ought to love and be loved. What is love? Love is willing the good for others; to put others before you. It is to give yourself for others. A person is a self-giving being. Therefore we can say that for a person to not love is to go against his nature. 

And it is specifically not living this which made him lose God, who is Love. Jesus came to redeem us with His love, and bring this unity with God back in man. 

Read More

Knowing God is there

Does God exist? I might believe that God exists, but am I sure? The Catholic Church states I can be sure by way of reason, as taught by the First Vatican Council. I, as a Catholic, believe that I can know truth by faith and reason. I can know things by reason alone and I can know things that reason cannot tell me. For example, I can know the Big Bang, existence of Pluto, formation of a star, and mathematics from reason alone. I do not need God to tell me these truths. However, there are some things which I cannot know by reason like the Trinity, Virgin Birth, and Incarnation. I can only know those if God told it to me, like revealing them in Scripture. Reason is like the eye. I can see a lot of things with the eye, but I cannot see everything with it. 

Faith is like a microscope or a telescope. I cannot see a cell from the naked eye, but I can see it with the help of a microscope. This is like the relationship between faith and reason. When people think of faith, they immediately think of something that cannot be reasonable. This is not true. Though reason does not produce faith, faith can be based on reason. It can be a reasonable faith. 

With other truths I can know by reason, I can know God's existence by reason. How? From the world. From the effect, I can know the cause. Scripture says, "Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made." (Romans 1:20) So I can be sure if God really exists by looking at the world and even ourselves (CCC 31). So I believe that since God's existence can be demonstrated, I can be sure if He exists or not. Here are some examples of demonstrations for the existence of God. 

I can know God exists because of order in the universe. Let's imagine an iPhone. Break it apart. What do you have? You will have materials that make up an iPhone. Now, put all the materials into a box. Shake it for 15 billion years. Will you have an iPhone? You will probably say no. Now, what if you leave that box for a taco and then come back and see that there is an iPhone. Do you think the iPhone created itself? Probably not. Why? Because it is too improbable. There must be certain conditions met, like where the pieces go, in order for the iPhone to be made. 

This is what scientists have found out about the universe. There are certain conditions that have to be met in order for it to be life-permitting. For example, if the Big Bang was a little bit more hotter, there would have been no life. Or if the Earth is a little bit closer to the Sun, there would have been no life. Or take the example of evolution. Scientists, like Barrow and Tipler, have said that there must be certain conditions in order for macro-evolution to occur. They say it is so improbable that before it could have happened, the sun would have ceased to be a main sequence star and would have burned out the earth. Just like you probably thought that the iPhone was made by a designer, the evidence points to a Designer of the universe. 

You might then ask, "Who then designed the designer?" If something or some being designed the designer, what happened to the designer? The designer became a design since it was designed. Now take this into infinity, a design designed by a designer, designed by a designer, etc. It is like having an infinite number of iPhones. You know they must be designed and made, but that thing that designed and made it is designed and made as well. Having an infinite number of iPhones does not explain the iPhone at all! This is also like having an infinite number of paintings. It's like saying, "Well, this painting needs a painter, but there are an infinite number of paintings without a painter." This is of course absurd in our minds because a painting, because of its complexity and order, needs to be painted. Only when I can find a painter who is not painted, do I have an explanation of the painting. So too, only when I can discover an un-designed Designer can I explain the universe. To say there is no Intelligent Designer would be like saying there are many paintings without a painter. Therefore there needs to be an Intelligent Designer to explain the order and complexity of our universe. 

I can also know God from ourselves. I have a natural desire for happiness. Everything I want is the good for ourselves, for the better good. Even a person who commits suicide believes that it would be best for him to do so. But I don't want happiness that lasts for three minutes or five days, but forever. I all want everlasting happiness. But I cannot find it in this world. I all have problems and it seems like nothing in this world, no glory, wealth, pleasure, or friends can give me perfect happiness. Maybe it does not exist. But why would I desire it if it does not exist? When I hunger, there is such a thing as food to satisfy that desire. When I thirst, there is such as drink to satisfy that desire. So where is that perfect happiness? Since I cannot find it in this world, it seems that the best explanation that I were made for another. This is what I call "life with God." 

From the demonstrations above, I tried to explain the design of the universe and our human nature. From those, I have concluded that God must exist. The universe points to an Intelligent Designer. And our nature points to a Being that can give me perfect happiness. 

These might not be airtight proofs, but they are sufficient for me as a Catholic to justify our belief in God. I believe that God made the universe so that mankind can appreciate Him more. And I also believe St. Augustine nailed it when he said, that I are made for God and our hearts will be restless until they rest in Him. 

Read More

Why are we here?

If a five year old child asks me, "Why are we here?" how would I respond? It's a hard question and anyone who does not know the faith much cannot answer this adequately. I need to answer this in a manner in which the five year old will gain some knowledge, and would keep it in his head and heart for the rest of his life. 

We are here in this world because God is not selfish. God is Almighty. He is powerful. He is Perfect. He is loving. In fact, He is love. Since He is love, and love is good, then God is good. He has infinite power, blessedness, and love. Since He is Perfectly Good, Perfectly Love, then everything He does must be good. His will and action must be good because He is good. Knowing this, did God have to create us?

No, He did not have to. But because He is so good, He wanted to create us. It is like having a secret or knowing something which you did not already know. Because the knowledge or secret is so good, you do not want to keep it to yourself. You can keep it to yourself whenever you want, but there is some urge to tell it to others because you do not want it to be a secret. This is like how God is. God can keep His awesomeness to Himself, but He did not want to. He chose not to keep his glory to Himself. He wanted to share it. This is why we are here. God created us so that we can know and love Him and be happy with Him in heaven forever.

The logic of the five year old follows up with, but why can't God create heaven and put us there instead of putting us here on earth? Because if He did, then we would be like robots. We would not have the choice of doing what is right or wrong. When a father buys a son a bike, he does not put his son on the bike and let him ride it alone. And does not force him to ride it. He does not say, "Go ride your bike!" It would make the son scared. Instead, a father would say, "Son, here is a bike. If you want to ride it, tell me and I will help you, but don't do it yourself because you will get hurt."

This is like how God created you. God created you good. He gave you happiness as long as you do not abandon Him. He did not make you a robot and force you to do the things He wanted because if He did, then you would not truly be happy. A son can only truly be happy if he wanted to ride the bike. So too, you can only truly be happy if you wanted to love God. So, God gives us you choice, of wanting to love Him or not just as you have the choice of riding the bike or not. You would not truly be happy if you were forced to do something. Only when you want to, when you choose it yourself, which makes your desire of happiness satisfied. This is why God created you here on earth first.

Are we here alone? No. God is with us. God helps us to come to Him. He helps us to become happy. To become happy is to do what is good. And since God is good, then we should do everything which leads us to Him. And since God is good, He leads us to Himself. It is like a father who teaches his son to ride a bike so that when the father sends him out, he can come back. So God helps us to do what is good so that we can come back to Him.

This is why we are here. As the Catechism says in its opening paragraph:

"God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength."

Read More