Virtus In Medio Stat

Responding to the Atheists By Laurence Gonzaga Introduction As a former atheist, it has become an area of interest for me to present simple presentations of some of the arguments which I fell in love with that brought me out of atheism. I don’t claim that these arguments have no responses or criticisms. They do, and they are good ones. I believe that those who are formally trained in philosophy would take more absolute positions on these arguments, but I look at it in more practical terms. Ultimately, for me, I approach my life with the goal of discerning its purpose and meaning. As an atheist I had taken moral stances and I behaved in certain ways, which had to be rooted in some kind of consistent moral framework, but I had none. That is not to say atheists cannot have one, but I have found that many of those whom I had encountered, never took the time to develop one. I heard much about “rights” and “freedom”, but when asked about what those words mean and who or what determines...

In Christopher Hitchen’s “the Portable Atheist: Essential readings for the Nonbeliever,” we find a selection from neuroscientist Sam Harris as chapter 45 titled, “In the Shadow of God” from his book, “The End of Faith”. I don’t intend this to be a lengthy treatment of the chapter, because the validity of this chapter stands or falls on the veracity of the historical claims he makes therein. I would only submit to you that even if I were to accept all historical claims made in this chapter, it does not in any way prove that God does not exist. Reading this chapter elicited a number of reactions in me. The most salient of which was a sense of abhorrence for the historical points brought up. If true, the Witch Trials, the Inquisition, executions of unbelievers, heretics, and apostates, the extermination attempts on the Jews, etc., it would rightly disturb most of us. There’s probably dozens more atrocities that could be levied against ...

The power of understanding compels me Laurence Gonzaga Very rarely do I have conversations on a truly theological or philosophical nature. I think in the last several years I can probably count on one hand how many times I have found myself in an intensely challenging discussion on some of the most troubling beliefs that I hold dear to my heart. One was with an agnostic, the other was with a former Protestant convert to Catholicism, and the third was just a few hours ago with an old friend whom I seldom converse with anymore. The predominant topics which I have engaged with them on are predictable, the existence of God and its implications, the theologically compelling superiority of the Catholic tradition over and above the Protestant tradition, and lastly how God accomplishes his plan throughout history. For my agnostic friend, and even though we have really only had a handful of real conversations, I consider him a true friend. He was in fact the first person to con...

By Laurence Gonzaga Introduction As a former atheist, it has become an area of interest for me to present simple presentations of some of the arguments which I fell in love with that brought me out of atheism. I don’t claim that these arguments have no responses or criticisms. They do, and they are good ones. I believe that those who are formally trained in philosophy would take more absolute positions on these arguments, but I look at it in more practical terms. Ultimately, for me, I approach my life with the goal of discerning its purpose and meaning. As an atheist I had taken moral stances and I behaved in certain ways, which had to be rooted in some kind of consistent moral framework, but I had none. That is not to say atheists cannot have one, but I have found that many of those whom I had encountered, never took the time to develop one. I heard much about “rights” and “freedom”, but when asked about what those words mean and who or what determines what they are and why...

Discussions with an agnostic friend Since I want to maintain anonymity, I will call my friend Jack Beanstalk. Mr. Laurence I have a question for you. What brought you to your religion? What made you decide this was truth for you? I remember you in high school being quite skeptical of religion. It’s funny how the tables have turned. I am just curious to hear what brought you to Catholicism. I don’t want to debate or anything I just am curious. Anyhow, I hope you are well. Take care Mr. Beanstalk, you can call me Laurence or Mr. Laurence (it's an insider thing among my friends, we really aren’t that formal). You can get a long or short story, but I will try to give you the short story. Yes, I was quite skeptical of religion and Christianity in particular. I was raised a Catholic-Christian, but didn’t really know the basis of such beliefs. So, it was easy to let it go when science seemed to explain the things that religion claimed to. But it goes deeper than that ...