Reddit mentions of Why We're Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love

> I want to start going again, but dealing with his anti Catholicism and New Atheist Facebook posts, etc as a practicing Catholic just sounds emotionally exhausting. Plus I'd have to attend church alone with our toddler, who tries to make a break for the altar every time she's set loose.

Going to mass without your husband is better than not going at all. Moreover, other people should not inhibit your ability to practice the Faith. Concerning the New Atheist Facebook posts, if your husband finds that kind of material even remotely convincing, I would recommend he read Edward Feser's The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism.

> Then I start wondering what the point even is because she will probably just end up being an atheist because of his example.

Set a better example than your husband and make an effort to show your child that there are good reasons to be a Catholic. Read and study apologetic books like William Lane Craig's On Guard and/or Trent Horn's Why We're Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love so that you are better equipped to defend the Faith. When your daughter is old enough, she can read these books and other apologetics books for herself. Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea for your husband to read these same books. Although, William Lane Craig's On Guard for Students was written specifically for non-Christians; so it might be a better option than On Guard, which is intended for Christians.

> You can only pray for the same thing over and over so many times with no change before it starts feeling hopeless.

Keep praying. If you are not already doing so, pray the Rosary. Even if God is not granting you the request(s) made in your prayers, know that there is a good reason for doing so. The reason(s) may never be known during your time on earth, but do not allow this to damage your relationship with God.

> The prospect of returning just feels so lonely. Our parish is huge and no one ever says a word to me. Does anyone have any advice or encouragement?

Many parishes have bible studies or meetups of some kind that would give you the opportunity to meet other Catholics. It is better to feel lonely and do what is right than not feel lonely and fail to do what is right.

Might want to check out Trent Horn's book Why We're Catholic, especially these chapters:

Why We Believe in Jesus

Why We Believe in the Resurrection

Basically, God answered your reasonable question by giving us the Resurrection, something know to be impossible before and after under normal circumstances as evidence. Once you accept the Resurrection you can be sure God is the Catholic God.

First of all, welcome back, brother. I am especially touched that your fiancée would even suggest to find a Catholic Church. (As an aside, you're not a convert; you're a revert since you're already baptized into the Church. I thought maybe you'd appreciate that factoid.)

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>I am looking for information about your Church, whatever you think is important to know.

There is a lot to know and many here would recommend a million and one things to study, especially since it sounds like you enjoy a good intellectual pursuit. I'm not going to discount others' recommendations, but I do want to highlight one thing: learn more about Jesus first. Find out what He taught, who He is, what His disciples and closest friends said about Him, what the Old Testament said about Him, etc. To that end...

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>I am looking for recommendations for a Catholic-approved version of the Bible, geared towards someone who appreciates philosophy and prefers something close to the original translations, or the most accepted by the Church.

First thing to note, all Catholic Bibles have 72 books. Protestants have 66. If you can't get a hold of a Catholic Bible, a Protestant one will do for now until you do get around to buying a Catholic one. Now, as for Catholic Bibles, if you speak/read Latin you can't go wrong with the Vulgate Bible. It's a Bible that was translated by St. Jerome who was fluent in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; he had the original manuscripts -- some of which are lost to us today -- so his translations are widely accepted as authentic and faithful.

There's also the English version of the Vulgate Bible known as the Douay-Rheims. It's an almost word-for-word translation of the Latin so the English will sound archaic to our modern ears. It's not as frustrating as, say, reading Shakespeare but it's pretty close. I personally prefer (and currently use) a Douay-Rheims Bible that has the Clementina Vulgata beside it. It's essentially Latin and English side by side. You can find one here.

If want one with plain English, the New American Bible Revised Edition would suffice. (If you use this website, let me know. I have a discount code from my last purchase.)

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>I know nothing of the culture or norms of the Church, or what to expect as a new member.

One major rule to remember is that you can't receive Holy Communion until after you've gone to Confession. Given your situation, I would recommend setting up an appointment with a parish priest so he can give his full attention to you and your needs.

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>I do not know how to introduce myself to the congregation

There's usually no need to introduce yourself to the congregation since parishes tend to be big. If you would like to formally introduce yourself, however, give the parish priest a call and set up a meeting with him. It would also be a great chance to speak with him about your situation and get some pastoral guidance.

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>or tell a good Catholic church from a lesser one

Many here would recommend a more traditional parish. If that's not available, I'd say any Catholic church would do. If you're unsure about a particular church's standing, just give us the details on this sub. I'm sure someone here would be able to double check for you.

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>I know nothing of the Saints or the miracles, or what has been confirmed by the Church and what hasn't.

These are things you can learn later on. Focus on Jesus first. Rebuild your relationship with Him. Start with the basics; if you don't, you might burn yourself out. There is A LOT to learn about the Faith. Some say it's a lifelong endeavour. :P

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>I am also looking for a reading list to explore Catholic philosophy beyond those you typically encounter in standard philosophical reading, such as Aquinas or Pascal.

Hmmm... this depends on what sorts of things interest you. A good one that lightly touches on philosophy is Socrates Meets Jesus by Peter Kreeft (anything by this guy is pretty good, by the way).

A book that may be more pressing to your current situation is Why Be Catholic? by Patrick Madrid and Abraham Skorka, Why We're Catholic by Trent Horn, as well as Why I am a Catholic by Brandon Vogt. (They might need to work on a more original title, though :P) Since you have an Evangelical background, Crossing the Tiber by Steve Ray might be helpful (although it can be a bit dry; also, it mostly deals with the Church's teaching on Baptism and the Eucharist) as well as Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn.

You can never go wrong with classics such as a collection of C. S. Lewis' works, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton, and Confessions by St. Augustine.

If you want a historical examination of Jesus and the Early Church, a good place to start is The Case for Christ by Brant Pitre, The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine by St. Eusebius, and The Fathers Know Best by Jimmy Akin. I'd like to thrown in Jesus, Peter, and the Keys by Scott Butler, Norman Dahlgren, and David J. Hess. This last one pertains to the Catholic claim regarding the papacy (and which I think is one of the strongest arguments in favour of the Catholic Church being the original one that the Lord founded).

Finally, there are YouTube channels you can follow/binge watch such as Bishop Robert Barron and Ascension Presents. Also, an amazing video about the Catholic Faith is a series made by Bishop Barron when he was "just" a priest called Catholicism.

I'm sorry if that's overwhelming but you raised some good questions. :P Anyway, I imagine it may be a lot right now so take it slowly, don't dive in through all of it at once. Find a local Catholic church, call up the priest, set up a meeting, then take it from there. And remember, you can always pray; God's always willing to talk with you.

> You need to show that the catholic god belief is actually somehow proven by history .

I was an extreme skeptic, so it took me over 10 years to sort out the history. That included reading dozens of books, and listening to hundreds of hours of debates and podcasts. If you are truly interested and are half as skeptical as me, I would recommend starting with the following :

This is a good overview: Why we're catholic by Trent Horn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1683570243

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization: https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Church-Built-Western-Civilization/dp/1596983280 .

That said, there are a million reasons why people choose not to believe, even with all the evidence in the world in front of their face. God made each person with free will, so no one can "give" you a conclusion. You have to weigh the evidence for yourself. As a convert, I would also point out that knowing God is also as much of a matter of the heart. If you have vice in your heart (self-entitlement, lust, envy, gluttony, etc), you won't be able to connect with God. Also, if you are more interested in the trappings of the world ( luxuries, entertainment, hedonism), that will bias you away from recognizing God.

> the gospels for example are rife with markers of myth as opposed to actual history.

The reason why some myths match the Christian story is because all of humanity comes from the same place (the Ark). Those myths actually help confirm that Christianity is true. If everyone really evolved in different areas, then they would have wildly different stories and ways of being. Instead, people from around the world have the very same sense of where we came from and where things are going.

> And I absolutely reject Kalam, the Ontological Argument and whatever else is probably on that list of arguments as they all require assertions to which you haven’t sufficient evidence to make.

I used to reject them too. No offense, but you have to look at them a lot more carefully. That took me years. They all add up and compliment each other. At the very bottom of reality is an eternal infinite mind. By definition, this also makes existence rational because there is a rational mind. Atheism/materialism/naturalism is literally non-sense by it's own definition.

Without God (an eternal all-knowing mind), there can be no such thing as objective truth, facts, or ethics. Otherwise, all knowledge is temporary and subjective.

As /u/seppi56210 mentioned, /r/Catholicism is a great resource. Definitely check it out.

As for books outlining this journey, with you coming from a Lutheran background, I'd recommend Scott Hahn's Rome Sweet Home, Devin Rose's Navigating The Tiber, Trent Horn's Why We're Catholic and Deacon Alex Jones' No Price Too High.

As far as books dealing, historically, with the Reformation and Great Schism, that may depend on exactly how academic you want to get. What sort of historical context are you looking for? I'll see how I can help.

And, lastly, as for that Rosary... keep learning to pray it, and stick with it, even when it seems dry or mundane. I recommend the following reflections as starting points for meditations as you go through each decade:

The Joyful Mysteries

The Luminous Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries

The Glorious Mysteries

I'll say an extra prayer for your journey today, and feel free to reach out via PM with any other questions or if you need any other guidance.

Peace to you!

DK

Your welcome, this is a good forum if you want to learn more.

If your interested in learning more, I suggest the following 2 books

Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith by Bishop Robert Barron

Why We're Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love by Trent Horn

If there are things about the Catholic faith that you are unsure about, perhaps reading about the reasoning behind them might help. Obviously, it’s hard to give an explaination for the particular topics if you are not comfortable sharing what you are unsure about. However, I can recommend a book that gives a general overview and explaination of Catholic teaching. Perhaps it will help you explore your beliefs and questions further.

Trent Horn is an excellent writer by the way: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Were-Catholic-Reasons-Faith/dp/1683570243/ref=sr_1_1/132-7817317-5236054?ie=UTF8&qid=1540935635&sr=8-1&keywords=why+we%27re+catholic

God bless you and I hope you find some clarity with what you are struggling with.

"Why We're Catholic" Trent Horn.

This book is selling so well it was just translated to Spanish.

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Were-Catholic-Reasons-Faith/dp/1683570243

I really enjoyed these two as I made my way towards the Catholic faith over the past two years.

As far as the first man, Adam, being created by God, that’s not dogma—it’s just a Scriptural truth universal to all believers. The definition of dogma in the Church is “that which has been divinely revealed and declared by the Magisterium (teaching authority of the Church) to be believed as such”. Our knowledge of the history of man’s creation comes straight from the book of Genesis—predating the Church and Christianity itself—which is why it is not dogma.

Regarding evolution, the Church does not take an active stance on whether or not it is true, but that it is not in contradiction with our faith. That is to say if evolution is true, God would have certainly engineered it as an aspect of His creation, and it wouldn’t change anything about what we teach and believe. It’s totally kosher; here is an article about that.

Another one that immediately comes to mind is how the Church was persecuted by the Romans, then somehow became the official state religion, and when the Romans try to take over the Church, the Church stood on the principle of separation of Church and State and actually prevailed. Later on, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, when the Huns invaded Italy, the Pope rode out to meet Attila the Hun. After that meeting, the Huns decided to turn around and not sack Rome.

There is another quote from soon to be St. John Henry Newman:

> To be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant

Those who look at Church history realize the Catholic Church is the Church Christ founded and that we owe our assent to that Church.

So learning Church history will help. I recommend any book by Thomas F. Madden or Steve Weidenkopf. There is also a book by Trent Horn called Why We're Catholic which touches on this.

You can also check out the book How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization for a lot of information about how the Church has been a constant force for the good of mankind. You can also read Lumen Gentium.

But the best evidence of this comes from the witness of people who have followed Church teaching. When people submit to the teaching of the Church, do their lives get better or worse? How do their lives change the deeper they get into the faith? Read the lives of the Saints and look at the example of what happens to schismatics.

At the root of all this is not simply obeying the Church, it is a relationship with Christ. If the Church is truly the Mystical Body of Christ, then submitting to Christ presupposes submitting to His Church. Does following Church teaching help or hurt our relationship with Christ? For those who claim it hurts their relationship, the real question they should be asking is how well do they know Christ?

First and foremost. God loves you. This is the most important thing anyone here can relate to you. Just know that God loves you and He made you with a purpose.

Now, to make inroads to the Catholic faith, you need to approach this in a logical manner. Since you're coming from the perspective of an atheist, the common approach to recognizing the truth of the Catholic faith is as follows.

1. Does God exist?
   
   
2. Has he revealed himself?
   
   
3. How do we know?
   
   There are many classical arguments to answer the first question. The most basic and simple argument is a thought experiment that goes as follows. Where did I come from? If I was created, or caused, then who created me? If I say my father created me, then who created, or caused, him? If his forefathers created him, then what led to their existence? If the universe cause their existence, then what caused the universe? Continue in this manner, and the result is an infinite regression of causes. But an infinite causal regression is impossible because we can't have infinite temporal relapse. In other words, there must be an "uncaused cause," or what Aristotle referred to as an "unmoved mover." This primal cause is the cause of everything else, because everything regressed back to it, and we say it is infinite being, because everything that exists can trace its existence back to this one being. The unmoved mover, as such, is God.
   
   You can read more about other proofs for the existence of God from the following author (who also is a former atheist, turned Catholic).
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Five-Proofs-Existence-Edward-Feser/dp/1621641333
   
   Once you have convinced yourself that the universe cannot be infinite and must therefore have an infinite Creator, you can perform another thought experiment. If the Creator is infinite in being and all powerful, can he, and has he, revealed himself to mankind? Well, if the answer is "yes," then we must search for the evidence of that revelation, and by nature of the history of human perception, we must find such a concrete revelation in the annals of human history. We read the Bible for the evidence of this revelation. In particular, the resurrection of Jesus brought to its completion the fullness of this revelation. Even secular historians agree on several main aspects of this story. A) Jesus died by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. B) Early Christians testified that they saw the risen Jesus in the flesh. C) Many of these witnesses were martyred for proclaiming this. To summarize the argument for the resurrection, we look at what the alternative possibilities are and rule them out to draw the conclusion that the mainstream story is most plausible and therefore the accurate one. Gary Habermas, an evangelical Christian scholar, has made good work on this subject.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Case-Resurrection-Jesus-Gary-Habermas/dp/0825427886/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518533326&sr=1-1&keywords=the+case+for+the+resurrection
   
   Finally, you need to come to the recognition that the Catholic Church has the fullness of the Christian faith. To be brief, we as Catholics believe that Jesus Christ established this Church during his earthly ministry and made Peter the first Bishop of Rome (the Pope). Suffice it to say there is supporting Biblical scripture for this, and ample evidence that the early fathers of the Church regarded the Catholic Church as the one true Church, and further evidence that they observed the same traditions we Catholics carry on today. The supporting literature and apologetics for this subject are numerous, and I won't yet post them all. For starters, you could read Trent Horn's book. He's a relatively young Catholic apologist, and I really like his approach.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Why-Were-Catholic-Reasons-Faith/dp/1683570243

This can answer most of your concerns.

> I was hoping for an intellectual discussion

Rofl, dude do you realize where you are? This is Reddit. This is /r/Christianity. Anyways if you want an intellectual answer I'd recommend reading a book, there are plenty of great apologetic books out there. I'd recommend starting with [this one.] (https://www.amazon.com/Why-Were-Catholic-Reasons-Faith/dp/1683570243/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500189277&sr=1-1&keywords=why+were+catholic)