Replying to queries from youngsters: Episode 94 - Conviction or myth
Lesson 94: FAITH OR SUPERSTITION
Q: I believe in God, but sometimes in my mind I think it's superstition. Besides, many people who do not share the same religion also consider believers to be superstitious. Please help me in this problem?
Answer:
Dear Friend,
To begin answering your question, let's look for definitions of what superstition is, what is faith? Then there are directions to help your beliefs strengthen against the challenges you pose.
So what is superstition? According to the English Wikipedia: "Superstition is believing in vague, bullshit, inconsistent with nature (such as believing in divination, healing by enchantment, taking worship exams, not eating bananas,...) leading to adverse consequences for individuals, families and communities. Superstitions include acts of grandfathers and great-grandmothers, believing in fortune telling, believing in evil days, and believing in destiny. Therefore, it is necessary to fight against superstition."
The Vietnamese Catholic dictionary defines it as: "Superstition means deviant or irreverent worship or giving creation a worship that only God deserves to be worshipped. Worship God tends to like magic. Worship of creation as God can take the form of idolatry, divination or enchantment."
And what is faith? According to Wikipedia: "Faith is belief or belief in a person, thing, or concept. Religious people often think of faith as confidence in someone based on perceived levels of assurance. While others who doubt religion tend to think that faith is simply faith without evidence."
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we can summarize faith: Faith is a supernatural virtue, a gift from God that enables us to trust in God and accept what he teaches and pass on to us by the Church.
With conviction we know that faith is not available to everyone, but it is God's gift to those He wants. You say "I believe in God," which is a great confession not everyone can say. With the above definitions you can see to what extent you are living your faith or are deviating, believing in a distorted way from what you profess...
Is there really a God?
It's a question that still costs a lot of ink and paper. Look at the beautiful universe with all kinds of things, all kinds of incense... One wonders who is the master of this universe? The unbeliever replied, "This is a derelict house. It's natural, no one makes it!" So to have a house, what does one have to do? Is there a pile of bricks that will naturally turn into a house into a castle of your own accord? A pile of bricks left there is still brick for a hundred years. Without the skillful hands and effort of the boatman, bricks are still bricks forever, not to mention their wear and decomposition over time.
Youcan explore our solar system on websites, Youtube. The solar system consists of a sun in the center and has 8 planets orbiting in order from near to far. That dragon has our earth. The 8 planets are all on the same plane as the sun and all orbit the sun in a certain orbit, at a constant velocity. From the last million million years never deviated from orbit, not faster and slower than even a few seconds!
Many years ago, Isaac Newton (1643-1727), a famous physicist, philosopher, mathematician, created a miniature model of the solar system in his study . Thanks to the aliasing system connecting the spheres together. When using the crank, 8 small spheres rotate around the large sphere (sun) at regular intervals. The model was like a miniature solar system operating smoothly in his room.
While Newton was surveying the apparatus, a friend who did not believe in God was the Creator of the universe, who visited Newton. He marveled at the rhythmic, precise machinery, and exclaimed, "Oh Newton, that's wonderful! Who created this magical apparatus for you?"
The scientist replied, "Nobody, it's in my room!"
The friend replied, "You're kidding, if that's ridiculous! Someone has to create them?..."
Newton looked at him and replied, "It is even more absurd to assume that the earth and the vast universe are natural." Newton later declared: "What I know is a drop of water, what I do not know is a vast ocean. The harmonious arrangements of the universe can only come from the drawing of an omnipotent and omniscient Being."
Someone once claimed that the more science advances, it seems that belief in God is being overshadowed, because science has enlightened humanity that there is no God. But in fact, the more people discover the wonder of the universe, the image of God will be revealed: the famous chemist Justus von Liebig (1803–1873) declared: "The infinite greatness and wisdom of the Creator will only be seen by those who attempt to derive their ideas from the great book we call it nature."
As man's efforts to find his own origins have increasingly found science and religion inseparable: "I can affirm that the rejection of faith lacks a scientific basis. In my view, there is no contradiction between faith and science." - Robert Millikan (1868–1953), American physicist, confirmed Nobel Prize in 1923
Charles Darwin (1809–1882), in his theory of evolution, also stated: "I never denied the existence of God. I think the theory of evolution is consistent with belief in God. I think the strongest proof of God's existence is that we cannot explain or understand the vast universe that goes beyond all calculations and cannot explain that human beings are the result of chance."
Is Jesus God?
In faith, we proclaim: "I believe in the one Church, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Mission." Apostolic tradition means that we believe in the very things that the Apostles proclaim. Jesus himself called them by name, so that they might be with him and he sent them to preach. The apostles testified of a Jesus, the only begotten Son of God who came to be Man, who healed the wounds of humanity with God's own mercy. God Himself came to "tent among us" to reveal to mankind about God and about His love for man. But perhaps, this event is beyond man's imagination: "He came to his house, but his family did not accept it" (Jn 1:11). And from there, doubts and opposition followed against the One who is God.
Throughout the history of the Church there has been a lot of persecution everywhere to discourage those who profess the name of Jesus. The blood of the martyrs' heroes everywhere is still flowing, imbued with the grief of the faithful, what has made their faith remain strong in the face of such barbaric persecution, torture, and imprisonment: "Though the moon binds, the shackles are broken; the shackle-shaped grail radiating masonry; exempt from kindly resigned to a side; for the whole religion of piety" (Saint Peter Quy) - Vietnamese martyr. It is the Truth of God's love for humanity that becomes courage for those who successively profess God's name. Determined to defend the beliefs of their own forefathers even if their heads bleed.
After Jesus' resurrection, the early Apostles were persecuted everywhere by authorities for proclaiming the Gospel of the Resurrection. At that time there was a Pharisee named Gamalian who stood up to speak in the middle of the synod when the apostles were being imprisoned for the name of Jesus; he was a scribe respected by the whole people, he said: "Ladies and gentlemen, Israelites, watch out for what you are about to do to these men. Some time ago Embroidery emerged, professed himself as a character and admitted about four hundred men; He was killed, and all his followers disintegrated, leaving nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean emerged at the time of the census, and drew the people with him; Even he was killed, and all his followers were shattered. So now, let me say to you: leave these people alone. Let them go, for if this intention or work is done by mortals, all will be destroyed; and if it is indeed God, you cannot destroy it; you are not good enough to be anti-Gods" (Acts 5:34-39). They agreed with his opinion. And for more than 2000,<> years his Church has endured and continued to grow, spreading everywhere because it is God's will.
The faith of my friends of those who believe in Jesus is not ambiguous, it is corroborated through his Gospel (the Word of God), through the witness of the Apostles, through the very deaths of martyrs everywhere. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead proves to us that He was not a human being but indeed the Son of God made Man. He smashed the power of death, the control of sin to save us. "If Christ had not risen, your faith would have been illusory" (1 Corinthians 15:17).
Dear Friend,
Christ is alive and at work in the heart of the Church, he is present in the life of each of us. He said: "Stay in my love... Love one another as I love you" (Jn 15:12). His commandment is just to "love one another," through gestures of love, the kindness you give to your neighbor that God is already present in you. He promises that "I am with you every day until the end of the world" (Mt 28:20), we are not alone in our faith. What you believe is not superstition, but we are lacking the fire of faith. The Apostles asked Jesus: "Teacher, give us more faith" (Lk 17:5). So let us also ask God to increase our faith so that we can be more convinced.
Besides, I would like to share with you some instructions about the duty of a person of faith, so that you can safely overcome the difficulties you encounter.
- Always be thankful: God for giving you the gift of faith.
- To defend your faith: in the face of situations of doubt, confusion, crisis, you need to calmly, silently pray, share with your fathers and sisters whom you trust, ask God to enlighten you to guide you. It is important to avoid false influences (heretical groups) that can shake and lead to loss of faith. Absolutely do not read books that are harmful to the faith. Try reading the Bible, the moral books, the Catholic Catechism, the Church-sanctioned books. Always stand up for faith without guilt when ridiculed or vilified.
- Nurturing faith: by attending Mass, receiving Holy Communion, studying doctrine, reading God's Word, meditating on God's Word, receiving the Sacraments...
- Witness to faith: Witness to loving others through words and acts of kindness. Be confident when professing to be a Christian in public (making signs before meals, thanking God for the joy of good fortune, making signs of prayer before competitions, events, etc.).
- Spread the faith: Join several parish congregations (choirs, catechists), support missionary work by sharing in helping the poor, remote missionary areas. Pray for those who have lost faith or have not yet had faith, recite prayers for those who have passed away.
(Excerpt from Questions for Young Catholics, Volume 5, Religion Publishing House, 05/2021) WHĐ (24.07.2023)
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