Regardless of how a person arrives at an intellectual belief that God exists; a person needs to know how God wants us to relate to Him. Divine Revelation is required for this. Thomas Aquinas never did bring me to a belief in God, but Scripture did make me aware of my lack of strength in dealing with my emotional issues and my human weakness; and it offered God as a remedy. I totally rested my mind on Him and it worked. It amazed me because it was so simple. I grew up with a Catholicism of ritual and obligation; but, the instruction to cast all of my care on God for His peace attracted me.
Peter, I whole heartedly agree. Revelation is necessary. Aquinas would be the first to defend its importance. The point I was trying to make in the essay was from a purely rational point of view. Theology and philosophy go hand in hand but some people need to begin with reason in order to delve into the depths of theology. They need to know there is a God Who exists in order to know that He loves and cares for them. God love you!
The teachers of Catholicism that I grew up with didn’t offer anything beyond intellectualization. Personal unconditional trust in God was not taught. When reason failed me, the alternative was agnosticism. My eventual relationship with God resulted from the instruction that I received directly from Scripture. The teaching was there all along unbeknownst to me.
Regardless of how a person arrives at an intellectual belief that God exists; a person needs to know how God wants us to relate to Him. Divine Revelation is required for this. Thomas Aquinas never did bring me to a belief in God, but Scripture did make me aware of my lack of strength in dealing with my emotional issues and my human weakness; and it offered God as a remedy. I totally rested my mind on Him and it worked. It amazed me because it was so simple. I grew up with a Catholicism of ritual and obligation; but, the instruction to cast all of my care on God for His peace attracted me.
Peter, I whole heartedly agree. Revelation is necessary. Aquinas would be the first to defend its importance. The point I was trying to make in the essay was from a purely rational point of view. Theology and philosophy go hand in hand but some people need to begin with reason in order to delve into the depths of theology. They need to know there is a God Who exists in order to know that He loves and cares for them. God love you!
The teachers of Catholicism that I grew up with didn’t offer anything beyond intellectualization. Personal unconditional trust in God was not taught. When reason failed me, the alternative was agnosticism. My eventual relationship with God resulted from the instruction that I received directly from Scripture. The teaching was there all along unbeknownst to me.