LIVESTREAM - Angels and Demons - Fr. Basil Cole, O.P.

[@johantrenier1685]

I don’t know why I never studied St. Thomas Aquinas throughout school. I had what I assume was a Catholic education for 16 years. He was not discussed in any of my religion classes. Timing is everything, I have started studying the Summa at 59 years old. Thank you.

[@VincentMMoore0]

I’m 34 and I had the same experience. Praise God for the opportunity to study and learn now!

[@mariecait]

I’m 34 and heard of him but never were taught his work .. catholic education as well

[@PoisonShot20]

St. Thomas Aquinas is the Doctor of the church. Lots of great books wreten with his teachings. Just to name one: Aquinas on the Four Last Things: Everything You Need To Know About Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell.

[@evanc.1591]

You know what I appreciate? Despite his great wisdom, and tremendous expertise, he’s so careful - anytime he’s not absolutely certain, he won’t hazard a guess. What a servant of truth!

[@supunfernando1912]

Yaa I too noticed it... I guess all catechists should follow his example; even when you know, you should be very careful in choosing your words; May God bless him !!!

[@marilynaspiras2136]

@@supunfernando1912 pp

[@gamers7800]

Finally! Great to hear qualified theologians who actually know what their talking about.👏👏👏

[@christianRafaelCasti]

Oh my God, I listened to this video last night... I asked my guardian angel to help me remember to pray before working because I always forget. I started to work and all of a sudden a bird came to the window and chirped at me and I remembered I didn't pray. Thank you so much for the video and the Thomistic Institute I'm learning so much about what I have been neglecting about my catholic faith. God bless you all.

[@yousufnazir8141]

Excellent interpretation of the reality of love covenant with the lord and the angels by the faith in Jesus Christ and the creator of the world of eternity and the light of the transcendental power ❤

[@christinetuthill8249]

Thanks so much for this presentation. How easily I forget that I have a guardian angel here in my home. Fr. Cole's description of demons is something I could really understand.

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Our pleasure.

[@b-a-boon]

YES CHRISTINE

[@gabriellebaalke6704]

Phenomenal. Thank you, thank you! I've been praying about this very issue this week and my prayers led me to this. Thank you.

[@ThomisticInstitute]

You're welcome!

[@b-a-boon]

YES GABRIELLE!

[@marysmith8318]

Inspiring to listen to the conversation! What a blessing, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@kelvinvillegas5310]

Thank you so much for this video. I am a PhD student working on Aquinas and Aristotle. I am currently working on a paper dealing with a puzzle concerning the potentiality of angels. This video was really helpful!! God Bless!

[@LewisVine]

Curious; where are you studying? Super jealous! Best of luck with your studies!

[@kelvinvillegas5310]

@@LewisVine Thanks!! I study at University of California, Santa Cruz

[@zayan6284]

@@kelvinvillegas5310 I wish you luck friend

[@callums6570]

Is that how there can be potency in angels that are immaterial? As they aren't composed of matter how can they have potentiality

[@ConciseCabbage]

17:12 - seems like the Ancient people were much wiser than we are today. And they had intuitive knowledge of Reality that we clearly are lacking. There could never be another Plato today, and I suspect that even Plato was far downstream from Solomon who was downstream from Joseph. What we count as wisdom today is really just “facts”.

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Well said, CS.

[@reyreyes6126]

so informative about our angels...thanks, fr. Cole.

[@classicalliberalarts]

This is a great video. So much wisdom--yet practical and useful. Thank you!

[@b-a-boon]

dont forget to donate to the work of the fathers

[@ruthhaugrud]

My husband asked me why the holy water is significant. He was raised Lutheran & I was raised Catholic. We go to separate churches. We have been really tested by God. My husband's sister became Seventh day Adventist & only believe in Saturday as the Sabbath sun up to sundown no work ect., & vegans. It's driving a wedge between his entire family because she believes worshipping on Sunday as the Sabbath is of Satan & Catholics are going to Hell. I'm praying for our entire family. It's been very very sad.

[@Sink_Bodymodification]

Praying for you.

[@annem2922]

I will be praying with you Ruth, for your family. Don't engage in theological debates especially with SDA. I made those mistakes in the past until I realised the Holy Spirit alone can convince them of their errors. And hopefully they will be humble to listen to His promptings. Continue to demonstrate love 💙💙

[@lauzeladasse]

Thanks TI.🙏🏻

[@Rosary-Crusader]

Thanks. Great video, informative, interesting and helpful. God bless

[@keneibuswiho2953]

If the least angel is my Guardian which I doubt it...a m a z i n g!

[@alberijh]

Muy bueno, sigan divulgando el conocimiento teológico de la Iglesia Católica.

[@Louis.R]

Thomas Aquinas was a universal genius, fusing philosophy and revelation. Thank you, Thomistic Institute for bringing Thomas' genius into the 21st century. René Girard enables us to understand how and why the demons have dominion over us on Earth: it was the bridge over which the animal crossed in order to prepare himself for the Adamic covenant. However, the demons that pushed the animal to become human (the scapegoat mechanism) also pushed Adam to break the covenant with the true God.

[@LesniaraAndrzej]

St. Ignatius of Loyola provides us with fantastic "tool" of Discernment of Spirits (how to recognise what Spirit is acting in us). Good explanation by Fr. Timothy Gallagher

[@timr2007]

This was very good. Thank you for doing this.

[@yolhanson]

I've always wondered why God would create spiritual beings to glorify him, when he is the definition of glory.

[@yohanaogom6661]

Amen to Jesus Christ and our sweet mother blessed Virgin Mary. Amen.

[@chicao8784]

Thank you Fathers for talking about angels.

[@ralph7545]

Thank you both for this highly informative video. Many blessings to this channel.

[@armandolugo9467]

Thanks for explaining fallen into the evil quagmire of the evil demons as compared to our Guardian Angel.

[@b-a-boon]

BOOM BOOM BOOM FATHER COLE IN THE ROOOOOOOOOM!

[@nancymiller349]

It sounds as though Angels are in fact our conscience as well as influencers. Putting this together with the fact that I have witnessed what I believe to have been an Angel, (no wings) but the manifestation of a human being. I wish I had someone to talk to about what I experienced.

[@TheEstalo]

Tell us your story!

[@ciscodealmeida8541]

God through his Angels does not intervene unless we ask.We have free will.

[@kkangelita6015]

Thank for this information! I am fascinated with the angels‼️. If God is pure inaccessible light and all is in that light, the word, the step, the thought, the eye, the hearing, etc, could not the angel in his pure light also have on an angelic level his own eye, hearing, thought, etc⁉️

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

Imagine a person is a ball point pen... The Pen is the body, the ink is your spirit, and the story it writes is the Soul... (We are special pens, our spiritual ink lets us write our own story...) The story of our life, carved into space-time, is eternal, it is indestructable (what has happened has happened) and our best option in life is to dedicate our selves to following Jesus... Allowing the Holy Spirit of God's Truth to guide our spirit, to have our heart, our mind, and our soul - it's the best way to enjoy life & after life... :-)

[@Anonymousduck161]

An angel is a faithful and obedient intellect that is detached from corporeality but completely ensconced in the will of God. A demon is the same but their will is inverted. Instead of it’s will being oriented to God it is oriented towards itself. Milton described it best: “better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” Divorced from the will of God and consumed by their own pursuit of self identification they do as much as they can to warp reality to match their designs for it.

[@bigdog4574]

The part that I cannot reconcile currently is that Arrogance, Need for validations, Need to be loved, adored, revered, praised are such petty, sinful human qualities.... I would think that GOD so much above and beyond that. I think that as a theology we got that concept wrong. If angels don't have feelings, then why do they feel jealousy, anger, fear, have their pride hurt?

[@reyreyes6126]

an angel is a spiritual substance endowed with intellect and free will. Each is an individual of its own species; each is unique in its species.

[@noway325]

So what if your guardian angel goes rouge?

[@frjohn413]

@@noway325 Guardian angels don't "go rogue," only demons.

[@noway325]

@@frjohn413 but demons were angels weren't they ? To be honest I don't believe in angels or demons anymore anyway or anything beyond this mortal coil

[@frjohn413]

@@noway325 Demons were angels, but they went rogue before human beings came on the scene. In other words, demons missed the boat on ever "qualifying" to be guardian angels. St. Augustine teaches that angels were created on the first "day" ("Let there be light"). My work with exorcists solidified my belief in demons. Having said that, unless one has a direct encounter, it does require a measure of faith to believe in them.

[@frjohn413]

@@noway325 Yes, I do believe. On the basis of Jesus' promise that the Holy Spirit would guide the apostles (and, implicitly, their successors) in truth, despite all of the future Judases, despite all of the challenges...

[@byron8657]

If we believe that Angels and Demons are entities perfectly created beings with spirits without body or molecules immaterial and perpetual with a form so they have power and energy created more in the image and likeness of God! As Dr Albert Einstein said Energy is constant it’s neither created nor destroyed they just take another form! K

[@SC047074]

I experienced Possession. The demon ripped my engagement ring off and dragged me on the floor. I was trying to call out for Jesus but I could not control my mouth or voice. I finally, with much effort, was able to yell out MARY. And it left me. It was saying things in my head trying to convince me that my husband didnt love me and that I should leave him. Demons are real people. All my life as a child, I would sense if there was a soul stuck (maybe in purgatory?) that needed prayers. Sometimes I would pray for them, other times they would scratch me or lay on top of me, etc.

[@magaman6353]

You need to see a priest like Fr. Chad Ripperger...and stay away from Medjugorje books.

[@carsonianthegreat4672]

Why does nobody hold to Augustine’s idea that we don’t also have a “guardian” demon anymore?

[@christianRafaelCasti]

Like the Screwtape letters?

[@supunfernando1912]

May God Bless your Ministry!!! I have some issues... In the angelic hierarchy, if the higher angels are more powerful than the lower ones, then how come St Michael or St Gabriel stand against the fallen angels above them in rank (like Satan)? And how can our guardian angels who have the lowest ranks protect us against high ranked demonds? We say that archangel Michael is the prince of heavenly hosts. Does that make him above the Seraphim order (bcz in the rankings archangels are the 8th rank)?

[@rwkeeton]

Book acquired, progress appears inevitable...

[@fernandosanchezlara5885]

Can we find any relationship between the analysis of knowledge in angels by Aquinas and the understanding of knowledge in human beings in relation to the crisis of methaphysics, from Kant till XXI century?

[@ThomisticInstitute]

I don't know of any particular resources in that line. Do check out these videos on knowledge and angels from Aquinas 101: 1. Three Acts of the Mind: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5-vi6dnhsd9m9k 2. Doubt, Opinion, Knowledge, and Belief: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZbOiJSVjsmUq6M 3. Moderate Realism: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jF66qaZteLmCm80 4. Angels and Demons: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJDbenaegqmMfas 5. Angelic Knowledge and Choice: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6itf5xjm5aBhsU

[@JohnR.T.B.]

Each Angel is said to be a different "species" to one another is because Angels do not reproduce like living things, a group of "species" like the human species or a certain bird species exists as many individuals belonging to their certain species because they propagated into many from a few individuals and share common traits. God created each Angel separately and each is fixed as one personality only, but God created many Angels with unique personalities and tasks, therefore it is said each Angel is his own species under the understanding that each Angel has to be different from one another, beginning from name. But, how different each Angel is from one another is not known, because our material nature can never sense or understand the Angels in their natural forms.

[@oiausdlkasuldhflaksjdhoiausydo]

That's a big watch

[@corpserepairservice501]

"When people come to confession to me and complain about..." Uh...

[@iamnotgandalf9308]

The word "Infused Ideas" is mentioned multiple times yet i still don't know exactly what is meant by it. Can someone explain ?

[@thehungarywaffleinc.7775]

Like a robot, created with knowledge. Also when angels are exposed to new information, they automatically extrapolate all ideas and concepts instantly, unlike humans who discover news things from the same lump of information over time

[@iamnotgandalf9308]

@@thehungarywaffleinc.7775 so they are 'booted up' with a set of infused ideas that they hold in their eternal state ?

[@thehungarywaffleinc.7775]

IamNotGandalf as far as I know, yes

[@HendrickAlbina]

They don't come up with an idea through the use of abstraction which happens to human beings as in the process of "ideogenesis". They have infused ideas because they instantly know things because that is how God made their nature with intelligence and will.

[@svedishfisk]

Can you clarify what it means that angels are created MORE in the image of God than humans? Does that do justice to Genesis 1, and does that make us lower than the angels in glory too?

[@JH-mi2vw]

Enlightening. (How can Fr. Cole say "a seraphim" when "seraphim" is a plural?)

[@mrwater5772]

If god has no physical form then god has no image. Then how are we created in his image?

[@delsydebothom3544]

That is incorrect. The equality of 1 and 1 with 2 has no physical form, but the image of that equality is manifested whenever you have, say, two apples, or two spoons, etc.

[@brendangolledge8312]

I've never discerned a way to tell the difference between my own thoughts and thoughts introduced by angles/demons. It seems to me to be simpler and more natural to assume that whatever comes into my head comes from me, and whatever comes to me in a sensory way comes from outside of me. I have never experienced anything that makes immaterial beings necessary to explain anything. Why shouldn't I believe that any faith in spiritual beings is just delusion or wishful thinking?

[@Personaje123]

Have you ever being at a high place like a bridge and hear a voice that says jump? Many people have and they're normal folks who don't have suicidal thoughts of any kind

[@revolutie89omorareasecurit77]

If we look at Mıchelangelo paıntıng ın Last Judgement down ıs Jesus wıth the all atrıbutes of Archanghels crucıfıed by de demons and down means earth all are demons

[@danielwakei6528]

Are other religions devils' work?

[@bigdog4574]

Also, theologically... if we "all" have guardian angels, why then do so many children have cancers, why do kids gets murdered, sodomized, abused? Why do some people good, moral, godly people die either by accident or at the hands of evil. In order to theorize about the existence of guardian angles, we need to be able to reconcile if and how do so many of these angels fail to guard us as we imagine they should.

[@jamessherry3019]

An Angel can't force us to do anything, only or at least normally influence us within the laws of nature. And if we refuse to look before we cross the road we're gonna get hit. Also God sometimes allows suffering for the greater good

[@patricpeters7911]

I appreciate Aquinas’ understand of angels. His explanations make it more “rational” to believe in other spirits. However, has anyone else had trouble accepting the biblical account of angels? It seems “mythical,” what with angels with physical features and wings and all. At first glance it seems no different than other ancient pagan ideas of spiritual beings. On this account, Aquinas just seems to be making sense of angels because he has to, since they are part of the Bible. What has helped you better understand angels in the Bible?

[@kelvinvillegas5310]

Angels are separate substances or intellectual substance in the Aristotle's terms. Aquinas has a whole treatise on 'separate substances'. He compares the christian belief of angels to that the pagans (although I don't know if he says angels in this treatise). In any case, he talks about separate substances which are the kind of thing that angels are. He also wrote a whole bunch more in the Summa Theologica... Check it out this link. It has a bunch of his works for free. aquinas.cc/la/en/~DeSubstant

[@greenlake433]

@ Patric Peters Paganism is essentially the worship of fallen angels, a.k.a. demons, so the fact there are similarities between Biblical descriptions and certain myths ought to be unsurprising.

[@patricpeters7911]

I don’t think either of your replies is getting at the question.

[@ThomisticInstitute]

Fr. Basil just stepped into my office. He says: the Bible is not self-explanatory on the question of angels; it requires a philosophical understanding of non-material being. Plato and Aristotle, especially Aristotle, began to understand separated substances.

[@pocketvelero]

Test

[@AdamLeis]

Very interesting, but I'm quite guarded on the advice to pray to angels. None other than God will receive that attention.

[@jamessherry3019]

Quite protestant take there Adam

[@magaman6353]

I'm not worried, Bishop Robert Barron says that we can have a reasonable hope that all people will be saved.

[@marcokite]

lol....yeah but that's not the teaching of the Church...does Robby Barron know or care?

[@frjohn413]

That's an easy one. He's mistaken. If he really believes that, he's contradicting Jesus Christ himself, who did not hesitate to preach the reality of Hell.

[@frjohn413]

@Skelley-Priest I went to the website, which in my view poses some statements that simply do not align. For example: "Bishop Barron’s position is one of -not of thought, certainty, expectation, or even probability. While hoping and praying for hell to be empty of men, he does not know whether hell is empty, think hell is empty, or expect hell to be empty." Question for you: if Bishop Barron does not think or expect hell to be empty (and I share this position), why would it be REASONABLE to hope it is empty? The warnings of Jesus in Scripture, the Council of Florence's statement on Hell, the Catechism's section on Hell, the writings of two Doctors in particular, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Faustina's visit to Hell all lead me to believe that it is NOT reasonable to hope that all will be saved, notwithstanding what Jesus accomplished on the Cross, which was the redemption (not the salvation) of all men. My takeaway from that FAQ page: Bishop Barron is not a universalist, but it's reasonable to believe in universalism. Not helpful in a world already riddled by confusion.

[@frjohn413]

@Skelley-Priest A fine prayer. I prayed it last night five times while leading a group of people in the Rosary. It's an aspirational prayer distinct from universalism. That prayer you cited came from Fatima, as did a vision of Hell that the children witnessed, with souls entering it. Our Lady also said to the children, "Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them."

[@frjohn413]

@Skelley-Priest I'm sorry if I came off as condescending. I have met Bishop Barron and I do respect him, I am just concerned that people will take his idea and come to a belief in universalism.

[@tomdooley3522]

Father , spirit acting as matter , matter acting as spirit, consciously and at will. Christ appeared in the upper room The apostles though he was a ghost , he ate a fish to prove he wasn't , then he disappeared in their presents. Father does st.thomas Aquinas say anything about such a happening , I am reading the Summa theologica but I haven't found anything on this subject yet . But it would explain to me , GODS will , that mans science isn't going to Prove the supernatural a nut for a hard nosed atheist scientist is going to crack. Philosophy has a thing ,will to power , but this is will to matter , matter to will. Which is supernatural and above and beyond natural law. The resurrected body would seem to be changed in its basic nature yet still compound by Nature . To me this would also explain GODS will ,that matter and spirit are Not two separate things but one is dependent on the other , meaning That natural law is dependent on the supernatural for its very existence . Will to matter on GODS part. Matter however is I believe dependent on the spiritual as is Classically said that things are held in place by God's will , st.thomas Aquinas , says that God has several forms of will . Quantum mechanics makes no sense to me . it don't get to the point Of how Padre Pio and a few other Saints we're capable of by location Some people claim to have out of body experiences , I wonder if that might be an incomplete form of by location. The fact is father I have a. Million Questions I would love to ask you.

[@johnharrison5656]

Can someone please explain! Where in the Bible does it say to pray to Mary and the angels? I’ve been reading the Bible daily for years and one thing is for sure, you worship God and you pray to him only; not the creation or any created being!

[@sarahwarner6917]

Indeed, worship is due to God and God alone! Now prayer can be thought of in two ways. One a form of worship and the other to petition strongly. The word prayer comes from the Latin precaria which means to ask someone strongly. In the early use and meaning of the word prayer, it did not automatically mean worship. There are many examples of the early Church in the Scriptures doing this. For example, St. Paul on his missions on many different occasions encouraged intercessory prayer amongst the faithful 1 Timothy 2:1-4, and even petitions people to pray for him Rom 15:30-32, Eph 6:18-20, Col 4:3, 1 Thess 5:25, 2 Thess. 3:1 etc… Was Paul not a righteous man? And if through the Scriptures we know that the “prayers of a righteous man availeth much” James 5:16, then we know that the prayers of the righteous who are more alive in Christ because they are in the beatific vision with God are worth petitioning to (meaning praying to) to ask them to pray for us. This is a part of the communion of saints; it is also why Christians ask each other to pray for them. When someone asks another to pray for them they are petitioning or praying to them in the ancient understanding of the word, to take their “righteousness” before God on their behalf. Not only is this apart of Sacred Scripture but is apart of Sacred Tradition. Also, Revelation mentions the prayers of the saints the holy ones being offered up before the throne of God as incense before God 8:3-4.

[@johnharrison5656]

@@sarahwarner6917 I’m am going to address this philosophically, by using logic; not the Bible, and then applying it to the scriptures you referenced to come to a conclusion. I will be centering this analysis around the word (petition) as this is what you claim is meant by the word (prayer). For simplicity’s sake, I will be using “petition”, to refer to “petition strongly”, or vice verse. This will determine if it is logical, using the definition given, to pray to someone other than God. The modern definition of petition that would be related to this situation is (one who instigates a formal written request, typically one signed by many people, appealing to authority with respect to a particular cause. Of course, for this to be a prayer, we need to substitute, “thought” for “written”, “signed” with “done” and “authority” with “God”. If you can also pray to “Mary”, as this video claims; then her name must also be used in place of “authority”! This puts both Mary and God on the same level; or rather, as having the same authority; because this is the only place you can insert a name, and by definition, they both can, and (MUST) appeal, with respect to a particular cause. This means that if praying is the same as “to petition strongly”, then you cannot PRAY TO anyone other than God, as they do not have the authority to grant a request to a cause. Only God has authority! With that being said, the verses that you listed speaks of PRAYING FOR someone, not PRAYING TO! In this instance, God, is still the one in authority you are praying to, and you are doing it for someone else. This can be the only logical explanation if prayer means, “petition strongly”.

[@sarahwarner6917]

@@johnharrison5656 Five days presently I- have been trying to continue discussion, but a certain platform has been riding itself of sed responses for a IDK why reason 🤷‍♀️. If you’d like to dialogue on sed topic or anything else please Lmk! We can electronically mail each other.

[@johnharrison5656]

@@sarahwarner6917 Sure! I’ve noticed the same thing with the platform. Also, I don’t get notifications for Christian content or get notifications on comments for Christian topics even though I have it turned on in settings. I have to go back and check manually

[@sarahwarner6917]

@@johnharrison5656 I’m glad I’m not the only one having the same issues w/ sed platform 😮. M- y electronic mail is swarner with the little at symbol Bellarmine with a dot e-du (all together and letters lower - case).

[@yousefnadjarzadeh]

I know that both of you have not yet come to know enough about the angels or the devils to understand them, and so your knowledge of God is equally known as the angels and the devils.

[@ciscodealmeida8541]

The devil no longer exists, he had his second death.

[@che_guevara67]

im about 2 steps away from completely walking away from the faith..and ironically its talks like this is pushing me out further...let me explain myself and i hope i dont upset anyone but they are my thoughts...if every single person on the planet has a guardian angel i suppose irrespective of religious beliefs as id imagine god is very generous so that would include early humanoids i guess..i mean why not unless you want to say those poor souls who left their imprint on cave walls were not human enough..thats sad if you think that..but...my point..look at all the senseless constant murder,rape,torture etc of young innocent people who were abducted and killed in the most gruesome manner..where were their guardian angels then?...where were the hosts of angles as the chimneys of auschwitz were spurting out tonnes of ashes of jewish dead...and im not sure you can use the free will argument and say the angels cant interfere with our freewill etc as that makes the idea of a guardian angel useless, its like having an invisible bodyguard that is completely unable to help..pointless..i just dont get it..ive heard of st anthony always finding car keys and helping people pass their driving tests etc but seriously is that more important than stopping what ive mentioned earlier?..i dunno...im sooo sad here..im almost out now and looking thru the window form the outside..listening to these guys is now almost like a foreign language unknownn to me...i wish you all the best who reads this...

[@PadraigTomas]

From what these Dominican men are saying, it seems that the angels are part of the operation of God's grace. God's grace to do it's work fully is in need of the assent of our will. This would take the form of prayers. If you wish for your guardian to guard you then ask.

[@PadraigTomas]

Many years ago, when I was a young boy, I asked my father a question. Before I was born my sister who had not yet reached her sixth birthday died in an accident. So I asked my father, "God is all knowing, and so before the creation of the world he knew that she would die. How could God allow this?" My father answered that he did not know. He said that perhaps one day we might ask God why this was necessary.

[@Personaje123]

I believe God allows horrible things to happen because otherwise some people would not be saved. Think of war, how many do not look up to God until they have no other choice? Or who knows how many soldiers innocently die in battle, that would've had lives that could've sent them to hell. God permits evil because out of it it brings out even more good, but that good is not seen on this earth hence why things seem pale

[@ripvanwinkle1819]

Ok 👌 "che".

[@annettebertora4434]

Why grow up men spend time ......(Waist time) with this childish , nonsensical, twelve century, things???????? Can someone explain it to me???????

[@jimbochungus]

Cringe atheist. Go worship science

[@lewis72]

It still fascinates me that people believe any of this. I'd tend to side with Einstein: _"The word God is, for me, nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive, legends which are nevertheless pretty childish"_

[@luisv9929]

Think of what happened in Fatima (1917). Over 50K people wet to the bones, the place was a mud, then after the "phenomena"" everybody was dry (clothes and everything)....including the soil. Calculate the energy according to Einstein to accomplish this, then explain what kind of "phenomena" can do that ... in 15 minutes (+-). An this was recorded by non-believers (anti-clerical newspapers).

[@lewis72]

@@luisv9929 If you're gullible enough to believe that rubbish then there's no hope for you. Call that miracle ? Even if it were, it's rather lame. 50k people dried by the sun 100+ years ago. Why let them get wet in the first place ? Right now, we've got 100s of thousands of people dying from Covid-19. Where's your god now ? Just sitting back, watching people die a suffering death ?

[@PaulDaLouis]

@@lewis72 Plagues are not a new thing. Suffering is not new. You'd think Russians, who lived through the destruction caused by Soviet Union, would abandon a belief in God. On the contrary Russian Christianity is flourishing post communism. You could say the same thing for rural Africa where poverty, famine and destruction is severe. Yet in those communities their faith is what gives them hope. So your statement on 'no hope' for those with faith is very narrow-minded really, maybe even a 'first world problem'.

[@magaman6353]

Einstein was a great physicist, a pretty good mathematician, but a very incompetent metaphysicist (ontologist). His colleague, Belgian priest and theoretical physicist, Father Georges Lemaitre - known as the "Father of the Big Bang Theory - disagreed with Einstein on that point, and on the cosmological constant. www.physicsoftheuniverse.com/scientists_lemaitre.html

[@magaman6353]

@@luisv9929 Er, not necessarily. There are a number of problems that first need to be answered at the level of HUMAN faith.