Scattered Thoughts on God

Questions and answers about the Catholic faith

I’m by no means an expert on Catholicism, but I’ve been trying to answer some questions on Quora… to help others enter into or grow in the faith, and for my own growth too. I find that saying (or writing) things out loud often aid me in gaining more clarity for myself. So here are some recent Q&As…

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What is an interesting fact of your religion?

Every Christian denomination was founded by some guy. Except for the Catholic Church.

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What exactly is the purpose and goal of Christianity? What is the faith trying to achieve? Is it worshipping their God in heaven forever or something else?

Since the Fall, mankind has been under the purview of Satan, the “ruler of this world.” Having faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and following him as his disciples frees us from those diabolical chains and gives us hope for joining him in Heaven.

Without baptism and without faith, we’re helpless pawns in Satan’s chess game, and at the end of our lives, our souls will be lost to the enemy. As we say at Mass, “Save us, Savior of the world, for by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free.”

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What is the positive and negative effect of worshipping Mary (a.k.a. Catholic Mariology)?

Positives: We don’t worship Mary, we venerate her; she is our spiritual mother, confidante, and helper on the way to holiness. She brings us closer to her divine son, Jesus Christ, if we let her. She also gives amazing graces to those who faithfully pray the Rosary (which is a meditation on the life of Jesus through the eyes of Mary) every day.

What she did for me: Brought me closer to Jesus and therefore God… let me experience first-hand the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist… converted my son to the Catholic faith… protected me from demonic nightmares/ demonic intrusion in my sleep… erased my memory (at my request) of a horrible book I couldn’t “un-read”… loves me unconditionally… and so much more.

Negatives: 0

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So I’m a Christian male and believe in God and try my best to follow his teachings, but I also have gender dysphoria. I was born male but find females attractive. But will I go to hell if I take estrogen to change my body?

If you’re trying to follow God’s teachings, then you must know that God doesn’t make mistakes. No one is born in the wrong body.

Gender ideology claims it is unbiased and loving, whereas it’s the exact opposite because it stuffs people into tiny gender stereotype boxes. So if you’re a boy who likes the color pink and have a phase where you play with dolls, you must be in the wrong body. If you’re a girl who likes to ride tractors and do martial arts, you must be in the wrong body.

Even though I’m 58, I vividly remember what it was like being a teenager. My hormones were upside down and going haywire, and I was just as confused and disoriented as the teenagers today. I had no idea who I was, what I was, what my purpose in life was, and what in the world I was supposed to be doing. That’s called “growing up,” but it’s been turned into a pathology. What used to be considered a normal part of child development is now touted as a reason to sterilize yourself for life (because that’s what the hormones do) and do chop off your genitals (which obviously is irreversible).

“Transitioning” aka “gender-affirming healthcare” means you will never have children of your own, you will never be able to have satisfying sex, you will depend on drugs and hormones for the rest of your life (and boy, do the Big Pharma companies love that!), and you will be at a much higher risk for depression or suicide (even though the trans activist crowd tries to tell you the opposite is true). If you don’t kill yourself, you’ll probably die young because of repeated infections (from the surgeries) or cancer (from the hormones).

Whereas, if people just leave the kids alone (and maybe help them with some gentle therapy to come to grips with their confusion), 90% will eventually adjust and be fine with the body they inhabit. I know right now it feels like your predicament is never going to end, but it will. If you ask Jesus to help you though this phase, He will. Cling to Him, lean on Him, and He will get you through it. God bless you, and I will pray for you.

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What percentage of Christians believe poverty and illness are signs of God's disfavor?

None, because this is not really Christian teaching. It’s a theory that belongs in the belief system of Law of Attraction or Manifestation, as promoted by books like The Secret and various Prosperity Gospel preachers.

In the Old Testament, this was still a widespread belief, hence the Holy Spirit inspired the Book of Job to show that no, you can be perfectly righteous and misfortune can still befall you. After Jesus Christ’s appearance on the scene, this old notion of “you did something to deserve it” was completely thrown out the window.

On the contrary, in the New Testament there are quite a few stories illustrating that often the greatest sinners get to “live it up” while in their physical body, but in the end they’re the ones paying for it while the poor beggars end up in Heaven.

The “Prosperity” theory holds that positive thinking “manifests” positive things in your life, whereas negative thinking “manifests” negative things. Consequently, if you’re a pessimist, then poverty, illness, and the likes will befall you, and it’s your own darn fault. These teachings also tell people that it’s best to stay away from people with ‘negative attitudes and problems” because they can act as contaminants and drag you down with them into their misery.

This, of course, is the exact opposite of what Christianity teaches, namely that you should take care of the poor, sick, and unfortunate. This is a typical example of the satanic scheme whose “teachings” sound so plausible and benign… but dig a little deeper and they’re anything but.