Aug 6 Thu
Is religion a good fit for people?
People are naturally religious. Their experiences in the world make them instinctively think there's a Being behind everything, "whom everyone calls God."
Anyone can understand God with a bit of common sense, just by thinking about their life experiences. Things like being amazed by nature's beauty, surprised by the gift of life, or happy when feeling loved—all these make us think about the "mystery" behind it all.
Our human spirit, with its ability to self-reflect, grow culturally and technically, and understand right from wrong, shows that we're different from other creatures. We're more than just physical beings; we go beyond the material world and point to a higher, spiritual being that gives us these human qualities.
Our religious feelings aren't just us wishing for happiness; they come from genuinely looking at reality. That's why denying God or trying to push Him out of culture and public life is a pretty new thing, mostly in some parts of the Western world. The big questions about religion and life haven't changed over time, which proves that religion isn't just a "childish" phase that disappears as we learn more.
Realizing that people are naturally religious suggests that when God created us, He already set us up to receive our ultimate calling: being one with God through Christ.
For example, Tertullian noticed how the pagans of his time would naturally say "God is great" or "God is good." He believed the human soul was somehow drawn to the Christian faith. In his book 'Apologetics,' he wrote: "Anima naturaliter christiana"—we all have a naturally Christian soul.
Saint Thomas believed that humans have "a natural desire to see God." But our experiences show that we can't achieve this on our own. It can only happen if God comes to us and shows Himself as He truly is. But that's what Revelation is all about.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church sums up some of these ideas:
Our minds can figure out that God exists by looking at the created world, through two paths: physical creation and the human person.
These ways of seeing God's existence aren't "proofs" in the same way math or science proves things. Instead, they're different arguments that become more convincing depending on how much someone has thought about them and what they've learned.
They're also not "proofs" as in experimental sciences (such as physics or biology), because we can't observe or measure God. We can't watch Him like a sunset or a sandstorm and then draw conclusions.