The Pope, an Ex-priest, and an Ex-Methodist Recognize Nature's God
by Raymond Fontaine, Ph.D. - November 25, 2005
This article contains three e-mails: nos.17,18 and 19
E-mail no.17: An Ex-Methodist Affirms Her Faith in Deism that Advocates Nature's God
Notice: this e-mail, which I received on November 15, 2005 is not fiction and every word is the sender's.
"Dear Mr. Fontaine. I hope that you have been able to read my note and realize that your writings have helped a sojourner in this life trying to find religious meaning.
"I believe that I am discovering that I am a Deist. It has been a long, long road. I arrived at this point from a different point than you but most of the same realizations are occurring to me.
"I was born and raised in a strong (liberal) Methodist home. As I matured, I held on pretty hard to the Christian faith that had been given to me in childhood. I have passed that faith on to my children.
"However there was always a little something deep down inside me that had a hard time with some of the teachings that we were supposed to just accept on "faith", such as the Virgin Birth, Jesus' rising from the dead, his being divine. Oh, I wanted them to be true but logically I know that it is almost totally impossible for these things to be true. As far as the Roman Catholic beliefs, such as that of transubstantiation and the apostolic succession of its hierarchy, those were easy for me to dismiss without giving them any thought at all.
"Now near my sixties, I find that I cannot in fair conscience accept the traditional Orthodox Christian tenets any more. I have been in this discovering "mode" for about two years.
"As a teacher of American History, I was aware that many of the framers of our nation were not Christians but Deists. So I began to study this way of looking at all of creation. My study first brought me to your website over one year ago.
"This is a learning experience. For example, I have not completely abandoned Christianity - just all the hocus-pocus. I believe that Jesus was a true man, that he lived and was executed by the Romans. I believe that the model he gave us was one that I can live by. I have given it to my children.
"I realize that I have been rambling. But I just wanted to let you know that your work has helped. I thank you for helping me along this road. Respectfully, X."
E-mail no.18: I Confirm My Unshaken Faith in Nature's God
Good morning, your Holiness. Today instead of suggesting a topic for discussion, I'm sending you a letter that I just received. I'm adding my reflections and perhaps you could send me your reaction.
To protect the anonymity of the writer, let's call her Rachel. Like you and me, Rachel was born and bred in a Christian home. For many years, the three of us imbibed and diffused the spirit of Jesus. Because of our childhood background, however, Rachel held the Methodist interpretation of Christ's teaching, while you and I shared the Catholic version.
After her marriage, Rachel passed on her Christian beliefs to her children. You and I couldn't do that because we were celibate priests of the Catholic Church. But we both passed on our thoughts and views to seminarians on their way to the priesthood. As priests, moreover, we preached the Catholic version of Christianity to many congregations of people in churches. All three of us, you, Rachel and I passed along our faith to others.
Later in life, Rachel began to doubt certain teachings of the church: such as the virgin birth, Jesus' resurrection from the dead, and his divinity. She wanted them to be true but logically she thought them impossible. But she easily dismissed the Roman Catholic teachings, such as transubstantiation and the apostolic succession of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Before long, she did not accept any of the traditional orthodox Christian tenets.
In midlife. I too reexamined the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Before then, I had accepted the dogmas of the Church basically because of the infallibility of the Church and its Popes. A review of history, however, revealed many crimes and gross misconduct and errors of the medieval Popes. Those Popes and their authority and truthfulness were incredible. I no longer believed in the Catholic Church.
Like Rachel, I looked into several Protestant Churches and found no reason to believe them. Like Rachel, I knew that the framers of our nation were not Christians but Deists - believing in Nature's God. Like Rachel, I held on to the moral teaching of the human Jesus summarized in five words: love God and your neighbor.
One significant difference between us two is in the way we passed on our religious thoughts to others. Rachel shared her Deist view with her youngest child. She does not mention anyone else. But her e-mail to me is now on the Internet. It may inspire her to reach out to others through that channel.
In the year 2000, I began to share my new view of God by writing a book entitled: My Life with God in and out of the Church. I gave some copies to my relatives and friends. Later about three hundred people bought by biography. Then in 2002, I created a website on the Internet. As of today, the counter on my web shows that 19,735 persons have visited my website perhaps for only a glance or for a thorough reading. Frequent e-mails from my readers express their gratitude as did Rachel. I will spend the rest of my life writing Deist articles and after my death, a faithful Deist friend will perpetuate them on the Internet.
My website is only a spark in the firmament of the Internet whereas what Your Holiness has already done and will continue for years is like a constellation. With a multitude of cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns and laity, and with cathedrals and churches worldwide, with printing presses and websites of your own, with Catholic grammar and high schools and colleges and universities the Catholic version of Christianity radiates around the world with no end in sight.
Clearly, Rachel and I are no threat to your evangelization throughout the world. So I believe that little people like us can subsist with you, perhaps not side by side but in your shadow. If you think so, let us know. Adios, my friend. Ray
E-mail no.19: The Pope Concurs That Supreme Intelligence Originated Nature's Designs
Thank you, Ray, for your e-mail and that of Rachel. Despite our differences, we share the same basic truth: Supreme Intelligence designed our earth.
In Pope John Paul 2's Catechism of the Catholic Church, which bears my imprimatur on the reverse side of the title page, the Pope states "by natural reason man knows God with certainty on the basis of his works." Further down, he writes, "from the world's order, one can come to a knowledge of God as the origin of the universe."
Nowadays, a growing number of scientists have acknowledged that the designs in nature required Intelligence at their origin. They add that simply saying that those designs developed by the evolution of matter adapting to the environment is insufficient rational explanation. Intelligence was required. Scientists can say no more about that Intelligence, what it is, where it is, how it works and when. All of that, for the present, escapes human understanding. But the fact of its existence is certain.
That's what you two good people believe and that's what I believe as well. That's the basic bond that can hold us together despite our differences regarding supernatural realities on earth. Best wishes to you both. Ben.
To return to the list of E.-mails, click here.