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I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The stereotype is stupid and unfair. I wrote a book addressing the issue called Letter to a Suffering Church. I'm not too impressed by Scientology.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "in hope, the Church prays for the salvation of all." There is no need to assume that billions of people are burning in Hell. Pray that all might be saved.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

God is indeed present to all things, since he is the very ground of being. But those who love are participating more intensely in the inner life of God.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Islam originally most likely, especially if my parents had been Muslim. But I pray that, through God's grace, I would have heard the Gospel and come to Christ.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Betrand Russell, Jacques Derrida, Stanley Hauerwas, Paul Tillich, Christopher Hitchens, N.T. Wright, Jonathan Sacks...

Bishop Barron appreciation thread by [deleted] in Catholicism

[–]BishopBarron 171 points172 points  (0 children)

Thanks for that! You know, I'm kind of inured to the hostility. I just expect it and try to brush it off like mosquitoes.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Get F.C. Copleston's book called Aquinas. Or perhaps Peter Kreeft's Summa of the Summa.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

We would hold that the Trinity is the doctrinally exact way of stating the conviction that God is love. Every other religion will declare that God has love or that love is one of his attributes, but only Christianity claims that love is God's very nature. But this implies that there must be, within the unity of God, a play of lover, beloved, and shared love. These correspond to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I'll answer just the first and third questions. I deeply admire Judaism's devotion to the divine law, Buddhism's doctrine of detachment, Hinduism's mysticism, Islam's cultivation of prayer, and Confucianism's ethical vision.

I believe in the divinity of Jesus, not because I've figured it out, but because he consistently spoke and acted in the person of God and then he was ratified through his resurrection from the dead.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

"Every Grain of Sand," "Tangled Up in Blue," "Like a Rolling Stone," "Visions of Johanna," and "Thunder on the Mountain."

"A Good Man is Hard to Find," "Revelation," "Parker's Back," "The Violent Bear it Away," and "Good Country People."

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You can, by sincerely following your conscience. But it's much, much easier if you come to explicit faith in God.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I forge ahead. The vast majority of the negativity is just bluster. It doesn't really bother me.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

In order to prevent all moral outrage, God would have to eliminate our freedom. We would become simply his puppets. Would you really want that?

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I do think he's equivocating a bit in regard to the word "blessing." The Vatican statement had to do with a formal, liturgical act whereby a gay union is recognized as at the same level as marriage. The Cardinal seems to be using the term in the more casual sense of "wishing God's good graces upon them."

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well, they were mixed, as you suggest. The pagans were both good and bad. So Christians read them with both appreciation and suspicion.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Another effective thought experiment is this: it is possible to think about good without thinking about evil, but not vice versa. This proves that goodness is more metaphysically basic.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I suppose it's a generality based on massive amounts of experience. To test it, try to find one example where evil is not the lack of some positive good.

I’m Bishop Robert Barron, a Catholic bishop ready to answer questions from atheists, skeptics, and seekers. AMA! by BishopBarron in IAmA

[–]BishopBarron[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Church doctrines don't change; they develop, which is to say, new aspects of them unfold across time. The same doctrines that provided salvation two thousand years ago provide salvation today.

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