Hi, Harvey —

My goodness, you have a lot of questions!

Some of these questions would take a whole book to answer adequately. I'm not sure we can address all of them, but we'll take a crack at some of them.

You said:

• Why does a "good" God create a place for everlasting suffering?

Because, perhaps, the suffering people want to be there. They hate God and do not want to live in eternity with Him. They would rather be in Hell than in Heaven, so God, in His love, allows them to.

This is one of those questions about which volumes have been written and you'd probably want to find a good book on it and read it.

You said:

• Why is there no physical proof God exits?

All of creation is physical proof that God exists. People just choose to dismiss it or believe some other explanation, and they would do the same regardless of what the proof was.

The Resurrection is another good proof that God exists. Finally, there is no lack of miracles to prove that God exists. If you want to know that God exists, try praying sincerely to God to show you that He exists (though don't insist on a dramatic miracle).

You said:

• Why is the Bible filled with condemnation of homosexuals?

"Filled"? I can probably count three or four places in the Old Testament, and probably two in the New Testament, where homosexuality is even mentioned. This is hardly "filled". In any case, homosexuality is condemned because it contradicts the natural purpose of human sexuality.

If you pardon me while I put it bluntly — the parts are meant to fit together and work in an obvious way that excludes homosexuality. The sexual organs are meant for procreation, and anything that frustrates this is immoral. This is why, in the Catholic interpretation, contraception and masturbation are also considered immoral.

God considers sex to be sacred, which is why He is so particular about it.

You said:

• Who created God?

God is uncreated by definition.

You said:

• Why did God create the world?

God wanted to manifest and communicate his love and goodness. See the Catholic Catechism paragraph numbers 293 and 294.

You said:

• Why does the Bible denigrate women and why are they often portrayed as subservient to men?

• Where does the Bible denigrate women?
• Have you actually read these alleged parts of the Bible or are you going on hearsay?

It is true that the cultures portrayed in the Bible had a much lower view of women than we do, but just because the Bible portrays what people do and believe, doesn't mean any approval is given to those behaviors. In many places, the Bible describes people doing immoral things without commenting on them at all.

The only place where relations between men and women are really touched upon is in Ephesians 5:21-33, where it says that wives must submit to their husbands, and, that husbands must love their wives as they love themselves (which is hardly a basis for treating women badly).

Saying that wives must submit to their husbands (note that it does not say that women must be submissive to men) does not denigrate women, just as the fact that employees must submit to their managers, does not denigrate them. It describes an order in the household, that's all.

You said:

• What is a "soul" and why has it never been proven to exist?

The definition of a soul is beyond my competence, but it has not been "proven to exist" because it is a spiritual, not a material, reality, and only material things can be proven to exist by science.

You said:

• How can a benevolent God send ignorant people who grew up in non-Christian religions to Hell?

Catholicism teaches that it is possible for those to be saved who,  — through no fault of their own —  are ignorant of the Gospel, provided they follow the dictates of their conscience. Hence, God does not condemn people to Hell simply because of their ignorance.

You said:

• Why has religion been the cause of some of the worst violence and calamity in human history?

The worst violence has come from atheistic regimes, not religious ones (Stalin, Pol Pot, North Korea, etc.) People will always find a pretext for violence; that doesn't mean that religion is the *cause* of the violence. Often it only appears as if religion is the cause because it is one religion against another when in fact it is another cause. For example, the fighting between "Catholics" and "Protestants" in Northern Ireland is strictly a political fight, not a religious one.

Put another way, people will fight over anything, and just because they do, doesn't make whatever it is responsible for their fighting. Human pride and hatred are the cause of fighting. Obviously,
if someone were living out the Christian faith they wouldn't fight; it is their choice whether they want to obey the tenets of their religion, and if they choose not to, it is not religion's fault.

You said:

• How could satan turn evil if God originally created him as a perfect angel?

God created us and the angels with free will: the ability to choose evil or to choose good. It's what distinguishes us from the animals and makes us superior creatures. Having free will does not make a creature imperfect, just because they can choose evil. It makes them more perfect because they can choose good and thus choose to be perfect.

• Isn't it better to have someone who freely chooses to love God and obey him than have someone who has no choice in the matter?

You said:

• Why are so many Catholic priests pedophiles?

The percentage of pedophiles in the priesthood is really not much different from the percentage of pedophiles among Protestant ministers or in other professional capacities. The media would have you believe that it is higher in the Catholic priesthood.

Obviously, if you're a pedophile, you'd want to go somewhere where you are instantly trusted, where you have moral authority to coax people to cooperate, and where you have ready access to lots of children. These elements are strongly present in the culture of the Catholic Church, and there is nothing wrong with them, but they do attract pedophiles.

We just have to be zealous about screening for them.

You said:

• Why haven't many of the Bible's prophesies been realized?

Maybe because they pertain to the future? Not sure what you mean here.

• There are those which pertain to past events;
• Those have been realized.
• There are those that pertain to future events, and those that do not.

Many Bible prophesies pertain to the end of time, which hasn't arrived yet.

• Am I missing something in your question?

You said:

• Why did Jesus preach so much fear and hatred as evidenced in the Bible?

• Hmmm, where do you see Jesus preaching fear and hatred?

Give me specific examples.

You said:

• Is fear of death the underlying reason Catholics believe in an afterlife?

No. It's because it was revealed by God in the Bible.

You said:

• Is the threat of eternal suffering a strategy to keep people faithful to the Church?

No, it's what God revealed in the Bible.

• By the way, have you had an opportunity to talk with a priest about your questions?
• Have you read any helpful books on the topics you are interested in?
• Would you be interested in recommendations of books?

Please feel free to write me if you have any questions about what I wrote.

Yours in Christ,

Eric Ewanco

Hi, Francesco —

Here is the source for my comment.

• Pedophiles and Priests: Anatomy of a Contemporary Crisis by Philip Jenkins, a non-Catholic.

Eric