From: "Mario Goveia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
From: Santosh Helekar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I have simply shown that the Cardinal seems to believe
in a God who is NOT a fact in the world nor an idea
nor a hypothesis that can be proved or disproved - a
God who is a mystery that cannot be conceptually
determined or pinned down, and about whom one can, as
Thomas Aquinas did, only have imperfect knowledge, not
absolute certainty.
Mario wonders:
Is God categorically "NOT a fact in the world" and
"not an idea or a hypothesis that can be proved or
disproved" with "absolute certainty" all at the same
time?
Sounds to me like HE may just as well BE a fact in the
world, as NOT.
My question is, why are some in such a hurry to claim
they categorically KNOW the answer to something they
admit cannot be proved or disproved, with absolute
certainty?
***The answer is given by the Cardinal himself: God is a Person who speaks
to and loves humanity.
He has been revealed by Jesus Christ.
"I believe in the God revealed to us by Jesus, who is the father who
forgives us, accepts us, and loves us. He is the God who speaks to us about
who we are, how we should live and teaches us the ways that will lead us
into a responsible exercise of our freedom. If we close our hearts and minds
to him, if we forget or exclude God, then our lives lose both meaning and
hope".
I hope you understand that Jesus in whom you believe has spoken of God's
existence and love.
Science cannot prove or disprove the existence of God. That God is not "a
fact in the world" does not mean
that God does not exist or is not a reality, but that he cannot be object of
our empirical knowledge.
Our mind cannot exhaust the knowledge of God.
Faith enlightens our mind. We experience God in faith and love. In this
context, I said that the Cardinal
does not mean what some of the readers have understood. The words "fact in
the world" and
"mystery of God" have to be well understood, as the Cardinal gives in the
light of the Gospels and theological Tradition.
Regards.
Fr.Ivo
