Doesn’t faith contradict thinking? Actually, no. The Catholic Church teaches that there is a strong relationship between faith and reason. In fact, it’s a characteristic of us rational creatures to practice a faith that seeks understanding. This book is specifically written for Catholics-fallen-away Catholics, lukewarm Catholics, struggling Catholics, would-be Catholics-for all those in search of the truth, as it gives life-saving answers to life-size questions.
BOOK REVIEW by Sister Marianne Postiglione, RSM, Senior Editor, Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (ITEST) August, 2022
If I were a young person searching for the reason to remain in the Catholic Church, I would buy this book. Similarly, if I were a mature, intellectual 30-something who has walked away from the Catholic Church because of a perceived conflict between faith and science , I would buy this book. From the First chapter titled The Avalanche of Atheism, which teases your interest, through the subsequent chapter titles–equally intriguing–the author, Gerard Verschuuren leads the reader on a stimulating journey of thinking -and all without pain!! But this is no dumbing-down book on the Catholic Faith for those too lazy to tackle the really difficult questions faced by all searchers. Rather the author leads us effortlessly through the chapters with a sure hand highlighting certain aspects unique to the human being.
For example, toward the end of the chapter You are only a speck of dust? A bag of genes? A string of DNA? A blob of cells? A glorified animal? Verschuuren assures us that Humans have faculties no other animals have. Some animals may out-see us, out-smell us, out-hear us, out-run us, out-swim us, because their lives depend more upon these special powers than ours do. In contrast, human beings can outwit them all because humans have the resourcefulness of reason, making them feel at home in many different fields. For one thing, they try to answer the ultimate questions of life. They ask, for example, who am I, why am I here? … and the like. Animals, on the other hand, cannot ask such questions, let alone answer them. All they know is what their senses tell them.
Other chapters equally thought-provoking are: The God who Is, The God Who Isn’t ; Do We really Have a Free Will ; Science and Faith Reunited ; Made in God’s Image ; How Evil Is Suffering? and God’s Prescription for Happiness. Finally, for a person searching not only for answers and in those answers finding meaning, this book is for you! I recommend that it find a prominent place on your bookshelves.
