Proof Read

By Mario M. Inglima

Be prepared to share in some great theological considerations! Proof Read will take the reader on an in-depth journey, exploring philosophical and theological themes that are quite often debated between individuals and religions. In an attempt to confirm in his heart which spiritual path and which religion ma

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: Sep 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781685152277

Book preview

Introduction

M

y story of conversion may not be the typical story you would read or hear about. My spiritual transformation was from Catholicism to Catholicism. Baptized a Catholic, and having received all the sacraments a layperson can receive, barring last rights, all would have otherwise been smooth sailing, until one moment, on one day, when one person said one thing. I would like to say that I always cared about my faith in one way or another, but it was not until it was challenged that I went to reach for it, and it was not there. Had my faith failed me? Did I ever actually have faith? Was the Catholic Church lying all these years? I needed to know the truth. I was vulnerable, angry, and determined to know the truth, and I was not going to stop searching until I was personally convinced of what I should believe. For the next year, I sat in my study with every version of scriptures I could get my hands on: the Koran, a Torah, the Jehovah's Witness New World Translation, the King James Version, the Book of Mormon, and a Douay Rheims Catholic Bible. I would read and write for hours while keeping a highlighter and a notepad close at hand. Quite often, I would be up until three or four o’clock in the morning comparing and contrasting. It was my mission to convince myself that I was being lied to about important truths by the Catholic Church. I needed to make sense of these apparent contradictions that were being pointed out to me, such as, Call no man father.

In one day, in one moment, with one rock, and one passage from sacred scripture, the search was over. When I say over, I mean that it had just begun. My faith was formed in stone, my faith was mine, and my faith was in Jesus Christ in Catholicism. Welcome to an experience of an insightful journey that my soul continues to enjoy as I examine topics that are relevant to my faith and how I arrive at certain conclusions drawing from logic and reason. What happened on that day? I invite you to read on…

The compilations of writings in this book are a mixture of stories and conclusions I draw from contemplating topics relative to matters of my faith. If I say something in a definitive way, it is because that is how I definitively see it. It does not mean you will see it that way. It is impossible to encompass the ideas and beliefs of every religion and whom they admire or worship as their god or heroes. I have read up on or had discussions with people from various religions. My view on these religions is my perception of them. If you find my perception incorrect or inaccurate, I would encourage you to research the topics on your own and draw your own conclusions. The thoughts contained within are conclusions I have arrived at and are not necessarily the same conclusions you would come to.

I often think of metaphors to explain my points. It is my hope that they make sense and are pertinent to the topic being discussed. If you find my points convincing or you agree with them, I would encourage you to still dig a little deeper and try to come to a sound decision based on research and prayer.

So, What Happened?

D

id it all really happen in a moment? As much as it felt that way, neither my spiritual downfall nor my rise to faith took only a moment. The truth is there were pivotal events that became catalysts for change. My fall from faith had been ongoing for some time; I just began to realize it in a moment. My rise to faith was not a singular event where I stood back up and exclaimed, I am still Catholic! In my rise to faith, I spent a lot of time lying on the ground, sitting up, kneeling, and grabbing on to things to ascend with greater strength, truly exhausted during the process and more spiritually fit as a result of hard work. I have searched long and hard and now call my faith mine. I still recognize it as a gift from my Heavenly Father that can be taken from me if I misuse it or become ungrateful for it.

So, what exactly was this catalyst moment when I realized I was falling? The momentous occasion happened shortly after my father passed away. Two of my siblings who had left Catholicism in their own quest to find truth came to my home to comfort me. I was vulnerable, and I was in terrible pain over the loss of my father for various reasons. I had this childlike idea that my dad would be around forever. Instead, because of life choices he made, his health declined quickly, and he passed away fairly young. I was not yet thirty years old when he died, and it rocked my world. My two siblings were grieving as well, but I was too consumed in my own pain to remember theirs.

The kindness of their visits has always stuck with me. We got together quite often to discuss matters of faith. The reason this particular visit was so pivotal was because when they came to my home, they came as Jehovah's Witnesses. They said something similar to Dad is dead, and he is in the ground. He has no soul. Jehovah will remember him. It was in that moment I realized how hard and fast I was falling. According to my Catholic faith, we did have a soul. According to my Catholic faith, my dad had already met Christ and received his eternal reward. For some reason though, when I went to reach for my faith in that moment, I looked down and saw there was no foundation below me. The facts they were laying out before me were seemingly irrefutable, and I certainly had nothing to respond with to defend my belief that he did have a soul. It was soon after that moment that I became angry and felt the urgent need to find out the truth. Had the Catholic Church been perpetrating lies?

I began my journey, trying to get my hands on as many spiritual perspectives as I could. I read Christian apologetics, moral theology, and canon law. I dug up old catechisms and study guides. I explored the writings of Augustine, Aquinas, and Liguori, along with many non-Catholic authors, all while having discussions with various people, watching countless videos, and writing down my findings. I would attempt to highlight inconsistencies, plagiarisms, contradictions (actual and apparent), and compare and contrast all points of view.

There was one thing that stood out in my mind throughout my soul's intense search-and-rescue mission, and that was how rich Catholicism is in her faith. When the Catholic Church describes her deposit of faith, it really means a deposit. Perhaps I can compare this deposit to the wells of oil under the earth that are consumed in the millions of barrels per day (and have been for decades) and how many more billions of gallons remain under the earth that have yet to be consumed. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that maybe all that God has revealed to us and continues to reveal to me personally, I will not fully understand immediately. Perhaps these apparent contradictions are not actually contradictions at all. They may need to be understood in a light that Christ would one day reveal for His own purpose. Even in science, certain things are not visible until a particular light is shined upon them. Many things are invisible to our eyes without specific filters and types of light to bring them into our view. It is not out of character for God to reveal Himself in this way.

I am not going to delve into the particular points that steered me away from other major religious beliefs or points of view, but I will say that something about each one revealed itself to me as illogical and unreasonable, either in part or as a whole, and therefore would need to be discredited or was absolutely not up for serious consideration. In no way in my mind did it cause me to believe that people who held fast to the creeds of other religions were bad people or doing bad things. They are great individuals with great hearts. Two of them are my brothers, whom I love. My issue is with their religions, not with them.

With all this said, there was still a moment left that hit me like a lightning bolt. At the time of my father's passing, I was working in my landlord's greenhouse. I remember kneeling down working with some flower trays, and my eyes were drawn to a rock on the ground. This rock was in a very distinct shape. Its shape was that of a traditional heart. I found a heart-shaped rock while meditating and working in the greenhouse! I could not help but wonder what, if any, meaning there was behind this discovery?

That night, when I sat down in my chair as I had many nights before, I opened up a particular book. It was a Catholic study Bible. I randomly ran my fingers across the pages and opened up at a passage from Ezekiel 36:26–27:

And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in the midst of you: and I will cause you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them.

The fight was over. My fall from faith had ended, and I found myself planted resolutely upon a foundation of stone. I immediately came to tears and prayed to God. I said, I believe in You, and I thank You. It was in that moment I realized how real He is and how close He always is.

I have learned many things on my journey, but one particular lesson is not to argue with others about my faith or theirs. I have yet to convince one person that my beliefs are better or more reasonable than what he or she holds to be true. I believe I have embraced truth in my life and continue to mine and excavate its richness every day. It is easy to get caught up in debate about the faith. I do believe there are healthy ways to debate and unhealthy, ineffective ways to do so. It is human nature to share good news when we hear it. Truth is good news, and it will speak for itself. Truth is our discovery not our creation. I desire to share with others what I was fortunate enough to have discovered on my faith journey of exploration.

I suggest that when we engage others in matters of the faith, we do so with humility. For me, I see my brothers’ beliefs as a spiritual anvil. God put them there in that moment for a purpose. He wanted to strengthen and prepare me to dig earnestly with unrelenting passion for the truth. Who would I be today if it were not for that fateful moment?

What Is Proof?

O

ne thing that stands out the most to me about discussing my faith with others who do not share it is that seldom if ever is the other person convinced that what I believe is the truth. Rather, we always seem to end up right where we started off; I believe what I believe, and the other person believes what he or she believes. One of the inspirations for writing this book was that great conversations created greater thoughts; hence, I spent some time contemplating the topic of proof.

I understand that there are different types of proof. The proof that I am focusing on deals with convincing someone that his or her beliefs are mistaken. I appeal to my mechanisms of logic and reason to work through problems to find solutions. My brain must lay out the evidence around me first in order to make sense of it. I welcome you on this journey with me as I explore topics pertinent to my faith and life.

The Story

My fiancée, Angie, and I were out walking our dogs on a trail that we routinely take. I recall gazing around the silent woods, taking in the awesome views of tall trees with branches that started protruding high above the ground. It was as if they were competing for sunlight. There were marks on the gravel trail that indicated someone had been there before us. There were plants and weeds growing all about the floor of the