I've been going through athiest Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion lately and I'm almost near completion of reading it.  One thing that strikes me odd is his style of really minimizing aspects of Christianity taken from the bible.  For example, in the story where Abraham obeys God's test of faith by nearly taking his son's life, Dawkins asserts that the child will end up growing up mentally traumatized and that Abraham should be penalized for child abuse.  Dawkins' overall tone is quite belittling that he might as well have said something like the following regarding Jesus' feeding of the 5000: "Well, if Jesus fed 5000 men, why didn't he feed ALL of the starving people in the world?  What kind of saviour is that?  Why didn't he go on and give them all houses too?  What kind of saviour is that??  Why didn't he go on and give them all 21st century technology?  What kind of saviour is that???  Why didn't he give everyone iPods?  Why didn't he make everyone on earth millionaires?  Oh please tell me... what kind of saviour is that!??!!!!!!!!!!"  I can picture Dawkins making this claim, while using some silly music soundtrack as background accompaniment.

You get the idea.

So let's use Dawkins' tone when talking about athiesm: "So, you say there is no God?  Well, if there is no God, then I guess now I can truly be happy!!!  Rejoice!  Now I can finally live with the satisfaction of knowing that I am now truly living the good life!  Now I can fornicate all I want!  Hey, as long as it's between consenting adults, it's okay!  And guess what?  Now I can truly say I'm not being brainwashed!  For you see now I only let Mr. Dawkins brainwash me, and all of the other scientists who say that there is gravity!  Even though I can't see gravity, I guess I'll just believe it since I can feel the force of it acting on me!  Hoorah!  And what else...  now I can live knowing that my life is meaningless since the real reason we are in existence is because... oh wait, there is no God...  I'm in existence for absolutely no good reason!  Hallelujah!!!!"

Of course I'm using a belittling and condescending tone here, just like Dawkins does in his book.  With such a style, it's hard to appreciate just how objective a work of literature is.

I particularly take interest in this one quote of Dawkins.

I do not, by nature, thrive on confrontation. (The God Delusion, p.281)

Well if that's the case, then I guess his thriving on the confrontation that his book has created amongst atheists and non-athiests is not the reason why he's thriving on the glorious profits of his book.

I've heard of religious becoming athiests.  I've heard of athiests becoming priests.  God sure has interesting plans for each and everyone of us...

Recently I was asked the question that many religious and non-religious will ponder at some point in their lives: who gets to go to heaven?  Who goes to hell?  Do only Catholics go to heaven?  Does it matter if you're Catholic, can you be any religion and still go to heaven?  What if you're a really morally responsible and just individual, and yet athiest, Buddhist, whatever... would you still get to go to heaven?

There are a couple of ways to answer this.  The first is the most obvious way: answering with a straight yes or no... but that's no fun, so let's look at this question using an analogy.

Let's say you hear about a really good person named Michelle.  Michelle's throwing a really huge party in the very near future (she doesn't tell you exactly when but it's soon) and this party becomes more popular day-by-day.  In fact, her party is promising to be one of the most prestigious social events ever to be held in a long time, and of course, people are wanting to go to this extravagant party, yourself included.  Michelle is a very friendly and outgoing gal, so much so that she's decided to send out invitations to pretty much everyone.  Anyone can go to the party, the only requirement for one to be allowed to go is to follow what it says in the invitation.  The invitation says that, among other things, you need to have a liking for classical music, a liking for red wine, and a knowledge of Homer Simpson.  Most importantly, on the invitation, Michelle has written: "I personally hope that you take the time to give me a quick phone call and to tell me a little about yourself before you come to my party... I look forward to meeting you!"

So time goes by, and the party day arrives.  You're excited like crazy and ring the doorbell to Michelle's place.  She opens the door... and gives you a puzzled look.  She doesn't know who you are - you haven't given her the phone call she expected, nor have you taken the time to learn to like classical music, red wine, and Homer Simpson.  In fact, you haven't done anything that the invitation requested, yet you still hope to get into the party.  But Michelle doesn't know you, and you aren't even prepared for the party.  To Michelle, your unpreparedness tells her that you really don't want to join her party... so she smiles at you, and then closes the door, giving you essentially what you wanted, according to your being unprepared.  And you walk away, having messed up your one and only chance to be a a part of the "party of the century".

Draw your own analogies there...  Officially, the Catholic Church teaches that one must die in a state of grace, in a loving relationship with God, in order to go to heaven. 

Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they "see him as he is," face to face.  http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2M.HTM

So, if all you need is a friendship with God, can't religious non-Catholics also go to heaven?  Well, one needs the grace of God as well.  How can one truly experience such grace?  Through the sacraments of the Catholic Church.

Final thoughts for the undecided from philosopher Blaise Pascal:

Pascal's Wager (or Pascal's Gambit) is the application by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal of decision theory to the belief in God. It was set out in the Pensées, a posthumous collection of notes made by Pascal towards his unfinished treatise on Christian apologetics.

The Wager posits that it is a better "bet" to believe that God exists than not to believe, because the expected value of believing (which Pascal assessed as infinite) is always greater than the expected value of not believing. In Pascal's assessment, it is inexcusable not to investigate this issue:

"Before entering into the proofs of the Christian religion, I find it necessary to point out the sinfulness of those men who live in indifference to the search for truth in a matter which is so important to them, and which touches them so nearly."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascals_wager

Here is a very good message board for posting any questions you may have about the Catholic Church.  You can also browse the numerous already posted questions and answers.

http://forums.catholic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4

Upon reflecting upon a string of recent events, I've come to realize at just how precious time can be, for certainly, what happened years in the past can sometimes seem like yesterday, and for what will happen tomorrow can sometimes seem like years into the future.  How many times have we squandered the precious opportunities we have had in the past which we now regret today?  How many times have there been things that have happened in the past that now seem stuck in the present?

What is your average Catholic going to do about this?

The apparent answer is to receive absolution for sins of the past through the sacrament of reconciliation.  Too many times, one may sin, and yet each time we ask for forgiveness, it is always there for us.  The skeptic may question: well, if I can get absolved of anything, then can't I pretty much do anything I want since it will ultimately in the end be forgiven?   Surely the sins will be forgiven, but how much are you really getting out of that forgiveness?  If you take advantage of someone, would you really be satisfied with yourself?  How could you live to respect yourself?

Again this is where humility comes in.  Sometimes I wonder if those "in-your-face" bible thumpers really understand the concept of humility.  One time, I was explaining to a friend the concept of the Livestrong yellow bracelets that give hope to the sick, and he replies with a snappy "I'd rather put my faith in God".  I doubt this guy was Catholic, if he were he would've exercised more humility than that.  Who are you to talk down a charitable fundraising campaign that gives hope to the many ill? 

Today I got to experience both ends of the spectrum of civility.  On one hand, there was the experience of reconciliation at my church, and on the other hand, there was wild partying on the dance floor.  Juxtaposing the two experiences in a single day makes for interesting times.  No matter where you may find yourself, always remember to stay true to your convictions, even when surrounded by what seems the complete opposite.  One doesn't need to drink in order to have a good time.