by Jim Fritz

All of us see the growing secularism in society today. Parents are lamenting their children’s loss of faith. Grandparents feel the same. It is not just Catholics, but all religious people. As parents we know what our children are losing even if they do not. Also, as citizens we worry about our society. About a third of all adults under age 30 do not consider themselves religious persons. Our children, brought up Christians, are being turned into agnostics or worse. The question is, “Why?” What is the common denominator? Why do Christians stop believing? What is the underlying cause of this, the root of the problem? How do we correct this loss of faith?

A few authors seemed to have the answers and I will relate some of this information to you in this article. These writers come at this problem from different angles; however, they arrived at the same conclusion. Michael Quinlan believes the crisis of our time is not so much a crisis of theology but a crisis of anthropology. The modern mentality reduces man to a mere species of animal of no particular importance to God—or to man himself. This is why we see throughout our society all forms of exploitation and degradation. From human trafficking to date rape, physical and sexual abuse, hook-ups, co-habitation, illegitimacy and divorce, our ethos of autonomy and self-gratification make us consumers of other human beings in what Pope Francis calls a “throw away” culture. Thomas McFadden has written a book on the subject and not only indicated the same cause, but goes into great detail on why and how it occurred.

The root of the problem has been identified by several Popes as the pollution of Catholic philosophy, theology and understanding of the Bible by the uncritical acceptance of the theory of Naturalism/Evolution. In short; Catholic teaching needs to be restored. Catholics need to learn to reject the so-called “scientific” basis of Humanism. Our Catholic youth must be taught the faith-affirming facts of real science to counter the faith-destroying propaganda of the Humanists’ ideas of evolution. This must occur on the parish level, in the Catholic schools and by the home schooled. As will be pointed out later, the church cannot wait until children reach adulthood or until college professors answer their questions on faith and science. Our church and parents need to engage young people on these issues while they are in middle school and high school, if not earlier.

Those promoting the story of evolution profess their theories are scientific, but they rarely are. A scientific theory is a well substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world which is acquired through the scientific method and repeatedly tested and confirmed through observation and experimentation. The theory of evolution explains past events based upon inferences made from present observable data. Nothing about those events can be repeated or tested though observation and experimentation. Evolution cannot account for the origin of life. Evolution cannot account for the sudden appearance in the fossil record of diverse fully-formed animals with no ancestors. Evolution cannot explain the necessity of a more complex animal. Interferences are not proofs. Proper observation of observed data makes more sense according to the creation model than according to the evolution model.

As some examples, the “Father of Humanism/Evolution,” Darwin began his basis of reasoning on observations of birds on an isolated island. He became quite famous because of it. Even after it was later debunked, he still continued his preaching on Humanism/Evolution. And so it goes through time with other “scientists.”

The latest theory is the Big Bang Theory, which proposes that at some moment in time, all of space was contained in a hot and single point from which the universe has been expanding and cooling ever since. There is no scientific consensus regarding the source and cause of this dense mass and intense heat in that imagined single point in space and time. In 2011, a fact regarding the prediction of the speed of supernovae had to be revised. In 2015 the so-called scientists admitted they knew embarrassingly little about their theory, and it needed to be revised. Currently, the accepted explanation of the Big Bang Theory is that the universe is being pulled apart by a force called Dark Energy, and a force called Dark Matter keeps the galaxies from flinging themselves apart.

If all of this sounds weird, it became even weirder when the scientists came up with the Black Hole Theory around 1960. These theoretical “holes” are supposed to be the areas in space which have such a gravitational pull not even light can escape from them. Black Holes were theorized to emerge with the shortcomings of other theories.

For the Big Bang to work, most of the matter in the universe would have to be something which has never been observed by natural science. The hypothesis must be constantly changed due to new observations. These observations do not meet the criteria required to be labeled a scientific theory even though it has been labeled as science. Explanations of the Big Bang cannot be tested and proved or disproved and must be taken on faith, while at the same time, humanists disparage faith-based religion as false.

Scientist-priest Father Victor Warkulwiz, notes in his publication The Doctrines of Genesis that “Theorists can offer no physical reason for the Big Bang. This is a serious weakness of the theory.” He quoted Big Bang theory advocate Stephan Weinberg: “There is embarrassing vagueness about the beginning.” In a book written by Fr. Warkulwiz, he identifies and explains 16 fallacies of the Big Bang theory. The Humanists/Evolutionists continue to claim the origin of the earth as older and older in their attempts to make their theories more believable.

Publications such as the New York Times and radio shows such as Science Friday are unapologetically unscientific. If I had turned in a report based on some of their publications/shows to my high school physics teacher I would have probably received an “F.” They use terms such as, “Some scientists suspect” which means absolutely nothing. Some scientists will believe in anything. Another example of a theory attempting to prove life came from space debris goes like this, “Comets may have seeded the early earth with many of the building blocks of life.” Really? This is pure conjecture. Another vacuous example from the media was an article with a caption under a scene of Yellowstone Park stating, “Hot springs in Yellowstone are home to some of the most primitive microbes on earth. Researchers suspect that life may have begun four billion years ago in near-boiling water.” As ridiculous as this sounds some famous evolutionists have said worse.

Miracles

The Catholic Church recognizes miracles as being works of God, and only after all other possible explanations have proven inadequate may the Church assume Divine intervention. These miracles cannot be explained, or explained away, by Naturalism.

Among the more notable miracles approved by the Church are several Eucharistic miracles wherein the sacramental bread and wine are transformed into Christ's flesh and blood, such as the Miracle of Lanciano and cures in Lourdes. Scientists have thoroughly studied these miracles and have verified them as such, i/e, same blood type, heart tissue, etc. from different samples.

Another famous miracle approved by the Church is the Miracle of the Sun, which occurred near Fatima, Portugal on October 13, 1917. More than 70,000 people, who were gathered at a cove near Fatima, witnessed the sun dim, change colors, spin, dance about in the sky, and appear to plummet to earth, radiating great heat in the process. After the ten-minute event, the ground and the people's clothing which had been drenched by an earlier rainstorm were both dry.

The most impressive miracle to me is the Virgin of Guadalupe. Anyone may go to Mexico City and witness this miracle by looking at the tilma. The fact it is still there in good condition after nearly 500 years is a miracle itself, but in addition to this, scientists, using modern equipment have discovered a reflection in the eye of the image of the Virgin on the tilma. This reflection is what the Virgin saw when Juan Diego delivered his miraculous flowers. This is impossible for a human to reproduce.

The highest degree in miracles consists of those works known as “Acts of God,” that nature can never replicate: for instance, two bodies occupying the same place; the sun receding or standing still; that the sea dividing and making way for humans to cross. In all of these there is a certain order: for the greater the work done by God and the further it is beyond the capability of nature, the greater the miracle.

There are literally thousands of miracles espoused by the Catholic church including Marian apparitions, Eucharistic miracles, stigmatas, weeping statues, moving statues, visions of Jesus and Mary, and very important, the incorruptibility of the human body.

G. K. Chesterton

Chesterton (1874–1936) was a prolific British writer whose poetry, fiction and essays argued for a Christian worldview. Many of his works addressing social and moral issues are relevant today as he was able to foresee the effects of many of the destructive influences of his day. His works influenced the thoughts of Christian apologist and author C.S. Lewis (1898–1963).He observed Darwinist scientists were more and more turning their science into a philosophy. These “scientists” were forbidden by their own belief system to believe in miracles, regardless of where the evidence led. This led inevitably to scientists making bizarre claims as to what natural processes alone could accomplish.

As Chesterton wrote: ”As an explanation of the world, materialism has a sort of insane simplicity. It has just the quality of the madman’s argument; we have at once the sense of it covering everything and the sense of it leaving everything out.”

The believers in miracles accept them because they have evidence for them. The disbelievers deny miracles because their doctrine opposes them. This, he argues, makes for a sort of insane simplicity to the materialist worldview: As an explanation of the world, materialism has a sort of insane simplicity. It has just the quality of the madman’s argument; we have at once the sense of it covering everything and the sense of it leaving everything out…He understands everything, and everything does not seem worth understanding.

One of Chesterton’s principal complaints against Darwinism is that it was advanced as a fact long before it became even a well-established hypothesis (which some of Darwin’s eminent scientific contemporaries also pointed out). Chesterton argued that it would have been more productive to discover “…what is actually known about the variation of species and what can only plausibly be guessed and what is quite random guesswork, but the Darwinians advanced it with so sweeping and hasty an intolerance that it is no longer a question of one scientific theory being advanced against another scientific theory. It is treated as an answer; and a final and infallible answer.”

Problems within the Church

In 1884 Pope Leo XIII wrote the encyclical Humanum Genus. In it he explained how Naturalist and Freemasons would use the schools to integrate evolution into philosophy to the detriment of morality and culture. This has been so true, and the sad part of it is Catholic clergy and parishioners still do not comprehend this.

Many educational organizations have been established and supported by our government and even our Catholic Church just for this purpose. .McFadden points out one example - the National Center for Science Education (NCSE). Under the direction of a Humanist superstar, Eugenie Scott, director of NCSE, this organization has been extremely successful in not only having evolution taught in the schools but keeping creationism out.

In addition to outside organizations promoting evolution, many of our clergy and many Catholic intellectuals have misinterpreted Humanum Genus and feel they can produce their own versions of theistic evolution for Catholic teaching and other consumption. This is not true. A careful read of Humanum Genus should clarify this.

Within our beloved Church we have seen seminarians being taught evolution.

Fr. Charles Curran, a dissenter on all matters of sexuality, taught his brand of moral theology at the bishop’s own university. And the list goes on and on.

Be extremely careful in evaluating all of our clergy’s viewpoints as their personal opinions or as authorized teaching.

Our Children

All of this brings us back to our topic. What is happening to our children and to our society? The most susceptible to the misguided theories of the Humanist/Evolution are those very young adults leaving home for the first time to enter college. They are away from the family and exposed and susceptible to others of entirely different beliefs, some of which are quite the opposite of those of their parents. They also may be intimidated by persons who are often more highly educated than their parents with a few letters after their name, making them sound even more impressive.

Fortunately for me, I did not enter college until later in life. When I graduated from high school the Korean “Conflict” had just started, and the draft was being enforced. I joined the U.S. Marines, was sent to Korea, ended the war J and then served stateside duty and married. I attended an electronics trade school on the GI bill, had several good jobs plus three boys and finally, after a few years working at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, I decided I wanted a degree in Physics. I attended classes in the evenings with an older group of students. The professors dared not give us any of their personal evolutionary theories such as the Big Bang Baloney. (Lucky for them!) Fortunately , I had some good professors. My Physics professor was a devout Christian. My Russian teacher had escaped through the Iron Curtain. She had a physical handicap and needed medical treatment not available in Russia. Once she was free, she kept on going.

Our current students are not so fortunate. They are easily intimidated by instructors and are not being trained for the kind of spiritual combat they encounter. A teenager is easily impressed by a college professor no matter how misinformed that professor may be. An older teenager is also ready to experiment with temptations prohibited while living at home. Many of these young people are not aware of the hardships and deprivations experienced by their parents. Most of them believe they are wiser than their parents.

Unfortunately, some may have received some evolutionary brainwashing prior to college unless they were fortunate enough to be home schooled. I am sure all of you remember from grade school, “The March of Progress Chart of Early Man,” showing a monkey on one end of a line of evolving apes with man at the other end of the line.

Part of this Humanist/Evolution agenda is not only to advance the theory of evolution but to promote Christian heresy. This heresy devalues Christian faith in God’s providence into faith in the power of technology, i.e., to create a more perfect life here and now. And, as we are seeing, with no clear goal to guide technological development, change for change for its own sake exerts a destructive power. Pope Benedict XVI described this program for modern progress as seeking redemption and paradise without God: This “redemption,” the restoration of the lost “Paradise” is no longer expected from faith, but from the newly discovered link between science and utilization of science. It is not that faith is simply denied; rather it is displaced onto another level—that of purely private and other-worldly affairs—and at the same time it becomes somehow irrelevant for the world. This programmatic vision has determined the trajectory of modern times and it also shapes the present-day crisis of faith which is essentially a crisis of Christian hope.

What can we do?

First of all, inform yourself. McFadden’s book is an excellent start. It is extremely informative and easily read; even humorous in parts. Then progress to the plethora of information on the Internet.

Secondly, work with your priest and organize a parish-level educational program as McFadden suggests. I am repeating, but be careful on the quality of your material. Be sure to include miracles. Prepare your students to answer questions a Humanist/Evolutionist would ask. Ask them the questions and evaluate and suggest improvements to their answers.

We need to be aggressive. We need to stop the loss of faith of our children and grandchildren. We need to fight for our faith and for those of faith. Do something now!!

Bishop Sheen once stated. “America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance — it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded.” This was expanded upon, by simplification, in his work, The Life of Christ, “Broadmindedness, when it means indifference to right and wrong, eventually ends in a hatred of what is right.”

Thomas McFadden’s book, Creation, Evolution and Catholicism can be ordered by emailing McFadden at SCIENCEandCATHOLICISM@gmail.com. Suggested donation is $10 for cost and mailing.

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