Five Minutes with Fr. Michael

God has not created just any universe, but a moral universe. This is the setting for human freedom: to choose between good and evil.

The Problem of Evil: If God is all good and all powerful, then there should be no evil. But evil exists. Therefore, an all good and all powerful God does not exist.

Fr. Michael shows how this argument is a double-edged sword... assuming an objective good and evil that proponents of this argument often want to reject.

Examining some of the unique qualities of the Shroud of Turin, and how absurd it is to believe that a Medieval Forger created it.

Check out some of Fr. Robert Spitzer's work here: https://www.magiscenter.com

The first historical record of the Shroud of Turin doesn't occur until the 14th century... But what if it went by another name?

Listen to some of the reasons why the Image of Edessa is likely the same artifact as the Shroud of Turin.

The Shroud of Turin is an artifact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The evidence in favor of this statement will be explored in the next two episodes.

However, the strongest evidence against that statement is the 1988 Carbon 14 Dating test, which dated the shroud between 1260 and 1390. We look at that Carbon test today, and two of its significant weaknesses.

Did Jesus ever actually claim that He was God? Yes! Very often! But we have to understand how He claimed that He was God.

Dr. Brant Pitre's book, The Case for Jesus, mentioned in the podcast:

https://catholic.market/authors/dr-brant-pitre/the-case-for-jesus-book/

Jesus Christ claims to be God. Therefore, there are only three options: He is either a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord. And everything that we know about Him -- everything that is even commonly asserted of Him -- suggests that He is indeed the Lord.

If you walked through a city street, you would infer (rightly) that this was created by man. In the same way, as we perceive the design behind the universe, we can infer that there is a God...

We have often heard that Charles Darwin, natural selection, and evolution can explain the development of life without reference to God.

However, the fossil record tells a different story. Darwin's theory relies upon what we can call "slow evolution," but the fossil record tells a story of "fast evolution." And that makes all the difference.

The simplest form of life (a basic single cell organism) is still extremely complex. And there is no good explanation to date as to how it might have come about naturally. So if the choice is between naturalistic chance or intelligent design, then intelligent design seems much more rational.

Our universe supports life. But there is no reason that it should! The mathematics that govern our universe seem so finely tuned that we are left with two options: we have either won the cosmic lottery... or God exists.

See this YouTube video for a more detailed breakdown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE76nwimuT0

In simple terms, Fr. Michael talks about the Big Bang Theory and how it seems to suggest a Creator of the universe.

Fr. Michael is following the pattern of argument from a much better talk given by Dr. John Bergsma. You can find that talk here: https://catholicproductions.com/collections/john-bergsma/products/genesis-creation-evolution

This episode was ambitious. Others should be easier to digest.

The Summa Theologica question and article referenced was part I, question 2, article 3: "Does God Exist?"

And the philosopher I mentioned is Dr. Edward Feser, who has spoken and written extensively on different philosophical questions like these - and his explanations are far more thorough and refined than what I presented here!

Fr. Michael takes a look at a famous question and answer from the Baltimore Catechism so that, here at the beginning, we can remember that we are made for heaven!

A first episode to introduce the scope and vision for the podcast.