Subjects:
[09/Nov/2004:21:16:22]
<Father Phillip> ryanmichael: hey
[09/Nov/2004:21:16:24] <Father Phillip> hiya!
[09/Nov/2004:21:17:08] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: i saw the
movie what the bleep do we now
[09/Nov/2004:21:17:10] <Father Phillip> and?
[09/Nov/2004:21:17:38] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: ahhh there
were a few things that i didnt agree with what some of the people said on there
[09/Nov/2004:21:17:55] <Father Phillip> yeah, me too -- but i guess
i tend to try to focus on the things that i have in common with people
[09/Nov/2004:21:19:23] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: there is another
movie out called birth
[09/Nov/2004:21:19:29] <Father Phillip> haven't seen it
[09/Nov/2004:21:19:31] <Father Phillip> any good?
[09/Nov/2004:21:20:55] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: nope havent
seen it yet but its the kid is in is supposedly reincarnated as the lead character
husband
[09/Nov/2004:21:21:03] <Father Phillip> oh yeah, i've seen the
trailers/ads for it
Living as a Christian – Occult – Reincarnation
[09/Nov/2004:21:21:54] <Father
Phillip> ryanmichael: so what do you think of this past lives reincarnation
stuff a bunch of bs
[09/Nov/2004:21:22:24] <Father Phillip> well, let's just say that
the Catholic Church does NOT believe in reincarnation and so we don't believe
in past lives either
[09/Nov/2004:21:22:28] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: pardon my
language
[09/Nov/2004:21:22:32] <Father Phillip> pardoned :-)
Living as a Christian – Relationships
[09/Nov/2004:21:25:46] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: i have a problem with rejection
[09/Nov/2004:21:25:54] <Father Phillip> rejection as in relationships?
[09/Nov/2004:21:26:40] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: yup like in approaching
the opposite sex askin em out
[09/Nov/2004:21:26:57] <Father Phillip> ahhhh, yes...i think that's a
very common feeling
[09/Nov/2004:21:27:43] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: i hate denial so
most of the time i wont even put out the time of day in intiatinng a conversation
[09/Nov/2004:21:28:02] <Father Phillip> it's scary just to start a converstaion?
is that what you're saying?
[09/Nov/2004:21:28:40] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: no
[09/Nov/2004:21:28:47] <Father Phillip> ok, then help me understand, please
[09/Nov/2004:21:29:34] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: hmmm what im sayin
is maybe im not social enough because i fear rejection/denial
[09/Nov/2004:21:29:41] <Father Phillip> right -- i understand that
[09/Nov/2004:21:30:28] <Father Phillip> do you have any idea why you fear
rejection so much?
[09/Nov/2004:21:32:58] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: not really no maybe
cause i dont like the fact that theres someone out there im attracted to and
i cant have that in return
[09/Nov/2004:21:33:09] <Father Phillip> that makes a lot of sense
[09/Nov/2004:21:33:34] <Father Phillip> is it that you CAN"T have
it or that you're AFRAID you can't have her return care for you?
[09/Nov/2004:21:34:05] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: cant have it
[09/Nov/2004:21:34:08] <Father Phillip> golly, that is tough
[09/Nov/2004:21:34:24] <Father Phillip> mind sharing why you can't? if
you're not comfortable saying why, that's ok
[09/Nov/2004:21:35:23] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: well if a women is
not interested in return then i cant have a relationship with them obviously
[09/Nov/2004:21:35:30] <Father Phillip> well of course that's true
[09/Nov/2004:21:35:41] <Father Phillip> but does she know that you're
interested in possibly dating her?
[09/Nov/2004:21:37:28] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: thats my whole point
of rejection it makes me think what is it or what am i doin wrong that this
women does not want to go out with me
[09/Nov/2004:21:38:03] <Father Phillip> generally speaking do you feel
good about yourself? about the way you look? about how you sound in conversation?
[09/Nov/2004:21:38:47] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: yeah usually but
sometimes i get nervous
[09/Nov/2004:21:38:52] <Father Phillip> that's very normal and natural
Other Sacraments – Marriage – Catholic/Non-Catholic Marriage
[09/Nov/2004:21:39:12] <Father Phillip> mayngan: is it possible to incorporate a Catholic and Christian
wedding ceremony?
[09/Nov/2004:21:39:22] <Father Phillip> a Catholic wedding IS a Christian
wedding :-)
[09/Nov/2004:21:39:47] <Father Phillip> mayngan: i wish my friend would
understand that
[09/Nov/2004:21:40:26] <Father Phillip> well, we have to do a better job
in explaining that
[09/Nov/2004:21:41:20] <Father Phillip> we need to show our friends the
places we're similar and be able to explain our beliefs clearly and most of
all live Christ-like lives!
Other Sacraments – Baptism – God’s Call
[09/Nov/2004:21:41:27] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: certain men are predestined for gods duties
[09/Nov/2004:21:41:34] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: what are your thoughts
on that
[09/Nov/2004:21:42:36] <Father Phillip> my thoughts are that ALL baptized
people are called by God to some way of serving God and God's people
[09/Nov/2004:21:42:43] <Father Phillip> for some of those people it's
marriage
[09/Nov/2004:21:42:50] <Father Phillip> for others it's working in the
Church
[09/Nov/2004:21:42:55] <Father Phillip> for some it's being nuns
[09/Nov/2004:21:43:01] <Father Phillip> for some it's being priests
[09/Nov/2004:21:44:02] <Father Phillip> i think that the only way any
of us can be happy and content and fulfilled is by saying YES to God's invitation
and i think we all get an invitation to God
[09/Nov/2004:21:44:25] <Father Phillip> mayngan: my friend is a Christian, and he kept saying that we worship
idols ... i told him many times that we don't. will you explain why we have
statues?
[09/Nov/2004:21:45:23] <Father Phillip> we have statues to help remind
us that God calls human beings to serve God and to serve God's people
[09/Nov/2004:21:46:40] <Father Phillip> the statues are just there in
Church, more or less, to remind us that God has called that person to serve
and that person said YES, so when God calls me to serve, I too can and should
say YES
[09/Nov/2004:21:48:32] <Father Phillip> mayngan: we believe that God is good, so good that it's beyond our
understanding, correct?
[09/Nov/2004:21:48:39] <Father Phillip> yes, we believe that God is good
[09/Nov/2004:21:49:10] <Father Phillip> and because God is infinite, God
is infinitely good -- which means that God's goodness is beyond our capacity
to understand fully
[09/Nov/2004:21:49:35] <Father Phillip> mayngan: i know He is also just,
but if He's so pure and good, why would He even creates hell?
[09/Nov/2004:21:49:48] <Father Phillip> that is not a question i or anybody,
really, can answer
[09/Nov/2004:21:50:27] <Father Phillip> some say that it's because hell
"balances" -- in a philosophical sense -- the reality of heaven --
but that's not really an answer to your question which nobody can answer
[09/Nov/2004:21:50:46] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: i often find myself
thinking about downfalls within soceity such as the hells angels gang it is
almost haunting to my mind i think about it far too much its annoyin
[09/Nov/2004:21:51:34] <Father Phillip> yes, you're both kind of talking about what is called "the
problem of evil" or "theodicy" (both words mean pretty much the
same thing)
[09/Nov/2004:21:52:02] <Father Phillip> and there is no fully satisfying
answer to the question
[09/Nov/2004:21:52:39] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: what do you think
of the chaos theory
[09/Nov/2004:21:52:44] <Father Phillip> don't know what you mean by that
[09/Nov/2004:21:55:17] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: chaos theory its
a theory that says the flaapping of a butterfly wing can cause a disaster somewhere
else
[09/Nov/2004:21:55:26] <Father Phillip> oh, i don't think i buy that at
all
[09/Nov/2004:21:55:42] <Father Phillip> mayngan: me neither
[09/Nov/2004:21:56:05] <Father Phillip> i think God's Providence directs
and guides the cosmos
[09/Nov/2004:21:56:49] <Father Phillip> not chaos
Living as a Christian – Relationships
[09/Nov/2004:21:58:38] <Father Phillip> mayngan: Father, what is your view on: religious differences getting
between two people?
[09/Nov/2004:21:58:46] <Father Phillip> i know that it happens all too
often
[09/Nov/2004:22:00:07] <Father Phillip> i guess i feel that the primary
issue is whether (if both are Christians) both parties have prayed and feel
called by God to the relationship
[09/Nov/2004:22:00:49] <Father Phillip> if they are both open to God's
call and direction, i think their religious differences would be minimized and
where they do exist would somehow bring the relationship closer to God
[09/Nov/2004:22:01:27] <Father Phillip> mayngan: i don't think religion should interfere
[09/Nov/2004:22:01:34] <Father Phillip> neither do i as a rule
[09/Nov/2004:22:01:39] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: This effect came
to be known as the butterfly effect. The amount of difference in the starting
points of the two curves is so small that it is comparable to a butterfly flapping
its wings.
[09/Nov/2004:22:02:13] <Father Phillip> i've heard of that, but i go back
to my statement that God's Providence is what guides and directs the universe
[09/Nov/2004:22:02:36] <Father Phillip> mayngan: i have sooo many questions,
but i suddenly forgot them all ... father, i will join you again :) good night!!
[09/Nov/2004:22:02:40] <Father Phillip> ok, take care!
[09/Nov/2004:22:06:46] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: did you get the second
part
[09/Nov/2004:22:06:47] <Father Phillip> of what?
[09/Nov/2004:22:08:48] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: The flapping of a
single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere.
Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what
it would have done. So, in a month's time, a tornado that would have devastated
the Indonesian coast doesn't happen. Or maybe one that wasn't going to happen,
does. (Ian Stewart, Does God Play Dice? The Mathematics of Chaos, pg. 141
[09/Nov/2004:22:09:07] <Father Phillip> no, i hadn't seen that
[09/Nov/2004:22:09:15] <Father Phillip> but i understand it, mostly, i
think
[09/Nov/2004:22:09:51] <Father Phillip> still, i think that while God
might choose to act that through that kind of 'mechanism,' God's providence
is what rules and directs the universe
[09/Nov/2004:22:11:41] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: other lifeforms aliens
god created them there was somethin i heard in the bible i have many mansions
within mansions
[09/Nov/2004:22:12:13] <Father Phillip> yes, Jesus does say in John's
Gospel, i believe, that there are many mansions in heaven
[09/Nov/2004:22:12:23] <Father Phillip> exactly what that means, i can't
say for sure
[09/Nov/2004:22:12:45] <Father Phillip> but it certainly CAN be interpreted
as making room for the idea that if aliens exist ...
[09/Nov/2004:22:13:03] <Father Phillip> whatever does exist, we certainly
believe that God is the Maker and Creator of it ALL
[09/Nov/2004:22:13:31] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: ring a bell
[09/Nov/2004:22:13:34] <Father Phillip> ding, ding, ding
[09/Nov/2004:22:13:36] <Father Phillip> it does :-)
[09/Nov/2004:22:13:58] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: is it possible that heaven could be a place in our
universe
[09/Nov/2004:22:14:03] <Father Phillip> well, all things are possible
[09/Nov/2004:22:14:24] <Father Phillip> but generally, Catholics don't
believe that heaven is a "place" in the physical sense of "place"
[09/Nov/2004:22:14:33] <Father Phillip> rather we believe that heaven
is real
[09/Nov/2004:22:14:46] <Father Phillip> but a reality that is beyond the
scope and limits of the space-time continuum
[09/Nov/2004:22:15:24] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: it is beyond what
our mind can interpret
[09/Nov/2004:22:15:26] <Father Phillip> yepper
[09/Nov/2004:22:15:46] <Father Phillip> maybe a slightly better way to
say it would be something like:
[09/Nov/2004:22:15:52] <Father Phillip> beyond what our mind can understand
[09/Nov/2004:22:16:01] <Father Phillip> but yep, you got the general idea
[09/Nov/2004:22:16:41] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: so is there such
as thing as other dimensions
[09/Nov/2004:22:16:49] <Father Phillip> well, again, i can't say for certain
[09/Nov/2004:22:17:16] <Father Phillip> but i certainly can say that believing
that other dimensions exist does not violate Catholic teaching
[09/Nov/2004:22:17:38] <Father Phillip> in fact, i'd say that the possibility
of other dimensions existing is consonant with most Catholic theology
[09/Nov/2004:22:17:45] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: where exactly would
another dimension take me
[09/Nov/2004:22:17:48] <Father Phillip> i have no idea
[09/Nov/2004:22:18:28] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: ive gotta read up
on that
[09/Nov/2004:22:18:31] <Father Phillip> you go for it!
[09/Nov/2004:22:18:39] <Father Phillip> and keep me posted on what you
find out! :-)
Theology – Christian Anthropology – Mental Illness
[09/Nov/2004:22:20:11] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: i have a few secrets about certain things ive experienced
because of the seriousness of what happen
[09/Nov/2004:22:20:22] <Father Phillip> i see
[09/Nov/2004:22:20:33] <Father Phillip> do you want to talk about those
things?
[09/Nov/2004:22:22:44] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: i told a councillor
at the psychosis program i take part in and i was brought into a authorized
personeel olny room and my body for some reason started to go extremely cold
on me
[09/Nov/2004:22:23:01] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: i choose not to talk
about those things
[09/Nov/2004:22:23:20] <Father Phillip> well, you certainly have the right
to make that choice and it's probably a good one
[09/Nov/2004:22:24:43] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: have you ever been
to lourdes
[09/Nov/2004:22:24:53] <Father Phillip> no, never have
[09/Nov/2004:22:24:58] <Father Phillip> but have always wanted to
[09/Nov/2004:22:26:24] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: yeah there is a pilgrimage
that is goin through my church 3300 to go to fatima lourdes and barcelona
[09/Nov/2004:22:26:35] <Father Phillip> that would be a good trip, i suspect
[09/Nov/2004:22:28:40] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: i great retreat
[09/Nov/2004:22:28:49] <Father Phillip> i agree -- i think it would be
a great retreat
[09/Nov/2004:22:28:59] <Father Phillip> Roger: If I am a single Catholic dad, can I marry the single Catholic
Godmother of my child?
[09/Nov/2004:22:29:15] <Father Phillip> hummmm....it depends on whether
both you and the Godmother are free to marry
[09/Nov/2004:22:30:27] <Father Phillip> that is to say, if you were both
widows or if you had never been married or if a previous marriage had been annulled
by the Catholic Church -- then the answer would probably be yes
[09/Nov/2004:22:31:01] <Father Phillip> Roger: if we are both single.
she has previously been married. it was annulled. my previous marriage was outside
of the church
[09/Nov/2004:22:31:09] <Father Phillip> Roger: Her previous marriage was
annulled. My marriage was outside of the church.
[09/Nov/2004:22:31:18] <Father Phillip> still your marriage would have
to be annulled --
[09/Nov/2004:22:31:28] <Father Phillip> were you a Catholic at the time
of the first marriage?
[09/Nov/2004:22:32:00] <Father Phillip> Roger: yes
[09/Nov/2004:22:32:24] <Father Phillip> then it's a matter, in all probability,
of receiving a decree of nullity due to defective form, but it still has to
be annulled
[09/Nov/2004:22:33:14] <Father Phillip> Roger: is the annullment process
lengthy for a marriage outside of the church?
[09/Nov/2004:22:33:16] <Father Phillip> not usually
[09/Nov/2004:22:33:43] <Father Phillip> Roger: Thank you so much, Father.
[09/Nov/2004:22:33:46] <Father Phillip> a pleasure
[09/Nov/2004:22:33:51] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: hey is america the
olny country to have places like area 51
[09/Nov/2004:22:33:59] <Father Phillip> i don't know what area 51 is
[09/Nov/2004:22:34:46] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: a top secret place
[09/Nov/2004:22:34:52] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: where they keep all
evidence on stuff like aliens
[09/Nov/2004:22:35:00] <Father Phillip> not something i know anything
about
[09/Nov/2004:22:35:40] <Father Phillip> ryanmichael: gotta go eat some
dinner
[09/Nov/2004:22:35:46] <Father Phillip> have a great evening -- take care