The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

In this episode Bishop Barron answers Questions about the Mass.

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In this episode, Bishop Barron answers questions from the Word on Fire Community.

• 0:04 - Introduction
• 1:45 - Why have my emotions cooled off after my conversion?
• 6:30 - What should we tell people who think religion is superstition?
• 10:36 - How should we respond to people who claim to be "spiritual but not religious"?
• 14:30 - Does religion have a smart people problem?
• 19:30 - Why does Dante's explanation of Heaven have varying levels?
• 23:40 - Are all religions at the core fundamentally the same?
• 27:25 - What are some ideas for evangelizing a college campus?

To join the Word on Fire Community go to www.wordonfire.org/community

In this episode, Bishop Barron discusses the content of his great book, And Now I See. A listener asks about the role of our conscience in relation to Church teaching.

Topics Discussed

• 0:04 - Introduction, Bishop Barron's trip to the National Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta.
• 2:15 - What is the central crux of And Now I See?
• 5:30 - Why is the idea of sight used to explain Christian transformation?
• 7:40 - How does Dante reveal the "mind of fear" in all of us?
• 13:45 - How does Thomas Merton reveal the "mind of trust" that comes from Christ?
• 18:30 - How can a aggressive spirituality become a detriment to us?
• 22:50 - How is the Incarnation the key to changing our vision?
• 25:10 - What should we do if our conscience is at odds with Church teaching?

Visit www.AskBishopBarron.com to submit a listener question.

Nearly every day we hear about natural disasters, school shootings, and profound tragedies. Each of us experiences pain and suffering. So why does God allow it? Why doesn't he just prevent all evil from occurring? That's what Bishop Barron discusses in today's episode. A listener asks

• o:04 - Introduction, Bishop Barron talks about his The Mass Study Program
• 3:14 - How did St. Augustine wrestle with the problem of evil?
• 10:00 - How did Thomas Aquinas deal with the problem of evil philosophically and theologically?
• 17:00 - How could God under any circumstances permit the Holocaust?
• 20:00 - How did God deal with the problem of evil on the Cross?
• 23:00 - How would Bishop Barron explain evil to a grieving sufferer?
• 24:50 - Question: Why did God not make us more capable of understanding him?

In this episode, we discuss a recent article in GQ magazine which described the Bible as overrated, along with a new report from Barna titled State of the Bible 2017: Top Findings. We explore whether people are reading the Bible, how much they're doing it, and how we can all read the Bible better.

• 0:04 - Introduction, Bishop's reflections on his Google talk, the Pope Francis movie
• 5:25 - Why does GQ Magazine think the Bible is overrated?
• 11:30 - How does Bishop Barron engage people who want to read the Bible but struggle with the task?
• 17:00 - How can the Bible, itself, be used as an evangelical tool?
• 21:30 - Why is the printed text of the Bible so important to people rather than the ebook version?
• 27:30 - Question: Is the God of the Bible in contrast with the God of natural theology?

• Links
  • State of the Bible 2017: Top Findings (Barna)
  • 3 Takeaways from New Research on Americans and the Bible (Trevin Wax)
  • GQ magazine puts Bible on list of 20 classic books not worth reading (USA Today)
• Videos
  • Bishop Barron on How to Read the Bible
  • Bishop Barron on Biblical Religion
• Articles
  • Pope Benedict and How To Read the Bible (Bishop Barron)

Bishop Barron was recently invited to speak at the Google headquarters (aka the Googleplex) in Mountain View, CA. He addressed a room full of Google and YouTube employees on how religion doesn't shut down the questing intellect, but in fact opens up our minds, causing us to seek the fulfillment of our deepest longings.

We shared the first half of his talk in last week's episode. Today we listen to the second half along with the post-talk Q&A with Google/YouTube employees.

Bishop Barron was recently invited to speak at the Google headquarters (aka the Googleplex). in Mountain View, CA. He addressed a room full of Google and YouTube employees on how religion doesn't shut down the questing intellect, but in fact opens up our minds, causing us to seek the fulfillment of our deepest longings.

NOTE: This episode includes the first half of Bishop Barron's talk. We'll play the second half next week, including the post-talk Q&A with Google/YouTube employees.

Bishop Barron answers several questions from young listeners, ranging from three-year-olds to eight-year-olds, about God, Adam and Eve, and robbers. Enjoy this kids Q&A episode!

Be sure to record your questions—or your kids' questions—at AskBishopBarron.com.

• 2:20 - Update about Word on Fire Institute video recording
• 4:00 - Did Jesus really see his Father on the Cross?
• 5:15 - Why did Peter deny Jesus three times?
• 8:05 - Why didn't God warn Adam and Eve about the serpent?
• 13:00 - Why didn't God make us perfect in the beginning?
• 18:20 - Why did God make robbers?
• 20:45 - Why did God make tigers?
• 24:20 - How is it that God did not come into existence?

The new film Avengers: Infinity War, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, has already grossed over $1 billion worldwide and had the highest-grossing opening in film history. In this episode, Bishop Barron and Jared Zimmerer explore some of the movie's philosophical and spiritual themes.

*SPOILER ALERT!* This episode contains spoilers so only listen after you've seen the film, or if you don't plan to see it.

• 0:04 - Introduction, confirmation season
• 4:30 - What does Bishop Barron think of comic book movies and the villain, Thanos?
• 6:17 - How does Thanos mirror Nietzsche and alchemy?
• 9:45 - How does Thanos reflect the totalitarian regimes of the World War II?
• 13:05 - How does the Church stand against the idea that "the end justifies the means"?
• 15:45 - What are the shortcomings of the Marvel heroes, and how do they reflect the Greek gods?
• 21:50 - How did Bishop Barron react to the surprise ending?
• 25:00 - Who is Bishop Barron's favorite super hero?
• 26:00 - Question - By what criteria to you criticize movies?

Part two of Bishop Barron's talk on Catholicism and beauty from the 2018 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.