Age Range: 14-15 years (school Year 9) Core Themes: Faith and reason, salvation history, natural law, the problem of evil, apologetics Primary Sources:
At this stage, adolescents encounter more systematic challenges to their faith in science classes, online, and among peers. This year is designed to build intellectual confidence, demonstrating that faith is not a blind leap but a reasonable trust, and that the Church’s worldview is more coherent and robust than its secular alternatives.
Objection 1: It seems so, for science, which is based on reason and evidence, can explain the universe without any need for God. Therefore, faith is an unnecessary, pre-scientific hypothesis.
Objection 2: Furthermore, faith requires belief in mysteries like the Trinity and the Incarnation, which are logically incomprehensible. Reason cannot accept what it cannot understand.
Objection 3: Moreover, history shows that faith (e.g., the Galileo affair) has often been an obstacle to rational inquiry and scientific progress.
On the contrary, Pope St. John Paul II writes, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth”¹. Additionally, the First Vatican Council declared that “there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason”².
I answer that faith is not opposed to reason but perfects it. Reason can lead us to the doorstep of mystery, but only faith, which is a response to God’s self-revelation, can lead us inside. We must distinguish between:
Reason can demonstrate that God exists and that it is reasonable to trust His revelation. Faith then builds upon this foundation, giving us access to truths beyond reason’s grasp but not contrary to its principles. It’s like climbing a mountain: reason is the arduous climb that gets you to the summit, from which you can see a vast and beautiful landscape you couldn’t have imagined from the valley. Faith is trusting the guide who points out what you are seeing.
Reply to Objection 1: Science answers “how” questions (how does gravity work?), while faith and philosophy answer “why” questions (why is there a universe with gravity at all?). A physicist who is a Catholic (like Georges Lemaître, who proposed the Big Bang theory) does not have a divided mind; he has a complete one.
Reply to Objection 2: We accept many reasonable truths we don’t fully comprehend. A physicist can use the equations of quantum mechanics without fully understanding the reality they describe. Similarly, we can reasonably assent to the mystery of the Trinity based on the credibility of the One who revealed it (Jesus Christ), even if we cannot fully comprehend it.
Reply to Objection 3: While some Christians have wrongly opposed science, this is a failure of Christians, not of Christianity. The Church has been the greatest patron of science in history, founding the university system and supporting centuries of research. The Galileo affair was complex, but it was an exception, not the rule, in the Church’s long history of fostering scientific inquiry³.
Objection 1: It seems not, for it contains stories of miracles like a worldwide flood and a man rising from the dead, which defy scientific laws.
Objection 2: Furthermore, the Bible was written by many different authors over thousands of years and is full of apparent contradictions. It cannot be a single, coherent story.
Objection 3: Moreover, other ancient cultures have creation and flood myths, suggesting the Bible is just Israel’s version of a common myth-type.
On the contrary, the Church teaches that “the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation”⁴.
I answer that the Bible is not one book but a library, containing various genres (history, poetry, law, prophecy) that all point to one unified story: Salvation History. This is the true story of God’s interaction with humanity, culminating in Jesus Christ.
We must read the Bible according to its genre. We don’t read a poem the same way we read a legal document. The Bible’s truth is not always literalistic, but it is always real. Its authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, used the literary forms of their time to convey historical events and their theological meaning.
The key to its unity is typology: real people, places, and events in the Old Testament that foreshadow the greater realities fulfilled in Christ⁵.
This internal coherence, spanning centuries and authors, is itself evidence of a divine author guiding the human ones.
Reply to Objection 1: To deny the possibility of miracles is to assume from the outset that God does not exist or cannot act in His creation. This is a philosophical prejudice, not a scientific conclusion. If God created the laws of nature, He can certainly suspend or supersede them for a greater purpose.
Reply to Objection 2: The apparent contradictions often dissolve with deeper study of the original languages, cultural context, and literary forms. The “symphony” of Scripture has different movements and instruments, but it is one masterpiece.
Reply to Objection 3: The similarities with other myths often highlight the uniqueness of the biblical account. While pagan myths are cyclical and explain nature, the Bible’s story is linear, historical, and reveals a personal God who acts in history for the sake of love and salvation.
Objection 1: It seems so. If God is all-good, He would want to prevent evil. If He is all-powerful, He would be able to. Since evil exists, God must be either not all-good or not all-powerful, or He does not exist.
Objection 2: Furthermore, the suffering of innocent children serves no conceivable purpose and is incompatible with a loving Creator.
Objection 3: Moreover, a good God would not create beings capable of choosing such horrific evils as have been seen in human history.
On the contrary, the Cross of Christ, the greatest evil ever perpetrated—the killing of the only innocent Man—was turned by God into the greatest good: our salvation.
I answer that this is the most profound mystery we face. The Church does not offer a simple solution, but a Person: Jesus Christ, who enters into suffering with us. The Christian response to evil is not a philosophical formula but a story of divine love.
We can, however, make some rational distinctions⁶:
The full answer to the problem of evil is not known in this life. But in the Cross, we see that God’s response to our suffering is not to explain it from a distance, but to enter into it and redeem it from within.
Reply to Objection 1: This is a false dilemma. It omits a third possibility: that God has a morally sufficient reason for permitting evil, a reason tied to the greater good of creating free beings capable of love.
Reply to Objection 2: We cannot see the full tapestry. The suffering of the innocent is a terrible wound that cries out to heaven. Faith trusts that God, who experienced this reality in Christ, will bring justice and healing in a way we cannot yet see.
Reply to Objection 3: God did not create evil beings. He created good beings with the capacity for freedom. The risk was immense, but the prize—a universe of beings who could freely love Him and each other for eternity—was greater.
Argument Deconstruction Find an article, video, or comment online that argues against the existence of God.
Salvation History Timeline Create a visual timeline from Creation to the Second Coming. Mark key events: The Fall, the Flood, Abraham, Moses & Exodus, David, the Exile, the Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery, Pentecost, and the founding of the Church. Draw lines showing the typological connections.
Theodicy Debate Hold a structured debate on the problem of evil. Assign roles:
Doubt & Belief Log
Worldview Comparison
Read: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence.”
Picture It: Imagine a friend asking you, “How can you believe all that stuff? It makes no sense.” Picture yourself responding not with anger or fear, but with gentle confidence. What does that look like?
Think:
Talk to Jesus: “Lord, fill me with a hope so real that people ask me about it. Give me the words to explain it with love.”
The Biology Class Your biology teacher, whom you respect, states: “Evolution by natural selection is a random, unguided process that fully explains the diversity of life on Earth. Anyone who believes in a creator is ignoring the scientific evidence.” Several classmates nod in agreement.
How to think and respond?
The Meme-ification of Unbelief Atheism online often takes the form of short, witty memes that mock faith (e.g., “Sky-Daddy,” “Magic Zombie”).
The Problem of Evil in Other Worldviews
Dialogue Point: The Christian response is unique. God doesn’t just give us a path out of suffering; He enters into it with us on the Cross. This transforms suffering from a meaningless problem to be escaped into a potential place of encounter with God.
The Philosopher Who Found Truth in the Cross
Edith Stein was a brilliant German Jewish philosopher and a declared atheist. She believed only in what reason could prove. While visiting a friend, she picked up the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila and read it in one night. She closed it and said, “This is the truth.”
She realized that the faith was not irrational, but supra-rational—it completed what her philosophy was searching for. She became a Catholic, then a Carmelite nun. When the Nazis rose to power, she was arrested because of her Jewish heritage and sent to Auschwitz. She died in the gas chambers, seeing her death as a way to unite herself with the Cross of Christ for her people.
Her witness:
This Week’s Challenge: Take one intellectual doubt you have and, like Edith Stein, pursue it relentlessly through reading, prayer, and discussion, trusting that all honest questions lead to God.
“Science has proven the Bible is wrong.” “Which part, specifically? Let’s look at it. Often, what science ‘disproves’ is a very literalistic interpretation that the Church itself doesn’t hold. For example, the Church does not require us to believe the world was created in six 24-hour days. ‘Day’ (Yom in Hebrew) can mean a long period of time. The Genesis creation accounts are theologically true—they tell us the why and who of creation—while science proposes theories about the how. Many great scientists are devout believers who see their work as uncovering the genius of the Creator.”
“My friends are all atheists. Maybe they’re right.” “It’s hard being the only one who believes something. First, know that you’re not alone—the majority of the world’s population believes in God. But let’s take your friends’ arguments seriously. What are their reasons for not believing? Often, atheism is more of an emotional or moral rejection of God than a purely intellectual one. Many people have been hurt by believers or can’t reconcile a good God with the evil they see. Listen to your friends with empathy. And remember, you don’t have to have all the answers. Your job is to be a faithful witness. Let’s find some good resources together to address their specific points.”
“I pray, but I don’t feel anything. It feels like I’m talking to myself.” “That experience is very normal. In fact, it’s a key part of the spiritual life for almost everyone, including the greatest saints like Mother Teresa. She felt spiritual darkness for decades! Faith is not a feeling. It’s a choice to trust God even when He feels distant. This period of ‘dryness’ can be a gift. God might be purifying your faith, so that you love Him for who He is, not just for the good feelings He gives you. Continue to pray, even when it’s hard. Tell God exactly how you feel: ‘Lord, I feel like you’re not here. Help my unbelief.’ That is a powerful prayer.”
❌ “You just have to have faith.” (This is fideism) ✅ Say: “Faith is a choice, but it’s a reasonable one. Let’s look at the reasons.”
❌ “Don’t listen to that science teacher.” ✅ Say: “Let’s learn the science, and then see how it fits within our larger understanding of God’s creation.”
❌ “Doubting is a sin.” ✅ Say: “Doubts are not sins; they are questions. Acting on doubt by abandoning faith is a problem, but asking the questions is part of how faith matures.”
❌ “God has a plan” (as a simplistic answer to suffering). ✅ Say: “We trust God has a plan, but that doesn’t make the pain go away. It’s okay to be angry and sad. God is with us in that pain.”
Which statement would be most helpful to remember in a conversation with a skeptical friend?
“The biggest intellectual challenge to my faith right now is…”
“A question I’m going to research this week is…”
“Lord, I believe, help my unbelief in the area of…”
“One way I can be a ‘gentle and reverent’ apologist is…”
Check what interests you: □ The historical evidence for the Resurrection. □ Catholic scientists throughout history. □ Logical fallacies and how to spot them. □ How the Bible was compiled (the canon of Scripture). □ The life of a philosopher-saint like Edith Stein or Justin Martyr. □ How to talk about faith with an atheist friend.
Ask for help finding resources to dig deeper.