Catholic Bible - extra books?

Hi, what about the extra books in the Catholic bible that is not found in the Protestant Bible?  How can we understand / trust the canonization process when there are such differences?  Can you comment on this?

Fine-Tuning Argument: Combinations of Constants?

The fine-tuning argument relies on the idea that all these different constants line up so perfectly to make the universe viable.  But how can we make this kind of probabilistic conclusion because we don't know how other possible combinations of these constants might have worked.  For example, maybe even if the universal gravitational constant were too low, if the expansion rate of the universe is also lowered appropriately, then things might have worked out.  And since we don't know how many other combinations out there are viable, we can't say that our current universe is particularly amazing or improbable.

Utilitarianism as a Basis for Morality

Can't morality be based on utilitarian beliefs (good/evil being based on trying to maximize happiness and minimize suffering for our society).  It seems like everything can be guided by that principle, because we know innately that suffering is bad and happiness is good -- and we don't need God for that.  So if we just make our decisions to maximize happiness for the most # of people and minimize suffering for the most # of people, why would we need to refer to some other source for morality?

Clue from Aesthetics / Beauty

How would you go about talking about the existence of God from our recognition of aesthetics or beauty?  This "Argument from Beauty" is found in Appendix 1 of Course 101 chapter 1, but I am not sure how to really make a case for the existence of God based on something as subjective as the experience of aesthetics.

Life Purpose

Many people have this purpose for their lives: "I just want to live a good, decent life, leave something good to pass onto my kids, and then pass away."  As a Christian, I know this is an insufficient way to look at life, and yet how can I powerfully argue that his view is deficient, lacking?

Isn't Fine-Tuning of the Universe a Result of Chance + Time?

Regarding the Fine-Tuning Argument of the Universal Constants (explained here, also in Course 101 chapter 1 Appendix), even if the probability for a fine-tuned universe to happen by chance is small, if there's a large enough amount of time, wouldn't the event eventually happen?  So this argument doesn't seem to have any religious implications.

Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac

Why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?  Even if it was a test of Abraham's love for God, why would God choose such a test?  What purpose did such a test serve?

Fear and Love

The Bible tells us to fear God, but at the same time, the Bible says that God is loving.  How can I fear a loving God?

Why is Hell Eternal When Sin is Temporary?

Sin is something that happens once and passes.  So the whole business of hell being eternal seems like it is WAY out of proportion.  Even in our human justice system, there is this idea of proportionality of punishment.  Doesn't it seem unjust that God would punish us eternally for something that we did during the short years of our earthly lives?

Free Will and God's Foreknowledge

If God knows the future, then doesn't that mean that I don't have free will? 

Why is God a "He"?

God is Spirit and does not have gender.  So why is God called a "He"?  I am hearing many accusations in classes that Christianity is sexist because God is labeled as a "He".

Denominations?

Why are there so many divisions and denominations when we all basically believe the same thing (the gospel)?  Isn't that a tragic thing that we have to be so divisive?  Why can't we all just be one denomiation?

Adam's Sins Inherited

Why do I get punished for Adam’s sin?  That’s not fair.  Adam and Eve sinned, and I get messed up for it, because now I have this sinful nature.  Why do we have to get messed up because of someone else's sin?

How Do We Trust the Writers of the Bible?

It seems clear that the writers of the Bible were fallible men, and for some of them, they were even rebuked by Jesus as being wrong.  They had wrong ideas, they had wrong beliefs.  So how can we trust that their writings (the Bible) is the word of God?

Objective Morality from Evolution

Naturalism (atheism) seems to lead to the conclusion that objective morality does not exist. But in a world fraught with moral battles (fight for human rights, women's rights, civil rights, fight against genocide, etc.), atheism's amoral world seems to invalidate all such endeavors. But it would be an atheistic anathema to admit the necessity of God in order to have morals. Because of this, it has become fashionable (and perhaps necessary) to try to get to an objective morality apart from God. But is this possible? Many try to do this by attempting to ground morality in evolution. An example of such an attempt can be found on this NY Times article.  How would Christians respond to this?

O.T. God Reveals Himself So Explicitly..

The question goes something like this:
In the Old Testament, it seems like God revealed Himself all the time to people in scary and very explicit ways. How come He doesn't do that in the N.T.? In the Old Testament, God judges people and is quite scary. But the New Testament God doesn't seem to do that.. Are we talking about different Gods here?

Problem of Suffering / Pain

I've been asked a lot by non-Christians concerning the unfairness of God such as why a loving God would allow suffering (cancer, Holocuast, childhood mortality, etc.). I normally respond by saying that Jesus suffered the ultimate pain and unfair punishment by dying in our place on the cross so that we would not have eternal damnation. Are there other responses you would make and are there any resources or Bible verses to back up the views? Thanks in advance!

Christian View on Dating

What is the right Christian view on dating? Am I allowed to date anyone, or just Christians? What about someone within my church?

People Who Never Heard?

I have a question regarding how we are to understand salvation and consequently, damnation, in the context of the pre-Christ world. Was salvation possible in a pre-christ world? Was it possible in all cultures, outside of Abraham and outside of the Jewish community in formation? If so, how? In-line with this question is another one I have heard twice in the past month, and would like help in addressing. Is it possible for someone who has never heard of Jesus (in a post-Jesus) world, to be saved? If so, how, and under what circumstances and understanding?

Do OT Leviticus Laws Still Apply to Us Today?

What attitude should we be reading all these rules and regulations that we see in Exodus and Leviticus? I guess I don't know what to think of being ceremonial clean. I understand when someone sins, he has to do the right things to get right with God again. But all the touching dead animals, monthly period, childbirth, and the whole paragraph on discharges...like what does that have anything to do with being spiritually clean? It sounds...kind of tedious, so I just didn't know what to think of it, or why God asked for these things to be done when the Israelites are just being human beings. How should we read these passages? How is it relevant to me now?