1. What's the point of following someone who died 2,000 years ago?
Christians do not look upon Jesus as a dead historical character — similar to someone like Julius Caesar or Napoleon.
The central belief of Christians is that after his death by crucifixion, Jesus
was raised to life by God, his Father.
So it is not accurate to say that Christians follow someone who died 2.000
years ago. Christians believe that Jesus is alive now and through his Spirit still has an influence on the lives of his friends and followers,
Over the last 2,000 years millions of people have experienced the living presence of Jesus, and they have discovered the point of following him by experiencing the difference he makes to their lives.

2. How can anyone believe that Jesus Christ came back to life after dying on the cross?
Strictly speaking. Christians do not believe that Jesus “came back to life”, They believe that
God. his Father, raised Jesus to a new kind of life — a life which is eternal and which death can no longer touch. If he had “come back to life” he would still be subject to death because death is an inevitable part of this present life. But Christians believe that the risen body of Jesus can never die again. He has conquered death. That is why Christians say that Jesus is alive now.
The foundation for belief in the resurrection rests on the witness of the first disciples of Jesus, They saw him after his resurrection and ate and drank with him. This experience of meeting the risen Lord transformed them. They became his witnesses — proclaiming that Jesus who was crucified had been raised to life. Many of those first witnesses were put to death for their belief.
The resurrection of Jesus is a unique event. We cannot describe it or say how it happened. Nor can it be proved scientifically. We can only say it did happen. For 2,000 years Christians have proclaimed their faith in the resurrection of Jesus because they experience his abiding presence in their own lives.

3. If God knows everything, why should we pray for our needs?
We pray for our needs because we need to, not because God doesn't know our needs. God is continually inviting us to accept his gifts and his love, but we often fail to recognise this. Through prayer we grow increasingly conscious of God's care for us and we learn to respond to God's invitation. We begin to see our dependence and draw closer to him. Our prayer shows us where we stand before God. If we simply ask for things in prayer then we are childishly trying to use God as a slot machine. If we share our life, our feelings and our experiences with him we are setting the scene for a deep relationship based on loving trust.

In such a relationship there is no need for a request list. It's replaced by the confidence that our heavenly Father knows what is best for us. God anticipates our prayer and takes it into account. God knows our hearts and he can unite his gifts with their real need.

4. Isn't religion just a crutch?
No, religion is just the opposite. It makes us stand on our own feet and face the reality of who we are, what we are doing here and where we are going. Religion encourages us to face the fundamental questions about life. It also provides an action-plan which enables us to make the most of our life whatever our situation.
The real crutches people lean on are things like alcohol, drugs, and astrology.
These are substitutes for reality and distract us from taking responsibility for our own lives.

5. Religious people are always worrying about whether they'll get to heaven when they die. Doesn't that take all the enjoyment out of life?
For some people religion is a grim and gloomy business. They tend to see life as a sort of entrance exam to heaven. Obviously, if you think everything you do gains or loses you a mark, it can take the joy out of life. But not all religious people see life in that way.
Catholics believe that human beings are made for happiness — and not just happiness in the world to come. True happiness springs from love; but the love we will experience fully in heaven is not different from the love we can experience here and now. Just as our human relationships involve gradually getting to know people and reaching out to them in love, so our relationship with God grows and develops. And it begins in this life. So Catholics prefer to see life as a developing relationship with God which brings with it, here and now, a deep and lasting joy.

6. Why do Catholics pray to the mother of Jesus? Why can’t they pray directly to God?
Catholics can, and do, pray directly to God. They also address prayers to Mary, the mother of Jesus. But they do not pray to Mary in the same way that they pray to God. Prayer to God is worship, and worship can be offered to God alone. Catholics do not worship Mary. When they address her in prayer it is to ask her to pray to Jesus for them. There's nothing unusual about that. We often ask our relatives or friends to pray for us.

Catholics believe that, because of her special relationship to Jesus and the part she played in co-operating with God to make our salvation possible, Mary’s intercession is particularly valuable.

At the marriage feast at Cana (narrated in the second chapter of John's Gospel) it was Mary who told Jesus “They have no wine”. And this prompted Jesus to work his first miracle. In the same way, Catholics ask her to make their needs known to Jesus.
Catholics look upon Mary as their spiritual mother, but the honour they show her does not arise from her own merits but from the special relationship she has with Jesus, her son.

7. Why does anyone need to be redeemed? The only way to improve yourself is by self-discipline.
If you have any doubt about humanity's need of redemption you need look no further than the news on TV or the front page of your daily paper. A moment's thought will convince you that we live in a wounded world; a world in which people are at odds with each other and in which greed and selfishness seem to thrive. The numbing thing about the evil we see all around us is that we as individuals seem powerless to do anything about it.

But the disease is not only outside us. If we're at all honest we recognise the seeds of wickedness within ourselves. We are divided selves. We may want what is good; we may desire to be fully integrated people who express our wholeness in love and care and service. But we also know we often fall short of that. Fear cripples us and we opt for self-interest. We are tainted with the malaise that inflicts the whole of humanity — and no matter how hard we try, no matter how much self-discipline we apply, we cannot get rid of that inner conflict.
That is why Christians believe that we need to be redeemed. We need to be shown that the creative power of love can meet the evil in the world and overcome it. That is what Jesus achieved by his death and resurrection.