I studied (memorized) the questions in the old Catholic Baltimore Catechism in the 1950s. The catechism is a series of questions and answers about the Catholic faith. It has been revised since my grade school days, but the format of Q & A has been kept.

 

I think it is high time was revised even further. Therefore, I present for your contemplation:

 

“Bob’s Revised Baltimore Catechism”.

 

1.      Q.   Who made the world?  (All questions are from the revised catechism.)

Catholic Church:  God made the world.

Bob Kerber:  No “one” being or entity “made” the world; or this universe for that matter.  This universe exists because God, or more correctly, the energy that undergirds everything, asked the question (so to speak): Who am I?  This “world”, this universe, is the continuing, ever-expanding answer to that question. Rather than “who made the world”, I think it is more correct to say that something “caused” the world, this universe, to exist.

 2.      Q. Who is God?

CC:   God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things.

BK:   God is everything in all its one-ness. Every last, living, breathing molecule – every last atom, last electron, proton, quark.  Every last Higgs boson.  There is nothing that is not God.  As far as God being a conscious, all knowing, all seeing entity existing somewhere (i.e. in heaven) – I doubt it.

3.      Q. What is man?
CC:  Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God.

BK:  A “man” is a male human being.  A human being is a manifestation of the “divine”, the energy the underpins all of existence. As special as the birds of the air and the fish in the sea. As special as rocks. But humans seem to possess a uniqueness - humans have self-consciousness, a sense of their own personal identity, and also a sense of being part of a larger collective.  Many animals probably also have these special qualities, many definitely have a sense of being a part of a larger collective.  Science just hasn’t provided enough information for this yet.

       6. Q. Why did God make you?

CC:  God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.

BK: God “made” me to be conscious.  And perhaps to understand what my function on this material plane is.  But definitely to enjoy life, live fully, and to transfer positive energy to other living creatures.
  
       9. Q. What must we do to save our souls?

CC:  To save our souls, we must worship God by faith, hope, and charity; that is, we must believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him with all our heart.

BK: It’s not a question of saving our souls—it’s a question of the growth of our souls.

       10. Q. How shall we know the things which we are to believe?

CC:  We shall know the things which we are to believe from the Catholic Church, through which God speaks to us.

BK: We believe what we believe. We change our beliefs by study, contemplation and meditation. Gathering information, even false information unfortunately, causes us to change our beliefs.

  11. Q. Where shall we find the chief truths which the Church teaches?

CC:  We shall find the chief truths which the Church teaches in the Apostles' Creed.

BK:  We shall find that which the Church teaches in the Apostles' Creed.

12. Q. Say the Apostles' Creed.

BK:  I don’t remember most of it – It starts: I believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son…and that’s about it.