Mr. Sullivan, have you heard the comments numerous current and former students of Providence have posted that say the exact opposite sentiments about PA that you express in this statement? If not, please hear me.
I went to Providence Academy. I was raised Catholic but considered myself an atheist until around my sophomore year. I constantly argued with Catholic teachings on just about everything and anything that smacked of a Supreme Being while in classes at Providence. Rather than being chastised for disagreeing with "the supreme truth" Teachers genuinely appreciated my dissenting contributions and told me so. I got solid grades, was not discriminated against for my views, and was eventually convinced of the merits of Christianity and Catholicism. The teachers at Providence without a doubt valued my questions.
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First, let's confirm that you've genuinely adopted the Catholic faith: You now believe all non-marital sex is gravely sinful? That artificial birth control should never be used, even by married couples? That not one woman should ever have any role in Church governance? That Hindu worshippers are wasting their time? That the author of the universe cares deeply about how you touch your penis?
How could one consider becoming a Christian--one feels required to ask--when there is no evidence for the resurrection? How can that not be a deal breaker?
No matter how hard I wanted to be a Catholic, I'd have difficulty saying 'Credible evidence points to the resurrection being true,' given that no such evidence exists.
While I am aware how frequently Providencefolk trumpet their community's 'open-mindedness,' I am interested in learning whether real tolerance reigns there--disregarding self-perceptions, which often embed community-membership signalling and vain ideology.
To find out whether Providence is infested with boneheaded intellectual rot, I looked for the low-hanging fruit: Does the school have any clear frame through which evolution gets presented? I learned that Providence teaches evolution but reassures anti-evolutionists that it's okay for them to reject it. In other words, a perversion of impartiality reigns at Providence.
If any Providence person holds that the school encourages genuine religious questioning, please ask them, 'On which controversial church issues are students asked to explore all options, irrespective of red hat dogma?'
