Relative Discourse on God, Religion

In “Tell Me Why: A Father Answers His Daughter’s Questions About God” (Pocket Books, 1998), the father is Michael Novak, a former U.S. ambassador and a writer on religion and public policy. The daughter is Jana Novak, who writes for a Washington politician. That gives us some idea of the level of conversation.

Novak the younger is a voice for doubters and critics, Novak the elder is the scholarly defender of traditional Christianity. Even when they agree on a subject, which happens more often toward the end of the book, she raises enough objections to get a person thinking about why they do or don’t believe in religion, or God, and how to make important decisions based on religious values.

Novak the younger asks whether we need religion at all. To her the word means institution and reminds her of abuses and manipulations recorded through time. Isn’t it possible, she wonders, to believe in God and be on good terms without joining a church, a synagogue or mosque?

Novak the elder is a Roman Catholic theologian, which makes even his small concessions to her criticisms a surprise.

“Every social institution is a clumsy thing,” he admits. For him, that isn’t reason enough to stay away. By his definition, religion is also “a communion that bears the truth about God, human destiny and yourself.”

He seems more concerned that his daughter choose for the right reasons than that she choose his own Catholic faith.

“Read, study, pray--involve your whole soul (mind and will) in your decision. Do not make a religious choice for lighter reasons, even though, perhaps, most people do.”

Her biggest question is about God.

“We need to address why people should believe in God--any god,” she writes. Deciding to believe requires a “leap,” she adds.

“Hardly anybody reasons his way to the existence of God,” Novak senior answers. A helpful start. He explains how some people come to recognize God’s presence in the beauty of creation or the faces of the poor, among other places. From there they might discover where God lives. Here, St. Augustine, the 5th century doctor of the church, has a word: “I sought thee everywhere, my God, but when at last I found Thee, Thou wert within.”

The book takes up questions about women clergy, married priests, the literal reading of the Bible, the meaning of “heaven” and “hell.”

Father and daughter agree more than disagree on questions of abortion, sex outside of marriage and homosexuality, opposing all three. While there is little friction between the Novaks on these issues, this section of the book is a reminder that, often, members of the same religion draw on official teachings to defend opposing points of view.

Whether a reader agrees or disagrees with his arguments, there is one bit of advice this father gives that anyone can learn from. In making important choices, “Read, study, pray.”