A religion which can trace its roots to Hinduism, Jainism was founded by Vardhamana Mahavira (599-527 B.C.). Despite its small number of members, about 2 million, it has had a large influence on Indian society.

"However, there is another side to Jefferson’s character which is not so well known as the negative one of his antipathy to organized religion. Whatever else may be said in his favor, it must be admitted that he had a reverence and respect for the person and teachings of Jesus Christ which according to his limited vision he tried to put into practice. The purpose of this study will not be to prove that Jefferson was a Christian, or that he was not a deist. It will only be to present a piece of historical evidence which should indicate that the full Jefferson portrait has not yet been painted, at least on the side of his religious beliefs. There is no need to point out how important is a just estimate of Jefferson in this matter, since much of the present-day controversy in America over the relations of Church and State revolves around the pivotal question of what our Founding Fathers intended to legislate on the subject of religion; and their intention, it is safe to say, was an expression of their own religious convictions." - Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

"About nine years before his death, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) compiled a folio booklet of 83 leaves which he entitled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, Extracted Textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French, and English. The booklet, which has come to be known as the Jefferson Bible, expresses the religious principles of the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States." - Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

"The heart of Christianity is faith in the Incarnation. We believe that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity became man. We believe the Incarnation is the union of the divine nature of the Son of God with human nature in the person of Jesus Christ. We believe that the Son of God assumed our flesh, body and soul and dwelt among us like one of us, in order to redeem us. We believe that His divine nature was substantially united to our human nature. We believe that Jesus Christ is God who became man and will remain man for the endless reaches of eternity." - Fr. John A. Hardon

"Our present meditation is on Christ, the Truth, our duty to know Jesus Christ. There is no more stark contrast between the Old Testament and Christ’s understanding of the Decalogue than in the eighth commandment. As we have seen, the stress in the Mosaic code was on the prohibition of lying. Given our fallen human nature, we all have a propensity for not telling the truth. In other words, it is natural to fallen man to lie. Not to know that is not to understand human nature." - Fr. John A. Hardon

"We are speaking on the theme of the redemption and we have so far seen that from the first chapters of Genesis, all through the Old Testament the chosen people were looking forward to a Redeemer. We also saw that sadly there were two kinds of messiah that the Jews expected. The one who would save His people from political oppression, material poverty, and one who would save His people from their sins. We know what happened. The real messiah came. Most of His own people having looked for a different Savior, rejected Jesus Christ. Our present reflections therefore are on Jesus Christ the Savior." - Fr. John A. Hardon

This article of the creed affirms two truths of our Christian faith. It first declares that after Christ died, His soul separated from the body and visited the souls of the faithful departed in what theologically we call the Limbo of the Fathers. The second truth is Christ’s bodily resurrection from the grave on Easter Sunday. Certainly, the Lord’s resurrection is far more important, but His descent "into hell" should be better known.

If we wish to know how important is this article of the Creed, all we have to do is read Saint Paul’s statement to the Corinthians. He says, "I judge myself not to know anything among you but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). We cannot exaggerate the importance of understanding the passion, death and burial of Jesus Christ. They are the highest proof of how much God loves us. They are also the deepest inspiration for our loving God in return.

Jesus Found in the Temple (Alt)

"It [the bible narrative] gives us an insight into how God's Providence deals with persons that He loves. And it finally tells us how, like Mary, we should dispose ourselves to respond to God's mysterious ways in our lives and in the life of the whole people of God." - Fr. John A. Hardon

Think of all that, with God's help, we have been able to achieve, and beneath the achievement, all we have been able to be. We are alive and we trust, in the friendship of God. "We trust" is more important than it appears on the surface. Without trust, there can be no hope. We hope to obtain things, yes, but only because we trust Someone to give us those things. And those who have hope and trust also have the byproduct of confidence.

Swaggart raises basic questions about the Catholic faith that many Catholics find difficult to answer, primarily because the questions are usually unfamiliar to them and too often are considered, by both Swaggart and his critics, with an emotion charged superficiality that obscures rather than reveals the truth. With the noise and confusion of the election behind us, Catholic Twin Circle has gone to Rev. Jimmy Swaggart and Father John A. Hardon, S.J., author of "The Catholic Catechism," in an effort to clear things up as much as possible. Rev. Swaggart’s remarks appear at right. Our discussion with Father Hardon, addressing the specific criticisms of Catholic doctrine, follows it.

When John Dewey celebrated his ninetieth birthday on October 20, 1949, fifteen hundred guests crowded a huge ballroom in New York City to do him honor. Messages of congratulation poured in from President Harry Truman, Prime Minister Atlee, Pandit Nehru, and from a hundred United States colleges and universities. A dozen foreign nations had planned celebrations. Friends were raising $90,000 for an educational Dewey Birthday Fund. And all because in the eyes of millions of admirers no one in the history of America "has so profoundly and in so many areas of human endeavor influenced and determined his own age as…America's dean of Philosophers: John Dewey." In striking contrast with this adulation, American Catholics regard Dewey as a modern prophet of error whose philosophy of education is "socialistic naturalism without God, without Christ, without religion, without immortality. Every single strain in it, from the influence of Hegel to the inspiration of Darwin, finds its place within his system."

In 1894 John Dewey was invited to the newly founded University of Chicago to become head of its department of philosophy and psychology. He replied that he would accept the appointment if the department would include the subject of pedagogy. His proposal was approved, and Dewey became dean of the department of philosophy, psychology, and pedagogy. Two years later he organized his first laboratory school, in Chicago, where he put into practice his radical theories of education. In 1904 he went to Columbia University as professor of educational philosophy, and since then has so revolutionized American education that "almost every public U.S. school has become Deweyized."