Lessons Three, Four and Five

Good news!  I managed to get blogger to load at work.  It turns out it was half the site blocker and half an addon I have called BetterPrivacy.  Gmail still fails though.
Bad news! Third fourteen-er in a row today.  Yay!

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Lesson Three
The Unity and Trinity of God
B.  Trinity of God 
25.  How many Persons are there in God?  In God there are three divine Persons --the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
This chapter reminds me of a conversation I had with an acquaintance of mine.  We used to work on chain mail jewelry/dice bags together and the topic of Catholicism came up once.  He was against religion in general (or at least he gave the impression) and launched into a story of why Catholicism made no sense.  One of his points was that it claimed to be monotheistic but was, in reality, polytheistic.  He cited the Trinity as his evidence, following with 'worship of the saints and Mary.'  Being uneducated at the time I couldn't present to him a good argument as to why his theory was without merit, so I told him I disagreed and couldn't articulate why.  The rest of the conversation circulated around paganism and physically being in a holy place (such as a church).
It was certainly interesting to hear his point of view, but the conversation was a bit of an eye-opener.  Everyone who was against me making this conversion had some reason that was similarly without research - a very close friend of mine said something about the church condoning the diddling of little boys - but founded in emotional distaste for one reason or another.
At any rate, this chapter provides me with an articulate response to people who claim Catholicism is breaking God's commandments by being polytheistic:  A NATURE is WHAT someone or something is.  A PERSON is WHO someone is.  THE BLESSED TRINITY does NOT mean: 1 God in 3 Gods, 1 Nature in 3 Natures, 1 Person in 3 Persons BUT: 1 NATURE in 3 PERSONS. 
Sorry for the caps.  I'm trying to type this as true to the book as possible.
The lesson goes on to explain the differences between natural and supernatural mysteries.  It's good debate material if you run into someone who wants to debate you (and you will), but you should always research further before jumping to conclusions.

Lesson Four
Creation and the Angels
In this chapter we learn about angels.  What they are, what they do, the good and the bad.
I've always believed in guardian angels, which might be silly, but I do think we have someone watching over us.

Lesson Five
Creation and the Fall of Man
My instructor told me of a 'super-computer' that when asked how many parents there were originally, answered  "two."  The problem with this is it can be swayed to either side.
From a scientific point of view, there are always two parents (excepting this which is...what it is.  I don't think this happens naturally).  Genetically - supposing the above link actually cannot be achieved naturally - there can never be more than two.  So it makes sense that the computer answered 'two.'
The religious answer should go without saying: Adam and Eve.
A. Creation
51. A) Is it possible that there are intelligent beings created by God on other planets of the universe?  Yes; ...
I love that this question is in the lesson.  The full answer is that it is entirely possible because God is all-powerful.  E.T. is out there!
I'm skipping the next section assuming most everyone knows the story of Adam and Eve
C. The Punishment
62. Was any human person ever preserved from original sin?
Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! I know the answer to this one!
The Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from original sin...this privilege is called her Immaculate Conception.
Original sin is still a strange concept to me.  My instructor explained it as such: we are not born with sin on our hearts, but the inclination to sin as we are imperfect beings.  This explanation leveled my uneasiness about believing that every newborn baby had come into the world having already sinned.  
How is that possible? You haven't even had a chance to do anything and you've already committed sin?  That seems extreme to me.
It is extreme, which is why the extra explanation was given.

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Question Four:

If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward you would remember nothing of the experience, would you do so?  If not, why not?