Chapter 1 Our Loving God: Father and Creator

Beliefs About God -Athiest - no God -Monotheistic - one God -Polytheistic - multiple gods -Deism - God with no interest in us -Agnostic - God’s existence can’t be known -Secular humanists – world operates without God; human person & achievement are center of the universe

Discussion Questions 1. Why did you accept or reject any of the statements? 2. Which of the statements must a Catholic believe? 3. Which statements are, in your judgement, clearly false? Why?

St. Thomas Aquinas’s “Proofs”: Proofs for God's Existence St. Thomas Aquinas’s “Proofs”: 1. The Unmoved Mover - Whatever is in motion, has to be moved by something else 2. First Cause - Nothing causes itself 3. Everything Comes from Something - Nothing can’t create something 4. Supreme Model - Perfect model of goodness, truth, beauty is the perfect being we call God 5. Grand Designer - He made it all

Heartfelt Proofs “Desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God” 1. An Unquenchable thirst for joy and happiness 2. An experience of beauty and truth 3. A sense of personal conscience, moral goodness and justice 4. Love

Scriptures stresses both God’s transcendence and immanence Understanding God Scriptures stresses both God’s transcendence and immanence Transcendence - God’s total otherness and being infinitely beyond and independent of creation Immanence - God’s intimate union with and total presence to his creation

Discussion Questions 1. Do you feel that belief is God is reasonable? Explain 2. Which proof of God’s existence leaves you with the most questions? Which proof of God’s existence answers more of your questions? 3. Why do you believe in God?

Divine Revelation -God is truly a mystery -Revelation means “unveiling” -Divine Revelation refers to this free gift of God’s self communication by which he makes known the mystery of his divine plan -Salvation History - account of God’s saving activity for mankind -Adam and Eve disobeyed God and committed the original sin

Covenants God established a series of covenants Bible records many covenants, most important ones are: 1. Covenant with Noah 2. Covenant with Abraham 3. Sinai Covenant – Moses, 10 Commandments 4. Jesus Christ, the New Covenant: Climax of salvation history: Jesus Christ completed God’s work of salvation

Discussion Questions 1. How is a marriage covenant like a convenant between God and mankind? 2. How is Jesus’ coming the climax of history? 3. Name three ways that God has revealed himself to you.

God reveals himself through a single deposit of faith, consisting of: Sacred Scripture and Tradition God reveals himself through a single deposit of faith, consisting of: -Found in Sacred Scripture (Bible) and in in the SacredTradition of the Church -Library of divinely inspired writings -firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that the truth which God wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures AND Sacred Tradition - living transmission or “handing on” of the Church’s gospel message

Who is God? -God revealed his name to Moses - Yahweh, “I am” -shows that God is not some impersonal force -God is onmipresent; he is everywhere -acknowledges God’s mystery

St. Thomas Aquinas’ nine attributes of God: Attributes of Almighty God St. Thomas Aquinas’ nine attributes of God: 1. God is unique 2. God is infinite and omnipotent 3. God is eternal 4. God is immense 5. God contains all things 6. God is immutable 7. God is utterly simple 8. God is personal 9. God is holy

Discussion Questions 1. How does your name express who you are? 2. Which attribute of God is hardest for you to understand? Why? 3. Why is it appropriate to call God Father? 4. Tell about a loving human father you know who is like God.

God is the first person of the Blessed Trinity God the Father God is the first person of the Blessed Trinity -central mystery of faith and the source of all other mysteries Jesus taught us to pray to Abba, our Father -It is right and proper to call God “Father” -God is beyond the biological distinction of male and female -We call God “Father” because Jesus teaches us to do that

Creator of Heaven and Earth Divine revelation teaches other truths about God’s creation: God freely created an orderly and good world out of nothing God is totally beyond us but also present to us God guides creation through divine providence God created humans in his image and likeness God created us male and female out of love and for love God is the creator of all that is seen and unseen Though essentially good because God made us, humans are tainted with sin Through Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, God invites us into a personal relationship

ORIGINAL SIN: The fallen state of human nature into which all generations of people are born. Jesus Christ came to save us from original sin.

Fall and Original Sin -Adam and Eve rejected God’s love, resulting in mankind’s loss of his friendship -Immediate loss of grace of original holiness and Justice received from God -Human nature is weakened and is subject to the inclination to sin (concupiscence) -Though original sin is inherited by all, it is not an actual sin we personally commit -God never abandoned his sinful creatures

Discussion Questions 1. Tell two ways that you recognize God in creation. 2. How can you show your gratitude to God for the many gifts he has given you? 3. Name some ways you can overcome the human inclination to sin.

ANGELS The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture calls “angels” is a truth of faith (CCC 328) Angels are servants and messengers of God (CCC 329) Angels are purely spiritual, have intelligence and will, are personal and immortal (CCC 330) From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.” (St. Basil, CCC 336)

ANGELS IN SCRIPTURE Closed the earthly paradise (Gen 3:24) Protected Lot (Gen 19) Saved Hagar and her child (Gen 21:17) Stayed Abraham’s hand (Gen 22:11) Announced birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus – Gabriel (Luke 1:11, 26) Protect Jesus in his infancy (Mt 1:20; 2:13) Serve Jesus during the temptation in the desert (Mt 4:11) Proclaim Jesus’ resurrection (Mt 28:2-7)

SATAN AND EVIL God is all-good: He cannot be the source of evil Moral evil: caused by the abuse of free will Physical evil: creation is yet in a process of becoming, still on the way to perfection, “in a state of journeying” God allows these evils to exist because he respects the freedom of his creatures, and knows how to derive good from evil (CCC 310-314)