The Social Justice Principles Found in the Creation Accounts Catholic Social Teaching Document #: TX001943

God’s original plan: create a just community What went wrong? p3 Music: Introduction music such as “We Are the World” or another appropriate song with the theme of unity. Image in shutterstock God’s original plan: create a just community What went wrong? p3

God’s Original Plan: A Just Community p 3-4 > 20 million people have been killed in genocide in the 20th century One group does not want another group to live because of an “immoral” or evil in their society Truths revealed in the Genesis Creation accounts: 1. Every human is created in the image and likeness of God; we are sharers of the “divine image” 2. Humans are religious beings; the desire for God is part of their nature (to seek the truth and divine happiness) 3. Humans are created to be in communion with each other; the human person needs to live in society From this it follows God’s plan requires humans to build communities of love and justice that work toward a common good

Image in shutterstock “Paradise” was a just community based on a foundational religious truth: Every person is created in the image of God.

Image in shutterstock The Creation accounts in the first chapters of the Book of Genesis reveal three important truths about the role that justice plays in God’s plan for human beings.

On a blank piece of paper Write down several examples of different ways we humans in today’s world where do not follow each of these truths Write an example of where someone, or a group does strive to follow that truth…

The first truth revealed in the Creation accounts is that God has given human beings a share of his divine life, creating us “in the divine image” (Genesis 1:27). Image in shutterstock Justice requires that we recognize and respect the divine presence in every human being (see Matthew 25:37–40)

Image in shutterstock A second truth revealed in the Creation accounts is that human beings were created to live in communion with God, who alone is the source of our true happiness.

A third truth revealed in the Creation accounts is that God created human beings to live in loving communion with one another. Image in shutterstock According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The human person needs to live in society. Society is not for him [or her] an extraneous addition, but a requirement of his [or her] nature” (1879).

God’s Original Plan: A Just Community p 5 Breakdown of God’s Plan The Fall illustrates how Adam and Eve did not respect the truths about justice revealed from God The serpent tempted her to think she did not need God’s divine life Once they turned away form God, they lost a true sense of happiness which comes from being in harmony with God Original Sin is the loss of original holiness and justice

Adam and Eve’s disobedience, their failure to live according to God’s original plan to create a just community, led to the loss of the state of original holiness and justice for all human beings. This explains the “why” we are as we are… Image in shutterstock

This is Original Sin: the wounded human nature (human condition) doubt self-reliance apathy This is Original Sin: the wounded human nature (human condition) that is transmitted to all people as a result of Adam and Eve’s first sin

Because of Original Sin, the power of our human nature is weakened Because of Original Sin, the power of our human nature is weakened. We are subject to ignorance, suffering, and death, and it is harder to resist the temptation to sin. Concupiscence We seek help to be better… God’s grace “brings us home” Image in shutterstock

We see examples of this in two stories from the Old Testament. WikiMediaCommons Image in shutterstock The story of Cain and Abel - the first murder. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The story of Noah and the ark—due to the sinful ways of the people, God destroyed all life except for Noah, his family, and the animals he brought on the ark.

We learn from Noah’s story that God’s salvation is near to those who remember him and who remain faithful to his original plan in creating humankind. Image in shutterstock

These four social justice principles are found in the Creation accounts: 1. Each human life has great worth and must be protected. We must promote values that emphasize the inherent worth of each individual. Image in shutterstock 2. As human beings we cannot find the happiness we long for by pursuing things that do not lead to God. On final click, play music—“We Are the World” or another song—as a closing. (The scriptural quotation in this presentation is from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms. Copyright © 1991, 1986, and 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used by the permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The quotation labeled Catechism of the Catholic Church is from the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America, second edition, number 1879. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana.) 3. God intends that human beings form communities of love and justice to work together for the common good. 4. We must have the same concern for other people’s welfare that we do for our own.