Faith and revelation Chapter 1

“God, infinitely perfect and blessed(happy) in Himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. CCC1” Homework: Unpack this statement. What does it say about the nature of God, his motivation for creating us and our final end. (Write one paragraph)

“God, infinitely perfect and blessed(happy) in Himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. CCC1” What thoughts did you take from this? -God is absolutely perfect and happy in and of Himself. -Freely created man motivated by goodness. -Desires to share His life with us eternally.

Introduction, p. 3

God and Man: in search of each other Pp. 2-6

Partner Talk: What makes it difficult to know God? The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to Himself. CCC 27 Partner Talk: What makes it difficult to know God?

What makes it difficult to know God? 1. Our human intellect can not fully grasp God. 2. Our language is limited/insufficient. 3. We cannot see/encounter him the same way we do with others.

Catechism in Motion video Desire for god, Part 1

The search for God…a universal desire Humans were created to know, love and serve God. We often try to satisfy this desire with things of the world.

How do you get to really know a person? Not just learning about them, facts or information about their life. It’s spending time with that person, listening to them, sharing, etc.

How can we grow in really knowing God, not just knowing ABOUT him? Small Group Brainstorming

The Story of the Man and the Birds What does this story illustrate?

He even became one of us!!! Jesus is the fullness of the truth revealed by God. “For by his incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every man.”-Vatican II.

God desires to really know us… He is not aloof, transcendent, removed from us. He created us in His image and likeness. We have an immortal soul, so that we might choose to live with Him forever in happiness. We can also choose to reject Him. He chose us first, by creating us and the world. Invites us to share in the life of his family, the Trinity, a family of LOVE.

St. Augustine…. “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Only the love of God can bring peace and rest to our hearts. When we take something on faith our acceptance is based not on proven evidence, but on our belief in the word or testimony of another person.

The Existence of God through Reason St. Thomas Aquinas, 13th century priest, became a Doctor of the Church, one of the most influential theologians and philosophers of the Church, wrote the Summa Theologica. Proofs of God’s existence should begin with arguments from human reason.

The Revelation of Christ in the scriptures and in the life of the church pp. 12-18

Christianity proclaims Jesus Christ to be.. The Son of God The culmination of all Divine Revelation -climax, peak, summit But, how does one make this Act of Faith? How does one know with certainty that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God? Read p. 13-14.

Effects of the encounter and the beginning of faith pp. 18-23

When we respond to the gift of faith we encounter Christ through… His Church In the sacraments Our prayer Faith community

Faith in God is… received from others and for others

Divine Revelation in Scripture and tradition pp. 24-28

Divine Revelation- -God’s communication of Himself -makes known the mystery of His divine plan -realized by deeds and works through time -fully revealed in His Son Jesus Salvation History Bible Saga at Lifeteen.com

Sacred scripture-- The bible

A faith professed -- “I believe in one god…” As a communion of believers, Catholics profess a common faith. The DEPOSIT OF FAITH, all the divine revelation given to the Church by Jesus Christ. All that Jesus taught and was passed down by the Apostles. SACRED SCRIPTURE + SACRED TRADITION = DEPOSIT OF FAITH Why not Just scripture alone, like other Christians? Because Christ is still living today and will be forever!

The Bible- Greek Ta Biblia Means “The books’. Like a library, a collection of many books different types/genres of books (history, prophecy, prayer, gospel, letters, proverbs)

Two parts: Old and New Testament Testament? a. means covenant 3. Old covenant: PROMISE made with the Chosen People; chosen to reveal God to the world, followed Torah/Law. 4. New covenant: open to all who believe Jesus is God’s Son, emphasis is on living one’s faith in acts of charity and service.

Compare the size of the OT and NT 1. Which is larger? a. OT 2. Why? OT covers much longer period of time (19th-2nd century B.C.) b. NT from 6 B.C.- 110 A.D.

System of Dating 1. B.C.-A.D. a. Before Christ- Anno Domini (Year of our Lord) b. Preferred system in this course 2. B.C.E.- C.E. a. Before the Common Era- Common Era b. Some see this as inclusive- includes all people regardless of their religion

Language of the Bible 1. OT- Mostly Hebrew, 7 books (in the Catholic OT) in Greek. 2. NT- koine (common) Greek

Protestants and Catholics disagree on the # of OT books. 1. Catholic canon --from the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible). 2. The Septuagint (3rd-2nd centuries B.C.) for the Greek-speaking Jews. a. 7 books were added to this translation which originated in the Greek.

3. Catholic OT = has 7 more books than the Jewish Bible. 4. When the rabbis set the Jewish canon (in 90 A.D.), they did not include these 7 books that were written in Greek. (39 books only) 5. At the time of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther included only the books in the Hebrew (Jewish) Bible. Protestant OT= 39 books. 6. Catholics believe these books to be inspired, but recognize that all Christians do not.

7. So Catholics refer to these 7 books as “deuterocanonical”, meaning 2nd canon. 8. Protestants place these 7 books in the back of their Bible, in the Apocrypha, meaning hidden or withdrawn from common use.

The 7 Deuterocanonical books are: 1 and 2 Maccabees Baruch Judith Sirach Tobit Wisdom