1. Knowing God Through Creation
Chapter 1
Knowing God Through Creation

2. When did you first realize that God exists?

3. How do you know that God exists?

4. Read paragraphs 1-3 on page 13

5. Saint Thomas Aquinas
Right about now, it would be a really good idea to take a good hard look at where Faith and Reason cross paths. You see, as Catholics, we know that there is nothing that science can discover that will contradict our faith; our God is the Creator of the whole universe and He is the author of truth. So anything that is true, anything that we can find out about our world, just leads us to know our God more and more.
One of the most wonderful aspects of our Catholic faith is that we have 2,000 years of reflection and teaching on all areas of our faith. One of the most famous teachers we have at our disposal is St. Thomas Aquinas, who just might be one of the most intelligent men to ever walk the earth. St. Thomas came up with five ways that we can prove the existence of God using our reason, without ever having to use the Bible or the Catechism or anything that people who aren't believers wouldn't consider real evidence. So, let's dive in!

6. Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Proofs for the Existence of God
First Mover
First cause
Necessary Being
Greatest Being
Intelligent Designer

7. First Mover
Anything moves is moved by another. There cannot be an infinite series of movers. So there must be a first mover.
Example: For example, a pot will not appear from ball of clay, without the input of a potter! The potential for the pot to be formed from the clay is there, but it requires something external to the clay to work on it to achieve this.

8. First Cause
Anything caused is caused by another. There cannot be an infinite series of causes. So there must be a first cause.
Example: there would be nothing here, if there was not an original cause of everything. This means that the world and the universe cannot be infinite (i.e. have always existed).

9. Necessary Being
Contingent beings require an already contingent being to bring them into existence. So there is a necessary being upon which other beings depend for their existence.
Example: God created the world ex nihilo(out-of-nothing).

10. Greatest Being
Whatever is great to any degree gets its greatness from that which is the greatest. So there is a greatest being, which is the source of all greatness.
Example:  Now as humans have the capacity for both good and bad deeds, they cannot be the source of goodness. Therefore, the maximum in the genus of morality must be something non-human and not in the world, which leaves us with God as the most perfect being, and the first cause (or source) of all goodness and perfection.

11. Intelligent Designer
Whatever acts for an end must be directed by an intelligent being. So the world must have an intelligent designer who directs all things in it.
Example: An arrow only hits the target, because it has been fired by an archer. Thus if nature appears ordered, it must have a guiding hand, God.

13. Although we can know of God’s existence through reason alone, we can only know about God through revelation, which is passed on to us through the Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition.

14. Learning about Ourselves through Reason
Read paragraphs 4-7

15. We are Physical Creatures
We have bodies.
We have senses
We can move around and relocate
We can grow and reproduce

16. We Have Souls Human souls have 2 powers: Intellect Free will
Power to understand
We can think
We can reason
We can understand
We can guide emotions and have relationships
Free will
We have the ability to choose

17. The Union of Body and Soul
The human person is the union of the body and soul.
Without the soul, the physical body is not truly a human person
Example would be death
The soul leaves the body

19. Revelation
Read paragraphs 8 and 9

20. Revelation Means to reveal or remove the veil
God’s way of communicating Himself and His truths to man.
God has revealed Himself through creation and the written Word (Scripture)
Jesus is the fullness of God’s revelation- Jesus is God

21. Sacred Scripture God’s Word is written and passed down orally.
God’s written Word is the Bible, Sacred Scripture.
The Word of God taught by the Apostles and by doctrine, life, and worship of the Church is Sacred Tradition.
Scripture and Tradition contain all of God’s revelation through history.

22. Magisterium Teaching office of the Church
Made of the Pope and bishops
Role is to pass on the fullness of truth and safegaurd it from error.
The Church is guided by the Holy Spirit

23. Faith
Supernatural gift that allows us to believe in God and His revelation
Allows us to recognize and accept the truths of God revealed in the Church.

24. How Can We Know Jesus is God?
Fulfills the Old Testament prophecies
His miraculous conception
He taught with authority
His miracles confirmed His teachings
He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven!

25. The Blessed Trinity
Read paragraphs 10-16

26. God Proves Existence through Reason
10 Commandments
Existence of God
God’s presence everywhere

27. God Proves Existence Through Revelation
Blessed Trinity
God is one- We believe in one God, a unity of persons
God is three Divine Persons
The three Persons are equal and possesses all of God’s attributes equally
All three Persons are co-eternal (no beginning and no end- no one Person existed before another)
All three Persons are distinct
Different works for each Person (Each take a part in each work)
Father- creator
Son- Redeemer
Holy Spirit- Sanctifier