There is the IDEA OF GOD posed by the human min

There is a UNIVERSAL curiosity for GOD, an ULTIMATE CONCERN, and a DIVINE LONGING.
OBIDENTIAL POTENCY
 The natural facility given by God to us, enabling us to know God. That is to say that the human
mind is in obediential potency to the knowledge of God.
 The mind is “ready for God”
5 WAYS TO PROVE GOD’S EXISTENCE
 ARGUMENT FROM MOTION
o The first mover or unmoved mover
o Objects are in motion
o Something that is moving cannot move by itself and thus requires a mover
o A mover is also moved by another mover
o There can be no infinite chain of movers
o There must be a first mover existing before all movement
o The first mover is an unmoved mover
o THE UNMOVED MOVER IS GOD
 ARGUMENT FROM CAUSATION OF EXISTENCE
o The first cause or uncaused case
o A thing cannot cause itself
o Its cause is outside of itself
o There can be no infinite chain of causes and effects
o There must be a first cause which is not caused by anythings
o THE UNCAUSED CAUSE IS GOD
 ARGUMENT FROM CONTINGENCY AND NECESSITY
o The necessary non-contingent being
o Something that exists was first non-existent
o If everything were non-existent, nothing will cause existence
o There must be a being who is not contingent (does not fail to exist)
o The non-contingent being brings existence out of non-existence
o THE NECESSARY BEING IS GOD
 ARGUMENT FROM GRADIATION OR DEGREES OF PERFECTION
o The absolute or perfect being
o Characteristics of objects come in greater or lesser externts
o If an object has lesser degrees of one characteristic, then there must be someone who has a
greater degree, and ultimately the maximum possible degree
o Therefore, there is someone who has all characteristics in the maximum possible degree
o THE ABSOLUTE BEING IS GOD
 ARGUMENT FROM INTELLIGENT DESIGN
o The intelligent designer
o A conscious, intelligent mind brings a being to its end or purpose
o Not all beings have minds but even beings without minds are able to reach their end or purpose
o There must be an intelligent mind who designs and governs those without minds such that they
reach their end or purpose
o THIS DESIGNER AND GOVERNOR IS GOD
ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT OF ST. ANSELM
 God is the greatest being thinkable
 The greatest being thinkable cannot exist only in the mind; he must also exist outside the mind
 If he existed only in the mind, he would not be the greatest thinkable being for there are other beings
which exist both inside and outside the mind
 Therefore God must exist inside and outside the mind
MAN’S NATURAL LONGING FOR GOD
By Clive Staples Lewis
 There are many things that are beyond the capacity of reason. Confronted by things beyond human
control (e.g. death, calamities), man looks for meaning in a higher power often called GOD
 History proves that people everywhere have a sense of “Divine Longing” i.e. an innate desire to know
God
 Every innate human desire has a real object to meet the need (e.g. thirst-water)
 Every natural desire has a real objective means if being fulfilled (e.g. quenching of thirst-drink)
 Since the human craving for God is a natural need, then there must really be a God to satisfy this need
IF THERE WERE NO GOD:
 Our world came about without any cause or source. Everything just happened
 The laws governing the universe developed without guidance or direction
 Life on earth is just a product of randomness in a hostile universe
 Man is without spirit, death terminated existence
 There is no master plan for mankind, human existence is an accident
 Morality is societal in origin, therefore no one can make value judgements on others- no universal good,
no universal evil
THE FIVE WAYS AND OTHER PHILOSOPHICAL PROOFS TELL US THAT THERE IS A GOD, BUT THEY
FAIL TO ANSWER: WHO IS GOD?
 REVIEW
o Our 5 senses and sound reasoning are capable of proving the existence of God.
o They cannot, however, tell us who God is and what He is like.
o When we worship God, we communicate with a PERSON; we don’t call him “unmoved mover”,
or “uncaused cause”, or “thinkable being” in prayer
“Only God can speak well of God.” God took the initiative of SPEAKING to us. In Christianity, we believe
that God actually spoke to us, and in fact, continues to speak to us. How? Of course, WORDS!
HUMAN BEINGS ARE RELATIONAL
Words are revelatory
 FUNCTIONS OF WORDS
o INFORMATIVE
 We speak to merely tell something or just to converse
 We’ve been together for four years now.
o EXPRESSIVE
 We speak to disclose our deepest feelings
 In all those four years, I’ve seen all the colors of life, and I realized how everything
suddenly becomes beautiful when you’re around.
I am so in love with you, that I cannot anymore imagine a life apart from you.
o APELLATIVE
 We speak to be reciprocated, begging for a response
 I cannot promise you wealth, but I promise you my forever.
Will you marry me?
THE WORD OF GOD IS A PROPOSAL
REVELATION
“Revelation is God’s personal loving communication to us of who He is and His plan to save us all in
His love. It is God’s reaching out to us in friendship, so we get to know and love Him.” Catechism for Filipino
Catholics 101
 AVENUES OF COMMUNICATION
 oEVENTS
 Creation
 First act of God’s revelation
 HISTORY
 General, special, personal
o PERSONS
 PROPHETS
 Readers of the “signs of the times”
 JESUS CHRIST
 Fullness of God’s revelation; agent, content and goal of revelation
 THE CHURCH
 Christ still speaks and is still active in the world
 GENERAL REVELATION
o “natural revelation”
o God’s revelation through the created world
o “Ever since the creation of the world, his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they
are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.” Romans 1:19-20
 SPECIAL REVELATION
o “supernatural revelation”
o Would be unknown to us without God’s supernatural intervention through his chosen
messengers
o St. Thomas equates this with the Bible
 PUBLIC REVELATION
o He is the final WORD. There’s nothing more to say!
o For ALL of humanity
o Why? Because these are the TRUTHS NECESSARY for our SALVATION!
o Imposes the obligation of faith; adherence is necessary, BINDING all of us,
o Final and complete – in the person of Jesus Christ!
o DIVINE REVELATION
 PRIVATE REVELATIONS
o Apparitions, mystical experiences, etc.
o Church- recognized messages
o They do not add to public revelation
o They impose no obligation of faith
o Jesus is already the final word!
RECORD OF DIVINE REVELATION = DEPOSIT OF FAITH
 Concilium Vaticanum II
 Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Devine Revelation)
 “SACRED TRADITION and SACRED SCRIPTURE from one sacred deposit of the Word of God,
committed to the Church.” DV10
SOLA SCRIPTURA
Definition: Scripture only, from the Latin expression adopted by the Reformers who said that it is the
Bible, not tradition or a church, which is our final authority.
TWICE in his Gospel Account, the Evangelist JOHN admits that BOOKS cannot contain everything!
 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book
o John 20:30
 There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not
think the whole world would contain the books that would be written
o John 21:25
THE BIBLE SAYS: `“Stand firm then, my brothers, to the TRADITIONS that we taught you, whether by
WORD OF MOUTH or by LETTER.” 2 Thes 2:15
“The CHURCH of the living God, the PILLAR AND FOUNDATION OF THE TRUTH.” 1 Tim 3:15
*Because even if you have Textbooks, you still need the SCHOOL and the TEACHER!*
THE EARLY CHURCH WAS NOT A BIBLE-WRITING-BIBLE-READING CHURCH
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
THE LIVING AND LIVED FAITH OF THE CHURCH
 TRADITION
o Latin. tradere – to pass on; to hand over
o CULTURAL traditions
o Could have arisen from particular needs of the Church at a particular time and place
o Can be changed, modified or done away with or without destroying the integrity of out
CHRISTIAN FAITH
o 2 KINDS OF TRADITION
 ORAL TRADTION
 Initially passed-on by word of mouth
 WRITTEN TRADITION
 Eventually, SOME of it were put into writing
 Does not claim to be COMPLETE
 Does not invalidate the UNWRITTEN
 Can NEVER be understood apart from the UNWRITTEN
 SACRED TRADITION
o DOCTRINAL traditions
o The LIVING and LIVED faith of the Church can never be changed, modified or done away with,
for doing so would harm the integrity of our CHRISTIAN FAITH
o 2 KINDS OF SACRED TRADITION
 SCRIPTURAL TRADITION
 Traditions that take their roots in the HOLY BIBLE
 APOSTOLIC TRADITION
 Teachings which the Apostles left us, not through the written scripture, but
through the unbroken chain of succession of Popes, bishops, priests and
deacons. This unbroken chain is an assurance that the teachings of the Apostles
are preserved intact
 The Fathers of the Church
o First recipients of the Apostolic tradition, hence we rely on their teachings
and writings for an authorative understanding of the apostolic faith.
o Creedal Statements and Dogmatic Pronouncemets
 THE UNSHAKABLE TRIPOD OF OUR CATHOLIC FAITH
o SACRED SCRIPTURE – BIBLE
o SACRED TRADITION – CATECHISM OF THE CAHTOLIC CHURCH
o MAGISTERIUM
 Latin “Magister” – teacher
 The teaching authority of the Church. This is exercised by the Pope in making solemn
definitions, or by Bishops in an Ecumenical Council
*If a cultural tradition is essential to the integrity of a Tradition, then, in itself it is considered Tradition!*
Language is a product of human experience. For us humans to be able to speak of God, we have to speak of
Him in terms of what our senses can perceive.
For example, when we say “God is a Shepherd”, what we actually mean is “God is like a Shepherd”.
Hence, when we speak of God, we only do ANALOGOUSLY. With analogies, we associate God with images
that are within our human experience. For this reason, we come up with IMAGES OF GOD.
IMAGES OF GOD
 Images of God are spontaneous, unreflected attitudes that influence our responses to God
 Images of God are not the same as ideas about God. Ideas may be abstract. An image is concrete.
It is a combination of thoughts and feelings.
 Our images of God may not be the same as our doctrinal affirmation about God. One may profess that
God is good, but in his mind may actually think of God as a cruel manipulator.
 Our images of God have a powerful impact on our attitudes and behaviors even without our
conscious awareness.
 Our images of God profoundly impact our spiritual well-being. A distorted image of God results in a
distorted relationship with Him.
 Our images of God are closely related to our images of ourselves.
WORD KIT:
 ANTHROPOMORPHISM
o Greek:
 Antrhopos – “man”
 Morphe – “to form”
o The attribution of human qualities to God
o To speak of God as if he were human
o The only perfect human image of God is our Lord JESUS CHRIST – GOD-become-MAN
 “He is THE IMAGE of the invisible God…” Col. 1:15
FAITH
 Belief in TRUTHS that cannot be fully known or understood because of the limitations of the human
mind
 Belief in mysteries
 Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see.
(Heb 11:1)
 “Faith is to believe what you do not see. The reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”
- St Agustine
 FAITH IS A THEOLOGICAL VIRTUE
o By which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, because he is
truth itself. CC1814
o WORD KIT:
 Virtue – good habit
 Theological virtues – infused habits ordered towards God.
 FAITH IS A FREE GIFT
o God created me to know him, to love him, to serve him, to be happy with him forever
o Faith is the SUPERNATURAL POWER that is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY if we are to attain
SALVATION
o It is a sheer GIFT of God, which we receive when we fervently ask for it. (cf. YOUCAT 21)
o Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”Then the boy’s
father cried out,
“I do believe, help my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-24
 FAITH IS A FREE RESPONSE
o Faith is a HUMAN ACT. It requires the free will and clear understanding of a person
o I BELIEVE IN GOD
 Believing in God’s existence
 Recognizing His word as truth
 Accepting His word as the rule of life and the way to salvation
CHRISTIAN FAITH
 Faith in Jesus Christ who is GOD-become-MAN
 Faith in Jesus Christ who suffered, died and rose from the dead to SAVE the world
  Faith is Jesus Christ who continues to work in the world through the Church.
 “To know, to love and to follow Christ in the Church that He founded” PCP II
CATHOLIC FAITH
 The belief that Jesus Christ revealed God in and through the Holy Catholic Church
 Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, c.33AD and began its operations in Jerusalem after Pentecost
 During the Apostolic era, it was simply referred to as “the Church”
 Later on described as “Catholic” (universal) to mean “the Church that is everywhere” in contrast to
splinter groups and sects. (St. Ignatius c.107, St. Polycarp d.155)
THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC
 "The Church is catholic: she proclaims the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the
totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all men. She
encompasses all times. She is "missionary by her very nature".
 The universality of Christ's Church establishes the Church as being open to all: all classes, both sexes,
all nationalities.
 The catholicity of the Church also refers to the fact that the Church is the same everywhere, in every
time. In every land, with every people, the Church maintains the same rituals and beliefs. The Church
can be found in St Peter's Basilica, in a parish community, in a group of faithful in the Mountain
Province.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CATHOLIC FAITH
 SACRAMENTAL
o Signs and symbols
 TRADITIONAL
o Apostolic Teaching and Succession
o Petrine Primacy
 COMMUNAL
o Common belief, morality, worship
3 DIMENSIONS OF FAITH
 DOCTRINE
o Faith is knowledge; absolute certainty
o BELIEVING
 MORALITY
o Faith is morally demanding, incomplete unless it leads to active love
o DOING
 WORSHIP
o Faith grows when we listen more and more carefully to God’s word and enter a lively exchange
with him in prayer; faith gives us a foretaste of the joy of heaven
o TRUSTING
PARALYSES OF FAITH
 The USUAL condition is that ONE DIMESION is LEFT OUT
 DOCTRINE-MORAL PERSON
o Believes the right things, does what is good, but hardly prays and goes to Church
 DOCTRINE-WORSHIP PERSON
o Believes the right things, always goes to Church, but lives a questionable Christian life
 MORAL-WORSHIP PERSON
o Does good to others, goes to Church quite often, but does not really know what he/she believes
in