Divine Revelation and the nature of God

1. Divine Revelation and the nature of God Chapters 2 and 3

2. The Gloria • Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace to men of good will. We praise You. We bless You. We adore you. We glorify You. We give You thanks for Your great glory. O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty. O LordJesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father: you Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. You Who take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You Who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are holy. You alone are the Lord. You alone, O Jesus Christ, are most high. Together with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

3. “Our heart is restless until it rests in you” ~ St. Augustine

4. Cecil B. DeMille’s: The Ten Commandments How is God’s revelation or manner of communication portrayed in this movie?

5. Created In the Image and Likeness of God • Human beings have the power of reason, free-will, and an immortal soul • Why did God make us (Baltimore Catechism)? • God made us to know, love, and serve him in this world and enjoy eternal life with him in the next • God gives everyone the desire for himself written in our hearts.

6. What are some ultimate questions about existence about which every person thinks? • Who or what made me? • Why am I here? • What is the meaning of life? • What happens after death? • How did the world come into being? • Why is there good and evil, and how can I know the difference? • Why do I desire to love, to be loved, and to be happy?

7. These questions point to the reality that there is something (someone) greater than what people can experience with their senses. • Human beings by nature are religious. Humans have always sought and worshipped a higher power, whether the one true God or false gods

8. The “Five Ways” of St. Thomas • St. Thomas demonstrated that human reason can deduce convincingly that God exists by our observance of creation and the nature of the human person.

9. The “Five Ways” of St. Thomas • The argument from motion • The argument from causes • The argument from possibility and necessity • The argument from degrees of perfection • The argument from governance

10. Divine Revelation • If the existence of God can be known through human reason alone, why did God choose to reveal Himself to people directly? • Reason has its limits • Original Sin has clouded our judgment • There are certain things about God that cannot be known by reason alone • God wanted to enter into a personal relationship

11. Revelation In History • Ancient Concepts • Judeo-Christian Tradition • Revelation in Israel and the Old Testament • Christ as the fullness of revelation

12. Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture • Christ entrusted Divine Revelation to the Church. • Sacred Tradition predates Sacred Scripture. Sacred Scripture is a product of Sacred Tradition. • The Old Testament and New Testament came from oral tradition (it was “passed down”) before it was put on written form. • The Bible does not contain everything that Christ said or did (John 20:30-31) • Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are intimately united  forms the Deposit of Faith

13. Sacred Scripture • …Thoughts of God in the words of men • What do we mean when we say that: “The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit”?

14. Theories of Divine Inspiration • Ecstatic or Hypnotic Theory • Verbal Dictation • Consequent or Subsequent Approbation • Negative Assistance • Idea or Content Theory • Distinctionalism and Verbal Inspiration • Social and Individual Dimension of Inspiration

15. The Teaching of the Church on Divine Inspiration • Chalcedon/Ephesus • Trent • Vatican I • Provedentissimus Deus (Leo XIII) • Vatican II, Dei Verbum

16. The Canon of Sacred Scripture • The concept of canonicity • Determination of the Canon • Criteria

17. Interpreting Sacred Scripture • Questions to consider • Senses of Scripture -- literary and spiritual (allegorical, moral, anagogical)

18. The Magisterium • Definition and roots • The Magisterium and its various forms • The Extraordinary Magisterium/Solemn Pronouncements • The Ordinary Magisterium • Levels of Magisterial Teachings and the Response of the Faithful • Definitive Declaration of Revealed Truths • Definitive Definitions of non-revealed truth • Non-definitive obligatory teaching • Prudential judgments

19. Private Revelation • Ecclesiastical Approval of Private Revelation • What about Medjugorje?

20. The Nature of God The Blessed Trinity

21. “The LORD our God is one LORD” • Judaism and monotheism • The Shema -- Dt. 6:4-9

22. God Reveals His Name • What is the significance • Moses and the Burning Bush – Exodus 3:13-14 • YHWH  El Shaddai, Adonai, Elohim

23. The Blessed Trinity

24. Some Affirmations • One God – three divine persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit • Nature or Essence – WHAT • Person or hypostasis-- WHO • The Blessed Trinity is one God in three divine persons • The three persons of the Blessed Trinity share in one nature • The three persons are distinct only in their relation to one another • It is a mystery which cannot be fully understood in this life • No adequate analogy • We accept it in faith

25. God has revealed Himself to be one God in three divine persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Holy Trinity)

26. The Trinity Forshadowed • In “our” image • God as a family • Abraham and three visitors

27. The Trinity Revealed • Annunciation • Baptism of Jesus • Promise of the Holy Spirit • Instruction to the Apostles

28. What the God is NOT • Early Christological heresies gives us some ideas of the nature of God in Christ • Arianism • Docetism • Nestorianism • Monophysitism

29. Arianism

30. Docetism

31. Nestorianism

32. Monophysitism

33. Attributes of God • God is love • God is pure Spirit • God is immutable • God is eternal • God is omnibenevolent • God is omniscient • God is omnipotent • God is omnipresent