catholic beliefs and teachings - to be continued lesson 4 onwards

Explain the trinity + oneness of God

The trinity is one God in three divine persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each is fully God and at the same time, only one God (as Bible teachings show). The trinity’s unity was taught by Jesus as the greatest commandant. God is omnipotent: only if God is a unity can God be all powerful. St Augustine says that God is love, and love flows between the trinity.

What is the Nicene Creed?

Catholic’s expression of statement of belief.

What is a doctrine?

A teaching passed down throughout generations the church

What is incarnation?

The enfleshment of God in the person of Jesus Christ

What is blasphemy?

Saying something about a sacred being which is not permitted by a religion

What is the Paschal Mystery?

Jesus’ suffering, passion, resurrection and ascension for our salvation

What is redemption?

The forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ sacrifice; part of salvation.

What is salvation?

The process of being saved from sin and returning to God

What does atonement mean?

To make up for; the restoration of the relationship between God and humans

What is purgatory, heaven, and hell?

• Purgatory: a stage of purification to achieve the holiness required for heaven

• Heaven: eternal life with God; indescribable joy

• Hell: complete separation from God; an absence of His love and grace

What does consubstantial mean?

He is of the same substance with the Father (not separate, no distinction)

What does begotten mean?

The Son of God has always existed

God the Father

• Our relationship with God is like a father-child relationship

• God creates human life like a father does

• God does not abandon His creation, but has a relationship of love and care with His creation

• In Nicene Creed: maker of heaven and earth

God the Son

• Jesus is God incarnate: God has become a human being and so experiences everything that we humans experience in our daily lives

• God the Son was both fully human and fully divine

• Only God’s son could institute the sacrifice of the Mass which is carried our through all the ages of the Church

• In Nicene Creed: Jesus is begotten

God the Holy Spirit

• The Holy Spirit is the means by which God communicates with humans

• God’s presence in the world

• The Holy Spirit is how God assists the Church in its task of preserving the Apostolic Tradition and in helping the magisterium to formulate teaching. The Holy Spirit enables Catholics to live lives pleasing to God.

• In Nicene Creed: giver of life

How is the Trinity reflected in worship?

• The Sign of the Cross before prayer

• In the Nicene Creed said at Mass each Sunday

• Holy Spirit: through sacraments

• God the Son: through the Eucharist

• God the Father: through the Lord’s Prayer + prayer

How is the Trinity reflected in the life of Catholics today?

• It emphasises the role and value of relationships that Catholics are not alone with God as believers are part of a family, a community

• Just as the Trinity is a unity of three persons, so too must be the family of the Church that must work together to bring God’s love into the world

• The Trinity enhances Catholic spirituality - it gives us a sense that God is ‘beyond us, with us, and in us.’

What is a creed?

A statement of belief written to correct mistakes that were believed in the Church.

What is a heresy?

A mistake being taught in the Catholic Church by a person (heretic)

Evidence for the oneness of God

• Ten Commandments - ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one.’

• Isaiah 45:22 - ‘For I am God, there is no other.’

• 1 Corinthians 8:6 - ‘Yet for us there is but one God.’

Evidence for the threefold nature of God

• God speaks the world and the Spirit hovers over creation (Genesis 1:1-3)

• Some Christians see the three mysterious, angelic visitors to Abraham as representation of the Trinity (Genesis 18)

• God sends his Word and Spirit to create and guide (Isaiah 59:21)

Evidence - the one God is a Trinity (NT)

• 2 Corinthians - ‘May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.’ (St Paul)

• Matthew 28:19 - ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ (Jesus after His resurrection)

Evidence of how each person in the Trinity is shown

• Jesus’ Baptism - ‘the Spirit of God descending like a dove’ and ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’

• Jesus’ Transfiguration - ‘a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”’ and ‘His face shone like the sun’

What is the Heresy of Subordination?

• Arian + other church members couldn’t accept Jesus as anything other than a prophet for God - they thought Jesus was lower than the Father, not God himself (this was heresy)

• This was rooted in the Jewish belief that the ‘Messiah’ would be human only, and not divine

• Alexander did not agree and excommunicated Arian from the church

What was the Council of Nicaea (325 CE)?

• The bishops agreed with Alexander and produced a statement of their beliefs to clear up any doubts + to stop the church dividing further

• The Creed of Nicaea contained the crucial word homoousios affirming that the Son was consubstantial

• It also stated that both are truly eternal + truly God

• Arums and his supporters continued to argue, so eventually Athanasius replaced Alexander as bishop and persuaded the majority that Jesus was homoousios with the Father

What was the First Council of Constantinople (381 CE)?

• This council reaffirmed the Creed of Nicaea, but expanded it to include that the Holy Spirit was also fully God

• The Nicene Creed was completed here and remains the best expression of the doctrine of the Trinity

Genesis 1

• 7 days of creation

• God created the world in 6 days, and rested on the 7th day

• Original Hebrew language of this story talks of God creating the universe from nothing (creation ex nihilo)

• God creates with His words

• God is transcendent

• Shows God’s power (omnipotence)

• Humans are made in God’s image (Imago Dei)

Genesis 2

• Focus on the creation of humans (more detailed account of day 6)

• God creates with His hands

• God breathes life into Adam

• God is immanent

• Shows how man and woman compliment eachother

• God is a benevolent creator: He provides Adam and Eve with a beautiful paradise; creates them as free; placed in charge of the rest of creation (stewardship)

The Creationist Approach to creation

• Creationists believe that God is responsible for the creation of the universe and everything inside it

• Most believe in a literal interpretation of the book of Genesis, that it is historically accurate and factual

• This includes a 7 day creation and belief that God created all species in their present form

• Most dispute the age of the universe and the theory of evolution

• A key man in creationism was James Ussher, who was able to work out that creation took place on 23 October 4004 BC, by joining Bible stories and passages together

• Consequence: science and religion will be in conflict

The Theistic Approach to creation

• Genesis is to be interpreted symbolically

• The Catholic Church suggests that Genesis was never intended as a historical or scientific book and accepts the Big Bang and Evolution. Genesis is about God’s creative power and love for humans

• God is CREATOR (Gen 1:1), OMNIPOTENT (Gen 1:9), BENEVOLENT (Gen 1:4) and ETERNAL (John 1:1)

• Science answers the how, and religion answers the why

• Consequence: science and religion will be in harmony

How is the trinity present in creation?

• The Father does the creating, and the Holy Spirit helps (‘the spirit of God was moving over the waters’ - Gen 1:2)

• Links to the creation story in John 1 - the opening chapter focuses on how Jesus was present from the beginning

• According the John, the Son became incarnate so He could dwell among us