Understanding Catholic Christianity—Ch 2

Revelation

The communication from God through which human beings come to know who God is.

reason

The power of the human mind to think, analyze, and form logical judgments.

salvation history

The pattern of events in human history in which God's presence and saving actions are revealed.

metaphor

A word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing to show or describe some trait or characteristic of the second thing.

creed

A statement that summarizes religious belief.

faith

The gift of God by which one accepts the invitation to be in relationship with God. It is a matter of both the heart (trusting in God's love) and the head (believing what God has revealed).

worldview

How a person sees and understands the world. A person's worldview is influenced by their experiences and beliefs.

examples of general/natural revelation

• creation

• nature

• beuaty/love

• human reason

divine/special revelation examples

• divine special communication with special events in histoy

• ex.Jesus being born 

• 10 commandments

What is general revelation

God being revealed through nature, love and human reason

What is special revelation

God revealing himself to us through divine special communication to us with special events in history

God talks to us through:

• personal life experiences

• human reason

catholics believe the 3 ways God talks to us:

• Salvation history: events of history 

• Scripture: The writing collected in the Bible

• Tradition:official teachings and statements of faith 

Faith is a matter of _____ and ___

Heart (trusting in God’s love) and head (believing what god has revealed)

The three metaphors for God is:

Loving parent, Creator, forgiving judge

People have a built in desire for God