apologetics test: divine attributes and objections

How do we know that God is personal?

Effects, no matter how far removed, can never be greater than their causes.
If a person exists now, they have a first cause.
Persons are greater than non-persons.
First cause can’t be less than personal → Person.

What are the two aspects of unity?

simple and unique

3 aspects of justice being fulfilled before Incarnation

Retribution: was happening but was insufficient, b/c Hell was deserved
Correction: reparation of damage, could happen but generally wasn’t
Reward: couldn’t happen

Was the Incarnation sufficient enough to get us out of Hell?

yes; the Incarnation was a regeneration of human nature. God became human so we can become divine.
Divinization: we participate in God’s divinity, applied through sacraments
Retribution: still happening but now sufficient, Hell could now be avoided
Correction: now happens as an ongoing process
Reward: could now happen (in virtue of Christ’s passion and death)

what is the greatest out of all the attributes?

mercy

What is the key Latin phrase about Yahweh?

“Ipsum Esse Subsistens” - meaning “being itself existing”

what do we mean when we say God is eternal?

He has neither beginning nor end, He simply IS
God lives outside of time
God lives in an all-encompassing present; every event and being is present to God (no before/after; just is).

merit formulas

explain merit using the analogy of allowance

parents give an allowance to their child even though he did not partake in the earning of that money. the money is now the child's and he can do whatever he wants with it. this is like how Christ died for us and shared His sufferings with us; from that, we can now gain and use merit

what do we mean when we say original sin broke our nature?

Consequences of nature being disobeyed, NOT punishment
Created to live for and with God -> rebellion against our purpose and nature brought terrible consequences
Adam and Eve suffered repercussions -> descendants as well
Fallen nature passed onto us (can’t be pure b/c they no longer have that)
Distrust PRECEDES disobedience
Romans 5:12: sin came into the world through one man -> arrival of death -> death to all b/c we all sin
no longer live in Original Justice
sin fractured nature and shattered whole natural order

What does St. Paul mean when he says he is filling up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ?

Christ allowed us to participate in gaining merit and suffering with Him. As head of Church, Christ takes on our sufferings, past, present, and future.

why do bad things happen to innocent people?

Those who have died are rejoicing now in God’s presence. Their lives were a success!
Perhaps God in His wisdom has spared them a worse fate.
Perhaps God in His mercy has allowed them to become our intercessors.
We can’t call God cruel just b/c we can’t explain the suffering of the innocent.
God allowed suffering to befall the most innocent one of all: His Son. And He had a good reason for it. So if He allows other innocent people to suffer, it must be for a good reason.
Why bad things happen to good people is still a mystery, but God suffered, too; He didn’t spare His only Son. The worst suffering happened to the most innocent Person.

what should be our initial response to suffering?

compassion (SUFFER WITH THEM)

if God has foreknowledge of everything we do, how do we have free will?

“Foreknowledge” is misnomer. God is completely outside of time and space.
God is primary cause of everything, but he’s not the secondary cause of everything, he communicates being to all of us. Existence of laws and commandments implies freedom. if no freedom -> no need for laws
Knowledge b/c of action, not action b/c of knowledge.
just because i know that my child will pick candy over fruit, it doesn't constrain or cause choice

how is correction happening before the incarnation?

it could, but it generally wasn't happening

what did st thomas aquinas come up with

ipsum esse substiens: being itself subsisting, the act of existing on its own. it is neccessary! He can't not exist

what do we mean when we say mercy transcends justice

gives more reward and less punishment than what is due

why do we still suffer?

God allows people to offend each other and Him.
retribution and correction is still happening.
God can use evil to bring about a greater good.

quote from st. athanasius

"God became man so that man might become God"
became man so that we could become DIVINE
we now participate in God's divinity through the sacraments

explain the incarnation and passion using the analogy of cups and buckets

after the incarnation, we became open cups that could receive grace. after passion, we became buckets with arms, who are now capable of gaining merit, not just passively receiving it

what were we before the fall?

Before fall, man was capable of suffering and death but didn’t. After fall, suffering and death became necessary consequences.
Creation (no longer subjective) to man
Body (no longer subjective) to soul
Before fall, man capable of sinning but didn’t sin. After fall, sin became inevitable b/c
senses (no longer subjective) to reason
reason (no longer subjective) to God
Undeserved grace of Original Justice was lost and could only be restored through undeserved mercy of God

why can we say whatever we do to the least of God's children we do to Him?

we are united to Christ. whatever we do to a part of the body, we also do to Him

what does it mean to offer it up?

unite our sufferings to Christ. our sufferings are His, and His sufferings are ours

absoluteness

"I AM WHO AM". It is impossible for God to not not exist, because it is NECCESSARY. "ipsum esse substiens"

infinity

God is without limit, actual infinity of countable things impossible!
But, God is pure act.

Spirituality

God is immaterial and outside of space.

Unity

God is simple-pure being (no parts) and unique:
impossible for two gods b/c one has to be inferior.
Possesses the fullness of perfection

Eternity

God has neither beginning nor end. God is outside of time (doesn’t experience time), everything is present. God lives in an all

Transcendence/immanence

“Maneo, manere”: to remain. God is far above and beyond every creature. Innermost in every creature, permeating each creature’s entire being.

Intelligence/omniscience

Understands himself, and every conceivable idea, concept, or design. Knows everything there is to know about himself and about every single existing thing. Act of being is in God’s act of being.

Omnipotence

Almighty, able to do anything that is not intrinsically contradictory (can’t and won’t b/c it can’t be done). Ex: God can’t sin.

Goodness

Didn’t create sin, contradicts. Supremely good, utterly desirable, and devoid of any evil whatsoever (if being good, then desired). All good = more desired.

Mercy

Revealed to us. Greatest attribute of God. What people need.

Divine Mercy in My Soul

St. Faustina. Expanded human understanding of mercy

Dives in Misericordia

St. John Paul II.

Matthew 20: 16

mercy precedes, includes, and transcends justice; they go together.
Meaning of transcends justice: gives more reward and less punishment than due.
Justice: what people deserve (natural virtue).
Mercy: what people need (supernatural virtue)

Meaning of transcends justice

gives more reward and less punishment than due.

Justice

what people deserve (natural virtue).

Mercy

what people need (supernatural virtue)

James 2: 12-13

“mercy triumphs over judgment”.

Exodus 20: 56

1st commandment, God punishes evil less than rewards good (MERCY!).

Hell is

a place and state.

Ontological goodness

things with being are good even if not alive.

Living beings have souls, which is their

substantial form.

The NEED to eat distinguishes

mortality

Divine mercy

more than needed

How Do We Know if God is Personal?

Effects, no matter how far removed, can never be greater than their causes.
If a person exists now, they have a first cause.
Persons are greater than non-persons.
First cause can’t be less than personal → Person.

If God has foreknowledge of what we’ll choose, how are we free? Either God doesn’t know everything or we’re not free.

“Foreknowledge” is misnomer. God is completely outside of time and space.
God is primary cause of everything, but he’s not the secondary cause of everything.
Communicates being to all of us
Examples:
Just b/c I know what my child will choose, my knowledge doesn’t constrain or cause choice.
rereading/rewatching a movie doesn’t affect the plot or characters
Existence of laws and commandments implies freedom
No freedom -> no need for laws
Knowledge b/c of action, not action b/c of knowledge

Romans 5:12

sin came into the world through one man -> arrival of death -> death to all b/c we all sin

In Garden of Eden, man lived in

Original Justice

Original Justice

Creation (subjective) to man. Body (subjective) to soul. Senses (subjective) to reason. Reason (subjective)to God. Sin fractured nature and shattered whole natural order (e.g. ionic solid disrupted)

Romans 8:19-23

"groan": condition of entire cosmos

Before fall

man capable of sinning but didn’t sin.

After fall, sin became inevitable b/c

senses (no longer subjective) to reason. reason (no longer subjective) to God. Undeserved grace of Original Justice was lost and could only be restored through undeserved mercy of God

Before the Incarnation: three aspects of justice

Retribution: was happening but was insufficient, b/c Hell was deserved. Correction: reparation of damage, could happen but generally wasn’t. Reward: couldn’t happen

Incarnation

regeneration of human nature (reason for Christmas, defines Catholicism). God became human so we can become divine. Divinization: we participate in God’s divinity, applied through sacraments. Retribution: still happening but now sufficient, Hell could now be avoided. Correction: now happens as an ongoing process. Reward: could now happen (in virtue of Christ’s passion and death)

Why do we still suffer after the Incarnation?

Retribution and correction still happening. God allows people the freedom to offend Him and to hurt each other. God can use suffering and evil to bring about a greater good

Why did Christ suffer at all?

Father didn’t desire it directly, but permitted it
Love, not suffering, is what gains merit for us
“Quod non assumptum, non sanatum est.” - Nazianzen
What has not been assumed has not been healed
Christ took on all human experience to heal suffering
Substitution not the same as representation. Christ did both. In His innocence, He substituted for us; in His humanity, He represented us.
Can contribute to our own salvation with actions absorbed by Christ

quote from Nazianzen

“Quod non assumptum, non sanatum est.” What has not been assumed has not been healed. Christ took on all human experience to heal suffering. Substitution not the same as representation. Christ did both. In His innocence, He substituted for us; in His humanity, He represented us. Can contribute to our own salvation with actions absorbed by Christ

Why did Christ suffer so much? (refer Summa Theologica III, q46, a3)

Love is best proven through sacrifice. Virtually inevitable, considering Christ’s mission and sinfulness of His enemies. More merit in difficulty: passion and death satisfy retributive and corrective justice, which came from Incarnation. Won for us the reward of glory in Heaven and capacity to gain merit ourselves. Christ OVERPAID debt! Mercy transcends justice. Crucifixion is overpaying debt: does not restore us to Adam and Eve’s state before fall, but one BEYOND

Incarnation made us

open cups instead of closed cups; now open to grace

passion/death turned us into

open buckets with arms, capable of earning merit, not just passively receiving it

Analogy of allowance

shared sufferings with us, can now gain and use merit

What is the meaning of our suffering?

United to Christ’s (Mt. 25:34-40): his sufferings are ours, and ours are His
Colossians 1:24: we “fill up what is lacking”
Blending of natures
Meaning of life: melding of natures = melding of benefits
Lacked b/c Christ made it that way -> allows us to participate
Simon of Cyrene
Forced to help so Crucifixion COULD happen
Human cooperation on way to Golgotha -> happens now

Colossians 1:24

we “fill up what is lacking”. allows us to participate in Christ's suffering and gaining of merit

Suffering accepted in obedience (what God wills) turns into

love

Love expressed in obedience leads to

suffering

Christ allows us to share His sufferings so we can share His

merits Christ takes on our humanity so we can share divinity

What About Suffering of an Innocent?

Those who have died are now rejoicing in God’s presence, lives were a success! Perhaps God in His wisdom has spared them a worse fate. Perhaps God in His mercy has allowed them to become our intercessors. Can’t call God cruel just b/c we can’t explain suffering of innocent. Ex: we see the corner of the tapestry while God sees the whole. Corner looks ugly but tapestry as whole is beautiful. God allowed suffering to befall the most innocent one of all: His Son. If He allows other innocent people to suffer, it must be for a good reason. Why would bad things happen to good people is still mystery, but God suffered too; He didn’t spare His only Son.

Initial Response to Suffering

Compassion: suffer with them

Why do animals suffer?

When Original Sin brought death and suffering to humans, all creation suffered as well
Animals have different suffering and meaning than humans
Genesis 3:17-18: “ground cursed”
Romans 8:19-23: “creation subjected to futility”
Original Sin intensified hostility of nature towards man and beast but animals suffered before the fall (predator and prey)
Inferior species die to make room for superior -> circle of life
Laws of physics interact naturally -> suffering disasters
Don’t have same self-consciousness as us (suffer differently)
React to stimuli and feel pain, don’t pity themselves
Doesn’t mean existence is worthless: good of existence outweighs possibility of its suffering

Evil is

privation, not actual thing. God didn’t make it.

Evil and suffering come about b/c

humans have free will. Inherent risk of freedom doesn’t negate good.

God can permit evil and suffering in order to bring about

a greater good in the long run.

“God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.”

C.S. LEWIS

Christian suffering as consequence of original sin is

redemptive when united to Passion

Evil and suffering manifest God’s mercy, causing

gratitude in those who receive it

Evil and suffering make what possible

heroic virtue

Gratitude is greater b/c

evil makes us appreciate more of what we have; evil makes good more desirable.

if there is evil and suffering in the world, God isn't omnipotent or benevolent

Evil is privation. If there is existence, there must be non-existence, which is evil. Perfection -> non-perfection
Existence > non-existence
Can you blame existence for non-existence? NO!
2) Original sin broke our nature. Nature is not to be messed with (DNA, nuclear power). If physical nature can break, so can spiritual nature.
Consequences of nature being disobeyed, NOT punishment
Created to live for and with God -> rebellion against our purpose and nature brought terrible consequences
Adam and Eve suffered repercussions -> descendants as well
Fallen nature passed onto us (can’t be pure b/c they no longer have that)
Distrust PRECEDES disobedience
Sin fractured nature and shattered whole natural order (e.g. ionic solid disrupted) -> God disrupted = whole cosmos disrupted

after fall

suffering and death became necessary consequences.
Creation (no longer subjective) to man
Body (no longer subjective) to soul