Theology Reviewer

CORRESPONDENCE THEORY OF TRUTH

• Truth is what corresponds to facts

COHERENCE THEORY OF TRUTH

• Truth is what coheres with the rest of our knowledge

PRAGMATIC THEORY OF TRUTH

• Truth is what works, or serves our purpose

ST THOMAS AQUINAS - “Human beings, have a natural desire for God- a desire that is as natural as hunger or thirst, yet different in its object because its operation is in the mind. Hence, it is not as easily satisfied as our physical desires"

C.S LEWIS - “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest THE REAL THING.”

VERITATIS SPLENDOR, 2- “The light of God's face shines in all its beauty on the countenance of Jesus Christ”

RELATIVISM

• is the belief that there's no absolute truth, only the truths that a particular individual or culture happen to believe

• If you believe in relativism, then you think different people can have different views about what's moral and immoral

• In a relativist society, there are no standards, no permanent moral values

CRISIS OF RELATIVISM

• “Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be ‘tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine’, seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times.” (Missa Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice, 19 April 2005)

• “We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires.”

RELATIVISM IN FAITH

• Thus, to affirm Jesus as “the Truth, the Way and the Life” is FUNDAMENTALISM

CAFETERIA CATHOLICISM

• One is free to just choose which of the Church’s teachings they will accept as true and follow, abandoning beliefs and practices which do not suit their taste or preferences.

RELATIVISM IN MORALS

• The logical consequence of relativism in faith 

• If all beliefs are true, then all actions are good

POPE FRANCIS - ““If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, WHO AM I TO JUDGE?”

PRACTICAL RELATIVISM

• a form of moral relativism that is self-centered, self- indulgent and grounded on convenience and material security 

• a lifestyle where one accumulates and hoards wealth and power at all costs

THOMAS AQUINAS ON TRUTH

• Adæquatio rei et intellectus” or “Truth is the equation of mind and thing.” (Summa Theologiae, I:21:2) 

  • Morally Truthful 

    • When a person’s thinking conforms to what he expresses with words or actions

  • Logically Truthful  

    • When a person’s thinking conforms to what actually exists in reality and his judgments are based on the same reality

  • Ontological Truth

    • insofar as they correspond to how the Creator imagined them even before they were made.s in reality and his judgments are based on the same reality

MORAL TRUTH AND LOGICAL TRUTH

• expressions of what originally was just an idea in the Great Mind that brought it forth to existence – God

ONTOLOGICAL TRUTH

• Became incarnate in the person of JESUS CHRIST

“For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

"In fact, it is only in the mystery of the Word incarnate that light is shed on the mystery of man.” (GS, 22)

A Missionary Key 

• The ultimate purpose behind the transmission of this truth is SALVATION MATTHEW 28:29

POPE FRANCIS - “Hence, communicating the truth today should not be by way of imposition but by attraction.”

POPE BENEDICT XVI - “In the words, it is through the via pulchritudinis – the way of beauty the others are brought more effectively to the truth of Christ”

HIERARCHY OF TRUTHS

• Not all truths are of equal importance in relation to the salvation of humankind. 

• Essential truths are the foundational truths – the truths supernaturally revealed necessary for salvation

SPIRITUALITY OF TRUTHS

• Verifying the Truth (logical) 

• Living out the Truth (moral) 

• Actualizing the Truth of who I am, whose I am, for whom I am (ontological)

GUIDELINES OF TRUTHS

• Formulate guidelines on how to post truthfully on social media and commit to abide by these guidelines at all times

THROW AWAY CULTURE

• Throw away culture leads to environmental and societal degredation and leads to waste and economy of exclusion and inequality

SPIRITUALITY OF MERCY

• is a Spirit-filled movement of the heart “to be merciful just as God our Heavenly Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). This spirituality arises from our own experience of God’s mercy

• lives both the corporal and spiritual actions of mercy

Pope John XXIII, at the opening of the Second Vatican Council said that the church must use the medicine of mercy. The Church must therefore “proclaim the mercy of God, provide people with God’s mercy and must allow God’s mercy to appear and be realized in its entire life

ST THOMAS AQUINAS ON MERCY

• challenges us to think a little more deeply about human suffering, and about what kinds of remedies are required. If man were only a body, then physical suffering would be the extent of what would cause him harm and need healing.

Cardinal Walter Kasper - “What does mercy mean? The term mercy is present and fundamental in the Bible and in the Koran as well. Both holy books talk of God almighty and merciful. For the moment being it can be left open whether the same term, mercy, has the same meaning in the Bible and in the Koran”

“Culture of care” as antidote to the double degradation brought about by the throwaway culture

CARDINAL TUCKSON  - “Good stewards take responsibility and fulfill their obligations to manage and to render an account. But one can be a good steward without feeling connected. If one cares, however, one is connected. To care is to allow oneself to be affected by another, so much so that one’s path and priorities change”

POPE FRANCIS  - “JESUS is the FACE of the FATHER’S mercy” 

The opposite of mercy is INDIFFERENCE

FOUR OBSTACLES TO BEING MERCIFUL

• SELF-CENTEREDNESS

  • Being absorbed by our own issues

• SELF-PITY

  • Preoccupation with our own perceived suffering

• PRIDE

  • Thinking we are privileged because we are holier

• SELFISHNESS

  • Wanting to keep all we have to ourselves

MERCY is the greatest relative characteristic of GOD

ST THOMAS AQUINAS - “With relation to all that exists in creation, mercy is the greatest divine attribute”

misericordia "literally means "having a miserable heart“

3 KINDS OF HUMAN MISERY

• Suffering that goes against our natural appetite for existence and life 

• Suffering that strikes us suddenly and unexpectedly 

• Suffering that strikes a person when he consistently pursues the good, yet he meets only overpowering evil

2 ASPECTS OF HUMAN MISERY

• AFFECTIVE MERCY

  • An emtion

• EFFECTIVE MERCY

• Suffering that strikes us suddenly and unexpectedly 

• Suffering that strikes a person when he consistently pursues the good, yet he meets only overpowering evil

LAUDATO SI’ - Men and women of our postmodern world run the risk of rampant individualism, and many problems of society are connected with today’s self- centered culture of instant gratification

THE EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF INDIVIDUALISM

• It isolates the human person from one’s true fulfillment; 

• The World is Torn Apart

extreme individualism often leads to the idea that one’s personality is shaped by his or her desires, which are considered absolute. (Relatio Synodi, 2014 in AL 33).

THE EARLY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

• Koinonia - Fellowship or communion

  • It refers to the deep spiritual and communal bond among believers, emphasizing unity, sharing, and mutual support in faith and resources

• Eucharista - Thanksgiving

  • It signifies the central Christian ritual of the Lord’s Supper, expressing gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice and fostering spiritual nourishment and unity

• Didache - Teaching

  • It relates to the apostolic instruction given to new believers, focusing on Christian ethics, worship, and doctrine, as seen in the early church manual The Didache.

• Kerygma - Proclamation

  • It denotes the core message of the Gospel, particularly the preaching of Christ’s death and resurrection for salvation

• Diakonia - Service or Ministry

  • It refers to acts of love, charity, and service, especially caring for the needy, which was fundamental to the church’s mission 

ANTIDOTE TO INDIVIDUALISM

• Spirituality of communion which heals, promotes and reinforces interpersonal bonds

MEANING AND NATURE OF THE SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION

• indicates above all the heart's contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us.

• means an ability to think of our brothers and sisters in faith within the profound unity of the Mystical Body, and therefore as "those who are a part of me"

NURTURING THE SPIRITUALITY

• This Spirituality of Communion must be cultivated and extended day by day and at every level in the structures of each Church's life

COMMUNION IN DIFFERENCE

• Keep an open mind. Fraternal communion is enriched by respect and appreciation for differences within an overall perspective that advances the common good. We need to free ourselves from feeling that we all have to be alike

THE CHALLENGE TO CHRISTIANS

• To make the Church the home and the school of communion

• To promote a spirituality of communion