Catholic Christianity : Beliefs and Teachings Flashcards
To help learn the content from the beliefs and teachings part of the Catholic Christianity section.
Who is in the Trinity?
- God the Father
- God the Son
- God the Holy Spirit
What is the Trinity?
‘one God in three persons’ CCC253
What do Catholics believe about the Trinity?
- There is only one God (monotheism)
- God exists as three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Each of these three are distinct from one and other, but each is wholly God.
- There are NOT three Gods.
Why do Catholics believe in the Trinity?
- It is how God makes himself known in the world.
- It is called ‘the doctrine of the Trinity’
- It is a fundamental belief for all Catholics.
What does the Nicene Creed say about the Trinity?
The Trinity works as one - yet each of the three persons has a special role.
a. God the Father created heaven and earth,
b. God the Son, Jesus, is the saviour of the world.
c. God the Holy Spirit guides, helps and inspires human beings.
How does God reveal himself through the Trinity?
- ‘Outside’ them through God the Father
- ‘Beside’ them through God the Son and Saviour
- '’Inside’ ‘ them through the Holy Spirit.
How is the Trinity used during the sacrament of Baptism?
‘I baptise you in the name of the father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit’
How is the Trinity shown in the sacrament of the Eucharist?
- It begins with the sign of the cross
- It is an act of thanksgiving and praise to the father, the son becomes present in the bread and wine and then the Holy Spirit comes down through it.
What is a doctrine?
A belief held by the Church
What is a creed?
- It means ‘I believe’.
- A creed is a formal expression of what the Catholic Church believes and teaches.
Where does the belief in the Trinity originally come from?
Apostolic Tradition.
What is apostolic tradition?
The wisdom inspired by the Holy Spirit which influences the words and practices of the Church.
Why is the baptism of Jesus important for the Trinity?
It is the moment God revealed himself as the Trinity.
‘The spirit of God descended on him like a dove and a voice from heaven said “this is my son whom I love’
Why did the early Church have disagreements about the Trinity?
- Some would not accept Jesus as more than a prophet
- Some did not believe that Jesus was truly God himself.
- Some thought Jesus was lower than the Father.
Constantine called the Council of Nicea to sort out these differences.
What is the first council of Nicea?
- The first of the Church’s ecumenical councils.
- They produced the Creed of Nicea which said that Jesus was just as much God as the Father is God.
What is the First council of Constantinople?
Where they declared that the Holy Spirit was also as much God as the Father was and Jesus.
What do Catholics believe about Creation?
- Nothing existed before God created the world - Creation Ex Nihilo
- Only God creates because he is omnipotent
- This belief can be found in the Bible in Genesis.
- They believe it is a symbolic story.
- The world was NOT created in 6 days exactly as it says.
What does Creation Ex Nihilo mean?
Creation out of nothing.
What happens in Genesis 1?
God creates the world in 6 days and rests on the 7th. He looks at all he has made and sees that it is good. He creates humans on the 6th day.
What happens in Genesis 2?
Adam names all the animals in the world but is still lonely. God creates Eve from Adams rib.
What happens in Genesis 3?
This describes the original sin of Adam and Eve: Eating the fruit from the tree and introduced the idea that sin leads to suffering.
If humans do not obey the teachings of God things cannot work out right or happily.
What do Other Christians (Creationists or Fundamentalists) believe about the creation story?
- They believe that the Bible account is accurate and is exactly how the world was created.
- The world was created in 6 calendar days.
- They believe this because the Bible is the word of God and is never mistaken.
What can Catholics learn from the creation story?
- God is creator ‘God said “let there be light” and there was light.
- God as omnibenevolent ‘God saw what he had made and it was good’
- God as omnipotent ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered…and it was so’
- God as eternal ‘ in the beginning was the word… and the word was with God’
What do Catholics believe about the Big Bang?
- They believe in the Big Bang.
- The theory supports their belief of creation out of nothing.
- The Big Bang theory was put forward by a Catholic Priest.
- ‘Let there be light’ could be reference to the explosion.
- Science explains HOW the universe came about and Genesis explains WHY.
What does John I say about creation?
The gospel of John also refers to creation but focusses on how Jesus was also present as ‘the word’
“In the beginning there was the word, and the word was with God.
What does John say about the Trinity?
Jesus is God incarnate
‘The word became flesh and dwelled among us’