The Nature of God Flashcards
What are all human beings searching for?
Happiness
Describe what HAPPINESS means in the Catholic Church’s teaching.
Happiness is knowing God and believing in him. Hence, happiness comes from God. Happiness is also knowing that there is a life in Heaven with God, and that death is not the end
Explain the Latin Phrase Ipsum Esse in relation to the explanation of God.
The subsistent ‘act of to be’. God is existence itself. God allows everything else to exist
Who is God according to Catholic Teaching? (what is God not?)
God is a mystery, Ipsum Esse, God just is.
He is not a being, not even a supreme being
He is not a competitor of humans
He is not defined or controlled
He is not an item in the universe
He does not have a name
God is both intellect and will
Explain St. Thomas Aquinas’s FIVE proofs for God’s existence.
FIRST MOVER - Things are in motion. Anything moved is moved by another thing. There cannot be an infinite series of movers. Therefore, there must be a first mover, a mover that is not itself moved by another. This is God.
FIRST CAUSE - All things are caused. Anything caused is caused by another thing. There cannot be an infinite series of causes. Therefore, there must be a first cause, a cause that is not itself caused by another. This is God.
CONTINGENCY OR NECESSARY BEING - Every contingent being at some time fails to exist. So, if everything were contingent, then at some time there would have been nothing - and so there would be nothing now - which is cleary false. So not everything is contingent. So, there is a necessary being. This is God
DEGREES OF GREATNESS - Some things are greater than others. Whatever is great to any degree gets its greatness from that which is the greatest. So, there is a greatest being, which is the source of all greatness. This is God
INTELLIGENCE IN THE UNIVERSE - Many things in the world that lack intelligence act for an end. Whatever acts for an end must be directed by an intelligent being. So, the world must have an intelligent designer. This is God
Provide an explanation of the Holy Trinity.
The Father - God the Father is God knowing that God exists
The Son - God the Son is God’s image of who God is
The Holy Spirit - The eternal love between God knowing that God exists and God’s image of who God is.
God is love
Who is Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ is true God and true Man, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, the second person of the Trinity and the Messiah
Why was Jesus necessary in the History of Salvation?
Jesus was necessary for the History of Salvation, because up until then, the Gates of Heaven were closed, no one could get to Heaven. Jesus, by dying on the cross, took the consequences for our sin, opened the gates of Heaven and destroyed death.
What are the FOUR things that the Messiah was prophesized to do and how does Jesus Christ achieve it?
Gathering the Tribes - He invites everyone to his table, sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors and the sick. He healed a lot of people. He associated with the lowest of people, which was greatly looked down upon in his time. It is this way that he gathered the tribes
Cleansing the Temple - The temple means Jesus’ body. He would tear down the temple and in three days raise it back up again. This refers to the resurrected body of Jesus, holy, pure and clean
Battling the enemies of Israel - He is the Davidic Warrior. He battles through preaching, miracles and by dying on the cross. He disrupts the violence of the human condition by dying on the cross
Reigning as Lord of the Nations - After Jesus ascended into Heaven, people like Paul, Jesus’ followers, hastily set out to send the message of Jesus to the world. Thus, Catholicism spread, reaching across the globe. In this way, Jesus reigns as Lord of the Nations
