1. Chapter One: God Gives Us the Law

2. Chapter One: God Gives Us the Law Lesson One: Creation

3. Is there a God??
We can know that there is a God by observing the natural world around us.

4. St. Thomas Aquinas Words
St. Thomas Aquinas gives us 5 proofs of knowing God’s existence:
Everything comes from something (generation) and there must have been a first.
Everything is in motion, something must have moved it.
Something holds everything in existence.
Order
Degrees of perfection

5. God is Real…
We know that God exists from the world around us. All of creation testifies to the glory of God.

6. Creation Hierarchy
The inanimate objects (rocks, metals) are the lowest level.
Then you have vegetative creatures, which have life, grow and turn toward the sun (trees and flowers).
Next you have the animals, you have the lower animals with lower level of thinking and then you have the higher thinking animals.
Humans are next on the list, all of the lower levels were given to man by God to have the basic necessities.

7. Creation Hierarchy
Lastly, after humans you have angels. Angels are rational pure spirits that serve God (part of that service is to help man).

8. Why did God Make Man?
God made man for a purpose….heaven. To get to heaven we must do good and avoid evil.
We are designed for this and it is written in our hearts. Because of the effects of the Fall of Adam and Eve we are prone to sin.
This is called concupiscence, however we also have free will. Which is the ability to choose good or evil, right or wrong.

9. In class group activity…
Draw to demonstrate how God created all things seen and unseen.

10. Classwork / Homework Pg. 1 inside Activity Books

11. Chapter One: God Gives Us the Law Lesson Two: God’s Laws

12. Genesis 1:1-3: 24

14. Original Sin
Because of Original Sin, there was a separation between God and man. There was nothing that man could do to make up for his great sin. This original sin was passed down to all people. A savior would be needed to make up for this sin and to reunite man and God.
God wants us all to be united with him forever. He loves us completely. Throughout history God has provided way for man to be united with him through covenants, sacrifices, and worship.

16. Our Responsibilities:
Can you be best friends with someone if they are always lying to you?
What about if they steal from you?
God gave us the Ten Commandments so that we can live in relationship with God and one another.

17. The Ten Commandments:

18. First Commandment
You should have no other gods before me.

19. Second Commandment
You shall not take the Lord’s name in vein

20. Third Commandment
Remember to keep the Sabbath day Holy.

21. Fourth Commandment
Honor your father and your mother

22. Fifth Commandment
You shall not kill

23. Sixth Commandment
You shall not commit adultery.

24. Seventh Commandment
You shall not steal

25. Eighth Commandment
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbors.

26. Ninth Commandment
You shall not covet your neighbors wife.

27. Tenth Commandment
You shall not covet your neighbors goods.

28. Classwork / Homework Pg. 2 inside Activity Books

29. Chapter One: God Gives Us the Law Lesson Three: Jesus’ Law

30. Covenant
A covenant is a binding oath that unites two parties in a relationship.
God has called man into relationship with him. The Ten Commandments were the condition of this covenant. By breaking them, we break our covenant with God.

31. Covenant Types: Marriage
Marriage is a covenant that a man and women enter into because of love for one another. Marriage is entered into by the profession of vows before man and God. It is binding, it is possible to break the marriage covenant by breaking the vows to love, honor, and cherish, but breaking vows hurts the marriage relationship.

32. The Ten Commandments:
The first three commandments teach us how to love God.
The last seven teach us how to love our neighbor.
Jesus, who is God the Son become man, established a New Covenant, expanding upon these laws.

33. The Beatitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

34. Jesus’s Covenant:
Jesus established the New and Everlasting Covenant. He is the Savior promised by God to Adam and Eve. He redeemed man by dying on the Cross. By his death and Resurrection he offered atonement and reunited man and God through grace. He established his covenant at the Last Supper by giving his disciples his Body and Blood in the Eucharist and fulfilling this self-gift by his sacrifice on the Cross. We enter this covenant through Baptism and commemorate Jesus’ sacred meal and sacrifice at Mass.

35. Classwork / Homework Pg. 3 inside Activity Books

36. Chapter One: God Gives Us the Law Lesson Four: Conscience

37. Conscience:
Conscience – our ability to know and judge what is right and wrong.
Every person has a conscience. It is man’s moral guide. It is his inner sanctuary, in which God speaks to him. It is the power to judge what course of action to take in any situation.

38. Moral Law:
If we break moral law, we sin. We sin when we choose to disobey the moral law. Sinful actions that we choose to do are called “actual sins”.
Actual Sins differ from Original Sin, which is an inherited stain.
We can sin by thought, word, deed, and omission. To determine if something is sinful we must look at what it is that we are doing.

39. Moral Law:
An object can be moral (good) like praying, immoral (bad) like stealing, or amoral (neither) like walking.
An immoral object can never become good. A moral or amoral object can become bad by its intention and or circumstance.
For example, eating might seem harmless, but if we are eating the last food to keep it away from someone else to be cruel, eating is bad. On the other hand, if we are eating so little that we starve ourselves, then choosing not to eat is bad.

40. Moral vs. Immoral Occupations
There are certain industries and companies that Christians would consider immoral. For example, many Christians think it is wrong to encourage people to gamble. Other places where Christians would not work would be:
make or use gambling equipment
produce firearms
create alcohol or Tabaco
operate nuclear power stations
sell military weapons
experiment on animals
pollute the environment
have a bad human right record
have poor employment records
support abortion

41. Moral vs. Immoral Occupations
On the other hand Christians would work in industries that support:
Environmental protection
Pollution Control
Conservation and Recycling
Safety and Security
Ethical Employment Practices
Fair Trade

42. Classwork / Homework Pg. 4 inside Activity Books

43. Day by Day God’s Creation
Day One: God created the heavens and the earth.
Day Two: God creates the sky
Day Three: God creates dry land
Day Four: God creates all the stars and heavenly bodies.
Day Five: God creates all life that lives in water
Day Six: God creates all the creates that live on dry land
Day Seven: God rests

44. The End!!