God Vocabulary monotheism The Trinity polytheism henotheism The belief that there is only One God The Trinity The distinctly Christian monotheism—God is Three Persons in One God polytheism The belief that there is more than one god henotheism the belief that God is the supreme God over all the other gods

God Vocabulary Deism: pantheism: atheism: agnosticism: the belief that God created the universe but takes no personal interest in it. pantheism: The belief that everything is God; God and the universe are equivalent atheism: The belief that there is no God agnosticism: The belief that God’s existence is in doubt because it cannot be known for certain

Two Qualities of God God is Transcendent God is a being who is entirely above or other than the created universe God is beyond our knowledge and experience

Two Qualities of God God is Immanent the idea that God is a being who exists within the created universe God can be experienced through nature, other people, events, music, etc.

The Intellectual Proofs Because God is transcendent, we cannot prove there is a God any more than an atheist can prove there is no God. Yet we can use our intellects to reasonably conclude that there is a God (the five intellectual proofs)

The Heartfelt Proofs Because God is immanent, we cannot really see God in creation (we are not pantheists). Yet we can still experience God’s presence in creation with our senses and hearts (the four heartfelt proofs)

Divine Revelation Though God is beyond human comprehension, we believe that God has revealed himself to us. “Revelation” means “unveiling” Why? God created us and wants to be in a relationship with us. The Bible (Hebrew and Christian Scriptures) details God’s relationship with us.

Scriptures: revelation in writing Judaism: the Torah, Prophets, other Writings Christianity: the Gospels, Epistles, other books of the New Testament Islam: the Qur’an Other religions: Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), Hinduism

Are the scriptures true? The Bible is the Word of God Written by human beings Inspired by the Holy Spirit (God) Truth: Three types Literal truth Scientific truth Divine or Religious Truth According to Catholic teaching, the Bible is divinely true, but NOT NECESSARILY scientifically or literally true

Are the scriptures true? Fundamentalism: The belief that Scriptures are literally true. There are Christian fundamentalists, Islamic fundamentalists, Jewish fundamentalists, etc. Catholics are not fundamentalists, but there are fundamentalist Catholics Creation Story, Adam and Eve, the Flood, etc. True stories in the religious sense, not necessarily in the scientific or literal sense.

WHO IS GOD? Two of the many ways God is revealed in the Scriptures are the most important: Yahweh (Hebrew Scriptures) When Moses asks God who for his name, God says, “I AM WHO AM.” In Hebrew, the letters of these words are YHWH. abba (Christian Scriptures) When Jesus was asked how he prays to God, he revealed that to him God is abba, a loving father or “daddy” in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.

Fragment of the Book of Hosea from the Dead Sea Scrolls WHO IS GOD? Yet there are many other ways God is revealed in Scripture, using a variety of different images. Psalm 24:8-10 Isaiah 49:15 Deuteronomy 32:11 Hosea 5:12,14 Hosea 13:6-8 Hosea 11:3-4 Fragment of the Book of Hosea from the Dead Sea Scrolls

WHO IS GOD? Yet there are many other ways God is revealed in Scripture, using a variety of different images. Isaiah 42:14 Acts 2:2-4 Matthew 23:37 John 1:4-5

The divine Attributes (pp. 31-32, text) The Creeds only refer to God’s omnipotence “The Father (the) Almighty” But according to St. Thomas Aquinas (who wrote the 5 intellectual proofs), God has the following attributes (characteristics) in Scripture: God is unique God is infinite and omnipotent (almighty) God is eternal God is immense God contains all things

The divine Attributes (pp. 31-32, text) According to St. Thomas Aquinas (who wrote the 5 intellectual proofs, God has the following 9 attributes (characteristics) in Scripture: God is immutable God is utterly simple—pure Spirit God is personal God is holy

God is LOVE 1 John 4:16: God is Love. Probably the MOST important image of God in the Scripture. The story of God in the Bible is the story of God’s LOVE RELATIONSHIP with his people. God CREATED us out of love and wants to be in a relationship with us.

God’s first love relationship According to Scripture and the Creed, God created “heaven and earth” Humans are the pinnacle of God’s creation Two Creation Stories in Genesis (Chapters 1 & 2) Genesis 1: Humans created in the image and likeness of God Genesis 2: God fills humans with his own breath God wanted a love relationship with humans, and humans rejected God’s offer of love

What went wrong? The Fall of Humanity Adam and Eve, the Snake, the Garden of Eden. Symbolic Story with a Religious Truth: God gave humans the freedom to accept or reject his offer of a relationship. Humans rejected the offer by their disobedience Sin became part of the human condition. Original Sin: The fallen state of human nature Yet in the Scriptures, God continually reaches out to sinful humanity. He offers them a relationship in the form of a covenant.

The Covenants (page 29, text) A covenant: an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return Testament is another word for Covenant Covenant with Noah Sign: rainbow Covenant with Abraham Sign: circumcision of males Covenant with Moses Sign: Sabbath

JESUS christ Jesus Christ is the New Covenant If you believe in Jesus Christ, you will be saved from your sinful nature. Sign: Baptism Jesus Christ IS God God became one of us, a human Jesus is the human image of God