THE GOD-HUMAN RELATIONSHIP Revelation

What is revelation?  A gift from God to help us know Him  We cannot fully know God How does is occur?  Natural  Indirectly, through reason and intellect, experiences of love  Divine  Directly, through Scripture and Tradition Scripture- Salvation History Tradition- the teaching of the Church as discerned from Scripture and the actions of the early Church Magisterium : The teaching office of the Church that consists of the Pope and the Bishops

Desire for God Why do we want to know God?  We are created with a desire to return to God  We are called by God to a vocation of holiness  Because we came from God, we are destined to go to God  Throughout history peoples have worshipped, believed in, and sought out the “Divine”. This is called “sacred mystery”.  Today, we continue to respond to this desire by participating in worship and sacraments not on our own initiative but by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  An obstacle to this call from God is the faulty vision or perspective we have due to the Original Sin. It doesn’t let us see God’s plan clearly. When Jesus came he “gave sight to the blind”. Baptism helps us to clear our blindness and see what God expects from us.

Salvation History Protoevangelium (Gen.3:15)  The first promise of a savior Patriarchs  Through Abraham, God forms a chosen people Covenant through Moses  Through Moses, God reveals his Law to the people Judges, Kings, Priests  God calls judges, kings and priests to lead his people Prophets  When the leaders fall out of righteousness with God, He sends prophets to call them back to the covenant. They offer the hope of a new, everlasting covenant Jesus  The promise of the savior is fulfilled in Jesus by the Incarnation.  The new and everlasting covenant through Jesus

Natural Find God in all things, the world around us  Beauty, truth, goodness  Stewardship Prayer  Let ourselves experience the presence of God Faith of others  Early church  Family Human intellect and reason  Study of God, theology

Divine Revelation  Sacred Scripture  Old Testament Follows salvation history from the protoevangelium until its fulfillment. The roots of Christianity  New Testament The promise is fulfilled in the Incarnation A new covenant is made through the Paschal Mystery The Church is born  Tradition  Magisterium Have the authority of Jesus that was given to the Apostles and passed on to bishops throughout the ages  Church Fathers Teachings of early Christian leaders who were associated with the Apostles  Church teachings Through the interpretation of Scripture the Church passes on the teachings as doctrines and dogma

Divine Revelation ScriptureTradition Old Testament New Testament Inspiration Inerrancy Apostolic Succession Magisterium Doctrines Infallibility

The Problem of Evil The world is imperfect  God created us with free will; Some choose to sin and this causes suffering to others  The laws of nature will reach perfection at the end of time; Until then the imperfect will remain. Redemptive Suffering  Through suffering we bring ourselves and/or others to salvation, closer to God The Paschal Mystery  Jesus suffered and died for us, but he also rose from the dead. This shows us that death, sin and evil do not win in the end. We have partial vision  God sees and knows the whole picture. “All things work for good for those who know God”