1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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)

6. 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)

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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