1. Divine Revelation and the nature of God
Chapters 2 and 3

2. The Gloria
Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace to men of good will. We praise You. We bless You. We adore you. We glorify You. We give You thanks for Your great glory. O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father: you Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. You Who take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You Who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are holy. You alone are the Lord. You alone, O Jesus Christ, are most high. Together with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

3. “Our heart is restless until it rests in you” ~ St. Augustine

4. Cecil B. DeMille’s: The Ten Commandments
How is God’s revelation or manner of communication portrayed in this movie?

5. Created In the Image and Likeness of God
Human beings have the power of reason, free-will, and an immortal soul
Why did God make us (Baltimore Catechism)?
God made us to know, love, and serve him in this world and enjoy eternal life with him in the next
God gives everyone the desire for himself written in our hearts.

6. What are some ultimate questions about existence about which every person thinks?
Who or what made me?
Why am I here?
What is the meaning of life?
What happens after death?
How did the world come into being?
Why is there good and evil, and how can I know the difference?
Why do I desire to love, to be loved, and to be happy?

7. These questions point to the reality that there is something (someone) greater than what people can experience with their senses.
Human beings by nature are religious. Humans have always sought and worshipped a higher power, whether the one true God or false gods

8. The “Five Ways” of St. Thomas
St. Thomas demonstrated that human reason can deduce convincingly that God exists by our observance of creation and the nature of the human person.

9. The “Five Ways” of St. Thomas
The argument from motion
The argument from causes
The argument from possibility and necessity
The argument from degrees of perfection
The argument from governance

10. Divine Revelation
If the existence of God can be known through human reason alone, why did God choose to reveal Himself to people directly?
Reason has its limits
Original Sin has clouded our judgment
There are certain things about God that cannot be known by reason alone
God wanted to enter into a personal relationship

11. Revelation In History Ancient Concepts Judeo-Christian Tradition
Revelation in Israel and the Old Testament
Christ as the fullness of revelation

12. Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture
Christ entrusted Divine Revelation to the Church.
Sacred Tradition predates Sacred Scripture. Sacred Scripture is a product of Sacred Tradition.
The Old Testament and New Testament came from oral tradition (it was “passed down”) before it was put on written form.
The Bible does not contain everything that Christ said or did (John 20:30-31)
Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are intimately united  forms the Deposit of Faith

13. Sacred Scripture …Thoughts of God in the words of men
What do we mean when we say that: “The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit”?

14. Theories of Divine Inspiration
Ecstatic or Hypnotic Theory
Verbal Dictation
Consequent or Subsequent Approbation
Negative Assistance
Idea or Content Theory
Distinctionalism and Verbal Inspiration
Social and Individual Dimension of Inspiration

15. The Teaching of the Church on Divine Inspiration
Chalcedon/Ephesus
Trent
Vatican I
Provedentissimus Deus (Leo XIII)
Vatican II, Dei Verbum

16. The Canon of Sacred Scripture
The concept of canonicity
Determination of the Canon
Criteria

17. Interpreting Sacred Scripture
Questions to consider
Senses of Scripture -- literary and spiritual (allegorical, moral, anagogical)

18. The Magisterium Definition and roots
The Magisterium and its various forms
The Extraordinary Magisterium/Solemn Pronouncements
The Ordinary Magisterium
Levels of Magisterial Teachings and the Response of the Faithful
Definitive Declaration of Revealed Truths
Definitive Definitions of non-revealed truth
Non-definitive obligatory teaching
Prudential judgments

19. Private Revelation Ecclesiastical Approval of Private Revelation
What about Medjugorje?

20. The Nature of God
The Blessed Trinity

21. “The LORD our God is one LORD”
Judaism and monotheism
The Shema -- Dt. 6:4-9

22. God Reveals His Name What is the significance
Moses and the Burning Bush – Exodus 3:13-14
YHWH  El Shaddai, Adonai, Elohim

23. The Blessed Trinity

24. Some Affirmations
One God – three divine persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Nature or Essence – WHAT
Person or hypostasis-- WHO
The Blessed Trinity is one God in three divine persons
The three persons of the Blessed Trinity share in one nature
The three persons are distinct only in their relation to one another
It is a mystery which cannot be fully understood in this life
No adequate analogy
We accept it in faith

25. God has revealed Himself to be one God in three divine persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Holy Trinity)

26. The Trinity Forshadowed
In “our” image
God as a family
Abraham and three visitors

27. The Trinity Revealed Annunciation Baptism of Jesus
Promise of the Holy Spirit
Instruction to the Apostles

28. What the God is NOT
Early Christological heresies gives us some ideas of the nature of God in Christ
Arianism
Docetism
Nestorianism
Monophysitism

29. Arianism

30. Docetism

31. Nestorianism

32. Monophysitism

33. Attributes of God God is love God is pure Spirit God is immutable
God is eternal
God is omnibenevolent
God is omniscient
God is omnipotent
God is omnipresent