What is Theology? and Natural Revelation
What is Theology?
Faith seeking understanding
Studying the Word of God that is Sacred Scripture
Studying the Word of God that is Jesus Christ
Which of the following is NOT true of St. Thomas Aquinas?
a. He was a Dominican priest
b. His classmates recognized his brilliance when he was a kid
c. He is the author of the Summa Theologica
d. He uses reason, or Natural Revelation, to discover proofs for God’s existence
b. His classmates recognized his brilliance when he was a kid
Define contingent and necessary.
Contingent: does not possess existence in itself, must receive existence from something else
Necessary: possesses existence in itself
What are the 3 transcendental attributes of God?
Good
True
Beautiful
St. John Paul II said ______________ and _____________ are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.
Faith and Reason
What is Faith?
The gift of being able to offer (submit) our mind and will to God as a response to God’s invitation of love.
Why is it impossible for a chain of causes to go back to infinity?
Infinite regress means going back forever, which implies that there is no beginning.
If a process never starts, nothing can happen! If nothing began, nothing would exist.
But things do exist, so there must have been a beginning.
What is ontology?
The study of being
Which of the following is NOT one of the metaphysical characteristics of God?
a. Omnipresent (everywhere at all times)
b. Omnipotent (all-powerful)
c. Infinite
d. Impersonal
d. Impersonal
What is reason?
Using the intellect (mind) in order to discover something true about the world
What is the difference between knowing someone and knowing about someone?
What is the difference between knowing God and knowing about God?
There is a difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing someone personally.
We could memorize facts and figures about God but if we never encounter God in prayer and develop a relationship with Him, we will not know Him personally.
Summarize the Argument from Necessary Being.
1. All things in the universe are contingent, including the universe itself.
2. Contingent beings do not possess existence in themselves, but rather receive existence from other beings (their existence is dependent on other beings).
3. However, this chain of existence cannot go back forever, because that would be infinite regress, and infinite regress is impossible.
4. If there was no start, nothing could come into existence.
5. But things did come into existence, which means there must have been something which existed without having received existence from something else.
6. Therefore, there must exist a “necessary being” which possesses existence in itself.
Which of the following is NOT one one of the metaphysical characteristics of God?
a. Spaceless
b. Holy
c. Limited
d. Timeless
They enhance each other
Natural Revelation: Discovering truths about God based on what we observe in the natural world and what we experience as human beings.
Divine Revelation: The means by which God makes known to human beings Himself, and the mysterious plan of His will for human beings and the world.
Summarize the Argument from Motion.
Some things move.
Nothing moves itself.
Since nothing moves itself, everything that moves must be moved by something else.
If that which causes the motion is moving, then it must be moved by something else.
This chain of “moved movers” cannot go back forever.
There must be a first “unmoved mover,” or “Pure Act.”
Summarize the Argument from Design.
Things that lack intelligence act with some purpose (towards some goal).
Things that lack intelligence cannot give themselves purpose.
Things that lack intelligence but act with purpose must have been given a purpose by something intelligent.
An “intelligent designer” exists.
What does mean when He says His name is “I am who am?”
God is saying that His identity will be revealed in His future action
God is saying that He is Being itself
What is the difference between science and scientism?
Scientism: the reduction of all knowledge to the scientific form of knowledge
Summarize the Argument from Desire
Every natural, innate desire in us corresponds to some real object that can satisfy that desire.
But there exists in us a desire which nothing in time, nothing on earth, no creature can satisfy.*
Therefore, there must exist something more than time, earth, and creatures, which can satisfy this desire.
This something is what people call “God” and “life with God forever.”
Summarize the Argument from Causation.
1. Everything that has come to exist in the universe has been caused by something.
2. Nothing that has come to exist in the universe can cause itself.
3. Everything which has come to exist is caused to exist by something other than itself.
4. It is impossible for a chain of causes of this kind to go back to infinity.
Conclusion: There must be a first cause, which has always existed, and causes other things to come into existence.
Summarize St. Anselm's Ontological Argument.
1. All things in the universe are contingent, including the universe itself.
2. Contingent beings do not possess existence in themselves, but rather receive existence from other beings (their existence is dependent on other beings).
3. However, this chain of existence cannot go back forever, because that would be infinite regress, and infinite regress is impossible.
4. If there was no start, nothing could come into existence.
5. But things did come into existence, which means there must have been something which existed without having received existence from something else.
6. Therefore, there must exist a “necessary being” which possesses existence in itself.
Why is it significant that God chooses to reveal His name to Moses?
By revealing His name, God reveals His identity to Moses
Now that Moses knows God’s name, Moses is able to call on God for help
The fact that Moses knows God’s name indicates that God and Moses are in relationship with each other
Name the 6 things that cannot be proven using the scientific method:
Ethics
Morality
Math
Logic
Beauty
Science itself