“We Believe”

Week 1 - Who is God?

Wednesday, March 26, 20086:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Welcome…

Overview of the Course… All are welcome: parishioners, visitors, high school,

young and old, Catholic or not(!) Ten weeks, Wednesday night, 6:30-8:00 pm Come as you are No quizzes, no tests, no excommunications Child care provided Dinner served until 6:30pm while PSR in session

Welcome…

“Ongoing Formation”…… we are never

“finished”. The expression “New Evangelization

was popularized in the encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Evangelization in the Modern World, as a response to the new challenges that the contemporary world creates for the mission of the Church.

Welcome: The New Evangelization

In Mission of The Redeemer (Redemptoris Missio), John Paul II presents a new synthesis of the Church's teaching about evangelization in modern times.

– It is not a “new” message as if the Gospel has changed, but new ways in making sure that message is spread, not only among the traditional missions, but even in the Church herself. It is a comprehensive processes of “Christianization”.

– “No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church, can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples.” (RD #3)

Welcome

How is the Church responding to this call for New Evangelization?– Centrality of scriptures in the liturgy and

encouragement of excellence in preaching Preaching not primarily didactic (sermons), but homiletic.

– Promotion of age-appropriate catechesis for all Christians… young and adult

– Reinstitution of a Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults– Better use of mass media to share the Gospel

message and to teach

Welcome

What is the essential message of the Gospel?– 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4: "For what I received I passed

on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.“

– 2 Timothy 2: 8: “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. This is my Gospel.”

Faith precedes understanding

Welcome

What is the role of theology? “Faith seeking understanding”

“Fides quaerens intellectum” 1 Peter 3: 15 “Always be ready to give an

explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence.”

The greatest virtue of theology is not wisdom or knowledge, but humility.

Welcome

Welcome

Hans Urs von Balthasar: “Kneeling Theology”Adoration and Sanctity

Love of God and Love of Neighbor

the divorce of theology and spirituality bears special responsibility for the tragic dissociation of sensibility that has plagued Western Christianity for centuries

Welcome

Let us pray…

Who is God?

Who is God?

Ancient Religions– Synonymous with nature, sex, seasons; sacrifices

Classic Religions of Greece and Rome– Represent the virtues and vices of humanity– Battle of great powers in conflict: good vs. evil

Monotheism– God as separate and non-contingent on creation– Abraham & Isaac: forefathers of both the Jews (Jacob) and the

Muslims (Esau) Trinitarian Monotheism

– Christian Revelation: God as Unity of ‘Persons’

Who is God?

Old Testament conception of God:– Genesis: completely separate from creation

creation ex nihilo; Kadosh = “Holy”

– Iconoclastic: no images, statues, etc. allowed No “graven images”; compare w/ ‘incarnational’ Christianity

– Vindicates himself among other ‘local Gods’, not confined to a locality himself

– YaHWeH = “I AM” – existence in himself His very name is holy

– Author and guarantor of a series of covenants with Israel The Lawgiver; prominence of the Law

Who is God?

New Testament conception of God:– God is the same God of the Old Testament, who

speaks in ‘fragmentary and varied ways’ (Heb 1), but finally and completely speaks in the person of his Son

– the “Word made Flesh who dwelt among us”– more fully-developed Trinitarian theology; 3 = 1– “God is Love”

Who is God?

Beginning of the renaissance: a move toward subjectivity and doubt…– Descartes: “I think therefore I am”– Nominalism, semantics, other theories of language– Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide– Protestant Reformation (Revolution)– Scientific Revolution– Modern Philosophy – Search for Foundations

Proofs of God’s Existence

St. Thomas has five ‘ways’:– From Motion

there must be a first unmoved mover

– Causation of Existence there must be an uncaused first cause

– Contingent & necessary objects there must be a thing necessary to cause contingent being

– Degrees and perfection There must a perfect standard for any comparative quality

– Intelligent Design “teleological” We can discern intelligence in observable order of the universe

Proofs of God’s Existence

St. Anselm’s “Ontological” proof– God exists in our understanding; the concept of God resides in

our minds– God is a possible being, thus he might exist in reality.– Reality is greater than possibility– Suppose that God exists ONLY in our minds– Then this is NOT God… something greater can be conceived,

a God who DOES exist in reality.– But God is that which nothing greater can be conceived.– Therefore if God exists in our minds, then it would be false that

he would only exist there, if he is truly the greatest being.– Therefore God must exist not only in understanding, but also

in reality.

Proofs for God?

Is a “proof” for God really necessary?– John Henry Cardinal Newman: (19th century)

Our limited minds cannot grasp the absolute in itself. A preponderance of reasonable conclusions can only take

us to a crisis point where faith carries us across the chasm:– Illative (‘carrying’) sense

Faith is purely a gift from God, we cannot presume it, only ask for it

When we see God face to face and faith is not necessary

Who is God?

Modern philosophical and historical positions typically yield two extremes:

Deism

• A ‘clockmaker’ God exists, having set the world in motion, but is too separate from the world to care (is he dead?)

• God no longer acts in the world or requires worship

Pantheism

• God is found in and as part of nature or creation.

• There is no personal aspect of God

•“The Force is with you”

No such thing as a new heresy…

Who is God? The Trinity

YHWH was seen as a unity; “One” But in Christ, God is revealed as persons:

– Father, Son, Holy Spirit

The claim that ‘Jesus is God’ is the root of the charges against him as a ‘blasphemer’ and the expulsion of the Early Christians from Jewish worship.

The bible does not scientifically discuss the nature of the Trinity, but it is held definitively and without question by virtually all Christians as doctrine.

1 + 1 + 1 = 3 -- or -- 1 x 1 x 1 = 1 -- or -- ????

Who is God? The Trinity

F

HS

S

F

HS

S Three

Persons

One God

1.

2.

3.

F

HS S

The Trinity: St. Augustine

Lover Loved

Love

The Holy Spirit

I believe in the Holy Spirit; the Lord the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque). With the Father and the Son he is glorified. He has spoken through the prophets

Next Week

History ofAncient Israel andEarly Christianity