OBEDIENTIAL POTENCY

natural facility given by God to us

enable us to know God.
knowledge of God.
1. Argument of motion
- The first mover or unmoved mover
- Objects are in motion
- Something that is moving cannot move
by itself and thus requires a mover
- A mover is also moved by another
mover
- There can be no infinite chain of
movers
- There must be a first mover existing
before all movement
- The first mover is an unmoved mover
- The unmoved mover is GOD
2. Argument from causation of existence
- The first cause or uncaused cause
- A thing cannot cause itself
- Its cause is outside of itself
- There can be no infinite chain of causes
and effects
- There must be a first cause which is
not caused by anything
- The uncaused cause is GOD
3. The Argument from
CONTINGENCY and NECESSITY
- Something that exists was first nonexistent
- If everything exists then everything
was non-existent
- If everything were non-existent,
nothing will cause existence
- There must be a being who is not
contingent (does not fail to exist)
- The non-contingent being brings
existence out of non-existence
- This necessary being is GOD
4. Argument from GRADATION
or DEGREES OF PERFECTION
- The ABSOLUTE OR
PERFECT BEING
- Characteristics of objects come in
greater or lesser extents
- If an object has lesser degrees of one
characteristic, then there must be
someone who has a greater degree,
and ultimately the maximum possible
degree
- Therefore, there is someone who has
all characteristics in the maximum
possible degree
- This absolute being is GOD
5. Argument from INTELLIGENT DESIGN
- A conscious, intelligent mind brings a being
to its end or purpose
- Not all beings have minds but even beings
without minds are able to reach their end or
purpose

There must be an intelligent mind who

designs and governs those without minds
such that they reach their end or purpose
This designer and governor is GOD

Ontological Argument of St. Anselm

God is the greatest being thinkable
The greatest being thinkable cannot
exist only in the mind; he must also
exist outside the mind
If he existed only in the mind, he
would not be the greatest thinkable
being for there are other beings
which exist both inside and outside
the mind
Therefore God must exist inside and
outside the mind
Mans Natural Longing for God
By Clive Staples Lewis
There are many things that are
beyond the capacity of reason.
Confronted by things beyond human
control (e.g. death, calamities), man
looks for meaning in a higher power
often called GOD
History proves that people
everywhere have a sense of Divine
Longing i.e. an innate desire to
know God.
Every innate human desire has a real
object to meet the need (e.g. thirstwater)
Every natural desire has a real
objective means of being fulfilled
(e.g. quenching of thirst-drink)
Since the human craving for God is a
natural need, then there must really
be a God to satisfy this need
Does God exist
IF THERE WERE NO GOD:
Our world came about without any cause
or source. Everything just happened
The laws governing the universe
developed without guidance or direction
Life on earth is just a product of
randomness in a hostile universe
Man is without spirit, death terminates
existence
There is no master plan for mankind,
human existence is an accident
Morality is societal in origin, therefore no
one can make value judgments on othersno universal good, no universal evil
Atheism
- Belief there was once absolutely nothing.
Creation just exploded magically for no
reason.
- Mock beliefs

five ways and philosophical proofs tell us that

there is a GOD, but they fail to answer:
Our five senses and sound reasoning
are capable of proving the existence of
God.
They cannot, however, tell us who God
is and what He is like.
When we worship God, we communicate
with a PERSON; we dont call him
unmoved mover, or uncaused
cause, or thinkable being in prayer.

Only God can speak well of God.

God took the initiative of SPEAKING to us.
In Christianity, we believe that God actually
spoke to us, and in fact, continues to speak
to us.
How? Of course, WORDS!

WORDS are REVELATORY

FUNCTIONS OF WORDS:
1. INFORMATIVE
- we speak to merely tell something or just to
converse
2. EXPRESSIVE
- we speak to disclose our
deepest feelings
3. APELLATIVE
- we speak to be reciprocated, begging for a
response
The WORD of GOD is a PROPOSAL
REVELATION
Gods personal loving communication to
us of who He is and His planto save us all in His
love.
It is Gods reaching out to us in friendship,
so we get to know and love Him.
-Catechism for Filipino Catholics 101
Avenues of Communication
EVENTS
a. CREATION- first act of Gods revelation
b. HISTORY general, special, personal
PERSONS
a. PROPHETS
- readers of the signs of the times
b. JESUS CHRIST
- fullness of Gods revelation; agent,
content and goal of revelation
c. THE CHURCH
- Christ still speaks and is still active in the
world
General Revelation
natural revelation
Gods revelation through the created
world
Ever since the creation of the world, his
eternal power and divine nature, invisible

though they are, have been understood

and seen through the things he has
made. Rom 1:19-20
Special Revelation
supernatural revelation
would be unknown to us without Gods
supernatural intervention through his
chosen messengers
St. Thomas equates this with the Bible
Public Revelation
For ALL of humanity.
Why? Because these are the TRUTHS
NECESSARY for our SALVATION!
Imposes the obligation of faith; adherence
is necessary, BINDING all of us.
Final and Complete
in the person of Jesus Christ!
DIVINE REVELATION
Private Revelations
Apparitions, mystical experiences, etc.
Church-recognized messages
They do not add to public revelation
They impose no obligation of faith
RECORD OF DIVINE REVELATION = DEPOSIT
OF FAITH
Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form
one sacred deposit of the Word of God,
committed to the Church. DV 10
Sola Scriptura
Defn. - Scripture only.
From the Latin expression adopted by the
reformers who said that it is the bible, not
tradition or a church, which is our final authority.
TWICE in his Gospel Account, the Evangelist
JOHN admits that BOOKS cannot contain
everything!
Now Jesus did many other signs in the
presence of [his] disciples that are not
written in this book.
John 20:30
There are also many other things that Jesus
did, but if these were to be described
individually, I do not think the whole world
would contain the books that would be
written. John 21:25
THE BIBLE SAYS:
Stand firm then, my brothers, to the
TRADITIONS that we taught you, whether by
WORD OF MOUTH or by LETTER. 2 Thes 2:15

 theCHURCH of the living God, the pillar and

foundation of the truth.
1 Tim 3:15
Because even if you have the Textbooks,
you still need the SCHOOL and the TEACHER!
TRADITION
- The early Church was not a
Bible-writing-Bible-reading-Church
- (Lt. tradere to pass on; to hand over)
- Initially passed-on by word of mouth

CREEDAL STATEMENTS and DOGMATIC

PRONOUNCEMENTS
First recipients of Apostolic Tradition, hence we
rely on their teachings and writings for an
authoritative understanding of the apostolic faith.
>>>

ORAL TRADITION
Eventually, SOME of it were
put into writing
WRITTEN TRADITION
The WRITTEN does not claim to be
COMPLETE.
The WRITTEN does not invalidate the
UNWRITTEN.
The WRITTEN can NEVER be understood
apart from the UNWRITTEN.
What exactly do we mean by
SACRED TRADITION?
tradition
CULTURAL traditions
Could have arisen from particular
needs of the Church at a particular
time and place

can be changed, modified or done

away with without destroying the
integrity of our CHRISTIAN FAITH
SacredTradition
DOCTRINAL traditions

the LIVING and LIVED faith of the

Church

can never be changed, modified or

done away with, for doing so would
harm the integrity of our CHRISTIAN
FAITH
If a cultural tradition is essential to the
integrity of a Tradition, then, in itself it is
considered Tradition!
SACRED TRADITION
a. Scriptural Tradition
- These are traditions that take their roots in
the HOLY BIBLE. These practices and
beliefs can be justified by quoting Sacred
Scriptures.
b. Apostolic Tradition
- These are the teachings which the Apostles
left us, not through written scripture, but
through the unbroken chain of succession of
Popes, bishops, priests and deacons. This
unbroken chain is an assurance that the
teachings of the Apostles are preserved
intact.

Sacred Scripture
- Bible
Magisterium
- Lt. Magister - teacher
- MAGISTERIUM
teaching authority of the Church.
exercised by the Pope in making solemn
definitions
by Bishops in an Ecumenical Council
Sacred Scripture
- The Unshakable TRIPOD of our
CATHOLIC FAITH
Images of God
are spontaneous, unreflected attitudes
that influence our responses to God.
not the same as ideas about God. Ideas
may be abstract. An image is concrete. It
is a combination of thoughts and feelings.
may not be the same as our doctrinal
affirmation about God. One may profess
that God is good, but in his mind may
actually think of God as a cruel
manipulator.
have a powerful impact on our attitudes
and behaviors even without our conscious
awareness.
profoundly impact our spiritual well-being.
A distorted image of God results in a
distorted relationship with Him.
closely related to our images of ourselves.
ANTHROPOMORPHISM
Gk: Anthropos Man
Morphe to form
- The attribution of human qualities to God
To speak of God as if he were human
The only perfect human image of God is our Lord
JESUS CHRIST
GOD-become-MAN
He is THE IMAGE of the invisible God Col.
1:15
FAITH
Belief in Mysteries

Faith is confident assurance concerning

what we hope for, and conviction about
things we do not see.(Heb 11:1)
Faith is to believe what you do not see.
The reward of this faith is to see what you
believe.(St. Augustine)

everywhere in contrast to splinter groups

and sects. (St. Ignatius c.107, St. Polycarp
d.155)
The Church is CATHOLIC

Is a THEOLOGICAL VIRTUE
- Faith is the theological virtue by which we
believe in God and believe all that he has
said and revealed to us, because he is
truth itself. CCC1814
FaithHopeLove

Virtue a good habit

Theological Virtues infused habits ordered
towards God.
Faith is the SUPERNATURAL POWER that is
ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY if we are to attain
SALVATION.
It is a sheer GIFT of God, which we receive
when we fervently ask for it. (cf. YOUCAT 21)
Jesus said to him, If you can! Everything is
possible to one who has faith.Then the boys
father cried out,
I do believe, help my unbelief! Mark 9:23-24
FAITH is a FREE GIFT
FAITH is a FREE RESPONSE
- Faith is a HUMAN ACT. It requires the free
will and clear understanding of a person
- I believe in God:
Believing in Gods existence
Recognizing His word as truth
Accepting His word as the rule of life
and the way to salvation
CHRISTIAN FAITH
Faith in Jesus Christ who is
GOD-become-MAN
Faith in Jesus Christ who
suffered, died and rose from
the dead to SAVE the world
Faith is Jesus Christ who continues
to work in the world through
the Church.
To know, to love and to follow Christ in the
Church that He founded PCP II
CATHOLIC FAITH
- belief that Jesus Christ revealed God in
and through the Holy Catholic Church.
- Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, c.33AD
and began its operations in Jerusalem
after Pentecost
- During the Apostolic era, it was simply
referred to as the Church
- Later on described as Catholic
(universal) to mean the Church that is

"The Church is catholic: she proclaims the

fullness of the faith. She bears in herself
and administers the totality of the means
of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples.
She speaks to all men. She encompasses
all times. She is "missionary by her very
nature".
The universality of Christ's Church
establishes the Church as being open to
all: all classes, both sexes, all nationalities.
The catholicity of the Church also refers to
the fact that the Church is the same
everywhere, in every time. In every land,
with every people, the Church maintains
the same rituals and beliefs. The Church
can be found in St Peter's Basilica, in a
parish community, in a group of faithful in
the Mountain Province.

Characteristics of Catholic Faith

SACRAMENTAL
- Signs
and
Symbols
COMMUNAL
- Common
belief,
morality,
worship
TRADITIONAL
- Apostolic Teaching
and Succession
- Petrine Primacy
The 3 Dimensions of Faith
Faith involves the whole person
DOCTRINE
- faith is knowledge;
absolute certainty
- believing
MORALITY
- faith is morally demanding, incomplete
unless it leads to active love
- Doing works of mercy
WORSHIP
- faith grows when we listen more and more
carefully to Gods word and enter a lively
exchange with him in prayer; faith gives

us a foretaste of the
joy of heaven
trusting

The Corporal Works of Mercy

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead
Spiritual Works of Mercy
Admonish the sinner
Instruct the ignorant
(contraception, abortion,
homosexuality, etc.)
Counsel the doubtful
Comfort the sorrowful
Bear wrongs patiently
Forgive all injuries
Pray for the living
and the dead
PARALYSES of FAITH
- The USUAL condition is that ONE DIMENSION is
LEFT OUT
DOCTRINE-MORAL PERSON
believes the right things, does what is good, but
hardly prays and goes to Church
DOCTRINE- WORSHIP PERSON
believes the right things, always goes to Church ,
but lives a questionable Christian life.
MORAL-WORSHIP PERSON
Does good to others, goes to Church quite often,
but does not really know what he/she believes in
THE BIBLE- WORD OF GOD
How to distinguish Catholic books from others:
NihilObstat
- nothing hinders
- Given by a Censor Liborum,
it is an attestation a book contains nothing
damaging to faith or morals.
ImprimiPotest
- it may be printed
- Given by the major religious superior if the
author is a member of a religious
congregation.
Imprimatur
- let it be printed

Given by the authors diocesan bishop or

the bishop of the place in which the book
is published

The Bible
Gk. Byblos papyrus
Biblion scroll, book ; (plural biblia)
Multiple sheets of papyrus were spliced together
to form rolls were wound around wooden dowels
called navels. This type of scroll was called biblos
in Greek, and thus during the New Testament
times the word biblion simply referred to a roll or
book.
Later on, people discovered that sheets of
papyrus can be put on top of each other, folded
in the middle, and bound, resulting in an easy-touse book called a codex.
Latin-speaking Christians then borrowed the term
biblia
but treated it as a singular noun.
St. Jerome used the term bibliotheca divina(divine
library)
- Is both historical and religious
- Is a faith book
- An event of community
- It is MEMORY turned into TEXT.
- Written by BELIEVERS for BELIEVERS.
- Experienced, Recorded, Received, Taught,
Passed on by the COMMUNITY
- Word of god
- Written by men
- Through the inspiration of the holy spirit
THE BIBLE = THE WORD OF GOD
- The Bible is WORD ABOUT GOD.
- The Bible is WORD FROM GOD.
- The Bible is WORD BY GOD.
- The Bible is WORD TO GOD.
JESUS, the WORD OF GOD, is himself
THE MESSAGE of GOD to humankind.
Religion
1. Judaism
- Torah
- Moses
2. Islam
- Quran
- Mohammed
3. Christianity
- Bible
- Jesus Christ

The BIBLE is a CREDIBLE SOURCE for

knowledge of JESUS
The BIBLE is subordinate to JESUS and
points to JESUS

The BIBLE and JESUS are inseparable.

JESUS loved the SCRIPTURES.
JESUS CHRIST is the CENTER and
FULFILLMENT of the Bible.
Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of
Christ.
St. Jerome

Bibliotheca Divina
MOST SACRED BOOKS
Genesis, exodus, Leviticus,numbers,
deutoronomy
Matthew, mark, luke, john
HISTORICAL NARRATIVES
Joshua, judges, ruth, I Ishmael, II Samuel, I
Kings, I chronicles, ezra, Nehemiah, Esther.
Acts
WISDOM AND POETRY
Job, psalms, proverbs, ecclesistes, song of
Solomon
Romans, 1 corinthians, II Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colosians, I
thessalonians, II thessalonians, I timothy, II
timothy, Titus, philemon, Hebrews, james, I
peter, II peter, I john, II john, III john, Jude
Prophecy
Isiah, jeremiah, lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel,
hosea, joel, amos, Obadiah, Jonah, micah,
nahum, habakuk, zaphaniah, haggai,
zechariah, malachi
Revelations
Archbishop Stephen Langton on Canterbury
divided the books of the Bible into chapters.
(1226)
French printer, Robert Estienne (Stephanus)
divided the chapters of the Bible into verses.
(1551)
DIVINE INSPIRATION
Its not ecstatic
Its not verbal or mechanical dictation
Its not subsequent approbation
Its not simply negative assistance
Its not mere ideological inspiration
(formal inspiration)
DIVINE INSPIRATION
Principle of Causality:
The Holy Spirit is the principal cause of the
Bible and the human person is the
instrumental cause.
Providentissimus DeusInspiration is supernatural influence and
assistance.

Inspiration is the active and dynamic

influence of the Holy Spirit to the human
authors of the bible, thus enabling them to
write down what God wants them to.
Vatican II: Dei Verbum 11
In composing the sacred books, God chose
men and while employed by Him, they
made use of their powers and abilities, so
that with Him acting in them and through
them, they, as true authors, consigned to
writing everything and only those things
which He wanted.
Therefore, since everything asserted by
the inspired authors or sacred writers
must be held to be asserted by the Holy
Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture
must be acknowledged as teaching solidly,
faithfully and without error that truth
which God wanted put into sacred writings
for the sake of salvation.
Effects of Inspiration:
Because the BIBLE is inspired:
It gives the revelation of God, enabling us
to know God and His will.
It is final and definitive. It contains all that
we need to know for our salvation.
It is one integral whole. It cannot
contradict itself.
It is sacramental, a visible sign of Gods
presence, enabling us to encounter Him
concretely.
It moves us to live as God wants us to.
It contains only the truth.
It enables the Church to recognize its
divine influence.
Inerrancy
The Bible is neither a history nor a science
textbook

The message of the Bible is not altered by

the errors

The message of the Bible was incomplete

until the FINAL WORD has been spoken.

The Bible contains error but teaches no

error. It teaches only the SAVING TRUTH.
CANONIZATION
- CANONICAL BOOKS,
having passed the standards for
inspiration
in themselves become
STANDARDS OF FAITH and MORALITY
APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS
Gk. Apocrypha veiled or secret
DID NOT pass the CRITERIA FOR
CANONICITY

The Church DID NOT sense their

INSPIRATION
May have been used sporadically by
SCATTERED GROUPS
DID NOT have APOSTOLIC GUARANTEE
Contents are either HERETICAL or
IRRELEVANT
Since these books are of doubtful
authority, they cannot be used as
STANDARDS of faith and morality.

CANON OF SCRIPTURES
REVIEW:
When a book fails to meet the standards, it is
labeled as
APOCRYPHAL i.e. of doubtful authority
When a book has passed the standards, it
becomes part of the CANON OF SCRIPTURES.
The CANON OF SCRIPTURES refers to the
official list of inspired books.
ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLE
73 (72) BOOKS
46 Books in the Old Testament
(45 if Jeremiah and Lamentations are
counted as one)
27 Books in the New Testament
NON-CATHOLIC BIBLE

66 BOOKS
39 Books in the Old Testament
27 Books in the New Testament
REASON FOR THE DIFFERENCE:
THE DEUTEROCANONICALS
Deuterocanonical- second canon.
- refers to the second set of canonical
books, or secondly canonized books.
- inspired, or equal inspiration as the
Protocanonicals, having passed the same
standards.
- Unfortunately, the Protestants have
already deviated from the Catholic Church
when this happened so they do not have
the Deuterocanonicals in their Bible. If
ever they include it, they simply label the
books as Apocryphals. One thing is for
sure, the Protestant Canon was still a
product of the prudent judgment of the
Catholic Church before the split took
place.