The Padre
Posts: 4,558 
Location: Ontario
Location: Ontario
January 30th, 2007, 04:34 AM
‘The fool says in his heart, "There is no God"’ (Ps. 14 [13]).
In the first article of the Creed we state our belief in one infinite, self-existent Being, a supreme Spirit possessing every perfection in an infinite degree, having no beginning and no end.
Being infinite, God possesses infinite power (omnipotence), knows all things (omniscience), and is present everywhere (omnipresence). Moreover, God is infinitely wise, holy, just, merciful, true and faithful. Outside of Himself all created things depend on God for their existence. God’s providence takes an account of all the works of His hands, and all our thoughts, words and works: "but it is your providence, O Father, that steers its course, because you have given it a path in the sea, and a safe way through the waves" (Wis. 14, 3).
God is one and unchangeable, single in nature: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut. 6, 4). Yet in this one divine nature there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Despite being numerically distinct from each other, these three persons have one and the same indivisible divine nature and substance. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all truly God - yet these three Persons are not three separate Gods, but one God in Trinity. As Persons they are distinct, in substance they are one: "There are three that give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one" (1 John 5, 7).1
In the language of Sacred Scripture, certain qualities are attributed to each Divine Person pre-eminently: power and creation are attributed to the Father; wisdom and redemption to the Son; holiness and sanctification to the Holy Spirit. Yet all these attributes are common, and belong equally to the whole Trinity.
The human mind by itself could never have come to the knowledge of the Trinity for it is a supernatural mystery revealed only by Christ: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (St. Matt. 28, 19). Nevertheless, there exist many "proofs," both natural and supernatural, which attest at least to the existence of one all-powerful God:
1) The Argument from Cause: There exists no effect without a cause; there exists no created thing without a creator. The existence of the cause-and-effect relation in the world is irresistibly and intuitively evident to the human mind. Things caused are contingent, that is, dependent upon their causes. Nothing can exist without a sufficient reason for its existence. Further, things caused must be traced back to a first efficient cause which is uncaused. If A comes from B, and B from C, and C from D, and so on, then ultimately one must arrive at a first cause which is itself uncaused and therefore self-existent. This uncaused cause is God.
(2) The Argument from Motion: Motion is any activity that can be exercised by a finite being either bodily or spiritual. It includes, for example, such acts as walking, eating, growing, understanding, and decision-making. More precisely, it involves a movement from potentiality to actuality, as when a being has the capacity to do or receive something and that capacity is realized in fact. Motion being an established fact, there follows the universally true dictum that "whatever is moved is moved by something other than itself." This "something other " must be traced back ultimately to a first mover who is itself unmoved. This first mover is God;
(3) The Argument from Design: A picture suggests an artist, a house a builder. Consequently, the existence of the visible universe with its regular and perfect order reasonably suggests the existence of a higher Being as its creator: "For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists, nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works" (Wis. 13, 1). Likewise, St. Paul: "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. So they are without excuse" (Rom. 1, 20);
4) The testimony of the nations: All races and civilizations from recorded history have exhibited a belief in God. This belief, at times distorted by ignorance and superstition, is nevertheless based on the natural instinct implanted in human beings to worship the Divine. Such a universal consensus is the very voice of our rational nature, and if it were wrong, then there can be no trusting in reason at any time and therefore no certainty to be held in anything;
5) Voice of conscience: Every human being possesses within their minds a conscience that speaks to them affirming that certain actions are morally good, and that others are morally evil. This "voice" of conscience is a written law likewise implanted in our natures by the superior hands of God: "They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them" (Rom. 2, 15);
6) Revelation: Revelation directly coming from God gives us the most complete and certain knowledge of Him. Revelation includes everything God has made known to us through the angels, the Patriarchs, the Prophets and, most importantly, Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself: "Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son" (Heb. 1, 1-2).
The Fathers:
Aristides of Athens, Apology to the Emperor Hadrian Caesar 1 & 4 (C. 140 AD):
"When I saw that the world and all that is in it is moved by a force, I understood that He who moves and maintains it is God; for whatever moves something is stronger than that which is moved, and whatever maintains something is stronger than that which is maintained. I call the One who constructed all things and maintains them God: He that is without beginning and eternal, immortal and lacking nothing, and who is above all passions and failings such as anger and forgetfulness and ignorance and the rest...Let us proceed, then, O King, to the elements themselves, so that we may demonstrate concerning them that they are not gods, but corruptible and changeable things, produced out of the non-existent by Him that is truly God, who is incorruptible and unchangeable and invisible."
St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 2,13,3 (C. 180 AD):
"Far removed is the Father of all from those things which operate among men, the affections and the passions. He is simple, not composed of parts, without structure, altogether like and equal to Himself alone. He is all mind, all spirit, all thought, all intelligence, all reason, all ear, all eye, all light, all fountain of every good; and this is the manner in which the religious and the pious are accustomed to speak of God."
Tertullian, Against Marcion 1, 18, 2 (Inter 207-212 AD):
"It is our definition that God must be known first from nature, and afterwards He is authenticated from instruction: by nature, from His works; by instruction, from His revelations."
Minucius Felix, The Octavius 18, 4 (Inter 218-235 AD):
"If upon entering some home you saw that everything there was well-tended, neat and decorative, you would believe that some master was in charge of it, and that he was himself much superior to those good things. So too in the home of this world, when you see providence, order, and law in the heavens and on earth, believe that there is a Lord and author of the universe, more beautiful than the stars themselves and…the whole world."
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 4, 5 (C. 350 AD):
"This Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not circumscribed in any place, nor is He less than the heavens...He knows beforehand the things that shall be, and is mightier than all. He knows all, and does as He will. He is not subject to the consequences of events, neither to astrological geniture, nor to chance, nor to fate. He is in all things perfect, and possesses equally every absolute of virtue, neither diminishing nor decreasing, but remains ever the same and unchanging."
Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566):
The meaning of the above words is this: I believe with certainty, and without a shadow of doubt profess my belief in God the Father, the First Person of the Trinity, who by His omnipotence created from nothing and preserves and governs the heavens and the earth and all things which they contain; and not only do I believe in Him from my heart and profess this belief with my lips, but with the greatest ardor and piety I tend towards Him, as the supreme and most perfect good.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992):
No. 199: "I believe in God": this first affirmation of the Apostles’ Creed is also the most fundamental. The whole Creed speaks of God, and when it also speaks of man and of the world it does so in relation to God. The other articles of the Creed all depend on the first, just as the remaining Commandments make the first explicit. The other articles help us to know God better as he revealed himself progressively to men...
No. 200: ...The confession of God’s oneness, which has its roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant, is inseparable from the profession of God’s existence and is equally fundamental. God is unique; there is only one God: "The Christian faith confesses that God is one in nature, substance, and essence."
No. 201: To Israel, his chosen, God revealed himself as the only One: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." Through the prophets, God calls Israel and all nations to turn to him, the one and only God: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other...To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. ‘Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength.’"
No. 202: Jesus himself affirms that God is "the one Lord" whom you must love "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." At the same time Jesus gives us to understand that he himself is "the Lord." To confess that Jesus is Lord is distinctive of Christian faith. This is not contrary to belief in the One God. Nor does believing in the Holy Spirit as "Lord and giver of life" introduce any division into the One God:
We firmly believe and confess without reservation that there is only one true God, eternal, infinite (immensus) and unchangeable, incomprehensible, almighty, and ineffable, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; three persons indeed, but one essence, substance or nature entirely simple (Lateran Council IV).
‘The fool says in his heart, "There is no God"’ (Ps. 14 [13]).
In the first article of the Creed we state our belief in one infinite, self-existent Being, a supreme Spirit possessing every perfection in an infinite degree, having no beginning and no end.
Being infinite, God possesses infinite power (omnipotence), knows all things (omniscience), and is present everywhere (omnipresence). Moreover, God is infinitely wise, holy, just, merciful, true and faithful. Outside of Himself all created things depend on God for their existence. God’s providence takes an account of all the works of His hands, and all our thoughts, words and works: "but it is your providence, O Father, that steers its course, because you have given it a path in the sea, and a safe way through the waves" (Wis. 14, 3).
God is one and unchangeable, single in nature: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut. 6, 4). Yet in this one divine nature there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Despite being numerically distinct from each other, these three persons have one and the same indivisible divine nature and substance. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all truly God - yet these three Persons are not three separate Gods, but one God in Trinity. As Persons they are distinct, in substance they are one: "There are three that give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one" (1 John 5, 7).1
In the language of Sacred Scripture, certain qualities are attributed to each Divine Person pre-eminently: power and creation are attributed to the Father; wisdom and redemption to the Son; holiness and sanctification to the Holy Spirit. Yet all these attributes are common, and belong equally to the whole Trinity.
The human mind by itself could never have come to the knowledge of the Trinity for it is a supernatural mystery revealed only by Christ: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (St. Matt. 28, 19). Nevertheless, there exist many "proofs," both natural and supernatural, which attest at least to the existence of one all-powerful God:
1) The Argument from Cause: There exists no effect without a cause; there exists no created thing without a creator. The existence of the cause-and-effect relation in the world is irresistibly and intuitively evident to the human mind. Things caused are contingent, that is, dependent upon their causes. Nothing can exist without a sufficient reason for its existence. Further, things caused must be traced back to a first efficient cause which is uncaused. If A comes from B, and B from C, and C from D, and so on, then ultimately one must arrive at a first cause which is itself uncaused and therefore self-existent. This uncaused cause is God.
(2) The Argument from Motion: Motion is any activity that can be exercised by a finite being either bodily or spiritual. It includes, for example, such acts as walking, eating, growing, understanding, and decision-making. More precisely, it involves a movement from potentiality to actuality, as when a being has the capacity to do or receive something and that capacity is realized in fact. Motion being an established fact, there follows the universally true dictum that "whatever is moved is moved by something other than itself." This "something other " must be traced back ultimately to a first mover who is itself unmoved. This first mover is God;
(3) The Argument from Design: A picture suggests an artist, a house a builder. Consequently, the existence of the visible universe with its regular and perfect order reasonably suggests the existence of a higher Being as its creator: "For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists, nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works" (Wis. 13, 1). Likewise, St. Paul: "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. So they are without excuse" (Rom. 1, 20);
4) The testimony of the nations: All races and civilizations from recorded history have exhibited a belief in God. This belief, at times distorted by ignorance and superstition, is nevertheless based on the natural instinct implanted in human beings to worship the Divine. Such a universal consensus is the very voice of our rational nature, and if it were wrong, then there can be no trusting in reason at any time and therefore no certainty to be held in anything;
5) Voice of conscience: Every human being possesses within their minds a conscience that speaks to them affirming that certain actions are morally good, and that others are morally evil. This "voice" of conscience is a written law likewise implanted in our natures by the superior hands of God: "They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them" (Rom. 2, 15);
6) Revelation: Revelation directly coming from God gives us the most complete and certain knowledge of Him. Revelation includes everything God has made known to us through the angels, the Patriarchs, the Prophets and, most importantly, Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself: "Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son" (Heb. 1, 1-2).
The Fathers:
Aristides of Athens, Apology to the Emperor Hadrian Caesar 1 & 4 (C. 140 AD):
"When I saw that the world and all that is in it is moved by a force, I understood that He who moves and maintains it is God; for whatever moves something is stronger than that which is moved, and whatever maintains something is stronger than that which is maintained. I call the One who constructed all things and maintains them God: He that is without beginning and eternal, immortal and lacking nothing, and who is above all passions and failings such as anger and forgetfulness and ignorance and the rest...Let us proceed, then, O King, to the elements themselves, so that we may demonstrate concerning them that they are not gods, but corruptible and changeable things, produced out of the non-existent by Him that is truly God, who is incorruptible and unchangeable and invisible."
St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 2,13,3 (C. 180 AD):
"Far removed is the Father of all from those things which operate among men, the affections and the passions. He is simple, not composed of parts, without structure, altogether like and equal to Himself alone. He is all mind, all spirit, all thought, all intelligence, all reason, all ear, all eye, all light, all fountain of every good; and this is the manner in which the religious and the pious are accustomed to speak of God."
Tertullian, Against Marcion 1, 18, 2 (Inter 207-212 AD):
"It is our definition that God must be known first from nature, and afterwards He is authenticated from instruction: by nature, from His works; by instruction, from His revelations."
Minucius Felix, The Octavius 18, 4 (Inter 218-235 AD):
"If upon entering some home you saw that everything there was well-tended, neat and decorative, you would believe that some master was in charge of it, and that he was himself much superior to those good things. So too in the home of this world, when you see providence, order, and law in the heavens and on earth, believe that there is a Lord and author of the universe, more beautiful than the stars themselves and…the whole world."
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 4, 5 (C. 350 AD):
"This Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not circumscribed in any place, nor is He less than the heavens...He knows beforehand the things that shall be, and is mightier than all. He knows all, and does as He will. He is not subject to the consequences of events, neither to astrological geniture, nor to chance, nor to fate. He is in all things perfect, and possesses equally every absolute of virtue, neither diminishing nor decreasing, but remains ever the same and unchanging."
Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566):
The meaning of the above words is this: I believe with certainty, and without a shadow of doubt profess my belief in God the Father, the First Person of the Trinity, who by His omnipotence created from nothing and preserves and governs the heavens and the earth and all things which they contain; and not only do I believe in Him from my heart and profess this belief with my lips, but with the greatest ardor and piety I tend towards Him, as the supreme and most perfect good.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992):
No. 199: "I believe in God": this first affirmation of the Apostles’ Creed is also the most fundamental. The whole Creed speaks of God, and when it also speaks of man and of the world it does so in relation to God. The other articles of the Creed all depend on the first, just as the remaining Commandments make the first explicit. The other articles help us to know God better as he revealed himself progressively to men...
No. 200: ...The confession of God’s oneness, which has its roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant, is inseparable from the profession of God’s existence and is equally fundamental. God is unique; there is only one God: "The Christian faith confesses that God is one in nature, substance, and essence."
No. 201: To Israel, his chosen, God revealed himself as the only One: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." Through the prophets, God calls Israel and all nations to turn to him, the one and only God: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other...To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. ‘Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength.’"
No. 202: Jesus himself affirms that God is "the one Lord" whom you must love "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." At the same time Jesus gives us to understand that he himself is "the Lord." To confess that Jesus is Lord is distinctive of Christian faith. This is not contrary to belief in the One God. Nor does believing in the Holy Spirit as "Lord and giver of life" introduce any division into the One God:
We firmly believe and confess without reservation that there is only one true God, eternal, infinite (immensus) and unchangeable, incomprehensible, almighty, and ineffable, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; three persons indeed, but one essence, substance or nature entirely simple (Lateran Council IV).
Bright Spark
Posts: 327
Location: Ont
Location: Ont
February 2nd, 2007, 09:46 PM
Evidence through Justice being played out in man's day to day life does not prove this given our knowledge of the exposure and experiences of all entities to His system.
I'm not talking about empirical existentialistic evidence either. I'm saying from what has been revealed by Him through messages of a different kind, we have discovered additionally that other entities have been assigned penal immunity regardless of the severity of the sin, regardless of their intent to reconcile, and their obstinate arrogant attitude to be indifferent.
In fact on the scale of severity, it is remarkable that there is no necessity for them to have their own unique redemption, even though an individual's crimes pale by comparison to it's.
The reality is this and everyone knows it. If any entity doesn't receive
the exact punishment for the same crime that an individual receives, all factors in culpability remaining equal, then there is no true justice, only an arbitrary decision based on no principle that decides a process. We can expect this type of mishandling in a fallible justice system.
It is in any being's interest to know how any system that is being applied to him is functioning. He has a right to see it's mechanism working fairly before his eyes. No being who is judged would accept the excuse that they need to take for granted that the wheels of an earthly "black box" justice system are working, because that would be intrinsically wrong. Such a forced application would be cruel and insensitive. The very last exposure to him of any decision making process should be from a life long familiar visible working system that was always open to his scrutiny.
There are intrinsic rights of every created being, and this is one, and it threatens no true justice. If nothing is amis, why the reluctance?.
AndyF
Quoting sanctus
I think the Church only assumes this is true because it is told it is.
God is infinitely...... just, ..........
Evidence through Justice being played out in man's day to day life does not prove this given our knowledge of the exposure and experiences of all entities to His system.
I'm not talking about empirical existentialistic evidence either. I'm saying from what has been revealed by Him through messages of a different kind, we have discovered additionally that other entities have been assigned penal immunity regardless of the severity of the sin, regardless of their intent to reconcile, and their obstinate arrogant attitude to be indifferent.
In fact on the scale of severity, it is remarkable that there is no necessity for them to have their own unique redemption, even though an individual's crimes pale by comparison to it's.
The reality is this and everyone knows it. If any entity doesn't receive
the exact punishment for the same crime that an individual receives, all factors in culpability remaining equal, then there is no true justice, only an arbitrary decision based on no principle that decides a process. We can expect this type of mishandling in a fallible justice system.
It is in any being's interest to know how any system that is being applied to him is functioning. He has a right to see it's mechanism working fairly before his eyes. No being who is judged would accept the excuse that they need to take for granted that the wheels of an earthly "black box" justice system are working, because that would be intrinsically wrong. Such a forced application would be cruel and insensitive. The very last exposure to him of any decision making process should be from a life long familiar visible working system that was always open to his scrutiny.
There are intrinsic rights of every created being, and this is one, and it threatens no true justice. If nothing is amis, why the reluctance?.
AndyF
