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Faith and Revelation

Faith and Revelation. Knowing God Through Sacred Scripture. Faith and Revelation. Chapter 2. Chapter 2. Divine Revelation and Supernatural Faith. Chapter Objectives. The student will be able to understand:. Supernatural Revelation God’s motive for revealing himself

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Faith and Revelation

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  1. Faith and Revelation Knowing God Through Sacred Scripture

  2. Faith and Revelation Chapter 2

  3. Chapter 2 Divine Revelation and Supernatural Faith

  4. Chapter Objectives The student will be able to understand: Supernatural Revelation God’s motive for revealing himself How we can know God’s Revelation External evidence for Revelation Motives for credibility Miracles Miracles in human history The criteria for determining authentic miracles Classes of miracles Prophecy, the experience of Christians, and the Church herself are proofs of Divine Revelation Man is still free to reject Revelation Qualities of faith The motive and objects of faith

  5. Keys to Chapter 2 God “unveils” himself to draw all people to him. God provides much solid, external evidence that his Revelation can be trusted. We are still in the age of miracles. Christians believe what God reveals because he, who is trustworthy, reveals it.

  6. For Discussion: Divine or supernatural Revelation, and why it is needed. How God has revealed himself to man. How we can know that Divine Revelation is true. Christ as the fullness of Revelation.

  7. Introduction - Lesson Objectives - Supernatural Revelation God’s motives for revealing himself How one can know God’s Revelation

  8. Introduction - Basic Questions - • What is supernatural Revelation? • In supernatural Revelation, God “unveils” truths about himself and man’s salvation that exceed natural intellectual ability. • Why does God reveal himself? • God draws human beings to himself because of his loving magnanimity.

  9. Introduction - Basic Questions - • How does God make it possible to know him? • One can know God because he elevates the natural intellect through grace so people can grasp the supernatural truths he reveals through deeds and words.

  10. Introduction - Anticipatory Set - • Incorporate John 11:1-44 into the Opening Prayer and then discuss: • How do Christ’s actions and the words he speaks relate to one another?

  11. Introduction - Focus Question - • What is the difference between natural and Divine Revelation? • Natural revelation is how God reveals himself to people through his creation. Divine Revelation is how God reveals himself to people directly through particular individuals.

  12. Introduction - Focus Question - • What is the meaning of the word revelation? • It means to uncover or unveil something hidden.

  13. Focus Question • What does the word Revelation mean in theological terms? • Revelation refers to God’s manifestation of truth to his people.

  14. Introduction - Focus Question - • What kinds of truths has God revealed? • God has revealed truths about himself and creation, especially the origin and destiny of man and of the world.

  15. Introduction - Focus Question - • What is the intelligibility to the human intellect of God’s revealed truths? • Some are accessible to the human mind on its own; others exceed all created intellect.

  16. Introduction - Focus Question - • What does it mean to say Christ is the one who both reveals and is revealed? • Christ is the definitive Revelation of God, and Christ is primarily revealed.

  17. Introduction - Focus Question - • What is the double meaning of the phrase Word of God? • It refers to Sacred Scripture and Jesus Christ.

  18. Introduction - Focus Question - • Why did St. Jerome write, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ? • Because Christ is the subject of all the Scriptures, one cannot know him apart from them.

  19. Introduction - Focus Question - • What are the two kinds of revealed truths? • Natural truths are accessible to natural reason, and supernatural truths (or mysteries) are beyond the ability of human reason.

  20. Introduction - Focus Question - • What are some examples of supernatural truths (or mysteries)? • Supernatural truths include the existence of three divine Persons in one God, the union of the divine and human natures in the Person of Jesus Christ, and the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

  21. Introduction - Focus Question - • What does it mean to say Revelation is received mediately? • It is revealed to a person directly, who then transmits it to others. Most people receive Divine Revelation mediately.

  22. Introduction - Focus Question - • Name some of the persons who have mediated Divine Revelation. • Abraham, Moses, the prophets, and, definitively, Jesus Christ have mediated Divine Revelation.

  23. Introduction - Guided Exercise - • Free Write on the following questions: • Do you find in yourself an innate desire to know truth? • How does the desire for truth show itself in your life?

  24. Introduction - Focus Question - • Why does God reveal himself? • He wants to draw people to himself.

  25. Introduction - Focus Question - • According to Dei Verbum, what is the relationship between words and deeds in the economy of Revelation? • “The works performed by God in the history of salvation show forth and bear out the doctrine and realities signified by the words; the words, for their part, proclaim the works, and bring to light the mystery they contain.”

  26. Introduction - Focus Question - • What does it mean to say the created intellect has a basic and radical capacity to be elevated beyond its natural powers? • It means that human intellect, with the help of grace, can understand supernatural truths. More grace leads to a better understanding of supernatural truths.

  27. Introduction - Focus Question - • What is the normal subject of the natural drive and capacity of our intellects? • The normal subject is to understand the essence of material things in the world.

  28. Introduction - Focus Question - • What is the appropriate (or exact) object for which the human intellect is searching? • It is searching for truth in its entirety

  29. Introduction - Guided Exercise - • Read John 11 and explain how the word God spoke was connected to the deed he subsequently worked.

  30. Introduction - Focus Question - • How is a human being able to know supernatural truths? • God elevates human intellects to see things ordinarily impossible.

  31. Introduction - Focus Question - • How is God’s Revelation transmitted to people? • It is transmitted mediately through the Church.

  32. Introduction - Focus Question - • What keeps the message of Revelation from being confused or corrupted? • When establishing his Church, Christ guaranteed the assistance of the Holy Spirit to ensure the faithful transmission of Divine Revelation. The Holy Spirit guides the Church and her teaching authority (or Magisterium) when confirming the teachings of Christ and applying those teachings to temporal situations.

  33. Introduction - Guided Exercise - • Discuss the following question: • How does the passage from Dei Verbum • (p. 34, “It pleased God…”) reveal • God’s magnanimity?

  34. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Lesson Objectives - External evidence for Revelation Motives of credibility Miracles

  35. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Basic Questions - • How does one know if a revelation is actually from God? • Because the content of revealed truth is not self-evident, God provides external evidence for believing the revealed truths. These evidences are termed “motives of credibility.” • What are the motives of credibility? • The chief motives of credibility are the miracles of Christ and his saints; the fulfillment of prophecies; the sublimity or dignity of the message itself; and the growth, holiness, fruitfulness, and stability of the Church.

  36. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Basic Questions - • What is a miracle? • A miracle is an extraordinary and observable fact or action performed by God that defies the laws of nature.

  37. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Anticipatory Set - • Incorporate Mark 2:1-2 into the Opening Prayer and then identify the reason Christ gives for healing the paralytic.

  38. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • Why must any Revelation from God be true? • God can neither deceive nor be deceived.

  39. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • Why does reason dictate people need some evidence to confirm the source of a particular Revelation is God? • Reason dictates one should only believe something to the extent the truth of a particular statement can be reasoned or the mediate source of the statement is known to be reliable. • Extension: One may be able to reason as to why the method of long division taught by a grade-school teacher works or it may be taken on faith because that particular teacher is trustworthy.

  40. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • What are the four main signs (or motives of credibility) God provides to assure people his Revelation is trustworthy? • He provides: • the miracles of Christ and his saints; • the fulfillment of prophecies; • the sublimity or dignity of the Gospel message; and • the growth, holiness, fruitfulness, and stability of the Church.

  41. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • Why is external evidence required to know a particular Revelation comes from God? • The content of revealed truth is not self-evident; therefore, it needs external evidence.

  42. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • Why are miracles ascribed to God? • By definition, miracles do not have natural causes; miracles can only have God as their immediate cause.

  43. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • If God did not exist, why would miracles be impossible? • Only God can set aside the laws of his creation.

  44. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Guided Exercise - • Discuss the following question: • How does the tale “The Boy who Cried Wolf” illustrate the principle that belief in what an intermediary testifies depends on his trustworthiness?

  45. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • Is the Church credulous when it comes to miracles? • No; the Church regards miraculous claims with a healthy skepticism and carefully scrutinizes them.

  46. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • What is a favorable outcome of the Church’s examination of a miracle or apparition? • It says there is no viable natural explanation for the phenomenon and the message of the Revelation, if any, is in no way incompatible with what the Church teaches.

  47. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • Why does God work miracles in the modern era? • God calls people’s attention to something important for their salvation.

  48. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Focus Question - • What is the greatest miracle in all of history? • The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest miracle.

  49. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Guided Exercise - • Complete a paragraph shrink on: • The selection from Vatican I • (p. 37, “For the submission…”)

  50. The Truthfulness of Divine Revelation - Graphic Organizer - Complete the following table on the kinds of evidence.

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