Scripture Chapter 2 - God Reaches Out to Us in Many Ways

Scripture Chapter 2 - God Reaches Out to Us in Many Ways

by Mrs. Schreck (and God obviously)

Open Ended

Is it "reasonable" to believe in God? Why or why not? 

We believe the answer is YES!

​Human Attributes that point to God's existence:

• ​Our Openness to Truth and Beauty

• Our Sense of Moral Goodness

• Our Freedom of Conscience

• Our Longings for the Infinite and for Happiness

​Still, it's a question of Faith!

​Faith is 'both a gift of God and a human act by which the believer gives personal adherence to God (who freely invites his/her response) and freely assents to the whole truth that God has revealed.'

Open Ended

Where do you most recognize or see God's existence in your life today? If you do not, what obstacles are getting in your way? 

​​No one can see God, but we can experience God through other people and through the world around us. From these experiences we can also come to know that God is really present in our lives and in the world. This knowledge can lead us to respond in faith to God, who reveals himself to us.

Multiple Choice

Quick Review...

​Our Openness to Truth and Beauty

Our Sense of Moral Goodness

Our Freedom of Conscience

Our Longings for the Infinite and for Happiness

• The key to life. 

• A nice sounding list.

• Human attributes that indicate God is real. 

• My personality!

​A Helping Hand

Use of ‘intellect’ - God-given natural ability to come to know ‘truth’. In other words, we come to believe in God by deciding for ourselves whether other people’s reasons make sense; with guidance from the teaching of the Church; that these reasons are convincing enough to lead us to faith.

​The Story of God is Also Written in the Natural World

• Three paths through which every person can come to know God:

  • Creation (the world around us)

  • The Human Person

  • Divine Revelation ​

​Time for: The Bible Connection!

Biblical authors described God:

• God speaks like thunder or a soft gentle whisper.

• God’s action is like the storm, the earthquake, the flood or the avalanche.

• God is a mighty king, a stern judge, a gentle midwife, a loving father or mother.

• The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold (Psalm 18).

• The Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23).

Open Ended

What image would you use to describe God? 

Still hard to describe God? Enter:Transcendence

​Refers to the idea that God is so ‘beyond’ the universe, and so different from anything else that exists, that God cannot be directly experienced by human beings. 

A shorthand way of saying that God is transcendent is: ‘God is the absolute Other’. 

Multiple Choice

Learning Check: this is our God given ability to know what is good and true.

• Soul

• Intellect

• Hope 

• Faith 

Multiple Choice

On the other hand, I am both a gift of God and a human act by which you give personal adherence to God and freely assent to the whole truth that God has revealed.

• Despair

• Love

• Hope

• Faith

​In Closing

​Through an utterly free decision, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. This he does by revealing the mystery, his plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in Christ, for the benefit of all men. God has fully revealed this plan by sending his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Throughout our history, human beings have understood the beauty and grandeur of the universe, the order and purpose of all created things, from inanimate objects to human beings, as pointing toward the existence of a Creator who is wise and good. Everything has a beginning and an end. This points to an eternal Creator who has neither beginning nor end.

Open Ended

Exit Ticket Time:

1) Two things I learned about proving the depth of God's existence today are...

Multiple Select

Last Question - Wellness Check: Select the emoji that best represents how you are doing overall.