Creed III

February 3 & 10, 2007

Before Class

• Read Chapters 6-8 in the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults
• Read all handouts listed below:
  • The Blessed Trinity
  • God the Father
  • Sign of the Cross
  • Male and Female He Made Them
  • The Incarnation
  • True God and True Man
  • The Paschal Mystery
  • Did Jesus Always Know He Was God?

Homework

• Read Chapters 9-11 in the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults
• Read the following handouts:
  • What is Sin?
  • Did Jesus Always Know He Was God?

To Make Up an Absence

If you are unable to attend this class, please submit at the March class written responses to two questions for each chapter and three questions from among the handout questions (for a total of nine questions) from below. Each response should be 2-3 paragraphs in length and address the question completely. Please include the question that you are addressing at the top of each answer.

Chapter 6: Man and Woman in the Beginning

1. Man, made in the image of God, "is the only creature on earth that God has willed for his own sake" (Gaudium et Spes 24); and "the first man and the first woman were qualitatively different and superior to all other living creatures on earth" (U.S. Catechism, p. 67). How do the creation stories of Genesis chapters 1 and 2 illustrate these statements?
2. Describe in your own words some implications of being created in the image of God. How is this related to the gift of free will?
3. How does a loss of understanding of the concept of original sin affect one's appreciation of the Gospel?
4. "Sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another" (CCC 387). How is this understanding of freedom different from freedom as the right to do whatever one wants to do? How does sinning make us less free?

Chapter 7: The Good News: God Has Sent His Son

1. What is the Kingdom of God, and how is it related to the Church? Use a Gospel passage about the Kingdom to explain your answer (see CCC 541-554).
2. How are the Christological teachings of early Church councils (p. 87) an example of development of doctrine (see Dei Verbum 8)?
3. How does honoring ethnic and cultural diversity show respect for human dignity? What is the source of the unity of all peoples?

Chapter 8: The Saving Death and Resurrection of Christ

1. Christ's sacrifice was an act of atonement, an act of satisfaction and reparation, and an expiation for our sins (p. 92). Give an everyday example of each of these kinds of acts outside the context of the Gospel. How is it that only Christ could have accomplished our reconciliation to God?
2. Outline a convincing argument for the Resurrection from the historicity of the New Testament (the New Testament scriptures as historical, not necessarily inspired, documents).
3. "Unless [the Resurrection] happened, there would be no Church and no Eucharist" (p. 97). Explain, citing at least one passage from Scripture.

Handouts

• The Blessed Trinity
  How is the statement "God is love" a summary of the doctrine of the Trinity? How and why is this doctrine a mystery?
• God the Father
  Why do we call the first Person of the Trinity "Father"? Is this merely an analogy to human fatherhood? Explain.
• Sign of the Cross
  How is the sign of the cross a prayer and a public witness to our faith?
• Male and Female He Made Them
  What is the "nuptial meaning" of the human body? How does the difference of the sexes help us to image God?
• The Incarnation
  How is the Incarnation "the crescendo of God's whole creation"? Include at least one quotation from Scripture in your answer.
• True God and True Man
  Choose a modern-day religious group (such as Mormons, Jehovah's witnesses, Christian Scientists, Unitarians, etc.) that teaches a form of one of the heretical doctrines described. How specifically does that group's doctrine contradict Church teaching? How do you explain the revival of many ancient heresies today?
• The Paschal Mystery
  How does the Paschal mystery reveal the tragedy of sin, God the Father's love for us, and Christ's obedience to his Father? How is each of these a mystery?
• Did Jesus Always Know He was God?
  Answer this question, using at least one passage from Scripture in your response. How is the mystery of the Incarnation at the heart of this question?