THEOLOGY  Manicheism: Duality between light and

darkness, good and evil, matter and spirit.

CREATION
There is a battle between good and evil. Matter
(1)
The Triune God is “maker of heaven and earth, of is evil. God is not the creator of all things, but
all things visible and invisible” (ND 12), that is, the only of only spiritual realities. Physical world
absolute origin and foundation of creation in its was created by “Demiurge.” (Gnosticism)
totality and of each creature in all its aspects.
 Pantheism: Cosmos exists within God, who in
(2)
This creative activity of God’s total freedom, turn pervades, or is “in” the cosmos. There is
traditionally formulated in terms of “creation out of no supreme, all-wise, all-provident Divine Being
nothing” (ND 19) and God’s providence (ND 413), distinct from the universe; God is one and same
is rooted in the universal love of God and directed with nature and therefore subject to change.
toward perfect union with him (NA 1).
 Hegelianism: Matter came to be out of
(3)
In the context of this radical existential necessity.
dependence upon God, all of creation is
characterized by relative autonomy and integrity as  Reductionism/Positivism: Religion is merely

well as interdependence among all creatures (GS human construction and projection. We created

14/ND 421; GS 34-36/ND 422-423). them partly out of ignorance about the way
things really are, but also to serve strong
(4)
Called to a personal intimacy with God, human
psychological and social needs: essentially
beings are created “in the image and likeness of
there is no God, no sacred.
God” (Gen 1:26) and thus ordered towards human
community and stewardship of all creation. This creative activity of God’s total freedom,
traditionally formulated in terms of “creation
(1)
The Triune God is “maker of heaven and
out of nothing” (ND 19) and God’s providence
earth, of all things visible and invisible” (ND 12),
(ND 413), is rooted in the universal love of God
that is, the absolute origin and foundation of
and directed toward perfect union with him
creation in its totality and of each creature in all
(NA 1).
its aspects.
(2)
Creatio ex nihilo, continua; ex amore – ad
(1)
God as Creator
amorem
Why is there something and not nothing? How did
What does it mean to be created?
everything come to be? What/Who is the ground of
all that there is?  Creatio Ex Nihilo: God created everything out
of nothing. Every creature is absolutely
 Christian response to the question of
dependent on God. Everything God created is
cosmology: The cosmos has a source
good.
other than itself. That source is the Triune
God.  Creatio Continua: God’s creative activity
continues; divine providence exists in time;
 Origin and Foundation of Creation: The maker
absolute origin, thus also absolute future
of all created universe and of every single
(eschatology), which is union with God.
creature is the Trinity. God is the only
uncreated reality (uncaused cause). What brought about creation? Why did God
create? Does creation benefit God? What is
Problematic Views:
the purpose of creation? What for is all
 Aristotelianism: Matter is eternal. creation?

 Platonism: Matter and the world is evil.

 The Purpose and Design of Creation:
freely, intentionally, and purposefully creates
the universe.
 Creatio Ex Amore: God freely, gratuitously
created out of love. Love motivated the coming
to be of creatures. Each creature is a spark of
divine life and love.
God If each creature and all creation are contingent
and dependent on God for initial and continued
existence, are we mere puppets operated by
God?
 Laws of Nature and Divine Action: All creation
is characterized by relative autonomy, integrity,
and interdependence.

 Creatio Ad Amorem: God intentionally and o Laws of Nature: Creation is intelligible and
purposefully creates and re-creates us. We are good; created things and societies have their
being created towards the direction of divine life own laws and values, regularities,
and love. processes, structures, and interrelationships
which we must gradually come to know, use,
In the context of this radical existential
and organize according to the will of God.
dependence upon God, all of creation is
(GS 36).
characterized by relative autonomy and
integrity as well as interdependence among all o Divine Action: God’s purposeful and loving
creatures (GS 14/ND 421; GS 34-36/ND 422-423). (never just whimsical or random) action can

(3)
the nature of creatures; “creatura in se”
How are we to understand the cosmos in view of its
being created by God?
 Radical Existential Dependence Upon God:
Everything that is, in all its aspects, exists solely
by the power and being of God. Our ultimate
origin is the will and work of God.
 Relative autonomy and integrity
creatures: God makes use of his creature’s
cooperation to carry out his plan. God grants
his creatures the dignity of acting on their own,
of being causes and principles for each other,
and thus of cooperating in the accomplishment
of his plan.
 Issues on Creation and Evolution:
relationship between scriptural revelation and
rational science.
o Biblical Accounts of Creation:
faith responds to the “Why?” question,
explains the ultimate meaning and value of
the cosmos.
o Theory of Evolution: Science answers the
“How?” question, explains the process
through which the universe came to be
what it is.
be seen in and through the laws of nature;
but God can directly intervene in nature or
history.
How are creatures related with each other?
 Interdependence among creatures: The
countless diversities and inequalities in creation
tell us that no creature is self-sufficient.
Creatures exist only in dependence on each
among other, to complete each other, in the service of
each other. There is solidarity among all
creatures because of common origin and
destiny.
Called to a personal intimacy with God, human
beings are created “in the image and likeness
of God” (Gen 1:26) and thus ordered towards
The human community and stewardship of all
creation.
(4)
the human person as created
Religious
How is humankind, as creatures, related to
God?
 Summit of Creation: Our faith teaches us
that the human persons, created in the
image and likeness of God, is the crown
and key to God’s creation (CFC 334).
  Human Personhood: Our personhood is
derived from being creatures of a triune
Personal God.
 Human Dignity: Every human person,
created in the image and likeness of God,
share in God’s nature: power, wisdom,
freedom, creativity, intelligence, and love.
 Capax Dei: Among all the world’s visible
creatures, only human beings have the
“capacity for God.” We are personal beings
created by God to be in relationship with
Him; we find life and self-expression only in
this relationship, and we tend naturally to
God.
How is humankind related to each other?
 Communion: Created by and in the image
and likeness of a Triune God, every person
is capable of and called to relationship and
communion with others and with God.
 Solidarity: The human person is not a
solitary being, but “a social being, and
unless he relates himself to others he can
neither live nor develop his potential.” (GS
12)
How is humankind related to other fellow
created kind?
 Co-Creatorship (imago Dei): God gives
human beings the power of freely sharing in
His providence by entrusting them with the
responsibility of ‘subduing’ the earth and
having dominion over it. God enables men
to be intelligent and free to complete the
work of creation (CFC 341), to perfect its
harmony for their own good and that of their
neighbors. (CFC 357)
 Responsible Stewardship: We have the
moral obligation not only to use the earth’s
goods responsibly but also to treat them
with real respect as gifts from our Creator
(CFC 348).
The MYSTERY OF SIN AND EVIL
(1)
The complex of reality of sin as rejection of God’s
offer of faithful love is expressed in many biblical
images such as defilement, transgression and
enslavement (GS 13; Gen 2-3; Ps 50).
(2)
Its presence and its universality in the human
condition are taken up in the doctrine of the original
sin which is traditionally described as inherited sin
and formulated in terms of human nature (ND 508-
510).
(3)
Properly seen in relation to the universal salvation
brought about by Jesus Christ as “the new Adam”
(Rom 5:12-15), this doctrine highlights the need of
all humans for salvation and the pull of
concupiscence in the face of evil and its manifold
consequences.
(4)
The gift of this salvation is made available to all,
but for Christians, this gift is sacramentally realized
through Baptism as a means of incorporation into
the Church as the Body of Christ.
(1)
Biblical conception of sin and evil
The complex of reality of sin as rejection of
God’s offer of faithful love is expressed in
many biblical images such as defilement,
transgression and enslavement (GS 13; Gen 2-
3; Ps 50).
How do the Scriptures shed light on the mystery of
sin and evil? What images are used?
 Defilement: primitive view; uncleanness before
God’s holiness. (cf. Leviticus 15:31); less
developed idea of sin; does not distinguish
responsible free acts from involuntary evils;
ignores interpersonal and societal justice,
motivated by self-centered fear rather than
transforming mercy of God.
 Transgression: ethical view; crime/rebellion
against the covenantal relationship with God or
others (e.g. Cain’s murder, sin of David, cf Jer
3:6); a conscious choice that destroys positive
relationships; emphasizes the juridical aspect of
sin—matter of offense, culpability of the sinner,
appropriate punishment.
 Enslavement: rejection brings about a spiral disobedience and pride that cut his relationship
(contagious pathological habit), a sickness with Him; effecting his loss of holiness and
(linking healing to forgiveness of sins), and an justice, and integrity of freedom from
addiction (progressive oppression, compulsion, concupiscence; and also wrath and indignation,
obsession) (cf. Jn 8:34) death, and captivity under the power of evil.

 Missing the Mark: [hattat, hamartia]; failing to  Proximate origin of sin on the connectedness of
meet the obligations of the covenant, the humankind: The sin committed by Adam has
utmost expression of which is idolatry (Wis been transmitted to the human race, therefore
14:27) sin and all its effects were inherited to his
descendants.
 Depravity/Perversity: disorder or defect of
character, iniquity (Ps 38:5)  Development of Doctrine of Original Sin:

(2)
Dogmatic conception of sin and evil o Augustine: concupiscence as
spontaneous desire for material or
Its presence and its universality in the human
sensual satisfaction, which infects every
condition are taken up in the doctrine of the
human act
original sin which is traditionally described as
inherited sin and formulated in terms of human o Carthage: corporeal death enters the
nature (ND 508-510). world as a punishment for sin, not as a
necessity of nature; Baptism is for the
How did the conciliar tradition of the Church
remission of sin
understand sin and the human nature?
o Orange: corporeal death as punishment
 Doctrinal definition: the sinful condition into
which all human beings are born and which in is really the sign of deeper death

turn deprives us of sanctifying grace (total o Thomas Aquinas: concupiscence as

infusion of God’s grace and loving presence in consequence of original sin; loss of
the human person) original justice; Baptism blots out

 Effects of Original Sin: The sinful state affects original sin

our freedom for choosing the good as it brings  Trent: original sin affects all; original sin as lack
forth moral weakness and inclines our choices of original righteousness and holiness; human
towards evil. nature is not corrupted but wounded; baptism

 Original Sin as Inheritance: We do not inherit erases original sin but does not take away

the culpability, guilt, and responsibility of our concupiscence; Christ takes away our sin and

parents. We inherit the effects and reconciles us with God.

consequences of their sin.  Problematic Views

 The Origin of Evil: This issue remains largely o Pelagianism: a person could, by the natural
(1)
unresolved. We can only say that evil does power of free will and without the necessary
(2)
not eternally coexist with God, God does not help of God’s grace, lead a morally good
(3)
create evil but allows it, the human race is not life; influence of Adam’s fault is merely a
the source of evil. bad example.

 Absolute origin of sin in the “fall”: Adam, at the o Lutheranism: original sin has radically
origin of our race, transgressed God’s
perverted humanity and destroyed freedom,
commandment in paradise by wanting to be like
tendency to evil is insurmountable.
God and turning away from God in
 The Mystery of Evil  Original Sin as a universal reality: Story of
the Fall (Gen 3) mythically expresses how
o Question of Theodicy: For many, the very
man from the first moments of existence
existence of physical and moral evil is the
have turned against God.
single most persuasive argument against
the existence of God. Although, they  Universal Need for Salvation: All of
cannot readily explain how there can be humanity, and all aspects of the human
also much goodness and heroic charity in a person is in need of God’s salvation.
world without God.
How is the gift of salvation made available to
o Understanding Evil: Ultimately, the all?
existence of evil transcends human
 The Father’s Mercy: God does not abandon
understanding. Evil is power, a power
humanity, but calls humanity and heralds
against life. So intense and so focused is
the coming victory over evil and humanity’s
this power that it can be personified as
restoration after the fall.
Satan (Heb for adversary).
 Christ and Original Sin: Adam in his
o Evil Entities: Official Church teaching
disobedience affected human nature. Christ
acknowledges existence of evil spirits, their in his obedience redeemed human nature (1
negative effects through history, and their Cor 15: 21-22; Rom 5:12-15). Jesus Christ,
subordination to of God. the “new Adam,” is the fulfillment of
(3)
Human person as sinful humanity’s destiny for good. Christ is the
perfection of human nature, and he calls all
Properly seen in relation to the universal
humanity into this. He establishes the
salvation brought about by Jesus Christ as
second creation wherein grace abounds all
“the new Adam” (Rom 5:12-15), this
the more.
doctrine highlights the need of all humans
for salvation and the pull of concupiscence  Our Human Response: The effects of both
in the face of evil and its manifold Adam’s sin and Christ’s saving work are
consequences. antecedent to human freedom and personal
decision. What we do is to ratify the deed of
What are the implications of the situation of
Adam by personal sin (Romans 5:12) or the
original sin on human nature and human end?
deed of Christ by faith.
 Concupiscence (the inclination to sin): a (4)
Redemption from sin
consequence of original sin; the personal
existential reality and experience of having The gift of this salvation is made available
will, mind, desires, heart, affections contrary to all, but for Christians, this gift is
to the that of God; heart of darkness (Trent, sacramentally realized through Baptism as a
ND 510, Rom 7:18-19) means of incorporation into the Church as
the Body of Christ.
 Sin of the World (Jn 1:29): the world we live
in is sinful; and each one contributes to its For whom is the gift of salvation made
sinfulness; we are born into a “polluted available?
atmosphere,” sinful structures of injustice,  Universal Offer of Salvation: God wills “all
oppression, and exploitation (PCP II 261- men to be saved and come to know the
271) truth” (1 Timothy 2:4-6). All human beings
are offered grace and redemption through
Christ. This grace is given to us for the
 forgiveness of sins. Indeed, Jesus himself
through of his own death on the cross as an
expiatory death “for all” (GS 22).

 Salvation of Non-Christians: The Church

teaches that non-Christians be saved (LG
16) for the Holy Spirit offers to all, in a
manner known only to God, the possibility of
being made partners in Christ’s Paschal
Mystery (CCC 1258-60).

 Creation and Salvation: God’s ultimate aim

of creation is the salvation of all people, a
purpose present in creation from the
beginning (Gen 1; Rev 22). God’s plan of
salvation embraces the entire human race
and the whole of creation.

 Church and Salvation: The Church is

necessary for the world at large as a
sacrament, an efficacious sign and
instrument of God’s redemptive activity in
Christ, leading toward the final kingdom of
God.

In a special way, how is the gift of salvation

made available to Christians?

 Baptism and Original Sin: Through baptism,

we are incorporated into the Church (CCC
1267), the Body of Christ, and we receive
the indwelling HS. In this solidarity, we are
saved. Baptism “takes away” original sin by
symbolizing and effecting the saving
solidarity of the baptized with Christ (1 Cor
12) and with other Christians (Eph 4:25).
This does not mean that the baptized no
longer experience any effects of original sin.
We all remain in the world burdened by evil.
We must continue to “wrestle with”
concupiscence.

 Mary’s Immaculate Conception: Through

God’s preventive redemption, Mary, by
virtue of being the mother of God, was
conceived in the state of grace, i.e. her
whole being is totally devoted to God.