2. What is Creation? (1) What is Creation? The Expulsion from Paradise by Giovanni di Paolo
3. What is Creation? (2) What is Creation? Creation is the special act by which God freely creates all things that exist out of nothing . KEY DEFINITION
4. What is Creation? (3) What is Creation? KINDS OF CREATED BEINGS SPIRITUAL LIVING MATERIAL Angels Human beings Animals Plants Other physical beings
6. What is Creation? (5) What is Creation? God is distinct from creation God is surrounded by twelve angels and is distinguished from the cosmos that he is creating. He holds back his cloak to emphasise that he is not part of the created order. God creates The action of pointing with the right hand indicates that it is God who creates the world directly and out of nothing; it also conveys a sense of purpose operating in creation.
7. What do philosophy and science say? (1) What do philosophy and science say? Plato and Aristotle from The School of Athens by Raphael Sanzio
8. What do philosophy and science say? (2) What do philosophy and science say? Philosophy shows that the universe has a necessary cause, but cannot tell us if the universe has always existed. According to the ‘Big Bang’ theory (which was first proposed by a Catholic priest, Monsignor Georges Lemaître), the universe developed from a compact, primitive and fiery state. Science, however, cannot investigate causes beyond the physical universe.
9. What do philosophy and science say? (3) What do philosophy and science say? God, however, has revealed that the universe had a beginning and was created ‘out of nothing’ – out of no other pre-existing thing, “ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth ” (Gen 1:1) .
10. What is special about human beings? (1) What is special about human beings? The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo
11. What is special about human beings? (2) What is special about human beings? Scripture testifies that human beings are unique in having a material body and a spiritual soul, and that each soul is directly created by God. Human beings are persons, not merely things or even animals, and are therefore of the greatest worth and dignity.
12. What is special about human beings? (3) What is special about human beings? The account in Genesis is not a scientific treatise, but is God’s way of revealing to us certain truths about creation and our origins. Genesis reveals that at some point in time God created one man and one woman with a material body and, uniquely among animals, a spiritual soul.
13. What is special about human beings? (4) What is special about human beings? In Genesis these parents of the human race are called Adam, meaning ‘man’, and Eve, “ the mother of all those who live ” (Gen 1:20) . This teaching does not exclude the possible evolution of the human body from already existing and living matter.
14. What is special about human beings? (5) What is special about human beings? While science has not reached a final conclusion on our biological origins, modern genetics has confirmed that the human race is a single, close genetic family.
15. What was the first state of human beings? (1) What was the first state of human beings? The Garden of Eden by Jacob de Backer
16. What was the first state of human beings? (2) What was the first state of human beings? This picture highlights the creation of the first man and women in harmony with God and nature. Scripture says that God walked with them, showing that they enjoyed the gift of sanctifying grace. God Eve Adam
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18. What was the first state of human beings? (4) What was the first state of human beings? Above all, God gave Adam and Eve grace, enabling them to enjoy his intimate friendship. This relationship was to culminate in the perfect and lasting vision of God. All these gifts and graces should have been passed on to the whole human race, including ourselves.
19. Summary Activities I Summary Questions to reinforce key points Discussion questions Practical activities Presentation Part II Summary Activities I Please select an activity or go immediately to part II of the presentation
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21. Questions to reinforce key points I Questions to reinforce key points What was the first state of human beings? Activities Menu Presentation Part II 1 2 Click on a box to reveal one of the answers 3 4 Freedom from disordered desires Bodily immortality Freedom from suffering Special gifts of knowledge
25. What is the Fall? (2) What is the Fall? The Fall is the historical event of the first parents of the human race freely choosing to disobey God and thereby suffering serious consequences for themselves and all subsequent generations. KEY DEFINITION
26. What is the Fall? (3) What is the Fall? The expulsion of Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden after the Fall. The loss of paradise is one of the consequences of Original Sin. Eve Adam Angel
27. What was the event of the Fall? (1) What was the event of the Fall? The Temptation of Adam by Tintoretto
28. What was the event of the Fall? (2) What was the event of the Fall? God’s revelation confirms that at the root of all the world’s disorder is an actual, personal sin of mankind’s first parents. The event of the Fall is revealed by God and presented in the book of Genesis (the first book of the Bible) in a figurative way. Echoes of this reality can also be found in the Creation accounts of other ancient cultures – accounts which refer, not just to sin in general, but to an actual, historical event.
29. What was the event of the Fall? (3) What was the event of the Fall? The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Bruegel The Church teaches that this Fall of human beings followed the Fall of certain number of purely spiritual beings called angels. The leader of the rebel angels (demons), the devil, is depicted as the serpent of the book of Genesis who tempted man to imitate his own disobedience.
30. What was the event of the Fall? (4) What was the event of the Fall? The choice presented to human beings was to make one simple act of obedience to God. The serpent or devil, however, tempted our first parents with a lie and they disobeyed God.
31. What was the event of the Fall? (5) What was the event of the Fall? God said, “ You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die. ” Gen 2:17 The devil said, “ You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. ” Gen 3:1-5
32. What was the event of the Fall? (6) What was the event of the Fall? The Original Sin: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Gen 3:6
33. What were the effects of the Fall? (1) This depiction of the Fall of the rebel angels also portrays well the disorders within the human soul and in society that are some of the effects of sin. What were the effects of the Fall?
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36. Was there hope after the Fall? (1) Was there hope after the Fall? Madonna with Serpent by Caravaggio
37. Was there hope after the Fall? (2) Was there hope after the Fall? Unlike the fallen angels, the human race would not be lost forever. God in his mercy promised a means of salvation from sin and death.
38. Was there hope after the Fall? (3) Was there hope after the Fall? In God’s plan of salvation history, there would one day be a new Adam and a second Eve. “ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel .” Gen 3:15
39. Was there hope after the Fall? (4) Was there hope after the Fall?
40. Was there hope after the Fall? (5) Was there hope after the Fall? Jesus and Mary crush the head of the serpent (devil) This symbolises the fulfilment of the prophecy of Gen 3:16. Mary Jesus The devil This picture shows hope fulfilled after the Fall with the coming of Christ. It shows us that Jesus is the new Adam and Mary, Mother of the Church, is the second Eve. St Anne mother of Mary, reminds us that that this promise has come through the generations.
41. Summary Activities II Summary Questions to reinforce key points Discussion questions Practical activities Summary Activities II Please select an activity or go immediately to the concluding prayer Concluding Prayer
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43. Questions to reinforce key points II Questions to reinforce key points What do we inherit from Adam? Activities Menu Concluding Prayer 1 2 3 Click on a box to reveal one of the answers Original sin Concupiscence and disorder A state without grace
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46. Final Prayer Final Prayer From Psalm 103 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live … He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger for ever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear him … who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. Amen.
