My struggles with Christianity

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Catholic theology is the understanding of Roman Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.[1][2] This article serves as an introduction to various topics in Catholic theology, with links to where fuller coverage is found.

Major teachings of the Catholic Church which were discussed in the early councils of the Church are summarized in various creeds, especially the Nicene (Nicene-Constantinopolitan) Creed and the Apostles' Creed. Since the 16th century the church has produced catechisms which summarize its teachings, most recently in 1992.[3][4]

The Roman Catholic Church understands the living tradition of the church to contain the essentials of its doctrine on faith and moralsand to be protected from error, at times through infallibly defined teaching.[5] The Church believes in a Spirit-guided revelation in sacred scripture, developed in sacred traditionbut entirely out of the original deposit of faith. This developed deposit of faith is protected by the "magisterium" or College of Bishops at ecumenical councils overseen by the pope,[6]beginning with the Council of Jerusalem(c. AD 50).[7] The most recent was the Second Vatican Council (1962 to 1965); twice in history the pope defined a dogma after consultation with all the bishops without calling a council.[8]

Formal Catholic worship is ordered by means of the liturgy, which is regulated by church authority. The celebration of the Eucharist, one of seven sacraments, is the center of Catholic worship. The Church exercises control over additional forms of personal prayer and devotion including the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, and Eucharistic adoration, declaring that they should all somehow derive from the Eucharist and lead back to it.[9] The Church community consists of the ordained clergy (consisting of the episcopate, the priesthood, and the diaconate), the laity, and those like monks and nuns living a consecrated life under their constitutions.

According to the Catechism, Christ instituted seven sacraments and entrusted them to the Church.[10] These are Baptism, Confirmation (Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. The Catholic bishops at the Second Vatican Council, after centuries of celebration of the Mass in Latin, found it salutary to decree:

Pastors of souls must therefore realize that, when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere observation of the laws governing valid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aware of what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects.[11]

Profession of FaithEdit

Human capacity for GodEdit

The Catholic Church teaches that "The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself."[12]While man may turn away from God, God never stops calling man back to him.[13]Because man is created in the image and likeness of God, man can know with certainty of God's existence from his own human reason.[14] But while "Man's faculties make him capable of coming to a knowledge of the existence of a personal God," in order "for man to be able to enter into real intimacy with him, God willed both to reveal himself to man, and to give him the grace of being able to welcome this revelation in faith."[15]

In summary, the Church teaches that "Man is by nature and vocation a religious being. Coming from God, going toward God, man lives a fully human life only if he freely lives by his bond with God."[16]

God comes to meet humanityEdit

The Church teaches that God revealed himself gradually, beginning in the Old Testament, and completing this revelation by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to Earth as a man. This revelation started with Adam and Eve,[17] and was not broken off by their original sin;[18]rather, God promised to send a redeemer.[19]God further revealed himself through covenants between Noah and Abraham.[20][21]God delivered the law to Moses on Mount Sinai,[22] and spoke through the Old Testament prophets.[23] The fullness of God's revelation was made manifest through the coming of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.[24]

CreedsEdit

Main article: Creed

Wikisource has original text related to this section:

Apostles Creed

Athanasian Creed

Nicene Creed

Creeds (from Latin credo meaning "I believe") are concise doctrinal statements or confessions, usually of religious beliefs. They began as baptismal formulas and were later expanded during the Christologicalcontroversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith.

The Apostles Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum) was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. It is the most popular creed used in worship by Western Christians. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator. Each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was apparently used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome.[25]

The Nicene Creed, largely a response to Arianism, was formulated at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople in 325 and 381 respectively,[26] and ratified as the universal creed of Christendom by the Council of Ephesus in 431.[27] It sets out the main principles of Catholic Christian belief.[28] This creed is recited at Sunday Masses and is the core statement of belief in many other Christian churches as well.[28][29]

The Chalcedonian Creed, developed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451,[30] though not accepted by the Oriental OrthodoxChurches,[31] taught Christ "to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably": one divine and one human, and that both natures are perfect but are nevertheless perfectly united into one person.[32]

The Athanasian Creed, received in the western Church as having the same status as the Nicene and Chalcedonian[citation needed], says: "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance."[33]

 

Christianity regards the Bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts (the Old Testament and the New Testament), as authoritative. It is believed by Christians to have been written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and therefore for many it is held to be the inerrant Word of God.[34][35][36] Protestant Christians believe that the Bible contains all revealed truthnecessary for salvation. This concept is known as Sola scriptura.[37] The books that are considered canon in the Bible vary depending upon the denomination using or defining it. These variations are a reflection of the range of traditions and councils that have convened on the subject. The Bible always includes books of the Jewish scriptures, the Tanakh, and includes additional books and reorganizes them into two parts: the books of the Old Testament primarily sourced from the Tanakh (with some variations), and the 27 books of the New Testament containing books originally written primarily in Greek.[38]The Roman Catholic and Orthodox canons include other books from the SeptuagintGreek Jewish canon which Roman Catholics call Deuterocanonical.[39] Protestants consider these books apocryphal. Some versions of the Christian Bible have a separate Apocrypha section for the books not considered canonical by the publisher.[40]

Roman Catholic theology distinguishes two senses of scripture: the literal and the spiritual.[41] The literal sense of understanding scripture is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation.

The spiritual sense has three subdivisions: the allegorical, moral, and anagogical (meaning mystical or spiritual) senses.

The allegorical sense includes typology. An example would be the parting of the Red Sea being understood as a "type" (sign) of baptism.[42]

The moral sense understands the scripture to contain some ethical teaching.

The anagogical interpretation includes eschatology and applies to eternity and the consummation of the world.

Roman Catholic theology adds other rules of interpretation which include:

the injunction that all other senses of sacred scripture are based on the literal;[43]

the historical character of the four Gospels, and that they faithfully hand on what Jesus taught about salvation;[44]

that scripture must be read within the "living Tradition of the whole Church";[45]

the task of authentic interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the pope.[46]

 

SacramentsEdit

Main article: Sacraments of the Catholic Church

There are seven sacraments of the church, of which the most important is the Eucharist.[47]According to the Catechism, these sacraments were instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church.[10] They are vehicles through which God's grace flows into the person who receives them with the proper disposition.[10][48] In order to obtain the proper disposition, people are encouraged, and in some cases required, to undergo sufficient preparation before being permitted to receive certain sacraments.[49] And in receiving the sacraments, the Catechism advises: "To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition."[50] Participation in the sacraments, offered to them through the church, is a way Catholics obtain grace, forgiveness of sins and formally ask for the Holy Spirit.[10][51][52][53][54] These sacraments are: Baptism, Confirmation (Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance and Reconciliation, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, these are often called the holy mysteries rather than the sacraments.[55]

Liturgy

Sunday is a holy day of obligation for Catholics that requires them to attend Mass. At Mass, Catholics believe that they respond to Jesus' command at the Last Supper to "do this in remembrance of me."[56] In 1570 at the Council of Trent, Pope Pius V codified a standard book for the celebration of Mass for the Roman Rite.[57][58] Everything in this decree pertained to the priest celebrant and his action at the altar.[58] The participation of the people was devotional rather than liturgical.[58] The Mass text was in Latin, as this was the universal language of the church.[57] This liturgy was called the Tridentine Mass and endured universally until the Second Vatican Council approved the Mass of Paul VI, also known as the New Order of the Mass (Latin: Novus Ordo Missae), which may be celebrated either in the vernacular or in Latin.[58]

The Catholic Mass is separated into two parts. The first part is called Liturgy of the Word; readings from the Old and New Testaments are read prior to the gospel reading and the priest's homily. The second part is called Liturgy of the Eucharist, in which the actual sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated.[59] Catholics regard the Eucharist as "the source and summit of the Christian life",[47] and believe that the bread and wine brought to the altar are changed, or transubstantiated, through the power of the Holy Spirit into the true body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ.[60] Since his sacrifice on the Cross and that of the Eucharist "are one single sacrifice",[61] the Church does not purport to re-sacrifice Jesus in the Mass, but rather to re-present (i.e., make present)[62] his sacrifice "in an unbloody manner".[61]

Eastern CatholicEdit

See also: Divine Liturgy

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, the term Divine Liturgy is used in place of Mass, and various Eastern rites are used in place of the Roman Rite. These rites have remained more constant than has the Roman Rite, going back to early church times. Eastern Catholic and Orthodox liturgies are generally quite similar.

The liturgical action is seen as transcending time and uniting the participants with those already in the heavenly kingdom. Elements in the liturgy are meant to symbolize eternal realities; they go back to early Christiantraditions which evolved from the Jewish-Christian traditions of the early church.

The first part of the Liturgy, or "Liturgy of the Catechumens", has scripture readings and at times a homily. The second part derives from the Last Supper as celebrated by the early Christians. The belief is that by partaking of the Communion bread and wine, the Body and Blood of Christ, they together become the body of Christ on earth, the Church.[63]

Liturgical calendarEdit

Main articles: Liturgical calendar and General Roman Calendar

In the Latin Church, the annual calendar begins with Advent, a time of hope-filled preparation for both the celebration of Jesus' birth and his Second Coming at the end of time. Readings from "Ordinary Time" follow the Christmas Season, but are interrupted by the celebration of Easter in Spring, preceded by 40 days of Lenten preparation and followed by 50 days of Easter celebration.

The Easter (or Paschal) Triduum splits the Easter vigil of the early church into three days of celebration, of Jesusthe Lord's Supper, of Good Friday (Jesus' passion and death on the cross), and of Jesus' resurrection. The season of Eastertide follows the Triduum and climaxes on Pentecost, recalling the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' disciples in the upper room.[64]

 

The Trinity refers to the belief in one God, in three distinct persons or hypostases. These are referred to as 'the Father' (the creator and source of all life), 'the Son' (the word or expression of the Father, who also became incarnate in Jesus Christ), and 'the Holy Spirit' (the bond of love between Father and Son, present in the hearts of humankind). Together, these three persons form a single Godhead.[65][66][67] The word trias, from which trinity is derived, is first seen in the works of Theophilus of Antioch. He wrote of "the Trinity of God (the Father), His Word (the Son) and His Wisdom (Holy Spirit)".[68] The term may have been in use before this time. Afterwards it appears in Tertullian.[69][70] In the following century the word was in general use. It is found in many passages of Origen.[71]

According to this doctrine, God is not divided in the sense that each person has a third of the whole; rather, each person is considered to be fully God (see Perichoresis). The distinction lies in their relations, the Father being unbegotten; the Son being eternal yet begotten of the Father; and the Holy Spirit 'proceeding' from Father and (in Western theology) from the Son.[72] Regardless of this apparent difference in their origins, the three 'persons' are each eternal and omnipotent. This is thought by Trinitarian Christians to be the revelation regarding God's nature which Jesus Christ came to deliver to the world, and is the foundation of their belief system. According to a prominent Catholic theologianof the 20th century: "In God’s self communication to his creation through grace and Incarnation, God really gives himself, and really appears as he is in himself.” This would lead to the conclusion that we come to a knowledge of the immanent Trinity through the study of God's work in the "Economy" of creation and salvation.[73]

God the FatherEdit

Main article: God the Father § Christianity

Saint Michael—one of three archangels—defeating Lucifer

The central statement of Catholic faith, the Nicene Creed, begins, "I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible." Thus, Catholics believe that God is not a part of nature, but that God created nature and all that exists. God is viewed as a loving and caring God who is active both in the world and in people's lives, and desires humankind to love one another.[74]

God the SonEdit

Main articles: God the Son, Son of God § Christianity, Divine filiation, Jesus in Christianity, and Jesus

Catholics believe that Jesus is God incarnate, "true God and true man" (or both fully divine and fully human). Jesus, having become fully human, suffered our pain and temptations, but did not sin.[75] As true God, he defeated deathand rose to life again. According to the New Testament, "God raised him from the dead,"[76]he ascended to heaven, is "seated at the right hand of the Father"[77] and will return again[78]to fulfil the rest of Messianic prophecy, including the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment and final establishment of the Kingdom of God.

According to the gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spiritand born from the Virgin Mary. Little of Jesus' childhood is recorded in the canonicalgospels, although infancy gospels were popular in antiquity. In comparison, his adulthood, especially the week before his death, are well documented in the gospels contained within the New Testament. The biblical accounts of Jesus' ministry include: his baptism, healings, teaching, and "going about doing good".[79]

God the Holy SpiritEdit

Main article: Holy Spirit (Christianity)

Jesus told his apostles that after his deathand resurrection he would send them the "Advocate" (Greek: Παράκλητος, romanized: Paraclete; Latin: Paracletus), the "Holy Spirit", who "will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you".[80][81] In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells his disciples "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"[82] The Nicene Creed states that the Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus); thus, for Catholics, receiving the Holy Spirit is receiving God, the source of all that is good.[83] Catholics formally ask for and receive the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of Confirmation (Chrismation). Sometimes called the sacrament of Christian maturity, Confirmation is believed to bring an increase and deepening of the grace received at Baptism,[82] to which it was cojoined in the early church. Spiritual graces or gifts of the Holy Spirit can include wisdom to see and follow God's plan, right judgment, love for others, boldness in witnessing the faith, and rejoicing in the presence of God.[84] The corresponding fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.[84] To be validly confirmed, a person must be in a state of grace, which means that they cannot be conscious of having committed a mortal sin. They must also have prepared spiritually for the sacrament, chosen a sponsor or godparentfor spiritual support, and selected a saint to be their special patron.[82]

 

SoteriologyEdit

Main articles: Soteriology and Salvation (Christianity)

Sin and salvationEdit

Soteriology is the branch of doctrinal theology that deals with salvation through Christ.[85]Eternal life, divine life, cannot be merited but is a free gift of God. The crucifixion of Jesus is explained as an atoning sacrifice, which, in the words of the Gospel of John, "takes away the sins of the world." One's reception of salvation is related to justification.[86]

Fall of ManEdit

Main article: Fall of Man

According to church teaching, in an event known as the "fall of the angels" a number of angels chose to rebel against God and his reign.[87][88][89] The leader of this rebellion has been given many names including "Lucifer" (meaning "light bearer" in Latin), "Satan", and the devil. The sin of pride, considered one of seven deadly sins, is attributed to Satan for desiring to be God's equal.[90] According to Genesis, a fallen angel tempted the first humans, Adam and Eve, who then sinned, bringing suffering and death into the world. The Catechism states:

The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man.

— CCC § 390[87]

Original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam's descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin—an inclination to evil that is called concupiscence.

— CCC § 405[89]

SinEdit

Main article: Sin

Christians classify certain behaviors and acts to be "sinful," which means that these certain acts are a violation of conscience or divine law. Roman Catholics make a distinction between two types of sin.[91] Mortal sin is a "grave violation of God's law" that "turns man away from God",[92] and if it is not redeemed by repentance it can cause exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell.[93]

In contrast, venial sin (meaning "forgivable" sin) "does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God"[94] and, although still "constituting a moral disorder",[95] does not deprive the sinner of friendship with God, and consequently the eternal happiness of heaven.[94]

Jesus Christ as saviorEdit

Main articles: Christian views of Jesus, Christ, and Redeemer (Christianity)

A depiction of Jesus and Mary, the Theotokos of Vladimir (12th century)

In the Old Testament, God promised to send his people a savior.[96] The Church believes that this savior was Jesus whom John the Baptist called "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". The Nicene Creed refers to Jesus as "the only begotten son of God, … begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father. Through him all things were made." In a supernatural event called the Incarnation, Catholics believe that God came down from heaven for our salvation, became man through the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin Jewish girl named Mary. They believe that Jesus' mission on earth included giving people his word and example to follow, as recorded in the four Gospels.[97]The Church teaches that following the example of Jesus helps believers to grow more like him, and therefore to true love, freedom, and the fullness of life.[98][99]

The focus of a Christian's life is a firm belief in Jesus as the Son of God and the "Messiah" or "Christ". The title "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew word מָשִׁיחַ (māšiáħ) meaning anointed one. The Greek translation Χριστός(Christos) is the source of the English word "Christ".[100]

Christians believe that, as the Messiah, Jesus was anointed by God as ruler and savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus' coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept. The core Christian belief is that, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, sinful humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.[101]

Roman Catholics believe in the resurrection of Jesus. According to the New Testament, Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, was crucified, died, buried within a tomb, and resurrected three days later.[102] The New Testament mentions several resurrection appearances of Jesus on different occasions to his twelve apostles and disciples, including "more than five hundred brethren at once",[103]before Jesus' Ascension. Jesus's death and resurrection are the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, and are commemorated by Christians during Good Friday and Easter, as well as on each Sunday and in each celebration of the Eucharist, the Paschal feast. Arguments over death and resurrection claims occur at many religious debates and interfaith dialogues.[104]

As Paul the Apostle, an early Christian convert, wrote, "If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless".[105][106] The death and resurrection of Jesus are the most important events in Christian Theology, as they form the point in scripture where Jesus gives his ultimate demonstration that he has power over life and death and thus the ability to give people eternal life.[107]

Generally, Christian churches accept and teach the New Testament account of the resurrection of Jesus.[108][109] Some modern scholars use the belief of Jesus' followers in the resurrection as a point of departure for establishing the continuity of the historical Jesus and the proclamation of the early church.[110] Some liberal Christians do not accept a literal bodily resurrection,[111][112] but hold to a convincing interior experience of Jesus' Spirit in members of the early church.

The Church teaches that as signified by the passion of Jesus and his crucifixion, all people have an opportunity for forgiveness and freedom from sin, and so can be reconciled to God.[96][113]

Sinning according to the Greek word in scripture, amartia, "falling short of the mark", succumbing to our imperfection: we always remain on the road to perfection in this life.[94]People can sin by failing to obey the Ten Commandments, failing to love God, and failing to love other people. Some sins are more serious than others, ranging from lesser, venial sins, to grave, mortal sins that sever a person's relationship with God.[94][114][115]

Penance and conversionEdit

Grace and free willEdit

Further information: Infused righteousness

The operation and effects of grace are understood differently by different traditions. Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy teach the necessity of the free will to cooperate with grace.[116] This does not mean we can come to God on our own and then cooperate with grace, as Semipelagianism, an early church heresy, postulates. Human nature is not evil, since God creates no evil thing, but we continue in or are inclined to sin (concupiscence). We need grace from God to be able to "repent and believe in the gospel." Reformed theology, by contrast, teaches that people are completely incapable of self-redemption to the point that human nature itself is evil, but the grace of God overcomes even the unwilling heart.[117] Arminianismtakes a synergistic approach while Lutherandoctrine teaches justification by grace alone through faith alone, though "a common understanding of the doctrine of justification" has been reached with some Lutheran theologians.[118]

Forgiveness of sinsEdit

Further information: Baptism § Baptism and salvation in Catholic teaching, and Penance (Catholic Church)

According to Roman Catholicism, pardon of sins and purification can occur during life – for example, in the sacraments of Baptism[119]and Reconciliation.[120] However, if this purification is not achieved in life, venial sins can still be purified after death.[121]

The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is performed only by a priest, since it involves elements of forgiveness of sin. The priest anoints with oil the head and hands of the ill person while saying the prayers of the Church.[122]

Baptism and second conversionEdit

Main article: Baptism

People can be cleansed from all personal sins through Baptism.[123] This sacramental act of cleansing admits one as a full member of the Church and is only conferred once in a person's lifetime.[123]

The Catholic Church considers baptism, even for infants, so important that "parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptised within the first few weeks" and, "if the infant is in danger of death, it is to be baptised without any delay."[124] It declares: "The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the Church. There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on, and it is quite possible that, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching, when whole 'households' received baptism, infants may also have been baptized."[125]

At the Council of Trent, on 15 November 1551, the necessity of a second conversion after baptism was delineated:[126]

This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, clasping sinners to her bosom, is at once holy and always in need of purification, and follows constantly the path of penance and renewal. Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before Him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. (CCC 1428[127] and 1430[128])

David MacDonald, a Catholic apologist, has written in regard to paragraph 1428, that "this endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement of a "contrite heart," drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first."[129]

Penance and ReconciliationEdit

Main article: Penance (Catholic Church)

Since Baptism can only be received once, the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation is the principal means by which Catholics may obtain forgiveness for subsequent sin and receive God's grace and assistance not to sin again. This is based on Jesus' words to his disciples in the Gospel of John 20:21–23.[130]A penitent confesses his sins to a priest who may then offer advice or impose a particular penance to be performed. The penitent then prays an act of contrition and the priest administers absolution, formally forgiving the person's sins.[131] A priest is forbidden under penalty of excommunication to reveal any matter heard under the seal of the confessional. Penance helps prepare Catholics before they can validly receive the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Confirmation (Chrismation) and the Eucharist.[132][133][134]

AfterlifeEdit

EschatonEdit

Main article: Christian eschatology

The Nicene Creed ends with, "We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." Accordingly, the Church teaches that each person will appear before the judgment seat of Christ immediately after death and receive a particular judgmentbased on the deeds of their earthly life.[135]Chapter 25:35–46 of the Gospel of Matthewunderpins the Catholic belief that a day will also come when Jesus will sit in a universal judgment of all humankind.[136][137] The final judgment will bring an end to human history. It will also mark the beginning of a new heaven and earth in which righteousness dwells and God will reign forever.[138]

There are three states of afterlife in Catholic belief. Heaven is a time of glorious union with God and a life of unspeakable joy that lasts forever.[135] Purgatory is a temporary state of purification for those who, although saved, are not free enough from sin to enter directly into heaven. It is a state requiring purgation of sin through God's mercy aided by the prayers of others.[135] Finally, those who freely chose a life of sin and selfishness, were not sorry for their sins, and had no intention of changing their ways go to hell, an everlasting separation from God. The Church teaches that no one is condemned to hell without freely deciding to reject God's love.[135] God predestines no one to hell and no one can determine whether anyone else has been condemned.[135]Catholicism teaches that God's mercy is such that a person can repent even at the point of death and be saved, like the good thief who was crucified next to Jesus.[135][139]

At the second coming of Christ at the end of time, all who have died will be resurrected bodily from the dead for the Last Judgement, whereupon Jesus will fully establish the Kingdom of God in fulfillment of scriptural prophecies.[140][141]

Prayer for the dead and indulgencesEdit

Main articles: Prayer for the dead, Indulgences, and Protestant Reformation

The pope depicted as the Antichrist, signing and selling indulgences, from Martin Luther's 1521 Passional Christi und Antichristi, by Lucas Cranach the Elder[142]

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the fate of those in purgatory can be affected by the actions of the living.[143]

In the same context there is mention of the practice of indulgences. An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.[144] Indulgences may be obtained for oneself, or on behalf of Christians who have died.[145]

Prayers for the dead and indulgences have been envisioned as decreasing the "duration" of time the dead would spend in purgatory. Traditionally, most indulgences were measured in term of days, "quarantines" (i.e. 40-day periods as for Lent), or years, meaning that they were equivalent to that length of canonical penance on the part of a living Christian.[146] When the imposition of such canonical penances of a determinate duration fell into desuetude these expressions were sometimes popularly misinterpreted as reduction of that much time of a person's stay in purgatory.[146] (The concept of time, like that of space, is of doubtful applicability to purgatory.) In Pope Paul VI's revision of the rules concerning indulgences, these expressions were dropped, and replaced by the expression "partial indulgence", indicating that the person who gained such an indulgence for a pious action is granted, "in addition to the remission of temporal punishment acquired by the action itself, an equal remission of punishment through the intervention of the Church."[147]

Historically, the practice of granting indulgences and the widespread[148]associated abuses, which led to their being seen as increasingly bound up with money, with criticisms being directed against the "sale" of indulgences, were a source of controversy that was the immediate occasion of the Protestant Reformation in Germany and Switzerland.[149]

Salvation outside the churchEdit

Main article: Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus

The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church founded by Jesus. Concerning non-Catholics, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say:

"Outside the Church there is no salvation."

Reformulated positively, this statement means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:

Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation.

Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men.[150

 

 

[Preety_India]

Basic Tenets of Catholicism

The basic tenets of Catholicism are the fundamental beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church.

Are you looking for a quick & simple guide to basic Catholicism? Here’s a primer on Catholic Church doctrine — the essential tenets of Catholicism.

This page is intended as for those who are just starting out in the Catholic faith. It’s a quick-reference guide to Catholicism for beginners, perfect for those working on understanding Catholicism.

NOTE:

I’ve also added another page containing Pope Paul VI’s Creed of the People of God. Pope Paul VI wrote that Creed in 1968 to give the modern world a summary of the basic beliefs of Catholic Christianity. So be sure to check out that page, too—it remains an excellent source for learning the basic tenets of Catholicism.

 

For lots more detail see the other articles here at beginningCatholic.com!

The scope of these 
Tenets of Catholicism

The full content of the Catholic faith can be organized into four categories:

Basic beliefs (the faith itself)

How to live (morality)

How Catholics worship (liturgy)

Prayer

This page and its related articles covers the first of those points — the tenets of Catholicism are the basics beliefs of the faith.

Other articles here at beginningCatholic.com cover the other three categories of the Catholic faith, as well as provide more information that’s important to the beginning Catholic. You can also look to other reliable guides for learning the faith — see my suggestions at the end of this article.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains a full description of the tenets of Catholicism — the essential and basic beliefs in Catholicism. It defines the points of unity for Catholics. (Click here to read the tenets of Catholicism in the Vatican’s online Catechism.)

Every Catholic should have a copy of the Catechism. You may not read it cover to cover, but you’ll want to use it as a reference for learning about your faith. (It is pretty readable, though, and a lot of ordinary Catholics do read it to get a full understanding of the tenets of Catholicism.)

Still, the Catechism was written more as a definitive reference for Catholic Church doctrine. There are more readable sources available.

At the end of this article is a list of other reliable guides to the Catholic faith. I stronglyencourage you to read some of them!

Alan Schreck’s The Essential Catholic Catechism is my top recommendation for learning the basic beliefs in Catholicism.

Leo Trese’s The Faith Explained is a very close second to Schreck’s book. In fact, you should read both if you can do so: they are very different and complement each other quite well.

I’ve added detailed reviews of these books at the end of this article. Check them out!

The Catholic faith can be understood easily in its barest outline, yet it contains an rich and beautiful depth for anyone who wishes to explore it.

So explore it!

Creeds: Summary of the faith

From its earliest days, the Church used brief summaries to describe an outline of its most essential beliefs.

These summaries are called “creeds”, from the Latin credo, meaning “I believe.” They are also called “professions of faith,” since they summarize the faith that Christians profess.

The Catholic Church uses two very old creeds regularly as a part of its liturgy and other prayers. There are a number of other Catholic creeds as well.

The older Apostles Creed is brief and simple. It is considered to be a faithful summary of the Apostles’ teaching. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church at Rome. (See Catechism, 194.)

The longer Catholic Nicene Creed contains some additional language explaining our belief in the Trinity.

Another ancient & traditional creed is commonly called the Athanasian Creed, since it was originally attributed to St. Athanasius, who died in 373 A.D. (This creed is no longer officially attributed to him.) It is also called the Quicumque vult, after its first words in Latin. This beautiful creed contains a detailed meditation on the nature of the Trinity.

Outline: tenets of Catholicism

Like the Catechism, we’ll use the articles of the Apostles Creed as our outline for describing the essential tenets of Catholicism. Of course, this short outline provides only the barest essentials of the Catholic Christian faith.

For your reference, I’ll add cross-references to the numbered paragraphs of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for each point.

I believe in God

God exists. There is only one God. He has revealed himself as “He who Is”. His very being is Truth and Love. Even though he has revealed himself, he remains a mystery beyond understanding (Catechism, 178, 199, 200, 230, 231)

God is at the same time one, and three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the central mystery of Christianity. (178, 261)

See the article on the Athanasian Creed & read that creed’s beautiful meditation on the nature of the Trinity.

Man responds to God’s revelation by faith: believing God and adhering to his will. (176)

Faith is necessary for salvation. (183)

What God has revealed through Scripture and Sacred Catholic Tradition(what Christ taught to the Apostles) has been reliably written & handed down to us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (96 & 97)

the Father almighty

God the Father is the first Person of the one God, the Trinity.

We dare to call God Father only through the merits of Jesus. He taught us to call God Father. (2798, 322, 742)

We can call God Father only because of our union with his Son, Jesus. Through union with Jesus, we become adopted sons and daughters of God the Father. This is called divine filiation, and is the essence of the Good News. (260, 422, 742, 1110, 1279, & Pope John Paul II, “Crossing the Threshold of Hope”)

God is Father because he is the first origin of all things, and because of his loving care for all of us as his children. (239)

God is almighty because he is all powerful. The Catholic liturgy says, “God, you show your almighty power above all in your mercy and forgiveness” — by converting us from our sins and restoring us to his friendship by grace. (277)

creator of heaven and earth

God created everything in existence, material & immaterial. (317, 320, 338)

“The world was made for the glory of God.” He freely chose to create to show forth & communicate his “glory” — his unlimited love and goodness. (293)

Heaven exists; it is the immaterial dwelling place of God. (326, 2802, 1023-5)

God upholds & sustains creation, is actively involved in its unfolding and development in time, and is the loving master of the world and of its history. (301-5, 314)

We can perceive God’s work of creation through the apparent order & design in the natural world. (286, 299)

This belief in God as the first cause of all creation is compatible with various scientific theories and investigations of the secondary causes of development in the natural world. (283-4, 306-8)

God deliberately created man, male and female, in his image and likeness and placed him at the summit of creation. Man alone was created for his own sake, and alone is called to share in God’s own life. We are not a product of blind chance. (295, 355-6)

God created man as male & female: equal in value & dignity, different in nature, and complementary in purpose. (369-372)

While the creation accounts in Genesis may use symbolic language, it teaches profound truths about creation, man, the fall, evil, and the promise of salvation. (289, 389-90)

The devil, a fallen angel, is real. He is the ultimate source of all evil. (391-5, 413-15)

Adam, as the first man, freely chose disobedience to God, resulting in the loss of man’s original holiness and justice, and brought about death. We call this state of deprivation original sin. (416-19)

The victory of salvation won by Christ is greater than our loss due to sin. (420)

The question of evil is a profound mystery. Every aspect of the Christian message is in part an answer to the question of evil. (309)

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

Jesus is the second Person of the one God, the Trinity. (422-4, 468)

Christ’s divine sonship is the center of the apostolic faith. (442)

The title “Lord” indicates that Jesus is God himself. (446, 455)

Jesus is the “Christ,” the Messiah prophesied about in Scripture in the Old Testament. His coming brought about the promised liberation of Israel and mankind from the bonds of evil and death. (422-4, 430-3, 436, 438-9)

Christ is the perfect, full & definitive Revelation of God. After him, there will be no other public Revelation. (73)

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

Jesus, the Word of God, became man to save us by reconciling us with the Father, so that we might know God’s love, to be our model of holiness, and to make us “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). (457-60)

Belief in the Incarnation (the Son of God come in human flesh) is the distinctive sign of the Christian faith. (463)

Jesus assumed human form in the womb of the Virgin Mary, his mother. The conception of his human body was accomplished by the action of the Holy Spirit, and not by natural generation from man, although he is truly conceived of Mary’s flesh. (456, 466, 484-6, 488, 496-8)

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, as written in Scripture. (423)

Jesus is fully God, and fully man. As God, he has always existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit. At a specific point in history, he assumed human form and became man. He retains both of these natures fully, even now in heaven. (464, 467, 469-70)

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell.

Through his suffering and death, Jesus redeemed man once & for all, freeing him from slavery to sin, evil, and death. It is for our sins that he died. (571-3, 619, 1019)

“Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation. Beforehand, during the Last Supper, he both symbolized this offering and made it really present: ‘This is my body which is given for you.’” (621)

As a true man, Jesus fully experienced death. (624-7, 629)

Jesus did not abolish the Law of the Old Testament, but fulfilled it with perfection, revealing its ultimate meaning and redeeming the transgressions against it. (592)

The phrase “descended into hell” means that, after dying, Jesus’s human soul united to his divine person descended to the “realm of the dead” to bring salvation to the souls of the just who had already died. This opened heaven to them. (636-7)

On the third day he rose again.

The Resurrection was a real, historical event. It is the basis for our faith in all Jesus revealed to us. Jesus rose from the dead, body and soul, early on the Sunday morning after his death. He walked the earth for a brief time, and there were many witnesses of his appearances. (638-9)

At the same time as the Resurrection was an historical event, it remains at the heart of the mystery of faith as something that transcends and surpasses history. (647)

After the Resurrection, Jesus’s authentic, real body also possesses new properties of a glorious body. (645)

The Resurrection is the principle and source of our own future resurrection. (655)

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Christ’s Ascension into heaven is a definitive entrance of Jesus’s humanity into God’s heavenly domain. (665)

The Ascension gives us hope that we, too, may enter into heaven, body and soul, and be united with Christ forever. (666)

Jesus Christ, as the one true mediator between God and man, intercedes for us constantly before the Father and assures us of the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (667)

He will come again to judge the living and the dead

There will be an end of time, and an end of this world. As the book of Revelation attests, it will come about after one final assault by the powers of evil before the final triumph of Christ’s kingdom. (680)

At the end of time, Christ will return (the Second Coming) on Judgment Day where he will judge the living and the dead, each according to his works and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace. (681-2)

I believe in the Holy Spirit

God the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the one God, the Trinity. (685)

The Holy Spirit has been working for our salvation with the Father and the Son from the beginning. But now, in these “end times” since the Incarnation, God can embody this divine plan in mankind “by the outpouring of the [Holy] Spirit: as the Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” (CCC 686)

The Holy Spirit does not speak of himself or on his own. He simply reveals Christ to us and disposes us to welcome and receive Christ in faith. His mission is the same as that of the Son: to unite us to the Son so we may be adopted by the Father. (687, 689-90)

“The Church, a communion living in the faith of the apostles which she transmits, is the place where we know the Holy Spirit.” We know him in the Church through the Scriptures he inspired, Tradition in which he acted, the Magisterium he assists, the liturgy & sacraments through which he acts to sanctify and bring us into communion with Christ, prayer as he intercedes for us, charisms he uses to build up the Church, the signs of apostolic life, and “in the witness of saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation.” (688)

“The Holy Spirit, whom Christ the head pours out on his members, builds, animates, and sanctifies the Church. She is the sacrament of the Holy Trinity’s communion with men.” (747)

the holy Catholic Church

The Church is the place where the Spirit flourishes. (749)

“‘The Church’ is the People that God gathers in the whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical, above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so herself becomes Christ’s Body.” (752)

Everything the Church is, it is only because of Christ. It depends entirely on Christ. It shows forth Christ’s light, spreads Christ’s Word, and continues Christ’s work. The Church Fathers used the moon as an image of the Church: all its light is reflected from the sun. (748)

Christ instituted the Church to be the great sacrament of our salvation through Christ’s own continuing action. He gave the Church its definite structure, with Peter at its head, and conferred on it his own divine authority. He promised to remain with it until the end of time, and to send his Spirit to guide it and teach it in all truth. By all his actions, Christ prepared and built his Church. (775-6, 763-8)

My article on Church authoritytakes a detailed look at the Scriptural basis for this.

“The Church is in history, but at the same time she transcends it. It is only ‘with the eyes of faith’ that one can see her in her visible reality and at the same time in her spiritual reality as bearer of divine life.” (770)

The union between Christ and his Church is that of the bridegroom and his bride, which is a great mystery. (772)

The “four marks of the Church” are that it is one (through union in Christ), holy, catholic (she proclaims the fullness of the faith and is sent out to all peoples in all times), and apostolic (built on the foundation of the Apostles and is governed by Christ).

Unity with the Bishop of Rome (the Pope, successor to Peter) is the point of our unity with the universal Church, and with Christ himself: Peter is “the rock” on which the Church is founded. (880-85, 896)

As the one who through her faith & charity brought salvation into the world through her role as mother of Christ, Mary is the model of the Church. She is the spiritual mother of all members of Christ’s Body, the Church. This role is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. (963-4, 967)

the communion of saints

The communion of saints is the Church, past, present & future; living & dead; on earth, in purgatory, and in heaven. (946, 954-5)

We are a communion in two related senses: a communion of holy persons (sancta) only because we have shared a communion of holy things (sancti), namely, the sacraments, and above all else, the Eucharist. (948, 950)

As we pray for each other on earth, so continues the Church in heaven. Those saints in heaven, being more closely united to Christ, more effectively intercede for us. Thus we can ask the saints in heaven to pray for us, and we can also all pray for the holy souls being purified in Purgatory. (954-9)

In this solidarity among all men, living & dead, every act done in charity will profit all, and every sin will harm the whole communion. (953)

the forgiveness of sins

Only Christ forgives sins; the priests and sacraments are simply the means through which Christ acts to accomplish this. (987, 986)

In the Apostles Creed, faith in the forgiveness of sins is linked to faith in the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the communion of saints. When Christ gave the Holy Spirit to his Apostles, at the same time he gave them the power to forgive sins. (976)

“Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of the forgiveness of sins: it unites us to Christ, who died and rose, and gives us the Holy Spirit.” (985)

the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting

This final pair of articles in the creed speaks of the complete fulfillment of our salvation at the end of time. Christ will raise our dead bodies, changed into a spiritual body like Christ’s own glorious body (after his Resurrection), and reunite them to our immortal souls. God created man as a unity of body & soul, and that is how we will live in eternity. (988-1001, 1052)

Christian life is already a participation of our body & soul in Christ’s death and Resurrection, through baptism. This dignity demands that we respect our bodies & those of others. (1002, 1004)

There are two judgments: the particular judgment of each person immediately when he dies, when the immortal soul receives its definitive reward or punishment. Then at the end of time, the Last Judgment will take place with all souls reunited with their glorified bodies. Then we will all know the ultimate meaning of creation and all of salvation, and will see our part in it, for good or ill, and receive the consequences of our own life’s work. (1038-41)

After the Last Judgment, the righteous will reign forever with Christ, glorified in body & soul. The universe itself will end & be renewed in a new creation, a great mystery that Scripture calls “a new heaven and a new earth.” This is the full and definitive reign of the Kingdom of God in the heavenly Jerusalem, where God will make his dwelling among men. (1042-44)

Hell is real, a place of great suffering — especially in that those in hell are forever separated from God. Although God wants to save all men, he created us with free will out of love, and allows us to reject him and choose death instead of life. (1033-37)

Amen

Amen is a Hebrew word related to the word for “believe”. It expresses solidity, trustworthiness, faithfulness. “Amen” expresses both God’s faithfulness towards us and our trust in him. (1062)

“Thus the Creed’s final ‘Amen’ repeats and confirms its first words: ‘I believe.’ To believe is to say ‘Amen’ to God’s words, promises and commandments; to entrust oneself completely to him who is the ‘Amen’ of infinite love and perfect faithfulness. The Christian’s everyday life will then be the ‘Amen’ to the ‘I believe’ of our baptismal profession of faith: ‘May your Creed be for you as a mirror. Look at yourself in it, to see if you believe everything you say you believe. And rejoice in your faith each day.’” (1064)

“Jesus Christ himself is the ‘Amen.’ He is the definitive ‘Amen’ of the Father’s love for us. He takes up and completes our ‘Amen’ to the Father: ‘For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God.’” (1065)

Further reading: reliable guides to 
the Catholic faith

Remember that the above outline of the basic tenets of Catholicism is a minimal summaryof the primary beliefs summarized in the Church’s creeds.

We Catholics must know our faith thoroughly — and in more detail than that minimal outline of the tenets of Catholicism!

The official Catechism is a great source, but there are a few terrific and very readablebooks that can make it very easy to learn your faith.

I have two favorite books for learning the basics of the faith and morality:

Alan Schreck’s The Essential Catholic Catechism

Leo Trese’s The Faith Explained

If you’re only going to read one, make it Schreck’s book. This is a very readable presentation of the fullness of the Catholic faith, complete enough to present all the basics without being overwhelming.

Schreck’s book is just the right mix (for me!) of explanation and reference to authoritative sources. His explanations are quite good, and his writing style makes the book very readable. The references to official sources are helpful when you want to look more into one of the tenets of Catholicism.

Schreck’s The Essential Catholic Catechismwill give you a first-class grounding in the Catholic faith. He’s very faithful in presenting what the Church teaches, which is very important (see the importance of orthodoxyfor more about this in general). He covers and explains all the necessary tenets of Catholicism, and makes it very accessible.

But Father Trese’s The Faith Explained is also outstanding. In fact, it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read about the Catholic faith.

The strength of The Faith Explained lies in Fr. Trese’s clear and effective explanations. The book’s tone is conversational. It’s like having an expert sit down and patiently walk you through the faith, not by quoting the official Catechism of the Catholic Church, but by enthusiastic use of comparison and good, plain language to illuminate and convince.

Fr. Trese’s chapters on the Church are the best I’ve seen. They excel where many others fail: by clearly explaining the basic teachings, especially by showing the Scriptural & logical basis for those teachings.

There are two weaknesses of The Faith Explained, but they’re minor. Its first edition was written in 1965, long before the official Catechism. Although the book has been revised in subsequent editions, it contains no references to the Church’s Catechism or other recent Church documents.

This does not mean the book is out of date — all of the material is extremely solid & orthodox — but the book lacks cross-references for further reading. This isn’t much of a problem, though, as the Church’s Catechism itself is structured well enough for easy reference.

However, the second weakness in The Faith Explained does come from its age: it cannot address the many issues in morality that arose after the book was published.

There are numerous hot-button issues in the Church today that relate to morality (some of the tenets of Catholicism are under attack, too, but morality is the most serious area). Any contemporary attempt at teaching the faith (catechesis) needs to address those issues head on. By itself, The Faith Explained won’t form you well enough to withstand the contemporary attacks on conscience, natural law, and other foundations of morality.

This limitation of The Faith Explained is the only reason why I said to read Schreck’s The Essential Catholic Catechism if you’re going to read just one of those two books. Schreck addresses the issue of morality in terms that are desperately needed in our day & age.

But aside from that, I found that Fr. Trese’s book actually explained the basics of the faith in a better and more memorable way.

If you can read both, do so — they complement each other very well. And once you read them, you’ll have an excellent grounding in the basic tenets of Catholicism.

Every Catholic should know the faith!

[Preety_India]

Worldwide Christianity is divided into ten major groups of Churches:

Roman Catholic.

Eastern Orthodox.

Oriental Orthodox (Miaphysite)

Church of the East (Nestorian)

Anglican.

Lutheran.

Reformed.

Anabaptist.

[Preety_India]

Christ is the true messenger of God. Christ can save anyone and everyone. 

God saves us from the wrong path and restores us and leads us to the right path. 

The restoration begins as soon as you accept God's healing force in your life. 

Paganism is like a car and God is the fuel. 

Paganism is like the ocean which appears mighty but God is water 

God is the tree whereas paganism is the leaves 

God is the food and paganism is a mineral supplement. 

God is the driving force whereas paganism is science. 

Most religions are pagan. 

Paganism does not reach us to God though. 

Paganism is like copying the art of a great painter but you cannot become the artist. Your work will be like his. You are still not him. 

Christ is the only true messenger of God. The only savior. 

Most religions are based on prosperity gospel. 

The investment in a religion for the sole purpose of getting a miracle cure or wealth is right out of prosperity gospel. 

Prosperity gospel is pagan 

The Bible warns against occult not necessarily because it's evil but because it's incomplete. 

Justin Peters says that you have to find the right Christ not the prosperity gospel Christ. 

Edited August 4, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

Grace Christ Church. Grace 5

 

Symbolized by dwarf umbrella tree.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

 

God. He has essence and nature. His essence is a force, the powerful life force that fills the universe. He has essence and nature. Nature means "type of" or "kind".. His nature is love and empathy and without sin. It's pure. In short God is a loving guiding force. 

We have godly followed by logic and basic-ness followed by malevolence which is without logic, reason or justification. 

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

On 8/2/2019 at 8:01 PM, Preety_India said:

List of false preachers 

?  

?

?  Andrew Wommack

?  

?  

? Beth Moore 

? Benny Hinn

?

?

?Creflo Dollar

?

?Don Piper

?  Eddie Long 

?

???

?Gilbert Deya

?

?Hillsong 

?Jesse Duplantis

?Joseph Prince

? Jim Bakker

? Jim Jones 

? Jimmy Swaggart

??????

? Joel Osteen

?Joyce Meyer

?Kenneth Copeland

?Kathryn Kuhlman

? Larry Lea

?

?

?Mike Murdock

?

? Paula White

?  Pat Robertson

?

???

?

? Robert Tilton 

? Rod Parsley 

? Rick Warren 

? Ronald Weinland

?  

? Steven Furtick 

?  

?  

? TD Jakes

?

? TB Joshua 

?

? Warren Jeffs

? W. V. Grant

?

?

?Bill Johnson 

?Todd Bentley 

?Francis Chan 

?

[Preety_India]

August 6

I'm going through a crisis. God please help me. 

[Preety_India]

August 7

God is putting fragments into place little by little. 

 

[Preety_India]

August 7

May God give me strength 

May God give you strength 

God gives us strength to cope with a life in a fallen world. 

In a fallen world good people will always suffer

Edited August 7, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

2 hours of healing

[Preety_India]

The NAR new apostolic reformation and G12 movement and WOF or word of faith movement are all misleading. 

 

[Preety_India]

Updated 

List of false preachers 

?  

?

?  Andrew Wommack

?  

?  

? Beth Moore 

? Benny Hinn

? Bill Johnson

?

?Creflo Dollar

?

?Don Piper

?  Eddie Long 

? Francis Chan

? Fred Price

?

?

?Gilbert Deya

?

?Hillsong 

?Jesse Duplantis

?Joseph Prince

? Jim Bakker

? Jim Jones 

? Jimmy Swaggart

? John hagee

? Jan Crouch 

????

? Joel Osteen

?Joyce Meyer

?Kenneth Copeland

?Kathryn Kuhlman

? Larry Lea

?

?

?Mike Murdock

? Mike Bickle from IHOP 

? Paula White

?  Pat Robertson

?

???

? Robert Morris 

? Robert Tilton 

? Rod Parsley 

? Rick Warren 

? Ronald Weinland

?  Ravi Zacharias 

? Steven Furtick 

?  Sid Roth 

? Seth Dahl 

???

?  Todd White 

? TD Jakes

? Todd Bentley

? TB Joshua 

?

? Warren Jeffs

? W. V. Grant

? Win Worley 

?

? 

? 

? 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

Concepts and examples 

The tree and the fruit 

Paganism and Christianity 

The essential and the non essential. 

Staying away from the essential is demonic. 

The library and the fool

The fool is interested in just discovering more knowledge rather than applying whatever knowledge he already has. 

The ocean is a mirage. You will never stop discovering something new. 

It is always carry you away from what is essential. 

Following a pagan practice is not demonic. 

Wheelbarrow of cash. Lots of money. But not a loaf of bread. That's the end times. 

 

The tree is essential because it bears fruit. But we are more worried about the fruit being stolen which is going to be a small loss but we will still have enough fruit. 

Occult is like an ocean of knowledge that never ends and creates new hunger for knowledge, to create a never ending frustrating loop for the ultimate secret. This is a trap. It's pointless. 

 

So what should be the focus of a healed restoring Christian 

The goal should be focus on the essential and to make everything sustainable. 

Do we tell babies to earn money. 

To make everyone sustainable and not focus on excesses. 

Let Christ enter your heart

 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

7 sacraments 

Sign of cross 

Major verses 

Nicean creed 

Different denominations 

Different churches 

Festivals 

Rites or rituals 

Symbols 

Message 

Spiritual warfare 

False preaching examples 

Important Sermons 

Terminologies

Way of life and major beliefs 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

4 ways 

At 14.25. ..following the wrong path is different from sinning. Most follow wrong path. 

But sin needs Repentance. 

The Satan created the religion of achievement and the religion, religion of counting on the crediting your good works and good deeds 

The fool lives in wilful ignorance 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

The greatest sermons list 

For I Was Blind, but Now I See. 

I see you wanted to save me all along. But I was blissfully ignorant. I repent for ignoring your wisdom 

When you knock on his door, the doors are opened. 

 

May God give you strength. 

 

Any ungodly act is a heresy . Anything ungodly is a heresy

You are of this world. I'm not of this world. 

 

Paul says to Corinthians. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. 

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 

It does not matter what you think you can do if what you do  is not built upon the foundation of love, it means nothing. You have become a sounding brass or tinkling cymbal. 

Edited August 10, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

3 types of sins and wrongful acts 

 

? Sinful acts which are intentional like greed, murder, jealousy,slander. 

? Wrongful acts. These are bad behaviors which only degrade you physically mentally spiritually but do not build you. Example addiction. 

? Unintentional sinful acts or violations. You don't commit these with the intent to cause harm but nevertheless these can cause direct or indirect harm now or in the future. Therefore they are violations of God's laws. Example. A mother forcing her kid to join a karate class even when the kid complains of leg pain. She is not intending to harm the kid but her actions could result in suffering for the child. This is a violation of God's laws. 

 

Another example of violation is heresy. All heresies are violations. 

Any ungodly act is a heresy . Anything ungodly is a heresy. 

 

 

 

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?. Self righteousness. Be self righteous and believe that you don't need saving. 

? Be worldly. Be a part of this world 

? Be unbelieving. Not believing that his is the living water. 

? Be wilfully ignorant. They wilfully rejected Christ despite his works. 

 

Damaging factors 

? Demonic forces. Hindering forces

?Evil 

? Chaotic factors. Rising from a fallen world like illness, suicide, dysfunctional families, corrupt system, lack of resources, corrupt regime, unsupportive community 

? Wrong path 

? Sins 

Evil is much worse than sin. 

 

Edited August 11, 2019 by Preety_India

[Preety_India]

Superficial exposure to Christianity