Grade11- Clf 1- HANDOUTS

CHAPTER 2- ORIGINAL BLESSINGS

The Two Creation Stories

Learning the study of a human being based on what is written in the scripture is better than studying by science or
human reason alone. The truth of the human being leans not only on being a creation but in a relation with other
creations of God according to the bible.
The first five books, the Pentateuch, implies the four sources or traditions namely, the Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist,
and the Priestly Code.

According to Julius Wellhausen in his book Prelogomena to the History of Ancient Isreal, those traditions are responsible
for the composition of the Pentateuch as it comes to us today.

Jahwist Tradition
Theology
 focused on God’s promises for salvation and the importance of cultic worship
Characteristics
 God is referred to as Yahweh
 The holy mountain is called Sinai
 God is anthropomorphized
 The natives of Palestine are called Canaanites

Elohist Tradition
Theology
 focuses less on Temple worship and more on morality and Israel’s proper response to God: faith and fear of the
Lord
Characteristics
 It emphasizes prophecy
 God is referred to as Elohim
 The holy mountain is Horeb
 The natives of Palestine are called Amorites
 God speaks in dreams

Deuteronomist Tradition
Theology
 teaches that all the bad things that happened to the Israelites were God’s punishment for the grave sins of the
leaders and the people
Characteristics
 It emphasizes on law and morals
 The book of Deuteronomy is a retelling of the stories of Exodus through Numbers
 Deuteronomy interprets Israel’s history as a cycle of God’s forgiveness and renewal of the Covenant, followed by
the people’s failure to live the Covenant, followed by the bad things that happen to them as punishment
 It emphasizes the Israelites’ covenantal obligation
 The holy mountain is Horeb
Priestly Codex Tradition
Theology
 that the Jewish people’s religious identity is found in proper worship and special laws that set them apart from
other people
Characteristics
 emphasis on order and the majesty of God and creation examples
 emphasis on Temple cult and worship
 emphasis on the southern kingdom of Judah where cultic worship occurs
 emphasis on the role of the Levites, the priestly class or tribe
 emphasis on genealogies and tribal lists, which established the different groups in Israelite society, including the
priestly class

The Jahwist’s Version

“Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the
man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he
had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the
tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the
man, “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.”

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of
the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see
what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to
all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field.”

The 1st Creation Story (Yahwist)

• Is a picture of a garden Eden where harmony and well ordered relationship are present between living things
and material realities
Implications:
 Man is in a proper relationship with all of creation
 Man is never created to be alone and homeless
 Man is the steward and caretaker of the garden and of all other creatures
 Man is nothing compared to God
 Man is unconditionally immune from death
 Man as an ecologist and conservationist
 Man as adapting our lives to nature and, as such, is close to nature
 Man is lowly and simple
 This picture shows the not only the original state of man but also a model of man’s final condition

The Priestly Code’s Version

“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

“God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed
in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything
that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.”

The 2nd Creation Story (Priestly)

 More realistic, and perhaps less romantic
 The community of persons began after creating and blessing our humanity
Implications:
 Man is mandated to exploit and even develop the world
 Man as a developer and as a steward
 Man dominates nature and, as such, adapting to our own ends
 Man received the dignity as made in the image of God

Jahwist Priestly
human existence as an ecologist and human as developer and as steward (Exploiter)
conservationist (Cultivate)

presents us as adapting our lives to nature and, as presents us as dominating nature and, as such,
such, is close to nature adapting to our own ends

Once given life, God puts us in a garden to till it be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and
and keep it. (Gen 2:15) subdue it; and have dominion ove rthe fish of the
sea and over the birds of the air and over every
living thing that moves upon the earth. (Gen1: 28)

J & P Deepening the Understanding on Human Being (biblical)

Whatever the distinction between the first and the second creation stories are is worthy of theological reflection, but it
is important to emphasize that these two differing conceptions are in fact fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the servant of
God, the “gentle and lowly of heart” (Mt 11:29) who reconciles all of creation with God (2 Corinthians 5, 19; Colossians
1, 20), and is thus the fulfillment of the first creation story and its understanding of the human person.

J & P: Deepening the Understanding on Human Being

by Calano and Suarez

Beyond stories and histories that every human person has accumulated, the only sufficient way to answer this is by
living a human life. Though uniqueness marks each and every human life, there is a truth that is shared in common.

J & P: Deepening the Understanding on Human Being (Bird’s Passed Story)

Like the Bird’s Passed Story, your life has its own unique story. You cannot will it alone to happen. God has His own will
for you.
 Humanity Created in Grace

The Grace of Humanity

Humanistic view of GRACE:
 created for something more than we ourselves can provide
• Intelligent and rational beings
Theological view of GRACE:
• unable to do things by our own natural resources and by our own powers but the capacity is for God to share His
life, to literally divinize humanity
• we are in need of God’s grace, which simply refers to God’s free and willing giving of Himself to us and of His
helping us overcome the limitations

Three Stages that Humanity is Created in Grace

1. State of original innocence

This is the state where the elevating grace is bestowed on our humanity and is harmonized with the potential
discords inherent in our “human nature as such.

God created humans good but with free will. (Augustinian )

2. Our fallen nature

In this state, grace is forfeited by sin and thus allowing the inherent discords to assert themselves on our
nature.

For St. Augustine’s analogy of sin, it is a hereditary disease, it is a power which holds us captive, and it is a
guilt passed from generation to generation.(Augustinian)

3. Restored grace

This is the state where we are again converted to God and restored to His favor and friendship while, at the
same time, bearing the consequences of sin in the burden of that cross-grained nature in which “the flesh lusts against
the spirit” (Gal 5:17), and “the law in my members is at war with the law of my mind” (Rom. 7:23).

Human desires true happiness, but is not able to will himself to find it since it is found in God alone, in whom
he cannot delight while he is in the flesh. Grace, then, is God’s active changing of our heart’s desires so that we can
truly desire him above all else, freely choose him, and as we love him, find i him our true soul’s joy. God’s grace is
necessary for conversion so that in Him alone will find our ongoing joyful obedience. (Augustinian)

The Catholic & Protestant’s View on Sin

Catholic Protestant
Sin does not deeply damage human nature Concupiscence or humanity’s inclination to sin is
looked upon as sin itself

Man nonetheless in his being human has the

ability to cooperate with God’s grace and steer
himself unto a better realization of herself.
Effects of the Original Innocence

A. Uprightness of the Whole Person

There is a version of ourselves that is reachable originally for us; a state where there is no more lust, and no
more greed. In the condition of original innocence, we all enjoy a graced nature that has perfect self-possession, self-
mastery, and self-control. This harmony of coincidence of our desire, intention and actions is a gift of grace bestowed by
God on human nature. Had our first parents not sinned, their offspring would have inherited this condition of being
integrated or one in wanting, doing and thinking.

B. Conditional Immunity from Death and Suffering

The salvation brought about by Christ and his victory over death is God’s response to death. Death and
suffering are the realities from which we are saved by Christ. We can only fully understand them in truth as related to
the mystery of the saving act that is in Christ. While in a way death and suffering are the reasons for the salvation that is
won by the cross of Christ.

Note: Refer to your CLF 1 book for further explanations 