Reviewer for Theology

HUMSS 4

Summarized definitions only.

Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of
religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and
seminaries.

Lesson 1: Faith and Revelation

Lectio Divina
- divine reading in Latin, meditative way of reading the Bible

Living Faith
- Not just something you talk about
- Not just something you believe
- Not just something you feel
- It is something you DO

Compassionate
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15)
- Feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others

Evangelization
“To seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
- Bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to those around us

Charism
- A gift from God for the church and the world
- spirit of the community

Most Common Charisms (The Catherine of Siena Institute)

1) PASTORAL CHARISM - nurture of individuals and community

(Encouragement, Hospitality, Helping, Pastoring, Mercy)
2) COMMUNICATION CHARISM - transforming lives through communicating truth
(Evangelism, Prophecy, Teaching)
3) ORGANIZATIONAL CHARISM- meeting structural needs of organizations/group
(Leadership, Service, Administration)
4) CHARISMS OF HEALING- being a channel of God’s healing & restoration
(Healing, Intercessory Prayer)
5) CHARISMS OF UNDERSTANDING- understanding the ways of God and humanity
(Knowledge, Wisdom, Discernments of Knowledge)
6) LIFESTYLE CHARISMS- distinctive lifestyle and freedom for unusual ministry
 (Celibacy, Faith, Missionary, Voluntary Poverty)
7) CREATIVE CHARISMS- creative activity that orders and beautifies
(Craftsmanship, Music, Writing)

Discernment
- One of the spiritual gifts that God gave
- Perception in the absence of judgment with a view of obtaining spiritual
guidance and understanding
- The process of how we discover God’s will

What does it mean to discern God’s will for us?

Discerning God’s will means listening to God’s voice in our hearts,
following what He wants for our lives, strengthening our relationship
with Him, and trusting that God would only lead us to a path of
happiness and fulfillment

Discerning God’s will requires the three Ds.

1) DESIRE- emotional awareness, learn to be honest with yourself
2) DATA- gather informations on what the options are, where they
are coming from, and what they would mean in your life
3) DISCERNMENT- choose the options that increases hope and
love in your life

Augustinian Saints

Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-450 AD)

- Also known as Saint Augustine, a theologian and philosopher of Berber
- Best known for “The Confession” and “The City of God”
- Probably the most influential Christian writer after the authors of the New
Testament
- Canonized in 1303 by Pope Boniface VIII, patron saint of brewers, printers,
and theologians

Saint Monica of Hippo (born in 331 AD in Tagaste/Alegria)

- Also known as Monica of Hippo, the mother of St. Augustine
- Recognized as patron saints of mothers
Lesson 2: Faith and Revelation

Mission
- Provides an overview of the steps planned to achieve the future

Vision
- Your goal where you see yourself in the future

Mission-Vision
- Vision is concise and easy to recall
- Mission is lengthier and more explanatory

Lesson 3: Faith and Revelation

Loving God: Father and Creator

Monotheism
- From the Greek word “monos” - only, and “theos” - god
- Monotheist is the person who believes in only one god
Examples of monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam

Polytheism
- From the Greek word “poly” -many, and “theos” -god
- Polytheist is a person who believes in multiple gods
Example of polytheistic religion: Hinduism

Atheism
- The word atheist originates with the Greek word “atheos”, which is built from
the roots a- “without” and “theos”- god
- the absence of belief/lack of belief in the existence of deities
- Atheist is the person who does not believe in the existence of gods or divine
beings

Agnosticism
- The word agnostic was coined by biologist T.H. Huxley that comes from the
Greek word “ágnōstos”- unknown or unknowable
 - An Agnostic is the person who believes that it is impossible to know for sure if
god exists, therefore they neither believe nor disbelieve the existence of a
higher power

Secular Humanism
- Is nonreligious humanism, with regard in particular to the belief that humanity
- is capable of morality and self-fulfillment without belief in God, a lifestance, or
what Council for Secular Humanism founder Paul Kurtz has termed a
eupraxsophy: a body of principles suitable for orienting a complete human life.

Naturalistic Philosophy
- A theory that relates scientific method to philosophy by affirming that all
beings and events in the universe are all natural

Consequentialist Ethical System

- Secular humanists believe that ethics is consequential, wherein an
action is judged depending on its results
- “There’s always a consequence to an action whether right or wrong”
- In contrast with command ethics, wherein right at wrong are defined in
advance and attributed to divine authority

Comic Outlook Rooted in Science

- Grounding our lives in the context of our universe and relying on
methods demonstrated by science.

Deism
- Belief in the existence of a god on a reason rather than revelation/teaching.
- Or to put it simply, belief in a supreme being who does not intervene in the
universe, rejection of miracles
- “I believe that there are some deities out there, but not one that’s involved in
our life.”

Thomas Aquinas and the Five Ways

Thomas Aquinas (1224/25)

- St. Thomas Aquinas- San Tommaso d’Aquino, also called as Aquinas by
name “Doctor Angelicus” - Angelic Doctor
- Canonized in July 18, 1323
- In his work Summa Theologica, he presented his five proofs of God’s
existence known as as the “Quinque Viae” -five ways in Latin

Aquinas’ Five Proofs for the Existence of God

 1) THE ARGUMENT FROM MOTION OR THE UNMOVED MOVER
Our senses can perceive motion by seeing that things act on one another. Whatever
moves is moved by something else. Consequently, there must be a First Mover that
creates this chain reaction of motions. God sets all things in motion and gives them
their potential.

2) THE ARGUMENT FROM EFFICIENT CAUSE OR THE FIRST CAUSE

Because nothing can cause itself, everything must have a cause or something that
creates an effect on another thing. Without a first cause, there would be no others.
Therefore, the First Cause is God.

3) THE ARGUMENT FROM NECESSARY BEING OR EVERYTHING COMES

FROM SOMETHING
Because objects in the world come into existence and pass out of it, it is possible for
those objects to exist or not exist at any particular time. However, nothing can come
from nothing. This means something must exist at all times. This is God.

4) THE ARGUMENT FROM GRADATION OR THE SUPREME MODEL

There are different degrees of goodness in different things. Following the “Great
Chain of Being,” which states there is a gradual increase in complexity, created
objects move from unformed inorganic matter to biologically complex organisms.
Therefore, there must be a being of the highest form of good. This perfect being is
God.

5) THE ARGUMENT FROM DESIGN OR THE GRAND DESIGNER

All things have an order or arrangement that leads them to a particular goal.
Because the order of the universe cannot be the result of chance, design and
purpose must be at work. This implies divine intelligence on the part of the designer.
This is God.

Lesson 4: Faith and Revelation

Loving God: Father and Creator

Revelation
“Revelation” (lat. revelatio) is a translation of the Greek word apokalypsis.
God makes himself known through divine revelation, which is given to all people
through creation and human nature and to specific people through events, inspired
human words recorded as Scripture, and Jesus Christ himself.

Types of Revelation
Genuine/Indirect Revelation- called 'general' or 'indirect' because it is available to
everyone. This is often used to describe the way God is revealed through the natural
world, conscience, people, awareness of morality, scripture or reason.

Special/Indirect Revelation- called 'direct' because it is revelation directly to an

individual or sometimes a group. This is often used to describe the way God is
revealed through a dream, a vision, a miracle, experience, or prophecy.

Knowing God through Divine Revelation

Divine Revelation
•Divine Revelation is God Himself breaking into this world and revealing Himself to Us.
•God tells us who he really is through the events of Salvation History.
•God invites us to live in covenant with him.

Salvation History
•Salvation history is the story of God and the story of man. It’s how God has loved and
cherished mankind since the beginning of time.
God remains faithful to us despite our sinfulness.
• Salvation history is the story of how we are saved... –our redemption in Jesus Christ.

Covenant
•In a biblical sense, the word covenant is derived from the same root word meaning
“to cut.” This means that in the culture of the Bible, covenant carried weight and was often
cut, or sealed, in blood.

Faith
•complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
•strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather
than proof.

Lesson 5: Faith and Revelation

Jesus Christ: Lord and Savior

The Incarnation
- Literally means to “take on flesh”
- Christian belief that God took human form by becoming Jesus
- God to human

Reincarnation
- The rebirth of a man’s soul to a new body

Four Reasons for the Incarnation

 - To save us by reconciling us with God
- To reveal God’s love to us
- To show us a perfect model of holiness
- To make us “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), or to
divinize us

The Incarnation
- Through the incarnation of Jesus, humans were able to start repairing
their damaged relationship with God, which had been imperfect since
Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Through Jesus’ incarnation, God began
the process of salvation from sin, making it possible for humans to have
a full relationship with him and go to Heaven.

Salvation
- Healing of broken relationship between people and God, we were freed from
our sins when Jesus took the punishment of being crucified on the wall

Two Types of Salvation

Insincere Salvation - not surrendering completely to God
Genuine Salvation - total surrender to the will of God

Paschal Mystery
- Closely linked to the ideas about redemption and salvation. It refers to the four
ideas/processes that Jesus went through to save humanity from sins.

Four Ideas of Paschal Mystery

- His Life
- Death
- Resurrection (Jesus Christ rose from the dead after three days)
- Ascension (He went up to Heaven with God)

Lesson 6: Faith and Revelation

God: Gifts and Promises

Covenant of the Bible

Adamic Covenant
- The Adamic covenant is a two-part statement of God's promise to Adam.
First, in the garden during the time of man's innocence, and secondly, after
the fall of man.

Noahic Covenant
- In this covenant with all living creatures, God promises (never again to
destroy all life on Earth by flood) –Gen 8:21; and creates the rainbow as the
sign of this "everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all
flesh that is on the earth".

Abrahamic Covenant
- Abraham made covenants with God when he received the gospel, when he
was ordained a high priest, and when he entered into celestial marriage. In
these covenants, God promised great blessings to Abraham and his family.
These blessings, which extend to all of Abraham's seed, are called the
Abrahamic covenant.

Mosaic Covenant
- This is the covenant God established with the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai
after he led them out of Egyptian slavery. With it, God supplies the Law that is
meant to govern and shape the people of Israel in the Promised Land.

Davidic Covenant
- This is the covenant where God promises a descendant of David to reign on
the throne over the people of God. It is a continuation of the earlier covenants
in that it promises a Davidic king as the figure through whom God would
secure the promises of land, descendants, and blessing.

Catholic Beliefs About God As Creator

Omnipotent
- The idea of an omnipotent God refers to a deity who is infinitely powerful.
- There is nothing that an omnipotent God cannot do.

Omnibenevolent
 - Omnibenevolent means all-loving.
- God proved his all-loving nature by sacrificing his only son, Jesus, to make up
for humankind's sins.

Omniscience
- Everything God does has an intelligent purpose, a definite goal or a state of
knowing everything.
- Buddhism, which holds that Guatama Buddha achieved an 'enlightened' state
in which he possessed extraordinary knowledge.

Eternal
- Christians believe that God has always existed as the three persons of the
Trinity and has no end which means He will exist forever.

The Original Sin

The Serpent
- caused Adam and Eve to disobey God through temptation

Concupiscence
- In the Bible, it refers to passionate desire for something that’s forbidden

Effects of The Original Sin

Sin
Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is a failure in genuine
love for God and neighbor. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity.

Preternatural Gift
- (preternatural: unnatural or extraordinary)
- Are abilities that do not belong to our nature but are abilities that our level of
nature can have. (i.e., A horse with Wings)

Three Preternatural Gifts

1) Infuse Knowledge - This means mankind came with all the knowledge in the
natural universe without having to study or experience things.
2) Immortality - Immunity to diseases and death, as spiritual beings, our souls
and bodies cannot be destroyed
3) Integrity - the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles;
moral uprightness