In religion and theology , revelation (or divine revelation ) is the disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities.
171-527: God Schools Relations with: Catholic theology is the understanding of 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 Catholic Church . This article serves as an introduction to various topics in Catholic theology, with links to where fuller coverage
342-405: A deity or through an agent such as an angel . One who has experienced such contact with, or communication from, the divine is often called a prophet. The Norton Dictionary of Modern Thought suggests that the more proper and wider term for such an encounter would be "mystical", making such a person a mystic . All prophets would be mystics, but not all mystics would be prophets. Revelation from
513-570: A monotheistic conception of God , which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material universe) and immanent (involved in the material universe). Christians believe in a singular God that exists in a Trinity , which consists of three Persons: God the Father , God the Son , and God the Holy Spirit . Christian teachings on the transcendence, immanence, and involvement of God in
684-687: A testimony , described by Richard Bushman as "one of the most potent words in the Mormon lexicon". Latter Day Saints believe in an open scriptural canon , and in addition to the Bible and the Book of Mormon , have books of scripture containing the revelations of modern-day prophets such as the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price . In addition, many Latter Day Saints believe that ancient prophets in other regions of
855-671: A beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the Ancient of Days . In the Annunciation by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1470, God the Father is portrayed in the red robe and a hat that resembles that of a Cardinal. However, even in the later part of the 15th century, the symbolic representation of the Father and the Holy Spirit as "hands and dove" continued, e.g. in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ in 1472. In Renaissance paintings of
1026-656: A chariot. Muslims believe that God (Arabic: ألله Allah ) revealed his final message to all of existence through Muhammad via the angel Gabriel . Muhammad is considered to have been the Seal of the Prophets and the last revelation, the Qur'an , is believed by Muslims to be the flawless final revelation of God to humanity, valid until the Last Day . The Qur'an claims to have been revealed word by word and letter by letter. Muslims hold that
1197-468: A cornerstone of modern Christian understandings of God—however, some Christian denominations hold nontrinitarian views about God . Christians, in common with Jews and Muslims , identify with the biblical patriarch Abraham to whom God revealed himself. It is believed that Abraham was the first to affirm monotheism (the belief in one God) and had an ideal relationship with God. The Abrahamic religions believe that God continuously interacted with
1368-438: A different logical dynamic which from such attributes as infinite goodness since there are relative forms of the latter but not of the former. In Christian theology, the name of God has always held deeper significance than purely being a label, considered instead to have divine origin and be based upon divine revelation. The Bible usually uses the name of God in the singular (e.g., Exodus 20:7 or Psalms 8:1), generally using
1539-513: A formal doctrine of the Trinity as such, "it does repeatedly speak of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit... in such a way as to compel a Trinitarian understanding of God". Around 200 AD, Tertullian formulated a version of the doctrine of the Trinity which clearly affirmed the divinity of Jesus. This concept was later expanded upon at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, and
1710-470: A later definitive form was produced by the Ecumenical Council of 381 . The Trinitarian doctrine holds that God the Son, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit are all different hypostases (Persons) of one substance, and is not traditionally held to be one of tritheism . Trinitarianism was subsequently adopted as the official theological doctrine through Nicene Christianity thereafter, and forms
1881-411: A military loss which he attributed to the undue veneration of icons. The edict (which was issued without consulting the church) forbade the veneration of religious images, but did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross. Theological arguments against icons then began to appear with iconoclasts arguing that icons could not represent both
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#17328552425752052-537: A moral disorder", does not deprive the sinner of friendship with God, and consequently the eternal happiness of heaven. In the Old Testament , God promised to send his people a savior. 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
2223-408: A number of references to the Holy Spirit, with the theme which appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 – "...God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit" – appearing throughout his epistles. In John 14:26, Jesus also refers to "the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name". By the end of the 1st century, Clement of Rome had repeatedly referred to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and linked
2394-452: 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. 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, finally succumbed to His injuries and gave up his spirit when he said, "it
2565-434: 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 godparent for spiritual support, and selected a saint to be their special patron. Soteriology is the branch of doctrinal theology that deals with salvation through Christ . Eternal life, divine life , cannot be merited but
2736-511: A series of intellectual attributes: knowledge-omniscience ; wisdom ; veracity and then, the moral attributes of goodness (including love, grace, mercy and patience); holiness and righteousness before dealing finally with his sovereignty . Gregory of Nyssa was one of the first theologians to argue, in opposition to Origen , that God is infinite . His main argument for the infinity of God, which can be found in Against Eunomius ,
2907-513: A shorthand script written with extreme speed owing to the rapidity of the utterance of the words. Afterwards, Bahá'u'lláh revised and approved these drafts. These revelation drafts and many other transcriptions of Bahá'u'lláh's writings, around 15,000 items, some of which are in his own handwriting, are kept in the International Bahá'í Archives in Haifa , Israel . Many Christians believe in
3078-564: A similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. The Rohan Book of Hours of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, like the large Genesis altarpiece by the Hamburg painter Meister Bertram , continued to use the old depiction of Christ as Logos in Genesis scenes. In
3249-551: A supernatural source is of lesser importance in some other religious traditions, such as Taoism and Confucianism . The Báb , Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá , the central figures of the Bahá'í Faith , received thousands of written enquiries, and wrote thousands of responses, hundreds of which amount to whole and proper books, while many are shorter texts, such as letters. In addition, the Bahá'í Faith has large works which were divinely revealed in
3420-605: A theory of Judaism through existentialism. One of the primary players in this field was Franz Rosenzweig . His major work, Star of Redemption , expounds a philosophy in which he portrays the relationships between God, humanity and world as they are connected by creation, revelation and redemption. Conservative Jewish philosophers Elliot N. Dorff and Neil Gillman take the existentialist philosophy of Rosenzweig as one of their starting points for understanding Jewish philosophy . (They come to different conclusions, however.) Rabbinic Judaism, and contemporary Orthodox Judaism , hold that
3591-448: A very short time, as in a night, or a few days. Additionally, because many of the works were first recorded by an amanuensis , most were submitted for approval and correction and the final text was personally approved by the revelator. Bahá'u'lláh would occasionally write the words of revelation down himself, but normally the revelation was dictated to his amanuensis, who sometimes recorded it in what has been called revelation writing ,
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#17328552425753762-454: A violation of conscience or divine law. Catholics make a distinction between two types of sin. Mortal sin is a "grave violation of God's law" that "turns man away from God", and if it is not redeemed by repentance it can cause exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell. In contrast, venial sin (meaning "forgivable" sin) "does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God" and, although still "constituting
3933-512: A whole human figure. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted. By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French illuminated manuscripts , which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in stained glass church windows in England. Initially the head or bust
4104-709: Is Hagar searching for water for the infant Ishmael . The term revelation is used in two senses in Jewish theology; it either denotes (1) what in rabbinical language is called Gilluy Shekinah , a manifestation of God by some wondrous act of his which overawes man and impresses him with what he sees, hears, or otherwise perceives of his glorious presence; or it denotes (2) a manifestation of his will through oracular words, signs, statutes, or laws. In Judaism , issues of epistemology have been addressed by Jewish philosophers such as Saadiah Gaon (882–942) in his Book of Beliefs and Opinions ; Maimonides (1135–1204) in his Guide for
4275-466: Is a document written by human ancestors, carrying human understanding and experience, and seeking to answer the question: 'What does God require of us?'. They believe that, though it contains many 'core-truths' about God and humanity, it is also time bound. They believe that God's will is revealed through the interaction of humanity and God throughout history, and so, in that sense, Torah is a product of an ongoing revelation. Reconstructionist Judaism denies
4446-593: 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 . 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. The leader of this rebellion has been given many names including " Lucifer " (meaning "light bearer" in Latin), " Satan ", and
4617-485: Is available to all those who earnestly seek it with the intent of doing good. It also teaches that everyone is entitled to personal revelation with respect to his or her stewardship (leadership responsibility). Thus, parents may receive inspiration from God in raising their families, individuals can receive divine inspiration to help them meet personal challenges, church officers may receive revelation for those whom they serve, and so forth. The important consequence of this
4788-575: Is eminently rational), and that both poles of the subjective human experience are complementary. Karl Barth argued that God is the object of God's own self-knowledge, and revelation in the Bible means the self-unveiling to humanity of the God who cannot be discovered by humanity simply through its own efforts. For him, the Bible is not The Revelation ; rather, it points to revelation. Human concepts can never be considered as identical to God's revelation, and Scripture
4959-590: Is equivalent to the revelation of God in Jesus. The major theological components of Christianity, such as the Trinity and the Incarnation , are revealed in the teachings of the church and the scriptures and may not otherwise be deduced. Special revelation and general revelation are complementary rather than contradictory in nature. According to Dumitru Stăniloae , Eastern Orthodox Church ’s position on general/special revelation
5130-522: Is finished." He suffered temptations , but did not sin . As true God, he defeated death and rose to life again. According to the New Testament , "God raised Him from the dead," he ascended to heaven , is "seated at the right hand of the Father" and will return again to fulfil the rest of Messianic prophecy , including the resurrection of the dead , the Last Judgment and final establishment of
5301-590: Is found. Major teachings of the Catholic Church 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; in 1992, the Catholic Church published the official Catechism of the Catholic Church . The Catholic Church understands
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5472-511: 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. 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
5643-404: Is in stark contrast to Protestant and Catholic theologies that see a clear difference between general and special revelation and tend to argue that the former is not sufficient to salvation. In Orthodox Christianity, he argues, there is no separation between the two and supernatural revelation merely embodies the former in historical persons and actions. " Continuous revelation " is a term for
5814-497: Is no formal distinction in the Confession, Reformed authors have interpreted in it a specifically Reformed distinction between incommunicable and communicable attributes; the former being those which have no unqualified analogy in created things (e.g., simplicity and eternity), the latter being those which have some analogy in some created things such as humans (e.g., wisdom and goodness). The relationship between these two classes
5985-497: Is not of the substance of the created universe. Traditionally, some theologians such as Louis Berkhof distinguish between the incommunicable and communicable attributes of God. The former are those attributes which have no unqualified analogy in created things (e.g., simplicity and eternity), in other words, attributes that belong to God alone. The latter attributes are those which have some analogy in created things, especially humans (e.g., wisdom and goodness). Thus, following
6156-608: Is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms. They are depicted as floating in heaven with angels who carry the instruments of the Passion . Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the Jansenist and Baianist movements as well as more orthodox theologians. As with other attacks on Catholic imagery, this had
6327-409: Is one God, Paul's statement (which is likely based on pre-Pauline confessions) includes a number of other significant elements: he distinguishes Christian belief from the Jewish background of the time by referring to Jesus and the Father almost in the same breath, and by conferring on Jesus the title of divine honor "Lord", as well as calling him Christ. In the Book of Acts (Acts 17:24–27), during
6498-586: 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 Christian traditions 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
6669-473: Is such that the incommunicable attributes qualify all the communicable attributes, thus, God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth, following the classic definition of God in the Westminster Shorter Catechism . Thus, Article 1 is said to begin by enumerating the incommunicable attributes, but from 'almighty' to 'good' enumerates
6840-632: Is that God's goodness is limitless, and as God's goodness is essential , God is also limitless. Many early Christians believed that a number of verses within the Bible, were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts aiming to depict God. However, early Christian art, such as that of the Dura Europos church , displays the Hand of God , a theological symbol representing the right hand of God, and Christ himself, along with many saints, are depicted. The Dura Europos synagogue nearby has numerous instances of
7011-401: Is that each person may receive confirmation that particular doctrines taught by a prophet are true, as well as gain divine insight in using those truths for their own benefit and eternal progress. In the church, personal revelation is expected and encouraged, and many converts believe that personal revelation from God was instrumental in their conversion. Joseph F. Smith , the sixth president of
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7182-501: Is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible images and portrait icons would be inaccurate, and that what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit, but not for the Word. John of Damascus wrote: If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who
7353-454: Is the "fullness and mediator of all Revelations", and that no new divine revelation will come until the Second Coming . It also believes that God gradually leads the church into a deeper understanding of divine revelation, such as by private revelations, which do not fulfill, complete, substitute or supersede divine revelation but help one live by divine revelation. The church does not obligate
7524-548: 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 they should all derive from the Eucharist and lead back to it. The church community consists of the ordained clergy (consisting of the episcopate , the priesthood , and the diaconate ),
7695-523: Is used by other prophets throughout the Tanakh , such as Micaiah in 1 Kings 22:19–22 . One school of thought holds that revelation is non-verbal and non-literal, yet it may have propositional content. People were divinely inspired by God with a message, but not in a verbal-like sense. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel has written, "To convey what the prophets experienced, the Bible could either use terms of descriptions or terms of indication. Any description of
7866-554: Is useless, and your trust in God is useless". 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 . Generally, Christian churches accept and teach the New Testament account of the resurrection of Jesus. Some modern scholars use
8037-577: Is without body: invisible, uncircumscribed and without form. Around 790, Charlemagne ordered a set of four books that became known as the Libri Carolini ("Charles' books") to refute what his court understood to be the iconodule decrees of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea regarding sacred images. Although not well known during the Middle Ages, these books describe the key elements of
8208-450: Is written in human language, expressing human concepts. It cannot be considered identical with God's revelation. However, God does reveal himself through human language and concepts, and thus Christ is truly presented in scripture and the preaching of the church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church of the Catholic Church states: 'Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God,
8379-399: Is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself." While man may turn away from God, God never stops calling man back to him. 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. But while "Man's faculties make him capable of coming to a knowledge of
8550-495: The Apostle Paul 's statement in 1 Corinthians 8:5–6, written c. AD 53–54 , about twenty years after the crucifixion of Jesus , and 12–21 years before the earliest of the canonical gospels was written: ...for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. Apart from asserting that there
8721-486: The Areopagus sermon given by Paul, he further characterizes the early Christian understanding: The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth Paul also reflects on the relationship between God and Christians: ...that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us for in him we live. The Pauline epistles also include
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#17328552425758892-557: 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 . Protestants believe the Bible contains all revealed truths necessary for salvation . This concept is known as Sola scriptura . Catholics do not believe the Bible contains all revealed truths necessary for salvation. The Catholic Bible includes all books of
9063-776: The Book of Revelation and the Epistles of John may have been. The Catholic Church recognizes 73 books as inspired and forming the Bible (46 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament ). The most common versions of the Bible that Protestants have today consist of 66 of these books. None of the 66 or 73 books gives a list of revealed books. Theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher Paul Johannes Tillich (1886–1965), who sought to correlate culture and faith so that "faith need not be unacceptable to contemporary culture and contemporary culture need not be unacceptable to faith", argued that revelation never runs counter to reason (affirming Thomas Aquinas who said that faith
9234-587: The Eastern Catholic Churches , these are often called the holy mysteries rather than the sacraments . Sunday is a holy day of obligation , and Catholics are required to attend Mass . At Mass, Catholics believe that they respond to Jesus' command at the Last Supper to "do this in remembrance of me." In 1570 at the Council of Trent , Pope Pius V codified a standard book for the celebration of Mass for
9405-754: The Hebrew Bible aloud, Jews replace the Tetragrammaton with the title Adonai , translated as Kyrios in the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament. Jah (or Yah ) is an abbreviation of Jahweh/Yahweh/Jehovah. It is often used by Christians in the interjection " Hallelujah ", meaning "Praise Jah", which is used to give God glory. In the New Testament, Theos and Pater ( πατήρ , "father" in Greek ) are additional words used to reference God. Respect for
9576-557: The Israelites at Mount Sinai . In Christianity , the Book of Acts describes the Day of Pentecost wherein the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples of Jesus in the form of fire that they began praising in tongues and experienced mass revelation. The Lakota people believe Ptesáŋwiŋ spoke directly to the people in the establishment of Lakota religious traditions. Some versions of an Aztec legend tell of Huitzilopochtli speaking directly to
9747-723: The Kingdom of God . According to the gospels of Matthew and Luke , Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary . Little of Jesus' childhood is recorded in the canonical gospels, 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". Jesus told his apostles that after his death and resurrection he would send them
9918-595: 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. 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
10089-511: 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 , and was not broken off by their original sin . Rather, God promised to send a redeemer. God further revealed himself through covenants between Noah and Abraham . God delivered the law to Moses on Mount Sinai , and spoke through the Old Testament prophets . The fullness of God's revelation
10260-644: The Oriental Orthodox Churches, 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 . The Athanasian Creed says: "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance." Christianity regards
10431-678: The Roman Rite . Everything in this decree pertained to the priest celebrant and his action at the altar. The participation of the people was devotional rather than liturgical. The Mass text was in Latin , as this was the universal language of the church. This liturgy was called the Tridentine Mass and endured universally until the Second Vatican Council approved the Mass of Paul VI , also known as
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#173285524257510602-646: The Torah (Pentateuch) extant today is essentially the same one that the whole of the Jewish people received on Mount Sinai , from God, upon their Exodus from Egypt. Beliefs that God gave a "Torah of truth" to Moses (and the rest of the people), that Moses was the greatest of the prophets, and that the Law given to Moses will never be changed, are three of the Thirteen Principles of Faith of Orthodox Judaism according to Maimonides . Orthodox Judaism believes that in addition to
10773-409: The devil . The sin of pride, considered one of seven deadly sins , is attributed to Satan for desiring to be God's equal. 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 at the beginning of
10944-422: The divinity of Jesus . Although some early sects of Christianity, such as the Jewish-Christian Ebionites , protested against the deification of Jesus, the concept of Jesus being one with God was accepted by the majority of Gentile Christians . This formed one aspect of the split of early Christianity and Judaism , as Gentile Christian views of God began to diverge from the traditional Jewish teachings of
11115-534: The empirical study of nature , physics , cosmology , etc., to an individual. Special revelation is the knowledge of God and spiritual matters which can be discovered through supernatural means, such as scripture or miracles, by individuals. Direct revelation refers to communication from God to someone in particular. Though one may deduce the existence of God and some of God's attributes through general revelation, certain specifics may be known only through special revelation. Aquinas believed that special revelation
11286-410: 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 Catholic Church. These are Baptism , Confirmation (Chrismation) , the Eucharist , Penance , the Anointing of the Sick , Holy Orders and Matrimony . The Catholic Church teaches that "The desire for God
11457-433: 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". 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!" The Nicene Creed states that
11628-442: The 13th century, Thomas Aquinas focused on a shorter list of just eight attributes, namely simplicity , perfection , goodness , incomprehensibility , omnipresence , immutability , eternity and oneness . Other formulations include the 1251 list of the Fourth Lateran Council , which was then adopted at Vatican I in 1870 and the Westminster Shorter Catechism in the 17th century. Two attributes of God that place him above
11799-453: The 14th century the Naples Bible carried a depiction of God the Father in the Burning bush . By the early 15th century, the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry has a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in the Garden of Eden , which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The "Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry by Lorenzo Ghiberti , begun in 1425 use
11970-445: The 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity as similar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ . In an early Venetian school Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini , (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and
12141-427: The 3rd century. The period from the late 2nd century to the beginning of the 4th century (approximately 180–313) is generally called the "epoch of the Great Church " and also the Ante-Nicene Period , and witnessed significant theological development, and the consolidation and formalization of a number of Christian teachings. From the 2nd century onward, western creeds started with an affirmation of belief in "God
12312-450: The Aztec people upon their arrival at Anåhuac . Historically, some emperors, cult leaders, and other figures have also been deified and treated as though their words are themselves revelations. Some people hold that God can communicate with people in a way that gives direct, propositional content: This is termed verbal revelation . Orthodox Judaism and some forms of Christianity hold that
12483-626: The Bible (e.g., the Lord's Prayer , stating that the Father is in Heaven ), others based on theological reasoning. The " Kingdom of God " is a prominent phrase in the Synoptic Gospels , and while there is near unanimous agreement among scholars that it represents a key element of the teachings of Jesus , there is little scholarly agreement on its exact interpretation. Although the New Testament does not have
12654-412: The Bible have a separate apocrypha section for the books not considered canonical by the publisher. Catholic theology distinguishes two senses of Scripture : the literal and the spiritual. 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:
12825-510: The Bible is totally without error, and free from all contradiction, including the historical and scientific parts. Coleman speaks of Biblical infallibility as meaning that the Bible is inerrant on issues of faith and practice but not history or science. The Catholic Church speaks not about infallibility of Scripture but about its freedom from error, holding "the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture". The Second Vatican Council , citing earlier declarations, stated: "Since everything asserted by
12996-724: The Biblical verse "Do not stray from their words" ("Deuteronomy 17:11) it is still accepted as binding law. Conservative Judaism tends to regard both the Torah and the Oral law as not verbally revealed. The Conservative approach tends to regard the Torah as compiled by redactors in a manner similar to the Documentary Hypothesis . However, Conservative Jews also regard the authors of the Torah as divinely inspired, and many regard at least portions of it as originating with Moses. Positions can vary from
13167-573: The Catholic theological position on sacred images. To the Western Church , images were just objects made by craftsmen, to be utilized for stimulating the senses of the faithful, and to be respected for the sake of the subject represented, not in themselves. The Council of Constantinople (869) (considered ecumenical by the Western Church, but not the Eastern Church ) reaffirmed the decisions of
13338-643: 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 Jesus the Lord's Supper , of Good Friday (Jesus' passion and death on the cross ), and of Jesus' resurrection . The season of Eastertide follows
13509-490: The Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople in 325 and 381 respectively, and ratified as the universal creed of Christendom by the Council of Ephesus in 431. It sets out the main principles of Catholic Christian belief. This creed is recited at Sunday Masses and is the core statement of belief in many other Christian churches as well. The Chalcedonian Creed , developed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, though not accepted by
13680-494: The Eucharist is celebrated. Catholics regard the Eucharist as "the source and summit of the Christian life", 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. Since his sacrifice on the Cross and that of the Eucharist "are one single sacrifice ", the church does not purport to re-sacrifice Jesus in
13851-715: The Father (Almighty)" and the primary reference of this phrase was to "God in his capacity as Father and creator of the universe". This did not exclude either the fact the "eternal father of the universe was also the Father of Jesus the Christ" or that he had even "vouchsafed to adopt [the believer] as his son by grace". Eastern creeds (those known to have come from a later date) began with an affirmation of faith in "one God" and almost always expanded this by adding "the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible" or words to that effect. Augustine of Hippo , Thomas Aquinas , and other Christian theologians have described God with
14022-449: The Father could be symbolized. Prior to the 10th century, no attempt was made to use a human figure to symbolize God the Father in Western art . Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century. A rationale for
14193-614: The Father is in Heaven, while other attributes are derived from theological reasoning. In the 8th century, John of Damascus listed eighteen attributes for God in his An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book 1, chapter 8). These eighteen attributes were divided into four groups based on time (such as being everlasting), space (such as being boundless), matter or quality and the list continues to be influential to date, partially appearing in some form in various modern formulations. In
14364-456: The Father may hold a globe or book (to symbolize God's knowledge and as a reference to how knowledge is deemed divine). He is behind and above Christ on the Cross in the Throne of Mercy iconography. A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit may hover above. Various people from different classes of society, e.g. kings, popes or martyrs may be present in the picture. In a Trinitarian pietà , God the Father
14535-558: The Father to creation in 1 Clement 19.2, stating: "let us look steadfastly to the Father and creator of the universe". By the middle of the 2nd century, in Against Heresies , Irenaeus had emphasized (in Book 4, chapter 5) that the Creator is the "one and only God" and the "maker of heaven and earth". These preceded the formal presentation of the concept of Trinity by Tertullian early in
14706-511: The Father, it suggested that icons of Christ were preferred over Old Testament shadows and figures. The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the Byzantine iconoclasm (literally, "image struggle" or "war on icons") began. Emperor Leo III (717–741) suppressed the use of icons by imperial edict of the Byzantine Empire, presumably due to
14877-483: The Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as John of Damascus , drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ. In his treatise On the Divine Images , John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see". The implication
15048-419: The Father. Through him all things were made." In a supernatural event called the Incarnation , Catholics believe 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 Jesus' mission on earth included giving people his word and example to follow, as recorded in the four Gospels . The church teaches that following
15219-506: The Hand of God symbol throughout its extensive decorative scheme, and is the only ancient synagogue with an extant decorative scheme. Dating to the mid-3rd century, the symbol was likely adopted into Early Christian art from Jewish art . The Hand of God was common in Late Antique art in both the East and West, and remained the main way of symbolizing the actions or approval of God the Father in
15390-436: 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. 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 , to which it
15561-526: The Jewish scriptures, the Tanakh , along with additional books. This bible is organised 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 . The Catholic biblical canon include other books from the Septuagint canon, which Catholics call deuterocanonical . Protestants consider these books apocryphal . Some versions of
15732-591: The LDS Church, summarized this church's belief concerning revelation by saying, "We believe… in the principle of direct revelation from God to man." (Smith, 362) With the development of rationalism , materialism , and atheism during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, beginning about the mid-17th century, the concept of supernatural revelation began to face skepticism. In The Age of Reason (1794–1809), Thomas Paine developed
15903-524: The Latin term ipsum esse , a phrase that translates roughly to "being itself". God's aseity makes the Christian God not "a being" but rather "being itself", and can be explained by phrases such as "that which is with no reliance on anything external for its being" or "the necessary condition for anything to exist at all". As time passed, theologians and philosophers developed more precise understandings of
16074-552: The Mass, but rather to re-present (i.e., make present) his sacrifice "in an unbloody manner". 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 Christian times . Eastern Catholic and Orthodox liturgies are generally quite similar. The liturgical action
16245-481: 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
16416-512: The Nevi'im were not always as literal as in the Torah and that some prophetic accounts reflect allegories rather than literal commands or predictions. Conservative Rabbi and philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972), author of a number of works on prophecy, said that, "Prophetic inspiration must be understood as an event , not as a process ." In his work God in Search of Man , he discussed
16587-509: The New Order of the Mass (Latin: Novus Ordo Missae ), which may be celebrated either in the vernacular or in Latin. 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
16758-663: The Perplexed ; Samuel Hugo Berman , professor of philosophy at the Hebrew University; Joseph Dov Soloveitchik (1903–1993), talmudic scholar and philosopher; Neil Gillman , professor of philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , and Elliot N. Dorff , professor of philosophy at the American Jewish University . One of the major trends in modern Jewish philosophy was the attempt to develop
16929-488: The Qur'an, was memorized and recorded by his followers and compiled from dozens of hafiz as well as other various parchments or hides into a single volume shortly after his death. In Muslim theology , Muhammad is considered equal in importance to all other prophets of God and to make distinction among the prophets is a sin , as the Qur'an itself promulgates equality between God's prophets.(Quran 3:84 ) Many scholars have made
17100-462: The Scriptures. In the New Testament , Jesus treats the Old Testament as authoritative and says it "cannot be broken" . 2 Timothy 3:16 says: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness". The Second Epistle of Peter claims that "no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy
17271-543: The Second Coming of Christ (Dan 2:44). Each member of the LDS Church is also confirmed a member of the church following baptism and given the "gift of the Holy Ghost" by which each member is encouraged to develop a personal relationship with that divine being and receive personal revelation for their own direction and that of their family. The Latter Day Saint concept of revelation includes the belief that revelation from God
17442-464: The Second Council of Nicaea and helped stamp out any remaining coals of iconoclasm. Specifically, its third canon required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of a Gospel book: We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of
17613-498: The Son. 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 theologian of the 20th century: "In God's self communication to his creation through grace and Incarnation, God really gives himself, and really appears as he
17784-514: The Triduum and climaxes on Pentecost , recalling the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' disciples in the upper room . 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 ' (who refers to Jesus Christ ), and ' the Holy Spirit ' (the bond of love between Father and Son, present in
17955-635: The West until the end of the Romanesque period . In art depicting specific Biblical scenes, such as the Baptism of Jesus , where a specific representation of God the Father was indicated, the Hand of God was used increasingly from the Carolingian period until the end of the Romanesque . The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming
18126-690: The act of revelation in empirical categories would have produced a caricature. That is why all the Bible does is to state that revelation happened; how it happened is something they could only convey in words that are evocative and suggestive." Members of Abrahamic religions , including Judaism, Christianity and Islam, believe that God exists and can in some way reveal his will to people. Members of those religions distinguish between true prophets and false prophets , and there are documents offering criteria by which to distinguish true from false prophets. The question of epistemology then arises: how to know? Some believe that revelation can originate directly from
18297-618: The adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular halo (as a reference to the Trinity), or with a papal crown , specially in Northern Renaissance painting. In these depictions,
18468-507: The allegorical, moral, and anagogical (meaning mystical or spiritual) senses. Catholic theology adds other rules of interpretation which include: There are seven sacraments of the church, of which the source and summit is the Eucharist . According to the Catechism , the sacraments were instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church. They are vehicles through which God's grace flows into
18639-530: The beginning of an ongoing process which is continuing today. Conservative Judaism regards the Oral Law as divinely inspired, but nonetheless subject to human error. Reform and Reconstructionist Jews also accept the Documentary Hypothesis for the origin of the Torah, and tend to view all of the Oral law as an entirely human creation. Reform believe that the Torah is not a direct revelation from God, but
18810-564: 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. Some liberal Christians do not accept a literal bodily resurrection, but hold to a convincing interior experience of Jesus' Spirit in members of the early church. God in Christianity In Christianity , God is the eternal , supreme being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe in
18981-402: The body of the church. In the absence of revelation, these post-apostolic theologians couldn't help but introduce elements of human reasoning, speculation, and personal interpretation of scripture (2 Pet 1:19–20)—which over time led to the loss or corruption of various doctrinal truths, as well as the addition of new man-made doctrines. This naturally led to much disagreement and schism, which over
19152-475: The centuries culminated in the large number of Christian churches on the earth today. Mormons believe that God resumed his pattern of revelation when the world was again ready, by calling the Prophet Joseph Smith to restore the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. Since that time there has been a consistent succession of prophets and apostles, which God has promised will not be broken before
19323-542: The classic definition of God in the Presbyterian Westminster Shorter Catechism , God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. That is, God possesses the communicable attributes to in an incommunicable manner. For example, he is wise, but infinite in his wisdom. Some such as Donald Macleod hold that all the suggested classifications are artificial and without basis. Although there
19494-477: The communicable attributes. There is a general agreement among theologians that it would be a mistake to conceive of the essence of God existing by itself and independently of the attributes or of the attributes being an additional characteristic of the Divine Being. They are essential qualities which exist permanently in his very Being and are co-existent with it. Any alteration in them would imply an alteration in
19665-432: The descendants of Abraham over millennia; both Christians and Jews believe that this covenant is recorded in the Hebrew Bible , which most Christian denominations consider to be (and refer to as) the Old Testament . In the traditional interpretations of Christianity, God is always referred to with masculine grammatical articles only. Early Christian views of God (before the gospels were written) are reflected in
19836-448: The distinction between revelation and inspiration , which according to Muslim theology, all righteous people can receive. Inspiration refers to God inspiring a person to commit some action, as opposed to revelation, which only the prophets received. Moses's mother, Jochebed , being inspired to send the infant Moses in a cradle down the Nile river is a frequently cited example of inspiration, as
20007-443: The divine and the human natures of Jesus at the same time. In this atmosphere, no public depictions of God the Father were even attempted and such depictions only began to appear two centuries later. The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general. However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God
20178-410: The early Upanishads . Śruti s have been variously described as a revelation through anubhava (direct experience), or of primordial origins realized by ancient Rishis . In Hindu tradition, they have been referred to as apauruṣeya (not created by humans). The Śruti texts themselves assert that they were skillfully created by Rishis (sages), after inspired creativity, just as a carpenter builds
20349-434: The effect both of reducing church support for the less central depictions, and strengthening it for the core ones. In the Catholic Church , the pressure to restrain religious imagery resulted in the highly influential decrees of the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563. The Council of Trent decrees confirmed the traditional Catholic doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that veneration to them
20520-532: The end of the nineteenth century any distinct notion of what poets of a stronger age understood by the word inspiration? If not, I will describe it. If one had the smallest vestige of superstition left in one, it would hardly be possible completely to set aside the idea that one is the mere incarnation, mouthpiece, or medium of an almighty power. The idea of revelation, in the sense that something which profoundly convulses and upsets one becomes suddenly visible and audible with indescribable certainty and accuracy—describes
20691-593: The entire church. They also sustain the two counselors in the First Presidency , as well as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles , as prophets, seers, and revelators. They believe that God has followed a pattern of continued revelation to prophets throughout the history of mankind to establish doctrine and maintain its integrity, as well as to guide the church under changing world conditions. When this pattern of revelation
20862-475: The entire system of "divine truth" revealed to the faithful "that believe in his name" or "walk in the name of the Lord our God" In Revelation 3:12, those who bear the name of God are "destined for Heaven". John 17:6 presents the teachings of Jesus as the manifestation of the name of God to his disciples. John 12:27 presents the sacrifice of Jesus the Lamb of God , and the ensuing salvation delivered through it as
21033-612: The essential being of God. Hick suggests that when listing the attributes of God, the starting point should be his self-existence ("aseity") which implies his eternal and unconditioned nature. Hick goes on to consider the following additional attributes: Creator being the source of all that composes his creation ( "creatio ex nihilo" ) and the sustainer of what he has brought into being; personal ; loving, good ; and holy . Berkhof also starts with self-existence but moves on to immutability ; infinity , which implies perfection eternity and omnipresence ; unity . He then analyses
21204-522: 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. As Paul the Apostle , an early Christian convert, wrote, "If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching
21375-599: The example of Jesus helps believers to grow more like him, and therefore to true love, freedom, and the fullness of life. 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 ". Christians believe that, as
21546-487: 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." In summary, the church teaches: "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". The church teaches God revealed himself gradually, beginning in
21717-522: The faithful to believe in, follow, or publish private revelations, whether they're approved or otherwise. The Latter Day Saint movement teaches that the movement began with a revelation from God, which began a process of restoring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. Latter Day Saints also teach that revelation is the foundation of the church established by Jesus Christ and that it remains an essential element of his true church today. Continuous revelation provides individual Latter Day Saints with
21888-437: The first five books of Moses were dictated by God in such a fashion. Isaiah writes that he received his message through visions, where he would see YHWH , the God of Israel, speaking to angelic beings that surrounded him. Isaiah would then write down the dialogue exchanged between YHWH and the angels. This form of revelation constitutes the major part of the text of the Book of Isaiah . The same formula of divine revelation
22059-404: The first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason.' Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome God's revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created 'in the image of God'. In the historical conditions in which he finds himself, however, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know God by
22230-460: The glorification of the name of God, with the voice from Heaven confirming Jesus' petition ("Father, glorify thy name") by saying: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again", referring to the Baptism and crucifixion of Jesus . The theological underpinnings of the attributes and nature of God have been discussed since the earliest days of Christianity. In the 2nd century, Irenaeus addressed
22401-480: The greatest of the prophets, and this view is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith of traditional Judaism. Consistent with the view that revelation to Moses was generally clearer than revelation to other prophets, Orthodox views of revelation to prophets other than Moses have included a range of perspectives as to directness. For example, Maimonides in The Guide for the Perplexed said that accounts of revelation in
22572-552: The hearts of humankind). Together, these three persons form a single Godhead . 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)". The term may have been in use before this time. Afterwards it appears in Tertullian . In the following century the word
22743-500: The history of man. 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. Christians classify certain behaviors and acts to be "sinful," which means that these certain acts are
22914-497: The inspiration of the Holy Spirit . They regard Jesus as the supreme revelation of God, with the Bible being a revelation in the sense of a witness to him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "the Christian faith is not a 'religion of the book.' Christianity is the religion of the 'Word of God' , a word which is 'not a written and mute word, but the Word which is incarnate and living". Geisler and Nix speak of Biblical inerrancy as meaning that, in its original form,
23085-557: The inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation". It added: "Since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning
23256-514: The interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition." 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 . These sacraments are: Baptism , Confirmation (Chrismation) , the Eucharist , Penance and Reconciliation , the Anointing of the Sick , Holy Orders , and Matrimony . In
23427-410: The issue and expounded on some attributes; for example, Book IV, chapter 19 of Against Heresies states: "His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things". Irenaeus based his attributes on three sources: Scripture, prevailing mysticism and popular piety. Today, some of the attributes associated with God continue to be based on statements in the Bible, such as the Lord's Prayer , which states that
23598-475: The light of reason alone [...] This is why man stands in need of being enlightened by God's revelation, not only about those things that exceed his understanding, but also 'about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of human reason, so that even in the present condition of the human race, they can be known by all men with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error' The Catholic Church also believes Jesus Christ
23769-461: The living tradition of the church to contain its doctrine on faith and morals and to be protected from error, at times through infallibly defined teaching. The church believes in revelation guided by the Holy Spirit through sacred scripture, developed in sacred tradition and entirely rooted in the original deposit of faith . This developed deposit of faith is protected by the "magisterium" or College of Bishops at ecumenical councils overseen by
23940-415: The message of Islam is the same as the message preached by all the messengers sent by God to humanity since Adam . Muslims believe that Islam is the oldest of the monotheistic religions because it represents both the original and the final revelation of God to Abraham , Moses , David , Jesus , and Muhammad. Likewise, Muslims believe that every prophet received revelation in their lives, as each prophet
24111-538: The name of God is one of the Ten Commandments , which is viewed not only as an avoidance of the improper use of the name of God, but also a commandment to exalt it, through both pious deeds and praise. This is reflected in the first petition in the Lord's Prayer addressed to God the Father : "Hallowed be thy Name". In the theology of the Early Church Fathers , the name of God was seen as representative of
24282-399: The nature of God and began to produce systematic lists of his attributes. These varied in detail, but traditionally the attributes fell into two groups: those based on negation (that God is impassible) and those positively based on eminence (that God is infinitely good). Ian Ramsey suggested that there are three groups, and that some attributes, such as simplicity and perfection , have
24453-513: The notion of revelation entirely. Although the Nevi'im (the books of the Prophets) are considered divine and true, this does not imply that the books of the prophets are always read literally. Jewish tradition has always held that prophets used metaphors and analogies. There exists a wide range of commentaries explaining and elucidating those verses consisting of metaphor. Rabbinic Judaism regards Moses as
24624-457: The person who receives them with the proper disposition. 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. 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
24795-427: The pope, beginning with the Council of Jerusalem ( c. AD 50 ). 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. Formal Catholic worship is ordered by means of the liturgy , which is regulated by church authority. The celebration of the Eucharist , one of seven Catholic sacraments ,
24966-459: The position of Joel Roth , following David Weiss HaLivni , that while the Torah originally given to Moses on Mount Sinai became corrupted or lost and had to be recompiled later by redactors, the recompiled Torah is nonetheless regarded as fully Divine and legally authoritative, to the position of Gordon Tucker that the Torah, while Divinely inspired, is a largely human document containing significant elements of human error, and should be regarded as
25137-409: The possibility and even reality of private revelations , messages from God for individuals, which can come in a variety of ways. Montanism is an example in early Christianity and there are alleged cases today also. However, Christians see as of a much higher level the revelation recorded in the collection of books known as the Bible . They consider these books to be written by human authors under
25308-497: The promise of eternal life in heaven. 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. 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", before Jesus' Ascension . Jesus's death and resurrection are
25479-461: The sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words." The Reformed Churches believe in the Bible is inerrant in the sense spoken of by Gregory and Nix and "deny that Biblical infallibility and inerrancy are limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes, exclusive of assertions in the fields of history and science". The Westminster Confession of Faith speaks of "the infallible truth and divine authority" of
25650-425: The simple fact. One hears—one does not seek; one takes—one does not ask who gives: a thought suddenly flashes up like lightning, it comes with necessity, without faltering—I have never had any choice in the matter. Some religious groups believe a deity has been revealed or spoken to a large group of people or have legends to a similar effect. In the Book of Exodus , Yahweh is said to have given Ten Commandments to
25821-419: The terms in a very general sense rather than referring to any special designation of God. However, general references to the name of God may branch to other special forms which express his multifaceted attributes. The Old Testament reveals YHWH (often vocalized with vowels as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah") as the personal name of God, along with certain titles including El Elyon and El Shaddai . When reading
25992-555: The theological position that God continues to reveal divine principles or commandments to humanity. In the 20th century, religious existentialists proposed that revelation held no content in and of itself but rather that God inspired people with his presence by coming into contact with them. Revelation is a human response that records how we respond to God. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche , wrote of his personal experience of inspiration and his own experience of “the idea of revelation” in his work Ecce Homo (book) : Has any one at
26163-481: The theology of deism , rejecting the possibility of miracles and arguing that a revelation can be considered valid only for the original recipient, with all else being hearsay . Śruti , Sanskrit for "that which is heard", refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism . It includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts—the Samhitas ,
26334-453: The throne, Byzantine emperor Justinian II put an image of Christ on the obverse side of his gold coins, resulting in a rift which ended the use of Byzantine coin types in the Islamic world. However, the increase in religious imagery did not include depictions of God the Father. For instance, while the eighty second canon of the Council of Trullo in 692 did not specifically condemn images of
26505-437: The time. The theology of the attributes and nature of God has been discussed since the earliest days of Christianity, with Irenaeus writing in the 2nd century: "His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things". In the 8th century, John of Damascus listed eighteen attributes which remain widely accepted. As time passed, Christian theologians developed systematic lists of these attributes, some based on statements in
26676-405: The use of a human figure is the belief that God created the soul of Man in the image of his own (thus allowing humanity to transcend the other animals). It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely
26847-528: The words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them. Images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them. However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God
27018-469: The world and his love for humanity exclude the belief that God is of the same substance as the created universe (rejection of pantheism ) but accept that God the Son assumed hypostatically united human nature, thus becoming man in a unique event known as "the Incarnation ". Early Christian views of God were expressed in the Pauline epistles and the early Christian creeds , which proclaimed one God and
27189-541: The world received revelations that resulted in additional scriptures that have been lost and may, one day, be forthcoming. Latter Day Saints also believe that the United States Constitution is a divinely inspired document. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sustain the President of the Church as prophet, seer, and revelator , the only person on earth who receives revelation to guide
27360-468: The world, yet acknowledge his involvement in the world, are transcendence and immanence . Transcendence means that God is eternal and infinite, not controlled by the created world and beyond human events. Immanence means that God is involved in the world, and Christian teachings have long acknowledged his attention to human affairs. However, unlike pantheistic religions, in Christianity, God's being
27531-469: The written Torah, God also revealed to Moses a set of oral teachings, called the Oral Torah . In addition to this revealed law, Jewish law contains decrees and enactments made by prophets, rabbis, and sages over the course of Jewish history. Haredi Judaism tends to regard even rabbinic decrees as being of divine origin or divinely inspired, while Modern Orthodox Judaism tends to regard them as being more potentially subject to human error , although due to
27702-494: Was broken, it was because the receivers of revelation had been rejected and often killed. In the meridian of time, Paul described prophets and apostles in terms of a foundation, with Christ as the cornerstone, which was built to prevent doctrinal shift—"that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine". To maintain this foundation, new apostles were chosen and ordained to replace those lost to death or transgression, as when Matthias
27873-489: Was called by revelation to replace Judas (Acts 1:15–26). However, as intensifying persecution led to the imprisonment and martyrdom of the apostles, it eventually became impossible to continue the apostolic succession . Once the foundation of apostles and prophets was lost, the integrity of Christian doctrine as established by Christ and the apostles began to be compromised by those who continued to develop doctrine despite not being called or authorized to receive revelation for
28044-403: 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. The corresponding fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To be validly confirmed,
28215-408: Was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. 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. The Nicene Creed , largely a response to Arianism , was formulated at
28386-526: Was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit ". It also speaks of Paul's letters as containing some things "hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures". This letter does not specify "the other Scriptures", nor does the term "all Scripture" in 2 Timothy indicate which writings were or would be breathed out by God and useful for teaching, since it does not preclude later works, such as
28557-438: Was in general use. It is found in many passages of Origen . 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
28728-405: Was made manifest through the coming of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 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 Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. The Apostles Creed ( Symbolum Apostolorum )
28899-466: Was paid to the person, not the image. The Council also reserved the right of bishops, and in cases of new artistic novelties, the Pope, to suppress images deemed non-canonical or heretical. Revelation Thomas Aquinas believed in two types of individual revelation from God , general revelation and special revelation . In general revelation , God reveals himself through his creation, such that at least some truths about God can be learned by
29070-412: Was sent by God to guide mankind. Jesus is significant in this aspect as he received revelation in a twofold aspect, as Muslims believe he preached the Gospel while also having been taught the Torah . According to Islamic traditions, Muhammad began receiving revelations from the age of 40, delivered through the angel Gabriel over the last 23 years of his life. The content of these revelations, known as
29241-455: Was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; the Baptism of Christ on the famous baptismal font in Liège of Rainer of Huy is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as in Giotto 's fresco of c. 1305 in Padua . In
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