Beliefs and Teachings

• Trinity


  The Christian belief that God exists as three persons - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - who are all equal and all eternal
• Reasons Christians worship only one God


  • It is the teaching of the Bible
  • Jesus taught that there is only one God
  • God's Unity is the teaching of the magisterium, the creeds and the Catechism
• The Nicene Creed explains that this one God exists as three persons - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - who are all equal and all eternal
• Believing in God the Father


  • A Christian's relationship with God should be like a child's relationship with its father
  • God has a continuing relationship of love and care with his creation
  • God will provide for and protect his people because he is 'our Father'
• Believing in God the Son


  • Jesus is God who has become a human being
  • Christians can worship Jesus because he is God
  • Jesus was conceived by the action of the Holy Spirit (the virgin birth)
• Believing in God the Holy Spirit


  • The means by which God communicates with humans
  • Inspired the Bible
  • The means by which God helps the Church preserve and explain Christ's teachings
  • The means by which all the sacraments of the Church put believers into communion with Christ
• How the Trinity is reflected in worship and belief


  • Every Mass beginning with a welcome in the name of the Trinity
  • Worshippers stating their belief in the Trinity in the Nicene Creed in the Mass
  • The Trinity is the main belief of the Nicene Creed
  • Belief in God the Holy Spirit helps Christians understand the presence of God in the world
• How belief in the Trinity is reflected in the life of a Catholic today


  • Praying to the Father, through the Son, in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit gives Catholics the spiritual sense of God as 'beyond us, with us and in us'
  • The Trinity gives Catholics the sense that God is active and present in the world as Father, Son and Holy Spirit
  • The Trinity teaches Catholics they must work together to bring God's love into the world, just as the persons of the Holy Trinity work together to bring God's love into the world
• The Catechism says that the Trinity is a holy mystery central to the Christian faith
• The Nicene Creed states that the Trinity is one God experienced as Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• The Catechism says that belief in only one God is the basis of Christianity
• Sacraments


  Signs of an invisible grace, through which grace is given
• Trinity


  The threefold nature of God
• Biblical evidence for the Trinity

  1. In Genesis, God speaks the Word to create and the Spirit hovers over creation

  2. Isaiah claims God sends his Word and Spirit to create and guide

  3. Jesus' final words in Matthew tell disciples to baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

  4. St Paul and St Peter refer to the Trinity
• The Gospel accounts of Jesus' baptism show the Trinity: God the Son is baptised, God the Holy Spirit descends, and God the Father speaks from heaven
• Importance of the Trinity for Catholics


  Helps Catholics understand the different ways God has shown his presence in the world: God the Father's power and creativity, God the Son's love and sacrifice, God the Holy Spirit's presence and strength
• Historical development of the doctrine of the Trinity


  1. Heresies like Adoptionism and Arianism arose

  2. Church Councils at Nicaea and Constantinople formulated the Nicene Creed to explain the doctrine of the Trinity

  3. These are the only Councils accepted by all Christians
• According to Genesis chapter 1, God created the whole universe in six days, with each part coming about through God's words, and created humans to have authority over the world
• According to Genesis chapters 2-3, God created Adam and Eve, who were then banished from the Garden of Eden after being tempted to eat forbidden fruit
• Catholic understanding of Genesis


  • The Bible writers were inspired by God but expressed things in their own words, so Genesis has two versions of creation to communicate eternal truths
  • Catholics accept the scientific view of creation but believe it came from God
• Different Christian views on Genesis


  • Fundamentalist Protestants believe Genesis is factually correct and do not accept the Big Bang and evolution
  • Mainstream Protestants see Genesis 1 as fairly factual with the days as billions of years, and accept the Big Bang and evolution
  • Liberal Protestants regard Genesis 1 as a story about creation by God, and accept the Big Bang and evolution
• What the biblical story of creation shows about the nature of God


  • God is the Creator who created the heaven and the Earth
  • God is omnipotent, creating the universe out of nothing
  • God is benevolent, creating the world as a good place for humans
  • God is eternal, having no beginning
• The biblical story of creation shows that life is sacred, and humans must treat creation carefully and with respect
• Being made in the image of God


  Means humans have free will, reason, conscience, and the freedom to choose between good and evil
• Implications of being made in God's image


  • Each human is special, unique and sacred in God's sight
  • Humans are more than animals and not to be used as objects
  • Humans have fundamental human rights like freedom of conscience and expression, and rights to food, shelter and health care
• Humanity's relationship with creation


  • Being made in God's image gives humans responsibility to care for the planet as God's stewards, not to spoil it
  • Christians should regard creation as a gift from God to be used as God intended, not exploited
• Responsibilities of Christian stewardship


  • Look after creation and pass it on to future generations in better condition
  • Ensure creation is not exploited, resulting in pollution
  • Ensure the Earth's resources are shared fairly
  • Treat God's creation fairly and harmoniously
• Non-Catholic Christians have the same beliefs about the nature of humanity and humanity's relationship with creation as Catholics
• Different understandings of humanity's relationship with creation


  • Humanists believe in reason and science, and that people need to care for the planet for future generations
  • Some non-religious people think the world should be preserved for the future, others think it should be enjoyed however people like
• Incarnation


  The Christian belief that God became a human being in Jesus
• Catholics believe Jesus did not have a normal conception but did have a normal birth, and that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born and remained a virgin throughout her life
• Importance of the virgin birth


  • It shows Jesus was the Son of God, not just a human chosen by God
  • It shows God was in him and he was in God
  • It shows Jesus had two natures - fully human and fully divine
• Biblical basis for the Incarnation


  1. Matthew's Gospel tells of the virgin birth and Jesus' birth in Bethlehem

  2. Luke's Gospel tells of the virgin birth and Jesus' miraculous birth visited by shepherds

  3. John's Gospel identifies Jesus as the Word of God who became flesh
• Importance of the Incarnation for Catholics


  • It shows God cared so much for the world that he came to Earth in Jesus to save people from their sins
  • In Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, humans can see what God is like
  • The Incarnation began the process of salvation from sin
• Incarnation


  Jesus was God in human form
• John's Gospel records the Incarnation in a theological form, identifying Jesus as the Word of God, the second person of the Trinity
• John begins his Gospel at the beginning of the universe when the Word made everything that is
• The Incarnation is referenced throughout the rest of the New Testament, especially in the letters of St Paul
• Importance of the Incarnation for Catholics


  • It shows that God cared so much for the world that he came to Earth in Jesus to save people from their sins
  • In Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, humans can see what God is like
  • The Incarnation began the process of salvation from sin
• Garden of Gethsemane


  1. Jesus prayed and asked God to take the cup from him, yet not his will but God's be done

  2. The disciples were asleep

  3. Judas Iscariot arrived with the chief priests to arrest Jesus

  4. The disciples wanted to fight, but Jesus wouldn't let them