The Bible is not meant to convey precise historical information or scientific findings to us. Moreover, the authors were children of their time. They shared the cultural ideas of the world around them and often were also dominated by its errors. Nevertheless, everything that man must know about God and the way of his salvation… Continue reading How can Sacred Scripture be “truth” if not everything in it is right?
“The books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach [the] truth. . . . Written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author” (Second Vatican Council, DV 11). The Bible did not fall from heaven in its final form, nor did God dictate it to human scribes who copied… Continue reading Is Sacred Scripture true?
The faithful as a whole cannot err in faith, because Jesus promised his disciples that he would send them the Spirit of truth and keep them in the truth (Jn 14:17). Just as the disciples believed Jesus with their whole heart, a Christian can rely completely on the Church when he asks about the way… Continue reading Can the Church err in questions of faith?
We hand on the faith because Jesus commands us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). No genuine Christian leaves the transmission of the faith exclusively to specialists (teachers, pastors, missionaries). We are Christ for others. This means that every genuine Christian would like God to come to other people, too. He… Continue reading Why do we hand on the faith?
In Jesus Christ, God himself came to earth. He is God’s last Word. By listening to him, all men of all times can know who God is and what is necessary for their salvation. With the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the revelation of God is perfect and complete. To make it comprehensible to us, the… Continue reading With Jesus Christ, has everything been said, or does revelation continue even after him?
God shows us in Jesus Christ the full depth of his merciful love. Through Jesus Christ the invisible God becomes visible. He becomes a man like us. This shows us how far God’s love goes: He bears our whole burden. He walks every path with us. He is there in our abandonment, our sufferings, our… Continue reading What does God show us about himself when he sends his Son to us?
God shows himself in the Old Testament as God, who created the world out of love and remains faithful to men even when they have fallen away from him into sin. God makes it possible to experience him in history: With Noah he establishes a covenant to save all living things. He calls Abraham so… Continue reading How does God reveal himself in the Old Testament?
Man can know by reason that God exists, but not what God is really like. Yet because God would very much like to be known, he has revealed himself. God did not have to reveal himself to us. But he did it—out of love. Just as in human love one can know something about the… Continue reading Why did God have to show himself in order for us to be able to know what he is like?
Can we grasp God at all in concepts? Is it possible to speak about him meaningfully? Although we men are limited and the infinite greatness of God never fits into finite human concepts, we can nevertheless speak rightly about God. In order to express something about God, we use imperfect images and limited notions. And… Continue reading Can we grasp God at all in concepts?
