REED III

Revelation
&
Faith
Prelim
The proper attitude of inquiry in this course should always consider God’s initiative in making himself known
to man and not simply man discovering God. — Even our smallest knowledge of God would not be possible if
God did not allow himself to be known through His grace.
This particular grace is called: Revelation.

What is Revelation?
Revelation is God’s self-communication to humanity. It is the manifestation of religious truths by God that humans
need to believe and accept.
Etymology: Latin (revelatio); Greek (apocalypsis) “the removal of a veil,” i.e., self-disclosure of God; the making
known of what was previously covered and invisible. Hence, when applied to God, Revelation is God’s self-
disclosure. God’s invisibility is unveiled and manifested.
Gratuitousness of Revelation: God did not have to reveal himself and his will. The revelation of God’s self and will
is not meant to benefit Himself but humankind. Thus, divine revelation is, itself, a gift!

Content of Revelation
God’s Mystery of Himself
Transcendent:
God goes beyond human comprehension and understanding. The limited human mind could not grasp the divine
mystery. He is:
Unreachable
Unfathomable
Inexpressible
And as the “Other”
Infinite and Absolute
Immanence:
God is present in all of creation, while remaining distinct from it. His presence is manifested through His mercy and
graciousness, truth and love. This is better understood in the theology of the incarnation* where He enters into a
more personal relationship with humanity in the person of Jesus Christ and through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
God’s Divine Plan of Salvation
God makes known his desire for humankind and all of his creation which is to share in His Divine Triune life. In
revealing himself, he made known our origin and destiny. In revealing his will, he made known the path which we are
to traverse in our journey from Him to Him. It does not pre-determine us but respects our reason and freedom.

2 ways that God communicates

Himself to us:

➢ General Revelation –
revealed to all mankind.
➢ Special Revelation –
Salvation History
Various Instruments of Revelation
Creation
- The first way where God reveals Himself to us is through the natural signs that show the splendor and order
of creation and our dignity and role as human persons in creation which is one of the general revelations.
Seeing nature to be in complete order and beauty cannot deny an intelligent creator who brought it into
being
Scripture
❖ Within Salvation History God enters into a covenant relationship with His people, that with His Spirit, He
spoke through the prophets and intervenes with the affairs of humanity which is completed and perfected in
Jesus Christ. The holy scriptures became the written form of these revelations of the living Word of God.
Church
➢ The Church as the people of God proclaimed and witnessed to the faith and the moral teachings Christ,
handed down to the apostles. With the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Church magisterium and theologians are
guided to protect and contextualize the Word of God to the present social context and celebrated through
the mysteries of the sacraments.
Conscience
➢ God’s presence is immanent in every person, and speaks in the silence of one’s heart to reveal His
intentions in the person’s life, as part of general revelation. Those also can attain to salvation who through
no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by
grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.
Other Religions
➢ They “reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men” thus the Catholic Church “rejects nothing of what is
true and holy in these religions.” (Nostra Aetate* 2). Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is
considered by the Church to be a preparation for the gospel and given by him who enlightens all men and
women that they may have at length have life, in light of general revelation.

Means of Revelation
Words
➢ Proclaim, set in motion, interpret, promise, contextualize, identify, preserve, and clarify the mystery-in-
deeds.
Deeds
➢ Confirm, shed light on, fulfill manifest, enflesh, and appropriate the doctrine-in-words.
Christ as the Perfect Revelation
➢ Jesus Christ as the incarnate Word of God is both agent (Revealer) and object (Revealed) of revelation;
both mediator and fullness of revelation. He fully reveals both divine nature and human nature.

Faith
➢ “The obedience of faith” (Rom. 13:26; see 1:5; 2 Cor 10:5-6) “is to be given to God who reveals, an
obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God.
➢ Offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals,” and freely assenting to the truth
revealed by Him. [Dei Verbum 5]

VOCABULARY

Being: for Aristotle, “being” Lumen Gentium (Light of the Nostra Aetate (In our
Nations): The Dogmatic time): Declaration on the
is whatever is anything
Constitution on the Church. One
whatever. The “whatness” of the documents of Vatican II
Relation of the Church with
of any entity, person, or and considered as one of the Non-Christian Religions,
thing. most important documents of the one of the documents of
council, concerning Christ as the Vatican II.
Light of the World.
Dei Verbum (Word of God):
Constitution on Divine
Revelation. One of the Magisterium: the teaching Salvation History: the
documents of Vatican II authority of the Roman
concerning the Church in itself,
history of events that focus
its sole salvific role as the one,
Catholic Church, especially on the salvation of human
true and complete Christian faith, as exercised by bishops, beings and issues
also in relation to ecumenism the Pope, Councils and involving the new heaven
among other religions, in relation Synods and the new earth.
to the modern world, renewal of
consecrated life, liturgical
disciplines, etc.
Mediator: Christianity
Immanence: the state of understands the purpose of
Theologian: someone
being inherent or mediation and mediator as “the who studies the nature
exclusively existing
activity and person performing it of God, religion, and
[mediation] of functioning as a
within something: go-between or intermediary
religious beliefs.
between two people or parties, in
“Place” is a fundamental
order to initiate a relationship,
concept promote mutual understanding or Transcendent:
activity, or effect a reconciliation Transcendence is the act of
after a dispute.” rising above something to a
superior state. When you
Incarnation: Incarnation literally Mystery: Mystery, then, is a achieve transcendence, you
means embodied in flesh or certain kind of knowledge – have gone beyond ordinary
taking on flesh. It refers to the knowledge of things reason limitations.
conception and birth of a sentient cannot discover. Ordinarily, this
being who is the material relates to knowledge of God’s
manifestation of an entity, God, being and decrees which can
spiritual or universal force whose only be known through faith
original nature is immaterial. receiving divine testimony.
Triune: relating to Holy Trinity
AUTHORITATIVE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH
The source of authority remains one of the defining differences between the Catholic faith and many other Christian
denominations. we hold all three to be equal sources in the passing on of the Faith.
The three sources of authority:
Scripture
Tradition
Magisterium

Sacred Scripture
➢ The Sacred Scripture, or commonly called “the Bible,” is undisputedly considered by Christians to be the
source of the teachings of the Church.
➢ Its content was written by many different human authors and believed to be divinely inspired.
➢ Compilation of different books with historical, metaphorical, poetic, and many various literary forms.
The New Testament accounts did not come to be until later in the life of the Church. The sacred scriptures were
derived from and made to preserve the Oral Traditions of the Church moreover containing a record of the
earliest practice of Sacred Tradition.
Sacred Tradition
➢ Tradition is how we describe the way in which things have been understood and practiced throughout the
history of Christianity, starting with the Apostles, and being handed down to today.
➢ The Apostles were closest to Christ and had very intimate knowledge of Him and His teachings, though
many details were not recorded, yet survived and passed on through generations of discipleship.
➢ Carries the entire witnessing of faith, that was initially carried through oral teaching.
➢ Establishing the ever-evolving governance and life of the Church.
Magisterium
➢ The teaching authority of the Church as an institution created by Jesus Christ and protected by the Holy
Spirit.
➢ It was first utilized in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 15, as we read about the Council of Jerusalem.
➢ It is composed today of the bishops and the pope, the magisterium, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
➢ Protect the faith and interpret it in accordance with the Sacred Scriptures and Tradition.
➢ The magisterium is itself the instrument because we have both Sacred Scriptures and Tradition

Author of the Bible

❖ The Church teaches us that both God and human writers are the authors of the Bible.
❖ God is the principal Author and the biblical writers are the instrumental authors.
❖ God did not dictate the words for them to write. In their consciousness, they only wrote what God wanted
them to write under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Biblical Writers
❖ The books of the Bible were written by people from different places and eras or periods of time.
❖ The writers did not know each other, but all of the stories, poems, psalms, and songs written in the Bible
speak about one and the same God who loves His people and saves them from eternal damnation.
❖ The integrity of the Bible was made possible because the human authors, though several and diverse in
many aspects of life, were inspired by one and the same Holy Spirit.
Divine Inspiration
❖ What is unique about the Bible is that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit moves in it.
❖ The Holy Spirit was at work to inspire the authors and to preserve the sacredness and integrity of the Word
of God in the Scriptures.
❖ This inspiration is an action of God raising the human writers above their natural capacity and ability,
thereby making them instruments in the composition is of sacred books.
❖ God is the inspiring and transcendent Author whose spirit moves in the writings of the biblical writers.
Veracity and Inerrancy
❖ God will never nor can ever be deceived nor can ever be deceived.
❖ The Bible is free from falsehood and error. The Bible has in it the truth.
❖ The books of the Scripture must solidly, faithfully, and unerringly teach the truth which God wanted to put
into sacred writings for the sake of salvation (DV,11).
❖ Veracity means that the “Sacred Scripture teaches the truth firmly and faithfully,” and inerrancy point out that
“Sacred Scripture teaches the truth without error”.

3 Things to remember in reading The Bible:

▪ The Bible is a human book written by human authors for humanity
▪ The Bible is a divine book, written by God for humankind. Thus, to interpret the
Bible, we should strive to discover what God wanted to manifest to us.
▪ The Bible is the Book of the Church. Since it has been entrusted to the Church, all
interpretations must be subjected to Her teaching authority who is the pope and the
bishops in communion with God

Formation of the Bible

The Bible had not been written somewhere outside of this world and just handed down to us as it is today. It
underwent several steps of writing, editing, compiling, and printing before it became the Bible.
Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)
The Bible is divided into two parts: Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament is written in Hebrew (Hebrew Scriptures). It has 46 Books with four parts: Pentateuch,
Historical, Wisdom, and Prophetic books.
New Testament
The “Christian Scriptures” has 27 books which are written in Aramaic and in Greek about 50 to 100 AD.
Two sections: The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John); and the Letters (or epistles).
The New Testament is written by various Christian leaders to provide guidance for the earliest Church
communities.
Canonization of Sacred Scriptures
The earliest complete list of the inspired books was promulgated in the provincial Council of Hippo (393) and
in the Third and Fourth Councils of Carthage (397 and 419).
The first infallible pronouncement on the Canon of the Bible was solemnly declared in the Council of Trent
(1546), and later affirmed by the First Vatican Council (1870).

Canonicity of Scriptures
A number of poems, stories, and songs were being written at the same time that the sacred authors were writing the
Bible, but not all that was written during those times were included in the Bible. Why? Because many of them were
not considered canonical.
❖ The word “canon” came from the Greek word kanon, which means rod or ruler.
❖ The Canon of the Bible refers to the complete list of books inspired by God, and it contains the rule of faith
and morals.
❖ The biblical books are considered canonical because they are God-inspired.
❖ Thus, uninspired books like the Gospel of Judas and the Gospel according to Thomas, to name a few, are
non-canonical books.
❖ The canonicity of the books of the Bible was based on three aspects:
✓ Inspiration by the Holy Spirit
✓ Apostolic origin,
✓ Use in liturgy or service of the
Church under the guidance of
the Holy Spirit.
One of the things that distinguish Catholics from Protestants is the issue on the canonicity of the Scripture. The
Protestant Bible has 39 books in the Old Testament while the Catholic Bible has 46.
It was not easy for the Church to deliberate on the Canon of Scriptures, but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
the early Church leaders and the Councils were able to discern the inspired books and arrive at a consensus of a
definite number of books in the Bible.

VOCABULARY

Deuterocanonicals: Heresy: Oral tradition:

Deuterocanonical books mean is any belief or theory that is strongly Oral tradition, also called orality, the
“second canon” in Greek. It usually at variance with established beliefs or first and still most widespread mode
means the parts of the Bible that are customs, in particular the accepted of human communication. Far more
only used by some Christian churches beliefs of a church or religious than “just talking,” oral tradition refers
(mostly Roman Catholic and organization. to a dynamic and highly diverse oral-
Orthodox). aural medium for evolving, storing,
Discipleship: Liturgy: and transmitting knowledge, art, and
ideas
the condition or situation of being a The customary public worship is
disciple, a follower, or a student of performed by a religious group.
some philosophy, especially a Pentateuch:
follower of Christ
The Pentateuch includes the first five
Infallible: Predilection: books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Infallibility refers to an inability to be In psychology, economics, and
Deuteronomy
wrong. It can be applied within a philosophy, preference is a
specific domain, or it can be used as technical term usually used in
a more general adjective. relation to choosing between
alternatives.