67 articles from the existing collection.
The Catholic Church holds that the Fall of Man is a foundational doctrine, rooted in the opening chapters of Genesis . The narrative describes Adam and Eve, the first humans, living in harmony with God in Eden. Their disobedience, prompted by the serpent’s temptation, led to the loss of original holiness and justice. This event,…
Catholic theology defines angels as spiritual, non-corporeal beings created by God to serve specific purposes in His divine plan. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that angels are distinct from humans, possessing intelligence, will, and immortality, yet they remain creatures subordinate to God (CCC 329). Their existe…
The concept of creative evolution, as proposed by thinkers like Henri Bergson, suggests that life progresses through a vital force or élan vital that drives the development of new forms without requiring a divine creator. This view implies that evolution itself has the power to generate being from non-being. Such a perspective i…
The Gospels do not provide a comprehensive record of everything Jesus said or did, as noted in John 21:25 , which states that many things Jesus did were not written down. The evangelists, guided by the Holy Spirit, selected events and teachings to convey the truth of Christ’s identity and mission. The absence of recorded stateme…
Only in the matter with which the first sin was connected was Adam constituted the supernatural head of the race. After his sin as head of supernaturally elevated human nature, he sinned as a private individual and independently of God’s universal decree for the human race as such.
Without the Catholic Church you cannot prove it to be the pure Word of God. Nor need anyone be afraid of the pure Word of God. What we must fear is the Word of God adulterated by people who read into it whatever they like.
Reason in no way discredits the account in Genesis. I am speaking of genuine and enlightened reason, not of the notions of people who think their own opinions always reasonable, whether they are so or not It is possible to interpret the Hebrew word for day as meaning a period of indefinite length. But there is no need to adopt t…
I grant the apparent cruelty in the sufferings of Job taken in themselves. How the circumstances justified them I shall show in a moment. You cannot say you know of nothing more pagan, for pagan means without the true God, and this story is very much one of the true God. If you know of nothing more cruel in heathendom, you also …
Mary owed her being, of course, to God, but this under the aspect of His eternal Nature. Subsequent to her creation that human nature was born of her which the Son of God had assumed to Himself. She was, therefore, the mother of Christ. But Christ was one Divine Person existing in two natures, one eternal and divine; the other t…
The Church has never added a single teaching of dogmatic value Which was not contained in the original teachings of the Apostles. Where doubts have arisen, she has officially defined the right doctrine, not giving a new doctrine, but clearly expressing the exact significance of the old doctrine. And that is exactly what a teachi…
Mary did not need Baptism in so far as that Sacrament was instituted for the destruction of original sin. She received that Sacrament in order to participate in its other effects, and chiefly in order to receive the Christian character which that Sacrament impresses upon the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking personal gain. We are free to use our faculties and possessions in order to secure personal gain, unless justice or charity is violated. We are not free to do so by dishonest means; but gambling is not in itself dishonest. There is nothing wrong with gaining through another’s loss when that ot…
History denies this steady rise. It is full of falls, and is, in fact, but a catalogue of ups and downs. Nations rise to a high state of civilization and decay. If evolution wants to maintain a steady uplift, history itself proves it wrong.
We attain truth by our intelligence, not by our feelings. You feel that religion is unreal. That notion must be tested by evidence. To hold it you must say that the proofs for the unreality of revealed religion are stronger than the proofs in its favor. This means that you must be able to prove that God did not reveal, or that H…
Actual sin is a deliberate personal transgression of God’s law. But original sin, which is inherited, does not mean that I have personally and maliciously transgressed. We must notice the difference between nature and grace. Nature is our being and all that our condition demands as rational animals. Grace means a gift or quality…
Anthropology does not show that. That is part of the evolutionary guess. There is no scientific evidence whatever as to what degree of culture the first man possessed. Meantime it is certain that Adam had all the knowledge necessary and fitting for his circumstances. Genesis shows us that he knew the nature and diversity of anim…
That is a question of science, not of faith or morals. The Pope is not infallible on every possible question, nor has the Church ever maintained him to be so. If you have difficulties because the Pope is not infallible when he is not supposed to be infallible you have only yourself to blame.
The question of Cain’s wife emerges from a careful reading of Genesis 4:17 , where Cain, after slaying Abel, settles in the land of Nod and marries. The text states that Cain “knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch,” but provides no further details about her identity or origin. This brevity has puzzled readers, as Genes…
It says that his soul is certainly not the result of evolution, but that it is immediately created by God. There is no dogma concerning the precise mode of formation in regard to his body. But the Church stands to the ordinary teaching that his body has not evolved from lower beings, but that it also was produced by the special …
How can you appeal to the English form, if the English translation does not adequately express what Christ meant? Surely you want the exact teaching of Christ! The English version is not an infallible rendering, nor does anyone versed in these matters claim that the English language fully expresses the sense of the originals. Bu…
The school-fees provide buildings and upkeep, together with food and clothing for the Brothers and Nuns. That is all the good Brothers and Nuns ask for themselves, and there is nothing left over after expenses are met. Oftentimes expenses are not met by school-fees, and other appeals have to be made. If it were not for the self-…
By your very prayer you are attempting to mediate between God and myself on my behalf. I do not criticize the principle of praying for others. I believe in that. But I do criticize your praying for me in violation of your own principles. If the Saints cannot be mediators by praying for me, nor can you. Your prayers would be futi…
The more evil a man is, the more he resents the goodness of others. Every good man is a living condemnation of the conduct of evil men. The Jews could not point to a single sin in Christ, yet they crucified Him. And Christ said, “The servant is not above his master. As they have persecuted Me, they will persecute you.” The quick…
CHAPTER 1. — GOD AND CREATION.
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