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Instruction 1

The fundamentals of the Christian Faith

Mr. J. Good evening, Father Smith. Here I am ready for our first session.

Father S. Good evening. Take a chair. Have you done any praying for Divine assistance, as I suggested?

Mr. J. Yes, I have prayed in my own way for God’s direction, and have committed to memory the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles’ Creed. I do not yet know those other forms called the “Acts.”

Father S. That’s good progress. Learn the “Acts” by reading them once a day. Of course, you could say them in your own words.

Mr. J. Will there be any special order to the instructions I shall receive?

Father S. Yes, there will be; otherwise you would never know when you were through. We shall relate our discussion (1) to matters of Faith; (2) to God’s laws or commandments; and (3) to the helps Christ provided for man’s salvation. Members of the Church must believe all Christ taught, observe God’s laws, and use the means of grace Christ instituted.

Mr. J. Well, as far as my instruction is concerned, you had better start at the very beginning.

Father S. Yes. I shall endeavor to give you as much information as possible during these instructions. Religion, like everything else, must have a foundation and the foundation of all religion is the recognition of a Supreme Being, belief in the existence of an almighty, all-holy, all-wise, all-merciful and just God.¹ You believe in God, do you not?

Mr. J. Yes, Father; but I must admit that I take it for granted and I would have difficulty giving a reason why I do so. What are some of the most convincing reasons?

Father S. I’ll put them briefly. Of course, practically every page of the Bible speaks of God, but there are reasons apart from the Bible. Here they are:

1. The universe is governed by perfect laws. These laws are responsible for the ever-admirable order in the universe. There are billions of immensely large heavenly bodies, most of which move in space with almost lightning speed and also revolve round one another, yet there are no disorderly collisions such as we have with automobiles, for instance, despite traffic signals and State laws to control driving. Everything in the universe, except human beings, observes faithfully the laws imposed by the Creator. It would go badly with us if it were not so. But such laws did not make themselves. They imply a Law-Maker with a supreme intelligence that planned those laws and a supreme power that put them into effect.²

2. Belief in God is so natural that it has always been the universal conviction of mankind. All men are endowed with reason and the world about them is so manifestly dependent upon its Author that their minds almost instinctively rise to God.³ No rational man is a born atheist. To become an atheist, he must set himself apart from other men of all times and try to persuade himself that they are wrong; and no such person has brought forth one valid proof that there is no God.

3. It is much easier to believe in God than to try to account for the universe without God.

4. Another most convincing proof of the existence of God is that voice within us which tells that certain things are wrong, and which disturbs our peace when we do certain evil things. If there were no God, to Whom we are accountable, there would be no reason to be thus disturbed.⁴

Mr. J. May I ask you how you would answer the believers in evolution?

Father S. If they ever actually proved the theory that everything material in the universe, including plants and animals, evolved by slow processes from original atoms or gases, the Church would not oppose them. But even that original element must have been created. Every effect must have a cause; the first thing must have been produced from nothing, which only a God could accomplish.

Mr. J. You imply that the human soul could not be accounted for by evolution.

Father S. Certainly it could not. Since every effect must also have an adequate cause, the soul of man, whose nature is altogether spiritual, could not evolve from an animal or anything material. A spirit could be produced only by the Supreme Spirit, God.⁵

Mr. J. An unbeliever of my acquaintance calls himself an agnostic. What is meant by that?

Father S. One who does not deny God’s existence, but contends that he does not know whether there is a God or not. Usually he is not anxious to know, because he is not in the mood to keep the Commandments of God.

A German writer (Dennert) published a book in Berlin some years ago, in which he shows that of three hundred of the greatest scientists of the last three centuries, two hundred and forty-three were firm believers in God, and saw harmony between science and their faith. Herbert Spencer says: “The existence of this inscrutable power (God) is the most certain of all truths.” Weismann, who does declare himself an atheist, says: “Creation cannot be disproved, but it must be rejected to escape the supernatural.” What they do not like to accept, some people reject, but that does not do away with the truth or fact. The greatest physical scientists of today, such as Millikan, Jeans, Eddington, LeMaitre, are all firm believers in an all-powerful and wise God.⁶

But the question of God’s existence is not a question for physical sciences to answer at all. The scientist’s work is to study things as he finds them and the laws which govern their operation. He is not concerned about their ultimate origin.⁷

Mr. J. That question is answered as far as I am concerned, but my difficulty is that I don’t know much about God.

Father S. We can best know God by knowing some of His perfections.⁸ First of all, He is an infinitely perfect spirit. This means that He has perfect understanding and free will, but there is nothing material about Him. He hasn’t a body, and He will never die, for He is immortal. He possesses every perfection without limit and to the utmost degree. He does not owe His existence to another, but is in every way self-sufficient. This is true of no other being, for all other beings owe their existence to Him,⁹ hence they are dependent and limited in the perfections that they possess. Moreover, God never changes and He is eternal — which means that He always was and always will be. He is all-good; He is infinitely lovable and showers His blessings upon us. There is nothing that He cannot do, because He is almighty.¹⁰ He knows all things perfectly: the present and the future; even our most secret thoughts, words and actions. Although He cannot be seen by our bodily eyes, He is everywhere, for it is His power that keeps everything in existence. Thus, as a loving Father He cares especially for His human children and provides for them. This loving care is called Divine Providence.¹¹ Do not these facts about God give you some idea of how far above His creatures He is, yet how close He is to every one of us?¹²

Mr. J. I’ll say they do.

Father S. Now, although our reason demands the existence of a Supreme Being, to Whom we owe our life, on Whom we are dependent for all things, and Whom we must serve, as things stand it cannot know enough about the nature of God, nor about the precise service He wants from us. These latter things depend wholly on His will, which it was necessary for Him to make known to us. We call this Divine Revelation. God has revealed much about Himself and what we must believe and do in order to reach our eternal destiny.¹³

Religion is a form of elementary justice which obliges us to give God the recognition and honor which is His right and which we owe Him as private individuals and as members of human society. All people are obliged to recognize their Creator by religious practice. It should be clear also, I think, that the Almighty should want to be known alike and served alike by the whole human family.

Mr. J. Yes, Father, it seems that He should.

Father S. Then He would have to tell enough about Himself for the purpose, and define in pretty clear terms what He wants of us. He revealed Himself to the first human creatures, and frequently thereafter to their descendants, and 1,900 years ago, when the world was in sore need of a dependable teacher, He appeared on earth in human form, and founded a kingdom, or Church in which His revelation would be authoritatively and universally taught until the end of the world. Now, in the course of our instructions, you will become acquainted with the nature of this Church, with her teachings, with God’s laws, and the God-given helps which she possesses for the purpose of leading men to eternal happiness. But before proceeding to this, we shall see what Revelation (most of which is contained in the Bible) says about God’s creation of, and His dealings with, the first intelligent creatures He made. While fashioning this visible world, the temporary home of man, He made a multitude of angels to share His happiness in heaven.¹⁴ You have often heard of angels, have you not, Mr. Jackson?

Mr. J. Yes, Father; and I have often seen them pictured as beautiful figures with wings.

Father S. But they have no wings; they have not even a body which could support wings. They are pure spirits resembling God much more closely than a human soul, which is also a spirit.

Mr. J. But why are angels pictured with a body and with wings?

Father S. Well, they could not be represented at all without a body; we cannot picture an invisible spirit. Then, angels have frequently been sent as messengers of God to men, at which times they appeared in a human form. They are represented with wings to convey better the idea of how they pass from heaven to earth and of the swiftness with which they carry out God’s wishes.

Mr. J. If the devils are fallen angels, they have no bodies either?

Father S. No; though they are often represented as hideous figures, with horns, cloven feet, etc. Of course, the devils have become as hideous and deformed by their fall as the angels have become beautiful and god-like by their loyalty to God. Hence devils cannot be pictured too ugly.

Mr. J. When you say angels are pure spirits, that doesn’t give me a very definite idea of them.

Father S. Well I’ll try to be more definite. Angels are persons, made in such a way by their Creator that they do not need and do not have bodies. They are persons because they are individuals highly endowed with intellectual powers and free will; and since there is nothing material in their make-up, they are purely spiritual persons.

Persons of this kind reflect the perfection of their Author more clearly than do any other creatures and are capable of sharing His happiness through knowledge and love.

The fact is that some of the angels attained that happiness and some failed. God does not force such happiness on His free creatures. He seeks their choice by testing their loyalty. At the beginning of their lives, all the angels were tried and the outcome determined whether their everlasting careers were to be spent happily associated with God or separated from and opposed to Him. Some, disregarding His will in this matter, and with proud thoughts of independence, chose to part company with God but the majority cast their lot with their Maker. The result was the devils of hell and the angels of heaven. All are angels, but some are faithful, some fallen.¹⁵

Mr. J. Did they all have an equal chance?

Father S. Yes, all the angels had an equal chance. They were created sinless with the opportunity of attaining life in heaven, the liberty of the sons of God and the happiness that was their divinely appointed goal. Their fall came when they deliberately chose a state that has come to be hell. For it was then that the punishments of hell were first prepared. Fixed in their determination to be separated from God, they are fixed in their opposition to Him and all His plans, even for men. Hence they strive to separate men from God with all the efforts that God permits them to exert.

By their loyal obedience, the angels of heaven deserved to be familiarly associated with their Maker and to secure forever their share of His life and happiness. In heaven they have a willing part in His plans to lead each and every one of us to that same happy state by their prayers, by acting as His messengers to men, and serving as our guardians (Ps 91:11, Heb 1:14).

Mr. J. I never gave much thought to any possible interest they might have in me.

Father S. As a matter of fact, the invisible world of angels is lined up for and against us. Our Guardians cannot compel us to do good, but they help us, especially when it is humanly impossible for us to help ourselves. Our tempters solicit us to sin in ways that the evil world about us and the evil inclinations within us can never use, but they never compel us to do wrong. This is why Saint Peter tells us: “Be sober, be watchful! For your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devour” (1 Pt 5:8). This explains the temptation of our first parents by the devil in the disguise of a serpent, to which we shall refer in our next instruction.