Bible 1-1
The First PersonWe Believe1Holy Trinity - 2Experience2Make a
list of 10 things you believe.
ExamplesDo you believe the sun will rise tomorrow morning?Do you
believe you will have enough food for tomorrow?Do you believe the
friends you have now you will always have?Do you believe that you
are likeable?Do you believe that Jesus died and rose FOR YOU?Do you
believe that God will save you for eternity?What else do you
believe? And RANK ORDER your beliefs. Share your list with the
class or small group2Discussion & reflection:3We believe
Who are we?
What does it mean to believe in God?Discussion &
reflection:4What if someone said that lots of people believing the
same thing doesnt make it right?
A lot of people thought the earth was flat. Did that make the
earth flat?A lot of people thought slavery was good. Did that make
slavery good?Many others say your are stupid and lazy or bright and
certain to succeed. Does what they say make it happen?4Discussion
& reflection:5Ireneaus. (2nd Century ) Although the church is
dispersed throughout the world, even to the ends of the earth, it
has received this common faith from the apostles and their
disciplesThe church believes these doctrines as if it had only one
soul and one heart, and it proclaims them and hands them on in
perfect harmony, as if it spoke with only one voice.How do you
explain the Church believingthe same faith over 2,000 years, in
many different languages and cultures?
Against Heresies 1.10.1-3
5Discussion & reflection:6What if someone said to us that
our faith tradition is only human made?Athanasius (298-2 May 373)
Let us see what the tradition, doctrine and faith of the universal
church was from the very beginning, what the Lord handed on, what
the apostles preaches and what the Fathers have preserved. The
church is founded on this faith, and if anyone goes beyond its
bounds, he no longer has the right to call himself a Christian.
Four Letters to Serapion 1.286Discussion &
reflection:7Pentecost is the birthday of the Church.This gives us
(baptized) a common birthday.But not with those who are not
baptized.This is our birthday!
The Church is the people of God.It is you and me (hopefully).It
is all true Christians of every time and place.Discussion &
reflection:8What if someone said, It aint necessarily so!
Augustine (13 Nov. 354-28 August 430, Algeria) Christ our
mediator, having spoken what he thought was sufficient first by the
prophet and then by his own lips and afterwards by the apostles,
has also produced the Scripture that is called canonical. This has
paramount authority, and we assent to it in all matters of which we
ought not to be ignorant
City of God 11.38Discussion & reflection:9What if someone
gave us a lovely theory about why there is no god?
Athengoras (ca 133-190, Greece) We have the prophets as witness
of the things we understand and believe. Men like Moses, Isaiah,
Jeremiah and the other prophets declared things about God and the
things of God. It would be irrational of us to disbelieve Gods
Spirit and accept mere human opinions instead, for God moved the
mouths of the prophets as if they were musical instruments.A Pleas
Regarding Christians 99Discussion & reflection:10What if
someone called us silly because we cant prove God?
St. Basil the Great (330- 1 Jan 379, Turkey)Let faith in the
teachings about God prevail faith and not proof. This is the faith
that leads the mind toward assent more than rational arguments do,
the faith that is born not of mathematical necessities but from the
inner workings of the Holy Spirit.
Homilies on the Psalms 115.1, A proof is a necessary
conclusion.10Discussion & reflection:11What if someone said the
Old Testament only refers to a different people, a long time ago,
who didnt understand as much as we do today?
Tertullian (c.160-220 Tunisia) The apostle Paul was guided by
the same Spirit as the author of Genesis was, and the same is true
of all the Scriptures.
On Prayer 2211Discussion & reflection:12What if someone says
the Bible teaches us that God loves everyone, just the way we
are?
It is true God love usbut He hates our sin which hurts us. Some
people say we dont need to change if God love us as we are.
Hegemonius (4th Century) Those who set up some new teaching have
a way of twisting the Scriptures to make them fit whatever it is
they want them to sayTherefore a disciple of Christ should accept
no new teaching beyond what has once been committed to us by the
apostles.Disputation of Archelaus and Manes 4012Written
reflectionName:Date:13What was most important to you in todays
lesson?
