NATuRAL THEOLOGY

249 Pages·2015·2.11 MB·English

CONTENTS
By using human reason, we hope to prove
beyond a reasonable doubt in this
document that God exists; identify his
attributes or perfections; that we owe him
worship, thanksgiving, obedience, and
love; that the human soul is immortal;
that God established an objective moral
order called the natural law; that God
revealed himself in Scripture; and that he
established the Catholic Church to
continue his presence in the world and to
provide the means with which to

distribute his graces and mercy.
REASONS TO

BELIEVE:
NATURAL
THEOLOGY

By Msgr. Lawrence Moran & Ronald J. Eldred
REASONS TO BELIEVE: NATuRAL THEOLOGY

Table of Contents

THE MEANING OF NATURAL THEOLOGY
THE GOAL OF THIS ESSAY
THE MEANING OF FAITH
Faith as a personal matter
Faith as a set of doctrines
Knowing contrasted with believing
Human Faith
Belief is not opinion
Belief requires commitment that something is true
Divine Faith
Credible witnesses are in a position to know the truth of the matter
Why it is difficult to know the truth with certainty
Why humans believe in men but not God
Divine Faith is even more certain than human faith
The Motive of Divine Faith
How one arrives at Divine Faith

Motives of Credibility
Motives of Credibility: Old Testament or Covenant
Motives of Credibility: New Testament or Covenant
Motives of Credibility: History of the Catholic Church

FAITH FORMATION
The role of the intellect and will in faith formation
Faith is both human and divine
Faith seeking understanding

THE MEANING OF REASON
Traditionalist or Fideist vs. Rationalists views of Reason.
Catholic compared with Protestant views of Faith and Reason
Varieties of Philosophical Rationalism
The Church’s position on faith and reason in faith formation
Concluding Remarks on Faith and Reason
Growing in Faith

THE MEANING OF CERTITUDE
Doubt and difficulty
The truth of the statements found in the Nicene Creed and the Bible
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REASONS TO BELIEVE: NATuRAL THEOLOGY

JOHN HENRY NEWMAN AND THE ILLATIVE SENSE
Faith is not based on formal evidence alone
Certitude can be reached with the illative sense
Simple childlike faith leads to the illative sense
The Illative sense opens us to the transcendent
The Illative sense and our own faith formation

LOGICAL REASONS FOR BELIEVING THAT GOD EXISTS
St. Thomas Aquinas’ five ways
Teleological or Intelligent Design Argument
The Anthropic Cosmological Argument
The Debate over Intelligent Design
God of the Gaps
Feser’s criticism of Intelligent Design
The Debate over the Theory of Evolution
John Paul II’s teaching on evolution
Cardinal Schönborn’s teaching on evolution
Pope Benedict’s view on evolution

CAUSATION ARGUMENTS PROVING GOD’S EXISTENCE
The Four Causes
St. Thomas’ four arguments for causation of existence
Other Arguments that Prove God’s Existence
Additional Arguments that Prove God’s Existence

SCIENTIFIC PROOFS FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE
The Evidence of Cosmology
The Evidence of Physics
The evidence from Astronomy
The Evidence of Geology
The Evidence of Biochemistry
The Evidence of the Science of Biological Information
The Evidence of Consciousness (Psychology)
Our Amazing Universe
Fr. Spitzer’s New Scientific Proofs for the Existence of God

CATHOLICISM AND THE RISE OF MODERN SCIENCE
The Duhem-Jaki-Merton Thesis
The Jesuit and Science
Catholic Nobel Prize Winners
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REASONS TO BELIEVE: NATuRAL THEOLOGY

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

DUTIES OWED TO GOD

PROOF FOR THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL

NATURAL LAW
The natural law flows from the eternal law
Failure to adhere to the natural law leads to unhappiness and suffering
The natural law is as binding as the Ten Commandments
Aristotelian-Thomistic Four Causes applied to Natural Law
The natural law applied to human sexuality
Why contraception is a violation of the natural law
The connection between the contraceptive mentality and abortion:
All human beings have a natural right to life:
Why homosexuality is a violation of the natural law
Reason why contemporary philosophers won't accept Aristotelian metaphysics
Objections to natural law theory

NATURAL LAW AND CHRISTIAN PERSONALISM

THE REASONABLENESS OF REVELATION
Why it is reasonable to believe in God’s Revelation
Sacred Scripture and Tradition
The Old Testament
The New Testament
The Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith
Jesus Christ fulfills the Mesianic prophecies of the Old Testament
Jesus Christ claims to be God
Jesus Christ proves he is God
It is reasonable to believe that Jesus Christ suffered death and rose from the dead

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

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REASONS TO BELIEVE: NATuRAL THEOLOGY

REASONS TO BELIEVE: NATURAL THEOLOGY
By Msgr. Lawrence Moran & Ronald J. Eldred
“Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the
hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)

THE MEANING OF NATURAL THEOLOGY

B
eginning with St. Augustine, theologians and philosophers discussed carefully and
at length the relationships between faith and revealed religion (theology) on the
one hand, and reason (philosophy) on the other. Faith was derived from what God
had revealed in the Bible and Tradition and philosophy provided the preambles for
religious faith. According to the Modern Catholic Dictionary, Preambles of the Faith are
“the main premises of reason on which the act of divine faith depends as on its rational
foundation." According to Ronda Chervin and Eugene Kevane in Love of Wisdom: An
Introduction to Christian Philosophy, philosophy doesn’t enter into religious faith as its
substance, but serves it in the initial stages of the return of the' soul to God. They say:

One can see this relationship between reason and faith in
the method of St. Thomas. For example, in his Summa
contra Gentiles (IV, I), he explains that there are two
orders of knowledge: reason and revelation…Then he ex-
plains in the Summa . . . their departure from creatures,
ascending by the work of reason to God. Book IV will take
its departure from divine revelation, descending from
God to the creatures of the created universe. In other
words, St. Thomas' method exemplifies the relationship
between faith and reason, and can be seen in this struc-
ture of the Summa contra Gentiles. Furthermore, in the
first three books, which are philosophical in nature, the
philosophizing proceeds within the Faith, which is its
guiding star, so that it will not fall to one side or the other,
deviating into errors of various kinds.

They continue to inform us that St. Thomas uses the same method from another point of
view in the Summa Theologiae “where rational theology is expounded in classic form in
the first questions of the Summa, which is devoted to sacred doctrine.” They conclude
that in Aquinas, Summa "philosophy is seen as thought functioning visibly within the
Faith. Yet it remains natural theology, the work of natural reason ascending to God, and
discerning his most basic attributes, out of the preambles of Faith.” Natural Theology em-
ploys philosophy to make it reasonable to believe that God exists and something of his
attributes or perfections. It also is used to make it reasonable to believe that God revealed
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himself to us. On the other hand, Sacred Theology begins with the fact of God’s revelation.
Regarding Sacred Theology, St. Thomas Aquinas said the Church has “a science of the
things that can be concluded from the Articles of Faith” (On Truth, 14, 9, ad 3). Chervin
and Kevane write that:

The science of Sacred Theology seeks to understand the Articles and mysteries of
the Faith more deeply, to perceive their interconnections, and to defend them
from error. It does not receive its principles from the human sciences, not even
from metaphysics, but takes them immediately from God through the revelation
proposed by the Church. Sacred theology, therefore, is a science that stands on a
higher level, using the natural arts, sciences, and disciplines as it judges them to
be helpful. It itself, however, is the science that teaches divine revelation, elab-
orating it and developing it in its own order. Sacred theology is called "sacred"
because of this fact that it takes its departure from the Articles of Faith and
develops its discourse in their light. One must recall that the Articles of Faith
summarize divine revelation by the authority of the Church, which gathered them
into the basic profession of baptismal faith called the Apostles' Creed. St. Thomas
Aquinas is at special pains to show that sacred theology takes its point of
departure and the light of its discourse from the Apostles' Creed.

Fr. John Hardon defines Natural Theology in his New
Catholic Dictionary as “The knowledge of God, his exis-
tence and attributes, derived from the world of nature and
by the light of natural reason; also called theodicy.” In other
words, Natural Theology starts from observing what God
has created and reasons from that to proof of his existence
and attributes or perfections. The ancient Greeks aspired to
Natural Theology, something that the Fathers of the Church
received and developed, especially in the work of St. Au-
gustine. Chervin and Kevane state that “the very existence
and nature of natural theology, the result of the metaphy-
sical ascent of the mind to God, manifests the manner in
which philosophy relates to faith and revealed religion. The
one and same transcendent reality of Almighty God, who is
seen and recognized by the metaphysical ascent, is heard
speaking his word to his creatures and revealing himself to them by doing so.” Regarding
our ability to know the truth about God by utilizing Natural Theology, the Catechism of
the Catholic Church states that “Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God,
the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created
world by the natural light of human reason. Without this capacity, man would not be able
to welcome God's revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created ‘in the image of
God” (No. 36).
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REASONS TO BELIEVE: NATuRAL THEOLOGY

However, because of our fallen human nature, there is a limit to what we can know about
God using human reason. We need his revelation. At this point of our discussions we must
prove that it is reasonable to believe that God revealed himself to us. During this dis-
cussion we will examine the credibility and integrity of the sources of revelation─Scrip-
ture and Tradition. In this regard the Catechism says “In the historical conditions in
which he finds himself, however, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know
God by the light of reason alone:

Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power
and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who
watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law writ-
ten in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason
from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that concern
the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things,
and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they call for self-
surrender and abnegation. The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the at-
taining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination,
but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin. So it
happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would
not like to be true is false or at least doubtful. (No. 37)

The Catechism concludes by asserting that “This is why man stands in need of being
enlightened by God's revelation, not only about those things that exceed his under-
standing, but also "about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not
beyond the grasp of human reason, so that even in the present condition of the human
race, they can be known by all men with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture
of error” (No. 38).

THE GOAL OF THIS ESSAY

Our goal is to provide readers with reasons to believe that what the Catholic Church
teaches is true. First we are going to discuss what it means to believe something, espec-
ially the truths that God has revealed to us. This will involve examining the role of faith,
reason, and certitude in our search for truth. One of the issues that we will consider dur-
ing this discussion is: How can we know the truths of the Faith with certainty? Then us-
ing human reason, we are going to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that God exists. All
other knowledge of religion presupposes that he does. Once we have established that God
does exist, or at least making it reasonable to believe that he does exist, using human
reason we are going to identify his attributes or perfections. Then based on rational proof
of God’s existence and something of his attributes, using human reason we are going to
establish that we owe God worship, thanksgiving, and obedience. Furthermore, we hope
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REASONS TO BELIEVE: NATuRAL THEOLOGY

to prove by using reason that the human soul is immortal and that God established an
objective moral order called the natural law.

However, because of our fallen human nature, there is a limit to what we can know about God using
human reason. We need his revelation. At this point of our discussions we must prove that it is
reasonable to believe that God revealed himself to us. During this discussion we will examine the
credibility and integrity of the sources of revelation─ Scripture and Tradition.

In order to achieve these objectives, in other essays we will examine the basics from the
traditional Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysical point of view, variations on this thought,
and various attempts of modern philosophers and theologians to refute it. Before applying
the knowledge acquired thus far to specific applications, we discuss philosophies that
rejected the Church’s metaphysical manner of explaining its teachings, and how to refute
its critics.

Following this we explain how Christ established the Catholic Church to continue his
presence in the world and provide us with the means of grace with which to achieve
salvation. Proof that God revealed himself depends on the truth that he established a
church, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

It is extremely important to stress that only the Catholic
Church can attest to the truth of the Bible. One of the most
important subjects considered is proof that Jesus Christ
established a church and that this church is the Catholic
Church. This is extremely important to prove, because it is the
Church that guarantees that God’s revelation is true. The
Church was there to witness the events described in the Bible
and Tradition, eventually wrote them down, and transmitted
them down through the ages for our benefit. In this regard, St.
Augustine wrote in Against the Fundamental Epistle of
Manichaeus that “For my part, I should not believe the gospel
except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church.” The
Catechism says of this matter: “The Church, ‘the pillar and
bulwark of the truth’, faithfully guards ‘the faith which was once for all delivered to the
saints’. She guards the memory of Christ's words; it is she who from generation to gener-
ation hands on the apostles' confession of faith” (No. 171). Sub-stantial evidence will be
offered in this website to make it reasonable to believe that this claim is true.

Once the philosophical and theological tools have been presented, we include a thorough
overview of the four pillars of the Faith as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
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REASONS TO BELIEVE: NATuRAL THEOLOGY

The pillars are as follows: the Creed; the Sacraments; the Commandments; and Prayer.
To deepen our understanding of the Faith and increase our ability to defend it against its
critics, we shall examine the reasonableness of believing some of the most fundamental
doctrines of the Nicene Creed, such as God is a Trinity of three divine persons; the In-
carnation and Redemption; the Crucifixion and Resurrection; and the Ascension. We are
going to attempt to prove that these doctrines are reasonable to believe beyond a reason-
able doubt. One of the most important subjects during this discussion will be proof that
Jesus Christ established a church and that this church is the Catholic Church. This is
extremely important to do, because it is the Church that guarantees that God’s revelation
is true. Then the Sacraments are explained from a metaphysical point of view, followed
by a discussion of Christian morality from a natural law point of view and the personalist
philosophical perspective developed by Pope John Paul II. The focus is on the universal
call to holiness explaining how one can grow in virtue and holiness by keeping the Com-
mandments and following the teachings of Jesus as found in his Sermon on the Mount
and elsewhere in the Gospels. The topic of prayer includes a discussion of the classical
mystical prayer tradition of the great spiritual theologians and directors in the Church's
history.

Not only are the philosophical and theological tools that we have presented applied to an
understanding of the doctrines found in the Creed, but to other topics such as the Church
and World, Justice in the Marketplace, Dialectical Materialism, Liberal Capitalism and
the Social Encyclicals, Social Justice, War and Peace, Church and State, Christ as King
and Lord of History, Man and Woman, Husband and Wife, Suffering in Christ, The Body
of Christ, the Universal Call to Holiness, and Praying in Christ.

The importance of what God has revealed to us in the Bible is so great that we include a
separate treatment of this subject. Every doctrine of the Catholic Faith is found either
explicitly or at least implicitly in the Bible. We begin by discussing the purposes, origins,
and versions of the Bible, followed by a consideration of the books of the Bible, both in-
dividually and in their natural groupings. Besides the doctrinal and spiritual message of
each book, we discuss the historical and social context of the Bible. Moreover, we intro-
duce how the Bible has been interpreted (or misinterpreted) over the ages. A major theme
of the course is St. Augustine’s theme of how the New Testament is concealed in the Old,
and how the Old is revealed or fulfilled in the New Testament. Another major theme is
the covenantal relationship God had with his Chosen People (the Jews,) and how this
covenant (Testament) was fulfilled and perfected in the New and the Eternal Covenant
(Testament).

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REASONS TO BELIEVE: NATuRAL THEOLOGY

THE MEANING OF FAITH

Let’s begin our discussion of Faith, Reason, and Certitude by asking “What is faith?” The
simplest definition of faith is that it means to believe something. Faith equals belief. To
believe means to have a firm conviction in the reality or truth of something. The New
Catholic Dictionary defines faith as “an assent of the mind to the truth of some propo-
sition on the word of another.” It states that faith is “The acceptance of the word of
another, trusting that one knows what the other is saying and is honest in telling the truth.
If one says he believes a statement that I have made about something, he is expressing a
trust in my knowledge and honesty. The basic motive of all faith is the authority (or right
to be believed) of someone who is speaking . . . It is called divine faith when the one
believed is God, and human faith when the persons believed are human beings.” It differs
from assent in matters of science in that science is based on evidence of fact, whereas faith
is based solely on the word of another. Just as with human or natural matters, our belief
in the truth of religious matters must be based on the word of others that we trust, because
our conclusions are not based on facts and principles that we have personally seen or
experienced.

The Catechism distinguishes between two meanings of faith: faith as a personal matter of
belief (fides qua), and Faith (usually capitalized) as a set of doctrines to be believed (fides
quae).

Faith as a personal matter

Faith as a personal matter according to the Catechism “is an intellectual assent to the
truths and doctrines of revelation and the basis for spiritual and moral action.” Having
faith then is “a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it
is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed” (No. 150). Elsewhere the Cate-
chism says of faith: “In faith, the human intellect and will cooperate with divine Grace”
(No. 155). The meaning of faith in this sense means believing what God has revealed to be
true. In line with this reasoning, St. Thomas Aquinas defined believing (what God has
revealed) as “an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will,
moved by God through grace.” Since divine faith is a theological virtue, it must be infused
by God into the soul, but requires an act of the will to command the intellect to accept it.

Faith as a set of doctrines

What God has revealed was formulated by the Catholic Church into doctrines that make
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