Who is God?

God is the Creator.
The Creator told Moses to call him Yahweh.
The name Yahweh means, "I Am Who Am, or, He Who Is."
       (having eternal existence – without limits – necessary)

Is the word "God" a name or a term?

The word God is a term having both collective and individual meanings. When used in reference to God the Father the term is singular. When used in reference to the Holy Trinity it is harmoniously collective (has complete unity / oneness – acts in total agreement).

What is our relationship with God?

We are intelligent beings created by God who have been given the opportunity to serve Him in this life so that we may share eternal happiness with His Son, Jesus, if we come to accept our proper relationship with Him. We have been individually created by God in His image, after His likeness. (We are not God. But, we have, or have potential in regard to His attributes coupled with the limited use of His power.)

How do we know God?

We come to know God by learning about our own attributes or qualities, and understanding that these imperfect aspects of our being have absolute perfection in God. In Him all attributes and qualities are 100% good,*  that is, are without blemish. There is neither imperfection nor evil in God.

*   "Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
      No one is good but God alone." " [Mk. 10:18; Lk. 18:19]

The acquiring of knowledge of our Creator, through learning about the attributes of his creations, is valuable information to possess.

When did God become God?

God became God when He created. The word God is a title given to one who has supreme power and has been given recognition by existing intelligent life (king, president, and general are titles with particular meaning in relation to others). God is a title or position that has specialized recognition. Recognition of the title God requires subordinate intelligent life, that is, life that has the capacity to understand and appreciate rank, position, power, authority, etc.

When did God become Creator?

Eternal creation (generation of the Son and spiration of the Holy Spirit) is not relevant to time. The existence of Yahweh (God the Father) is a prerequisite for all other existence.

What is the reason God (the Father)decided to create?

God is an unlimited being with unlimited power and abilities. It would be an imperfection for Him not to meaningfully utilize His existence.

For what purpose did God (the Holy Trinity)create?

The extrinsic nature of Jesus called for the existence of other beings to share with Him in His form of existence. The extrinsic nature of the Holy Spirit would have greater utilization with the existence of additional intelligent life.

IMAGE -

1. a reproduction or imitation
   
2. an optical counterpart of an original
   
3. a semblance.

LIKENESS -

1. the state or quality of being like something.
   
2. possessing the characteristics of; resembling closely; similar to.

SOUL (Intellect?) - 1. The animating and vital principle in man credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion and conceived as forming an immaterial entity distinguished from but temporally coexistent with his body. 2. Theology. The spiritual nature of man considered in relation to God, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state. 3. The disembodied spirit of a dead human being; a ghost; shade.

SPIRIT (Will? Binding force? Life force?) - 1. That which is traditionally believed to be the vital principle or animating force within living beings. 4. Any supernatural being, such as a ghost. 5.a. That which constitutes one's unseen, intangible being. b. The essential and activating principle of a person; the will. 9. A particular mood or emotional state characterized by vigor and animation.

1. SPIRITED - 1. Full of or characterized by animation, vigor, or courage.
2. SPIRITUAL - 1. Of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. 2. Of, concerned with, or affecting the soul.
3. GHOST - 1. the seat of life or intelligence: Soul. 2. A disembodied soul; esp.: the soul of a dead person believed to be the inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness. 3. Spirit, Demon. 4a. a faint shadowy trace.
4. SHADE - 3. an evanescent or unreal appearance. 4b. Netherworld, Hades. 5a. A disembodied spirit: Ghost.

Can we understand God, and if so, to what degree?

Each person has a different capacity for understanding. Those who have faith in, love, and serve God according to His will are given a high degree of understanding that is facilitated by learning about the abilities, attributes, and qualities of God.

Are the qualities of God:

1. Absolute?
2. Limited?
3. Conditional?

Abilities and Attributes or Qualities of GOD:

1. Ardent - impassioned (has warmth of feeling expressed in zealous support)
2. Boundless - has no boundaries, no containment
3. Creator - originator, making something from nothing (Father, source)
4. Immaculate - free of stain, spotless, absolutely pure. Free from fault or error
5. Immaterial - having no material body or form.
6. Immediate - acting or occurring without mediation or interposition; direct
7. Immemorial - reaching beyond the limits of memory, tradition, or recorded history
8. Immense - extremely large, huge – Boundless.
9. Immortal - not subject to death
10. Immutable - not mutable; not susceptible to change
11. Necessary - can not do without
12. Omnipotent - is unlimited, i.e. has universal power
13. Omnipresent - present everywhere
14. Omniscient - has total knowledge
15. Perfect - entirely without fault or defect
16. Ruler - has complete dominion
17. Transcendent - being beyond comprehension – universal
18. Zealous - fervor; passion (ardently pursues the development of humanity)

Please keep in mind that God is perfect in every attribute and quality. Also keep in mind that he is the source of everything that is not God.

To love God properly we should have a great appreciation of who and what he is. The prophet Isaiah had the following to say:

"The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD." [Is. 11:2-3]

"There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD," [Is. 11:9]

GOD IS or DOES or GIVES:

1. All powerful ________
2. All knowing ________
3. Almighty ________
4. Architect ________
5. Astute ________
6. Awesome ________
7. Beautiful ________
8. Benign (of gentle disposition) ________
9. Builder ________
10. Cause ________
11. Consistent ________
12. Creator (maker, source) ________
13. Dependable ________
14. Designer ________
15. Eternal (Dt. 32:40) ________
16. Everywhere ________
17. Faithful ________
18. Forgiving ________
19. Forms (shapes) ________
20. Formless (without form) Dt. 4:15-19 ________
21. Foundation ________
22. Freedom ________
23. Free (unrestricted) ________
24. Friend ________
25. Good ________
26. Great ________
27. Happiness ________
28. Healer ________
29. Holy ________
30. Hope ________
31. Immaculate ________
32. Impartial (does not take sides or show favoritism) ________
33. Infinite ________
34. Innocent ________
35. Intangible (cannot be easily defined or grasped) ________
36. Integral ________
37. Intelligent ________
38. Jealous (a jealous God) ________
39. Judge ________
40. Just (Dt. 32:4) ________
41. Kind ________
42. Living being ________
43. Lord ________
44. Love ________
45. Loving ________
46. Loyal ________
47. Majestic ________
48. Master ________
49. Merciful ________
50. Necessary being ________
51. Peaceful ________
52. Peacemaker ________
53. Perfect ________
54. Power ________
55. Powerful ________
56. Prophet ________
57. Pure ________
58. Pure Intellect ________
59. Pure Spirit ________
60. Real ________
61. Reasonable ________ ^{(5 November 2001)}
62. Reliable ________
63. Restorer ________
64. Resurrector ________
65. Savior ________
66. Simple ________
67. Sincere ________
68. Singular (Three but One – United – the Godhead — Dt. 32:39) ________
69. Source ________
70. Supreme ________
71. Tangible (definite, objective) ________
72. Teacher ________
73. Transcendental (covers all human experience & goes beyond) ________
74. Trustworthy ________
75. Truth - veracity (devotion to the truth) ________
76. Unalterable (word) ________
77. Unchangeable ________
78. Uncreated ________
79. Understanding ________
80. Unerring ________
81. Unique (one of a kind but three) ________
82. Universal ________
83. Unlimited ________
84. Vindicator ________
85. Vindictive * ________
86. Wholehearted ________
87. Wise ________

*  "Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation." [Ex. 32:10]

*  "No sooner had he finished saying all this than the ground beneath them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their families (and all of Korah's men) and all their possessions. They went down alive to the nether world with all belonging to them; the earth closed over them, and they perished from the community. But all the Israelites near them fled at their shrieks, saying, "The earth might swallow us too!"
       So they withdrew from the space around the Dwelling (of Korah, Dathan and Abiram). And fire from the LORD came forth which consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense." [Nm. 16:31-35]

*  "The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, to remove the censers from the embers; and scatter the fire some distance away, for these sinners have consecrated the censers at the cost of their lives. Have them hammered into plates to cover the altar, because in being presented before the LORD they have become sacred. In this way they shall serve as a sign to the Israelites." So Eleazar the priest had the bronze censers of those burned during the offering hammered into a covering for the altar, in keeping with the orders which the LORD had given him through Moses. This cover was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no layman, no one who was not a descendant of Aaron, should approach the altar to offer incense before the LORD, lest he meet the fate of Korah and his band.
       The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "It is you who have slain the LORD'S people." But while the community was deliberating against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the meeting tent, and the cloud now covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the meeting tent, and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Depart from this community, that I may consume them at once." But they fell prostrate.
       Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, lay incense on it, and bring it quickly to the community to make atonement for them; for wrath has come forth from the LORD and the blow is falling." Obeying the orders of Moses, Aaron took his censer and ran in among the community, where the blow was already falling on the people. Then, as he offered the incense and made atonement for the people, standing there between the living and the dead, the scourge was checked.
       Yet fourteen thousand seven hundred died from the scourge, in addition to those who died because of Korah." [Nm. 17:14]

*  While Israel was living at Shittim, the people degraded themselves by having illicit relations with the Moabite women. These then invited the people to the sacrifices of their god, and the people ate of the sacrifices and worshiped their god. When Israel thus submitted to the rites of Baal of Peor, the LORD'S anger flared up against Israel, and he said to Moses, "Gather all the leaders of the people, and hold a public execution of the guilty ones before the LORD, that his blazing wrath may be turned away from Israel." So Moses told the Israelite judges, "Each of you shall kill those of his men who have submitted to the rites of Baal of Peor."
       Yet a certain Israelite came and brought in a Midianite woman to his clansmen in the view of Moses and of the whole Israelite community, while they were weeping at the entrance of the meeting tent. When Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, and taking a lance in hand, followed the Israelite into his retreat where he pierced the pair of them, the Israelite and the woman. Thus the slaughter of Israelites was checked; but only after twenty-four thousand had died." [Nm. 25:1-9]

*  'Let me be, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under the heavens. I will then make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.'
       "When I had come down again from the blazing, fiery mountain, with the two tablets of the covenant in both my hands, I saw how you had sinned against the LORD, your God: you had already turned aside from the way which the LORD had pointed out to you by making for yourselves a molten calf! Raising the two tablets with both hands I threw them from me and broke them before your eyes. Then, as before, I lay prostrate before the LORD for forty days and forty nights without eating or drinking, because of all the sin you had committed in the sight of the LORD and the evil you had done to provoke him. For I dreaded the fierce anger of the LORD against you: his wrath would destroy you. Yet once again the LORD listened to me. With Aaron, too, the LORD was deeply angry, and would have killed him had I not prayed for him also at that time. Then, taking the calf, the sinful object you had made, and fusing it with fire, I ground it down to powder as fine as dust, which I threw into the wadi that went down the mountainside." [Dt. 9:14-21]

*   "Since they have provoked me with their 'no-god' and angered me with their vain idols, I will provoke them with a 'no-people'; with a foolish nation I will anger them. "For by my wrath a fire is enkindled that shall rage to the depths of the nether world, Consuming the earth with its yield, and licking with flames the roots of the mountains. I will spend on them woe upon woe and exhaust all my arrows against them: "Emaciating hunger and consuming fever and bitter pestilence, And the teeth of wild beasts I will send among them, with the venom of reptiles gliding in the dust. "Snatched away by the sword in the street and by sheer terror at home Shall be the youth and the maiden alike, the nursing babe as well as the hoary old man." [Dt. 32:21-25]

*   "Exult with him, you heavens, glorify him, all you angels of God; For he avenges the blood of his servants and purges his people's land." [Dt. 32:43]

GOD HAS CONDITIONAL: (as a reflection of His state of relationship with man)

1. Happiness
2. Misery
3. Pain
4. Sadness

GOD IS NOT:

1. Human (the Father; also the Holy Spirit) Nm. 23:19
2. Containable - 1Ki. 8:27; Acts 17:24
3. In need of man's service - Acts 17:25

GOD HAS SET:

1. The Day of Judgement - Acts 17:31

ABOUT FAITH:

1. Faith without hope is meaningless.
2. Faith and Hope without love has no value.
3. Knowledge is the necessary foundation of faith.

LOYALTIES BY IMPORTANCE:

First:  God - A full and complete desire for, belief in and acceptance of truth and justice which has God as its source and is based on a proper understanding of love. (God is Three Persons treated as One because of their complete unity, harmony, love, etc.)

Next:  Peter (office assigned to Simon son of John [Mt. 16:17; Jn. 1:40-42; 21:15-17] ) - God's lawfully appointed (thereby authoritative) visible official leader here in his creation, the vicar of Christ. The current Peter is the lawful ¹ successor of Peter the Apostle and is presently named John Paul II. It is through this chosen servant of Christ that we may examine the formal teachings of Jesus in complete trust. When dispute arises we are to examine the universal teachings of the Church formally authenticated by Peter. When doubt remains, we may seek the formal discernment of the Holy Spirit by means of the authentic teacher (Peter) left to us by Jesus, the only natural son of God the Father, the creator of the content of all of the universe.

The man filling the Office of Peter, the rock –the firm and lasting foundation of God's only true Church– lives in all generations under temporal names. He is also the disciplinary authority of the Church and has other temporal duties and responsibilities. All the universal statements of [all moral ^{(5 November 2001)}] Popes (declared through the Office of Peter) are protected by the Holy Spirit and are never in disagreement. (Note: Particular Popes may be in personal error or be living in moral decay. However, the Holy Spirit guards and protects what is misleadingly known as Papal Infallibility when the Office of Peter makes formal statements on matters of faith and morals to the Universal Church.)

¹  lawful successor – A lawful successor may not always be a moral successor, or, if initially a moral successor may not always remain so. A pope would cease being a moral leader should he come under automatic excommunication for heresy or has committed a notorious act. There may also be other conditions under which he might cease to be moral leader of the Church. The legal acts of a legal pope remain legal, but the moral acts of a pope who has ceased to be moral leader are without effect. ^{(5 November 2001)}

3rd:  Teachers by law - We are bound to other lawful teaching authorities faithfully serving under Peter. Peter is the master human link in the chain of lawful moral and disciplinary teachings. We are expected to follow these lawful teachers according to their proper order of importance as follows:

1. The Curia - Catholics are to be obedient to the formal instructions and authority of Cardinals serving in particular departments of the Church under, and acting with, the authority of the Pope.
2. The Conference of Bishops - When acting under their limited and specific authority as directly defined by, and are acting in unison with, the authority of Peter. The directives of the Conference of Bishops, to which one's local Bishop belongs, are disciplinary, not doctrinal in character.
3. The local Bishop - whether he has the title of Archbishop or Bishop, is our chief regional (diocesan) authority in faith. So long as his teachings and directives are not in conflict with that of higher authority, and he is subservient to such higher authority, he is to be followed as the proper leader and teacher of the regional family of faith. He has both spiritual and disciplinary authority over those in his jurisdiction.
4. The Parish Priest - By appointment of the Bishop, the parish priest has charge of all who reside within the boundaries of his parish. It is through one's own parish priest, who is acting in faith under lawful discipline, that one is found to be in acceptable union with God. One's salvation is obtained by unity with, and loyalty to, the local Parish Church under the supervision of its Parish Priest. It is through the Parish Church that the local family of faith bears the fruit of salvation. God desires that we be fruitful according to his will. We are most fruitful when serving together and in harmony under just authority.
5. The Human Family - This is the basic unit of society and serves as the focal point of natural relationships. Included in the first level of the temporal family is the father (the natural head of the household), the mother (the central or hinge point of family life), and, the children (the object of family life). The second level includes grandparents, uncles, aunts and first cousins. The third level includes in-laws and other relatives. The fourth level includes members of the clan or tribe which is the natural extended family relationship. The natural and extended family serves many important and positive purposes at the temporal level.
          It should always be recognized that a more valuable and a more lasting relationship is derived from the spiritual family which is centered on parish life. True members of the family of faith can always rely on each other and will help each other on their journey into everlasting life.
          In regard to unfaithful family members the words of Jesus in the Gospel of St. Matthew, referring to human relationships, should always be kept in mind: "Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death." [Mt. 10:21]
6. Civil Government - The local, regional, state, national and international governments, in that order, have their authority from the people and serve the good of the people to the degree that people accept legitimate authority over themselves in obedience to almighty God and live according to his will. Civil governments are an outgrowth if inter-tribal relationships and are only as good as the people who are their members.

          Human weaknesses are prevalent in all temporal relationships. A parish relationship has as its strength the Lord God himself who is the source, director and distributor of all power. The parish is the entry to the lasting relationship established by and for the universal good. All relationships are only as good as the people involved with them make them.

FAITH:

1. Allegiance to duty or person; Loyalty.
2. Fidelity to one's promises (keeping faith).
3. Belief and trust in, and loyalty to God..
4. Firm belief in something for which there is no proof.
5. Without doubt or question.

FAITH. The acceptance of the word of another, trusting that one knows what the other is saying and is honest in telling the truth. The basic motive of all faith is the authority (or right to be believed) of someone who is speaking. This authority is an adequate knowledge of what he or she is talking about, an integrity in not wanting to deceive. It is called divine faith when the one believed is God, and human faith when the persons believed are human beings. (Etym. Latin fides, belief; habit of faith; object of faith.) Modern Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon, S.J. © 1980

FAITH, VIRTUE OF. The infused theological virtue whereby a person is enabled to "believe that what has been revealed is true --not because its intrinsic truth is seen with the rational light of reason-- but because of the authority of God who reveals it, of God who can neither deceive or be deceived" (First Vatican Council, Denzinger 3008). Modern Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon, S.J. © 1980

THE HOW OF FAITH:

1. The formation of faith begins with a sincere desire for obtaining truth. Until one is interested in truth, and begins to investigate to find it, there is no foundation for faith. God is truth and the desire for the fullness of truth brings one ultimately to God.
2. Next, when one has found a truth one must trust in the truth that has been obtained. It is a secure truth when one has made the knowledge of the truth into an understanding which has been based upon wisdom and one is able to keep it open for examination.
3. Finally, when one has placed the acquired truth into practice, it can be said that one has faith in that particular truth.

One has faith in God when one accepts that He (God) is the fullness of truth, and has the desire to follow his revealed word, the expressed will of God, without reservation.

Steps of salvation:

1. Knowledge
2. Understanding
3. Belief (Faith)
4. Hope
5. Love - Corporal & Spiritual Works of Mercy
6. Wisdom
7. Perseverance - Gifts of the Holy Spirit
8. Tests - We must all experience the trials and temptations of life as given particular witness to by Jesus during His 40 days in the desert. [Mt. 4:1-11]
9. Trials - persecution, mockery, suffering and death
10. Failure or success - accepting or rejecting the Fruits of the Holy Spirit

FAITH and WORKS:

       "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
       Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called "the friend of God." See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." [James 2:14-26]

Fr. David C. Trosch
Second Sunday of Advent, 6 December 1998.
Additions: 5 November 2001