TWO WAYS TO KNOW GOD
by Josua Russell
Chapter 1 in eighth-grade Theology focuses on the two ways to know God. While the two ways are divine and natural revelation, one might ask what these terms mean. Divine revelation is the way God reveals himself through his actions and words in order to form a relationship with his children on earth. This is most fully shown by God sending his Divine Son, Jesus Christ. We also know God through divine revelation by believing in the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Our second way is through natural revelation, which is the knowledge of the existence of God and his basic attributes that can be derived by human reason while reflecting on the creative order. This means that as we study the world, and understand how it works, we can come to know that God does exist.
An important person that helps us understand natural revelation is Thomas Aquinas. He came up with five ways to help us find God. These were prime mover, first cause, necessary being, from perfection, and from order.
We studied an example of natural revelation in physical science class. The Law of Conservation of Energy and Mass states that neither mass nor energy can be created nor destroyed. Scientists started to go to their faith to answer this question because they have no explanation except for God. Another important person is Father Georges Lemaì‚tre. He came up with the Big Bang Theory.
The concepts in chapter 1 have been very interesting and informative to help us learn about our faith. Chapter 2 and beyond will fill in the rest of the gaps.
The four Evangelists (Gospel writers) have traditionally been depicted in a tetramorph ("four elements"). Matthew is depicted as a winged man because he emphasizes Jesus' Incarnation. Mark is depicted as a winged lion because he speaks of Saint John the Baptist who famously lived in the wilderness. Luke is depicted as a winged bull because he speaks of Zechariah's sacrifice to God. John is depicted as an eagle because the eagle is considered to be wise; John's Gospel is much more theological than the others.
Joshua Russell (Class of '26) is a distinguished student of Archbishop Shaw High School.