Catechesis on Creation
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Simplified
Finding Our Origins (282-283)
A catechesis on creation lays the foundation for all catechesis by answering the questions, "Where do we come from?" and "Where are we going?" These questions are decisive for life's meaning.
Certainly scientific studies have enriched our knowledge of the cosmos. These discoveries should lead us to thank God for revealing this wisdom.
Questions Beyond Science (284)
However, some questions go beyond these scientific studies and try to discover the meaning of all creation. Is the universe governed by fate or by an intelligent and good Being called God? Why is there evil and where does it come from?
Challenges to Faith (285)
The Christian faith faces a challenge from those philosophers who say that the world is God (Pantheism); from those who say the world comes from two sources, good and evil (Dualists and Manicheists); from those who say the world comes from evil (Gnostics); from those who think God created but has no continued interest in the world (Deists); and from those who say there is only the material universe (Materialists).
Responses (286)
To these questions, human intelligence can give some response. Man can know God's existence with certainty even if this knowing is obscured by error. However, a full understanding comes when reason is helped by faith. "By faith we understand that the world was created by the Word of God" (Heb 11:3).
Need for Revelation (287-288)
God progressively revealed the mystery of creation in his revelation to Israel. God formed Israel and revealed himself as the Creator. "I am the Lord, who made all things" (Is 44:24). This revelation about creation and about God's Covenant with Israel are inseparable because creation is God's first step toward the Covenant. The Jewish prophets, liturgy, and wisdom sayings express this witness of God's creation.
First Three Chapters (289)
The first three chapters of Genesis express the truths of creation, its origin, order, and goodness. Genesis shows man's vocation, the drama of sin, and the hope of salvation. These texts are the prime source of catechesis about the beginning mysteries (the creation, the fall, and the promise of salvation).
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