OTHCC Chapter 73: items 1441 - 1460

The Old Testament in the Heart of the Catholic Church < > All Chapters

{1441}      Down

The account of Creation

a.   does not tell us the origin of evil and whether there is any liberation from it.
b.   is evasive about the origin of evil and whether there is any liberation from it.
c.   tells us the origin of evil and whether there is any liberation from it.

{1442}      Down       Up

The account of Creation tells us that the universe is governed by

a.   a purely random set of accidents.
b.   a set of fixed, deterministic laws.
c.   a transcendent, intelligent, and good being called ''God.''

{1443}      Down       Up

The account of Creation tells us that you are governed by

a.   a purely random set of accidents.
b.   a set of fixed, deterministic laws.
c.   a transcendent, intelligent, and good being called ''God.''

{1444}      Down       Up

Beware! If the universe is governed by a purely random set of accidents, or by a set of fixed, deterministic laws, then

a.   it is possible that you are, also.
b.   that does mean that you are, also.
c.   that does not mean that you are, also.

{1445}      Down       Up

In the Catechism [CCC 295] the Holy Father and bishops united with him profess that the universe and everything in it is

a.   not even partially the product of necessity, or of blind fate or chance.
b.   partially the product of necessity, or of blind fate or chance.
c.   the product of necessity, or of blind fate or chance.

{1446}      Down       Up

The Catechism of the Catholic Church was written by

a.   Catholic bishops, in consultation with the bishops of the Catholic Church throughout the world, and its publication was ordered by the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II.
b.   professors, in consultation with professors at leading universities throughout the world, and its publication was ordered by the president of the Catholic University of America.
c.   scientists, in consultation with scientists at leading scientific institutions throughout the world, and its publication was ordered by the editor of the prestigious journal, Nature.

{1447}      Down       Up

According to the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, [Fidei Depositum, Part 3] the Catechism is

a.   ''a questionable but worthwhile presentation of the faith.''
b.   ''a sure norm for teaching the faith.''
c.   ''one of many possible interpretations of the faith.''

{1448} Down Up

According to the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, [Fidei Depositum, Part 3] the Catechism is

(a) ''a questionable but worthwhile presentation of the faith.''
(b) ''a sure norm for teaching the faith.''
(c) ''one of many possible interpretations of the faith.''

As you ''turn around'' the wrong answers to each question, you will find your understanding of the right answer increasing more and more. For instance, the wrong answers in this question help you to understand more clearly that the Holy Father said right out loud that you can, for sure, trust that what is written in the Catechism can be relied on as the true Catholic faith. <<

{1449}      Down       Up

Israel is the name for

a.   a tribal people in Sumeria.
b.   the people descended from Jacob.
c.   the synagogue in Jerusalem.

{1450} Down Up

In the Old Testament, the word ''house'' can mean just ''house,'' but it also has a special meaning. ''House'' can mean an entire family with all its members - but not only including its living members, but also both the family's ancestors and its descendants. This is the meaning of the phrase ''house of Israel'': all the people descended from Jacob (Israel), or ever to be descended from him. Now read Psalm 135 (Ps 135).

You now know the meaning of Ps 135:4 (Psalm 135, verse 4), (read it again) and the verses that the Psalm concludes with, Ps 135:19-21 (read them again).

As you know, the Holy Father and the bishops hand on to us the truth that Creation is inseparable from the covenants. Now read Ps 135:5-14 again. Notice how Psalm 135 expresses this truth. The God of Creation is the God who desires an unbreakable and intimate bond with Israel and with all mankind. <<

{1451}      Down       Up

Many times in this course, you will see a phrase like, ''Read Genesis 2:19,'' or ''read CCC 119.'' When you see these instructions to read a particular passage from the Bible or from the Catechism, it means that you

a.   can wait until the end of the question to read the passage.
b.   must immediately read the passage, even before finishing the question.
c.   should ignore any instructions in this text that tell you to read something.

{1452} Down Up

To learn from this course, you MUST read a passage the moment you are asked to, even before continuing with the question or the explanation.

First of all, please do not be surprised when a course introducing the Old Testament ''in the heart of the Catholic Church'' asks you to actually read passages from the Bible and from the Catechism!

Second, in this course, reading a passage the moment you are asked to is not optional because it is very important to your ability to make full use of this course. This course is consciously designed to help you to learn new ideas by making it easy to connect the new ideas to ideas already at your fingertips.

When you see an instruction like ''read Exodus 14,'' or ''read CCC 123,'' you should understand that you need to have the ideas of that particular passage fresh in your mind, so that you can easily connect those ideas with the very next ideas in the sentence or the question.

So how are you going to have the ideas of that passage fresh in your mind if you don't read that passage just before continuing in the sentence or the question?

Remember: when this course says, ''Read'' - read, right then and there. You need to have the ideas in that passage fresh in your mind, so you can easily connect them to the very next ideas you will read. <<

{1453}      Down       Up

In this course, reading a passage the moment you are asked to is NOT optional because

a.   so many courses ask you to do absolutely ridiculous things that teach you nothing, and this course is just like all the rest.
b.   this course is not actually designed to make it easy for you to learn complicated ideas, but is just trying to increase your work load.
c.   you need to have the ideas in that passage fresh in your mind, so you can easily connect them to the very next ideas you will read.

{1454}      Down       Up

An ''oral tradition'' is

a.   a conscientiously applied program of oral hygiene and regular professional care.
b.   written words spoken orally at special occasions for generations.
c.   words spoken and remembered over generations, and not written down.

{1455}      Down       Up

Modern biblical scholars think that some of the Old Testament, and the gospels, began as

a.   oral traditions.
b.   vague traditions.
c.   written traditions.

{1456}      Down       Up

According to the Holy Father and bishops in communion with him, thinking that some of the Old Testament, and the gospels, began as oral traditions

a.   by itself moves you farther from Christ.
b.   does not by itself move you farther from Christ.
c.   may by itself move you farther from Christ.

{1457}      Down       Up

Wait a minute. Do the Holy Father and bishops in communion with him understand that, by the nature of oral tradition, the tradition is told, re-told, elaborated, cut, changed, by many different people over many years, even over centuries, maybe even for a thousand years, before some version of it ever gets written down?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

{1458}      Down       Up

Wait a minute. Do the Holy Father and bishops in communion with him understand that, by the nature of oral tradition, different versions of the same tradition may have been passed on at different times, or were being passed on even at the same time, before some version of it ever gets written down?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

{1459}      Down       Up

Wait a minute. How can the Catholic Church profess that the one particular version of an oral tradition that was eventually written down in the Old Testament is the true, inspired Word of God, when so many other oral versions may have existed?

a.   What a silly question. It was a simple question of power. The people with power liked one particular tradition, and suppressed the others.
b.   What a silly question. There isn't any one ''privileged'' version of the oral tradition. It was just an accident that one was chosen over the others.
c.   What a silly question. God ''waited'' for the inspired authors to decide the ''name'' of the true tradition. Once they had, ''that was its name.''

{1460}      Up

Wait a minute. What about any people who innocently listened to and passed on a version of an oral tradition that did not end up in the Bible? Weren't they automatically moving farther from God when that happened?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

Up < > All Chapters

copyright (c) 2001 John Kelleher. All rights reserved.
www.catholiclearning.com