What do Roman Catholics Believe about the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ?

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Hi, LDS asking here. I am simply looking for perspective on traditional Catholic doctrine. Specifically I’m wondering if you believe there was any purpose to Christs resurrection separate from his atonement. My understanding is that you believe the atonement was to pay the price for our sins (and Adams?) Would anyone care to enlighten me on the matters?
 
Hi Jash. I hope this enlightens you. It still might be subject to correction by a more knowledgeable Catholic:

The Atonement, I think, correlates more directly to Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary, His Passion and Death - as a Victim; which as high priest He offered to the Father…This is our Salvation, which is deliverance from sin and its consequences - all sin and all its consequences.

The Resurrection is more of a confirmation of the truth about who Christ is, the fulfillment of His promises, and the promise of our own resurrection.

Catholics hold that immediately after death, we face a “particular judgement”, which precedes the final judgement - which includes the final resurrection on the last day where then our soul will be reunited with its body.

The Catholic doctrine of the particular judgment is this: that immediately after death the eternal destiny of each separated soul is decided by the just judgment of God

From article 366 of the Catechism of The Catholic Church:

366 The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not “produced” by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection.

Here are several other pertinent articles from the Catechism of the Catholic church:

654 The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God’s grace, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace. It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ’s brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: “Go and tell my brethren.” We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.

655 Finally, Christ’s Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. . . For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfillment . In Christ, Christians “have tasted. . . the powers of the age to come” and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may “live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

If you click the link below, you can read from article 638-658 inclusively of the Catechism of The Catholic Church. That would provide you with a more complete answer.
God Bless you.
hismercy.ca/content/church_docs/catechism/p122a5p2.htm#640
 
Hi Jash,

rather than give you an official Catholic response, i’ll just say some of my thoughts.

The ressurection is a confirmation that something special was going on and validates Jesus.

The ressurection was the starting point of faith in the early church which gave it confidence, allowed it to spread and is a great witness to the belief and validity of that early church.

The idea that Jesus was part of the one true God is a sombre wake up call to me that contrasts his actions and words on earth with my own. Because i fall well short, his ressurection validated his life as an example of what i need to do to become closer to God and is both a great realisation and hope as well as challenge.

Because the ressurection event is so powerful and has lasted down through the centuries to today, i believe it is a way God can spread his love throughout the world, by our choice of acceptance and witness.

Perhaps in this way he can reconcile mankind to himself.
That is, he can make us good and holy as he is.
 
Hi, LDS asking here. I am simply looking for perspective on traditional Catholic doctrine. Specifically I’m wondering if you believe there was any purpose to Christs resurrection separate from his atonement. My understanding is that you believe the atonement was to pay the price for our sins (and Adams?) Would anyone care to enlighten me on the matters?
Jash, if you would like to develop an informed perspective on the doctrine of the Atonement, let me suggest an english-language text from the 1800s which is freely available on books.google.com:

The Catholic Doctrine of the Atonement:
An Historical Inquiry Into Its Development in the Church,
with an Introduction on the Principle of Theological Developments
by Henry Oxenham
(below the thumbnail pic of the title page:
click the “Read this book” or “Download PDF” buttons)

While written ~150 years ago, the information is all still relevant and well put together by modern standards; in certain sections he writes to his audience as though they were quite familiar with the the names and work of men who were at that time contemporary Protestant and Catholic theologians, so a reader today will have to just let some of it buzz over his/her head. If you want to skip the Introduction (pages 1 - 66), which is like a mini-treatise on the general concept of doctrinal development, you can jump straight to Chapter 1 (page 67) and it won’t affect your being able to understand the rest of the book (as he doesn’t refer back to it very often).

I would also recommend the following articles from the original Catholic Encyclopedia: Atonement, Redemption, Salvation, Reparation, Sin, Grace, Resurrection, Sacrifice, Sacrifice of the Mass.
 
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. risk adjustment coding invoice factoring I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
 
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