P
PJM
Guest
Is the answer to Why was Man created articulated in the bible?
- Status
A
Aloysium
Guest
How about:
Rom 11:33 How rich and deep are the wisdom and the knowledge of God! We cannot reach to the root of his decisions or his ways. 34 Who has ever known the mind of the Lord? Who has ever been his adviser? 35 Who has given anything to him, so that his presents come only as a debt returned? 36 Everything there is comes from him and is caused by him and exists for him. To him be glory for ever! Amen.
Rom 11:33 How rich and deep are the wisdom and the knowledge of God! We cannot reach to the root of his decisions or his ways. 34 Who has ever known the mind of the Lord? Who has ever been his adviser? 35 Who has given anything to him, so that his presents come only as a debt returned? 36 Everything there is comes from him and is caused by him and exists for him. To him be glory for ever! Amen.
P
Polycarp1
Guest
Yes it is, but it takes knowledge and wisdom to put it together. I just took an online course from UND STEP program on creation and it was very enlightenning. One excerpt:
The inner meaning of creation, of God’s exercise of creative power, is not simply that other things appear, but that God imparts the true gift of selfhood where there had only been one self before, namely, Godself. Whatever else it is, creation is a self-emptying on God’s part, a making things with their own proper autonomy: “For by the very circumstance of their having been created, all things are endowed with their own stability, truth, goodness, proper laws, and order” (Gaudium et Spes 36, cited by John Paul II, “Created Things Have a Legitimate Autonomy,” in A Catechesis on the Creed, vol. 1, God, Father and Creator [Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 1996], 217]).
This does not mean that they can exist without God. In fact, they are totally dependent on God’s continual gift of self-hood, continuously ceded, continuously offered, but it does mean that it is a true gift, continuously given fully without stinting, the generation in love of myriad other selves who may enjoy themselves precisely as gifts from the Creator, as much as their proper nature permits. CAVADINI
In other words God created us because knowing it was possible to create beings who might enjoy existance He did so.
The inner meaning of creation, of God’s exercise of creative power, is not simply that other things appear, but that God imparts the true gift of selfhood where there had only been one self before, namely, Godself. Whatever else it is, creation is a self-emptying on God’s part, a making things with their own proper autonomy: “For by the very circumstance of their having been created, all things are endowed with their own stability, truth, goodness, proper laws, and order” (Gaudium et Spes 36, cited by John Paul II, “Created Things Have a Legitimate Autonomy,” in A Catechesis on the Creed, vol. 1, God, Father and Creator [Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 1996], 217]).
This does not mean that they can exist without God. In fact, they are totally dependent on God’s continual gift of self-hood, continuously ceded, continuously offered, but it does mean that it is a true gift, continuously given fully without stinting, the generation in love of myriad other selves who may enjoy themselves precisely as gifts from the Creator, as much as their proper nature permits. CAVADINI
In other words God created us because knowing it was possible to create beings who might enjoy existance He did so.
P
PJM
Guest
No=grannymh;10905514]Yes
Genesis 1: 26-27
That’s the “How” not the “Why” [in God’s image so you don’t have to look it up]
G
grannymh
Guest
It most certainly is the why – at least according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, paragraphs 355-356. In brief, the reason Man (CCC 404, “The whole human race is in Adam ‘as one body of one man’.”) you and me were created is to share by knowledge and love in God’s own life. Note that the how is needed so that the why is attainable.No
Now, what earthly reason for why we exist can top eternal joy?
T
TimothyH
Guest
God created man so that we can know him, love him and serve him. He created us to share in his life. From the first words in the Catechism…
***PROLOGUE
I. THE LIFE OF MAN - TO KNOW AND LOVE GOD
1 God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life**. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength…*
If it comes from the Catechism then it comes from the Church. The Church is the voice of Christ, but it is also articulated in the Bible over and over.
***So God created man in his own image, in the image of God **he created him; male and female he created them. (1 Genesis 1:27)
When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. (Genesis 5:1)
for God created man for incorruption,
and made him in the image of his own eternity,(Wisdom 2:23)
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. (Luke 6:40)
His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. (1 Peter 1:3-4)*
God created us to come to know him and through that knowlege to come to love him, and to serve him, and to be like him and to share in his life.
-Tim-
***PROLOGUE
I. THE LIFE OF MAN - TO KNOW AND LOVE GOD
1 God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life**. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength…*
If it comes from the Catechism then it comes from the Church. The Church is the voice of Christ, but it is also articulated in the Bible over and over.
***So God created man in his own image, in the image of God **he created him; male and female he created them. (1 Genesis 1:27)
When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. (Genesis 5:1)
for God created man for incorruption,
and made him in the image of his own eternity,(Wisdom 2:23)
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. (Luke 6:40)
His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. (1 Peter 1:3-4)*
God created us to come to know him and through that knowlege to come to love him, and to serve him, and to be like him and to share in his life.
-Tim-
T
TimothyH
Guest
F
fisherman_carl
Guest
I think the confusion when answering this question for me and I suspect many others, is when we define God theologically as a being that does not need anything. He is complete in himself. So if God doesn’t need anything then why did he create anything, never mind us?
We have a hard time relating to the idea of not needing anything. From the moment we are born we need others. We are contingent on something else for our continued existence. Even as adults, while we no longer rely on our parents to the same degree, we still require air to breathe, food, clothing and shelter.
So God is contingent on nothing and he created a universe full of contingent beings. So we are the ones who need him. It seems the only way possible for a contingent universe to exist is if something that is not contingent created it. There can’t be an infinite regress of causes. There can not be an infinite number of things. If there was an infinite amount of causes to the present moment how did we ever get to now? Since an infinite amount of time would be needed.
So in this sense God being not contingent is necessary so that we can have existence. However, while God doesn’t need anything from us in order to exist, I think we can say it is a part of God’s nature to exist for us. That is we are part of God’s plan of existence. He continually sustains our very existence. Yet we are separate from him, having been created from nothing and not from a part of him. For if the universe was a part of God then God would be limited by the universe.
For me the most meaningful part of existence is love. The universe would be a cold place without it. Merely existing for the sake of existing. Yet somehow love adds meaning to everything. Kind of like how salt adds flavor. And considering we are created in God’s image I can imagine God finding meaning in love as well. We would really need to know how God thinks of himself though. I imagine he is self aware like us since he is a person. I suppose a being could be completely focused outside oneself and not be self aware. But we usually associate self awareness with intelligence.
In conclusion, though God is completely self existent, I imagine he finds meaning in his existence through love. And I think this gives us a clue to why he created us. We were created by love and for love.
We have a hard time relating to the idea of not needing anything. From the moment we are born we need others. We are contingent on something else for our continued existence. Even as adults, while we no longer rely on our parents to the same degree, we still require air to breathe, food, clothing and shelter.
So God is contingent on nothing and he created a universe full of contingent beings. So we are the ones who need him. It seems the only way possible for a contingent universe to exist is if something that is not contingent created it. There can’t be an infinite regress of causes. There can not be an infinite number of things. If there was an infinite amount of causes to the present moment how did we ever get to now? Since an infinite amount of time would be needed.
So in this sense God being not contingent is necessary so that we can have existence. However, while God doesn’t need anything from us in order to exist, I think we can say it is a part of God’s nature to exist for us. That is we are part of God’s plan of existence. He continually sustains our very existence. Yet we are separate from him, having been created from nothing and not from a part of him. For if the universe was a part of God then God would be limited by the universe.
For me the most meaningful part of existence is love. The universe would be a cold place without it. Merely existing for the sake of existing. Yet somehow love adds meaning to everything. Kind of like how salt adds flavor. And considering we are created in God’s image I can imagine God finding meaning in love as well. We would really need to know how God thinks of himself though. I imagine he is self aware like us since he is a person. I suppose a being could be completely focused outside oneself and not be self aware. But we usually associate self awareness with intelligence.
In conclusion, though God is completely self existent, I imagine he finds meaning in his existence through love. And I think this gives us a clue to why he created us. We were created by love and for love.
- Status