288. What is the first sentence in Holy Scripture? (CCC 279) The first sentence in Holy Scripture is: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

289. What are the three points in the treatise on creation? (CCC 279) The three points in the treatise on creation are:
1. the Creator
2. the Creation
3. the Fall into sin.

290. Why are creation and the mystery of Christ interrelated? (CCC 280) Creation and the mystery of Christ are interrelated, because creation culminates in Christ while the mystery of Christ casts light on the creation by revealing its end and goal.

291. Why is catechesis on creation important? (CCC 282) Catechesis on creation is important, because it answers the two basic human questions about the origin and the end of man and all things.

292. What are the four major non-Christian accounts of the world’s origin and end? (CCC 285) The four major non-Christian accounts of the world’s origin and end are:
1. Pantheism which identifies the world with God
2. Dualism which says that the world is the product of two conflicting principles: Good and Evil
3. Deism which says that God created and abandoned the world to itself
4. Materialism which sees the world as the interplay of uncreated matter.

293. Can God the Creator be known by the light of human reason alone? (CCC 286) Yes, God the Creator can be known by the light of human reason alone.
Faith is needed in order to confirm and enlighten the understanding of this truth which is often obscured by error.

294. What is the locus classicus on the creation and its fall into sin? (CCC 289) The locus classicus on the creation and its fall into sin is Gen 1-3.

295. Why is creation the work of the Holy Trinity? (CCC 290-291) Creation is the work of the Holy Trinity, because God created everything through the eternal Word in the Holy Spirit.

296. How does St Irenaeus describe the creation as the work of the Holy Trinity? (CCC 292) St Irenaeus († 200) describes the creation as the work of the Holy Trinity by saying that the Father is the Creator while the Son and the Holy Spirit are His hands.
St Irenaeus of Lyons (France) is one of the early Church Fathers.

297. Who says that “the world was created for the glory of God”? (CCC 293) Dei Filius, a dogmatic Constitution of Vatican I (AD 1869-70), says that “the world was created for the glory of God.”

298. What is the glory of God according to St Irenaeus? (CCC 294) According to St Irenaeus († 200) the glory of God is man fully alive.
Man is fully alive when he sees God.

299. In what does the mystery of creation consist? (CCC 295-301) The mystery of creation consists in the fact that God:
1. created by His wisdom and love
2. created out of nothing
3. created an ordered and good world
4. transcends creation and is present to it
5. upholds and sustains creation.

300. What does it mean that God creates out of nothing? (CCC 296) That God creates out of nothing means that He needs no pre-existent thing or any help in order to create, nor is creation any sort of necessary flowing-out from the divine substance.
The creation out of nothing is called in Latin: creátio ex níhilo .

301. Where does the Holy Scripture say that God created out of nothing? (CCC 297) The Holy Scripture says in 2 Macc 7 that God created out of nothing.
The mother of seven sons encourages them for martyrdom: “Look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed.”

302. How does St Augustine assert that God transcends His creation and is present to it? (CCC 300) St Augustine († 430) asserts that God transcends His creation and is present to it by saying that He is “higher than my highest and more inward than my innermost self.”

303. What are the two parts of God’s creative activity? (CCC 301) The two parts of God’s creative activity are:
1. bringing creation into being
2. upholding and sustaining it.

304. What is Divine Providence? (CCC 302) Divine Providence is the dispositions (actions) by which God guides His creatures to their ultimate end and perfection.

305. What does it mean that the universe was created “in a state of journeying”? (CCC 302) That the universe was created “in a state of journeying” means that it was made for an ultimate perfection yet to be attained.
“In a state of journeying” is in Latin: in statu viae .

306. What does it mean, that Divine Providence acts concretely and immediately? (CCC 303) That Divine Providence acts concretely and immediately means that:
1. God cares concretely for all, the least things and the great events of world and history
2. God Himself cares directly for them.

307. For what attitude toward Divine Providence does Christ ask? (CCC 305) Christ asks for a childlike abandonment to Divine Providence.

308. Why can intelligent and free creatures cooperate in God’s providence? (CCC 306) Intelligent and free creatures can cooperate in God’s providence, because God in His omnipotence grants them the dignity of acting on their own and of being causes and principles for each other.

309. How do God’s creatures co-operate with Divine Providence? (CCC 306) God’s creatures co-operate with Divine Providence by being causes and principles for each other.

310. Why does God’s Providence use His creatures’ co-operation? (CCC 306) God’s Providence uses His creatures’ cooperation, because of God’s greatness and goodness.

311. Why does man collaborate in a special way in God’s Providence? (CCC 307) Man collaborates in a special way in God’s providence, because he does so as an intelligent and free cause.

312. How does God the Creator work as the first cause of all creatures? (CCC 308) God the Creator works as the first cause of all creatures by operating in and through them, using them as secondary causes.

313. What reality seems to deny the existence of Divine Providence? (CCC 309) The reality that seems to deny the existence of Divine Providence is the reality of evil.
If God cares for all His creatures, why does evil exist? Only Christian Faith as a whole constitutes the answer to this question.

314. Why did God not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it? (CCC 310) God did not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it, because He wished to create the world in a state of journeying, where the more perfect exists alongside with the less perfect.

315. Is God in any way the cause of moral evil? (CCC 311) No, God is in no way, neither directly nor indirectly, the cause of moral evil.

316. Why does God permit moral evil? (CCC 311) God permits moral evil, because He:
1. respects the freedom of His creatures
2. knows how to derive good from evil.

317. From what evil did God bring the greatest of goods to men? (CCC 312) From the greatest of evils, the murder of His only Son, God brought the greatest of goods to men.

318. When will we know fully the ways of God’s Providence? (CCC 314) Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases and we see God face to face, we will know fully the ways of God’s Providence.