30. Why is there in man a desire for God? (CCC 27) There is in man a desire for God, because:
1. man is created by God
2. man is created for God.
Notice that these two reasons are related to man’s origin and to his final end.

31. What in history shows that man is a religious being? (CCC 28) The many manifestations of religious beliefs in history, notwithstanding the ambiguities found therein, show that man is a religious being.
Such manifestations of religious beliefs in history are e.g.: prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations.

32. What does St Augustine say in his Confessions about man’s restless search for God? (CCC 30) Speaking to God St Augustine says in his Confessions about man’s restless search for God: “Our heart is restless until it rests in You.”
The Confessions are a book that St Augustine († 430) wrote as his spiritual autobiography.

33. What do we call the ways of coming to know God from His creation? (CCC 31) We call the ways of knowing God from creation the proofs for the existence of God.

34. What is a proof for the existence of God? (CCC 31) A proof for the existence of God is a converging and convincing argument that there is a God.

35. What is the twofold point of departure for the proofs for God’s existence? (CCC 31) The twofold point of departure for the proofs for the existence of God are:
1. the physical world
2. the human person.

36. Why can God be known by proofs beginning from the world? (CCC 32) God can be known by proofs beginning from the world, because some realities contained in the world cannot have their origin or end in themselves and thus require a creator who precedes them and/ or is their end.
Such realities are movement, becoming, contingency, the world’s order or beauty.

37. What is the contingency of all created being? (CCC 32) The contingency of all created being is the fact that these realities contain within themselves neither their first principle (= the reason why they exist) nor their final end (= the reason for which they exist) and thus must depend on somebody who created them for some purpose.

38. What is the locus classicus for the possibility of knowing God from His creature? (CCC 32) The locus classicus for the possibility of knowing God from His creature is Rom 1:19s.
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world His eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things He has made. So they are without excuse.”

39. Why can God be known through proofs beginning from man’s spiritual soul? (CCC 33) God can be known through proofs beginning from man’s spiritual soul, because this soul is irreducible to the merely material and therefore can have its origin and end only in the spiritual God.

40. Why does the being of all creation attest to God’s existence? (CCC 34) The being of all creation attests to God’s existence, because creation does not contain within itself its first principle or its final end. Thus, there must be a reality that is the first cause and final end of creation. This reality is called God.

41. Why is it not enough to know God through the proofs for His existence? (CCC 35) It is not enough to know God through the proofs for His existence, because these proofs can only predispose man to Faith and help him see that Faith is not opposed to reason. Man, however, is meant to have a personal and intimate relationship with God, which these proofs cannot give.

42. What Council defines the possibility of a natural knowledge of God? (CCC 36) Vatican I (AD 1869-70) defines in the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Filius the possibility of a natural knowledge of God.
Natural knowledge of God means that man can know God by the light of human reason alone.

43. Why does God reveal religious and moral truths which don’t exceed human reason? (CCC 38) God reveals religious and moral truths which don’t exceed human reason so that these truths can be known by all men:
1. with ease
2. with certainty
3. with no admixture of error.
There is no absolute need to reveal a truth that can be known by the power of human reason alone.

44. On what basis can we speak about God with all men even pagans and atheists? (CCC 39) We can speak about God with all men, even pagans and atheists, on the basis of human reason as through reason alone all men are capable of attaining a knowledge of God.

45. Why is our language about God limited? (CCC 40) Our language about God is limited, because:
1. our knowledge of Him is limited
2. we can name God only by taking creatures as our starting point.

46. How does natural theology proceed in order to obtain knowledge of God? (CCC 41-43) In order to obtain knowledge of God natural theology proceeds in three steps from the effect (creatures) to the cause (creator):
1. it names God by taking His creatures’ perfections as the starting point
2. it denies of God whatever imperfection it finds in His creatures
3. it affirms of God in a supereminent way the perfections found in His creatures.
These three steps are also called in Latin: via pósitiva, via négativa and via eminéntiae.

47. Why are the perfections of creatures a starting point in speaking about God? (CCC 41) The perfections of creatures are a starting point in speaking about God, because “from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator” (Wis 13:5).

48. Of what must our language be purified when speaking about God? (CCC 42) When speaking about God, our language must be purified of everything in it that is limited, image-bound or imperfect.

49. Can human language apprehend God Himself? (CCC 43) Yes, human language can apprehend (in the CCC: attain to) God Himself, but it is unable to express Him in His infinite simplicity.
Lateran IV (AD 1215): “Between Creator and creature no similitude (resemblance) can be expressed without implying an even greater dissimilitude (non-resemblance).”