Anglican Catechism: An Outline of the Faith (Jesus, Creator, Moses)

[lunamoth]

I'd like to start this thread on the Catechism of the Anglican Communon for informational purposes and polite discussion by anyone who might be interested. I'll just start posting the catechism one subject area per post, copying exactly from the Book of Common Prayer, and I'll intersperse any of my own comments being sure to make them distinctive from the catechism itself. Please feel free to put your own posts in, questions or comments, as they occur to you.

For anyone unfamiliar with it, the Book of Common Prayer is the primary instrument of worship in the Anglican Communion, including the Episcopal Church USA to which I belong. The Anglican Communion (AC) is unusual in its organization in that there is no one central authority: we are mostly held together by our worship practices which is why the Book of Common Prayer is so dear to us. The Archbishop of Caterbury is "first among equals" in our system of Primates, the Bishops representing the numerous churches in the AC. Actually, the official head of the AC is not the Archbishop, but the Queen of England.

Anyway, I hope that Terry and others (Soj, you too if you're reading along) will help me out here and correct anything I say that might be misleading. And again, please feel free to ask questions at any time although I can't guarantee an answer I'll do my best.

[lunamoth]

Human Nature

Q: What are we by nature?
A: We are part of God's creation, made in the image of God.

Q: What does it mean to be created in the image of God?
A: It means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God.

Q: Why then do we live apart from God and out of harmony with creation?
A: From the beginning, human beings have misused their freedom and made wrong choices.

Q: Why do we not use our freedom as we should?
A: Because we rebel against God, and we put ourselves in the place of God.

Q: What help is there for us?
A: Our help is in God.

Q: How did God first help us?
A: God first helped us by revealing himself and his will, through nature and history, through many seers and saints, and especially through the prophets of Israel.

[lunamoth]

God the Father

Q: What do we learn about God as creator from the revelation to Israel?
A: We learn that there is one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

Q: What does this mean?
A: This means that the universe is good, that it is the work of a single loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it.

Q: What does this mean aobut our place in the universe?
A: It means that the world belongs to its creator; and that we are called to enjoy it and to care for it in accordance with God's purposes.

Q: What does this mean about human life?
A: It means that all people are worthy of respect and honor, because all are created in the image of God, and all can respond to the love of God.

Q: How was this revelation handed down to us?
A: This revelation was handed down to us through a community created by a covenant with God.

luna's comments: note: the universe is good; we are good and worthy.

Also, the revelation was transmitted through a community. Not a book. Not a doctrine or dogma. Through a covenant, not a contract. We can't break it (although we can neglect it) and God won't.

[lunamoth]

The Old Covenant

Q: What is meant by a covenant with God?
A: A covenant is a relationship initiated by God, to which a body of people responds in faith.

Q: What is the Old Covenant?
A: The Old Covenant is the one given by God to the Hebrew people.

Q: What did God promise?
A: God promised that they would be his people to bring all the nations of the world to him.

Q: What response did God require from the chosen people?
A: God required the chosen people to be faithful; to love justice, to do mercy, and to walk humbly with their God.

Q: Where is this Old Covenant to be found?
A: The covenant with the Hebrew people is to be found in the books which we call the Old Testament.

Q: Where in the Old Testament is God's will for us shown most clearly?
A: God' will for us is shown most clearly in the Ten Commandments.

[lunamoth]

The Ten Commandments

Q: What are the Ten Commandments?
A: The Ten Commandments are the laws given to Moses and the people of Israel.

Q: What do we learn from these commandments?
A: We learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to our neighbors.

Q: What is our duty to God?
A: Our duty is to believe and trust in God;
I To love and obey God and to brings others to know him;
II To put nothing in the place of God;
III To show God respect in thgouth, word, and deed;
IV And to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God's ways.

Q: What is our duty to our neighbors?
A: Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves, and to do to other people as we wish them to do to us;
V To love, honor, and help our parents and family; to honor those in authority, and to meet their just demands;
VI To show respect for the life God has give us; to work and pray for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all the creatures of God;
VII To use all our bodily desires as God intended;
VIII To be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people; and to use our talents and possessions as ones who must answer for them to God;
IX To speak the truth, and not to mislead others by our silence;
X To resis temptations to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in other people's gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God, who has called us into fellowship with him.

Q: What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments?
A: the Ten Commandments were given to define our relationship with God and our neighbors.

Q: Since we do not fully obey them, are they useful at all?
A: Since we do not fully obey them, we see more clearly our sin and our need for redemption.

[lunamoth]

Sin and Redemption

Q: What is sin?
A: Sin is the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation.

Q: How does sin have power over us?
A: Sin has power over us because we lose our liberty when our relationship with God is distorted.

Q: What is redemption?
A: Redemption is the act of God which sets us free from the power of evil, sin, and death.

Q: How did God prepare us for redemption?
A: God sent the prophets to call us back to himself, to show us our need for redemption, and to announce the coming of the Messiah.

Q: What is meant by the Messiah?
A: The Messiah is one sent by God to free us from the power of sin, so that with the help of God we may live in harmony with God, within ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation.

Q: Who do we believe is the Messiah?
A: The Messiah, or Christ, is Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son of God.

luna's comment: redemption/salvation is for now.

[lunamoth]

God the Son

Q: What do we mean when we say that Jesus is the only Son of God?
A: We mean that Jesus is the only perfect image of the Father, and shows us the nature of God.

Q: What is the nature of God revealed in Jesus?
A: God is love.

Q: What do we mean when we say the Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and became incarnate from the Virgin Mary?
A: We mean that by God's own act, his divine Son received our human nature from the Virgin Mary, his mother.

Q: Why did he take our human nature?
A: The divine Son became human, so that in him human beings might be adopted as children of God, and be made heirs of God's kingdom.

Q: What is the great importance of Jesus' suffering and death?
A: By his obedience, even to suffering and death, Jesus made the offering which we could not make; in him we are freed from the power of sin and reconciled to God.

Q: What is the significance of Jesus' resurrection?
A: By his resurrection, Jesus overcame death and opened for us the way of eternal life.

Q: What do we mean when we say thtat he descended to the dead?
A: We mean that he went to the departed and offered them also the benefits of redemption.

Q: What do we mean when we say that he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father?
A: We mean that Jesus took our human nature into heaven where he now reigns with the Father and intercedes for us.

Q: How can we share in his victory over sin, suffering, and death?
A: We share in his victory when we are baptized into the New Covenant and become living members of Christ.

[evearael]

Great thread, Luna!

Q: Where in the Old Testament is God's will for us shown most clearly?
A: God' will for us is shown most clearly in the Ten Commandments.

Are these the only laws that Anglicans/Episcopalians obey prior to the New Testament?

Q: How can we share in his victory over sin, suffering, and death?
A: We share in his victory when we are baptized into the New Covenant and become living members of Christ.

Is baptism the only way to heaven or does God have mercy on infants, young children and other good people?