id The christian doctrine: quick ideas on Christian doctrine. Main truths, commandments, sacraments. How to know God? How do you divide the Christian doctrine?
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THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
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KNOWLEDGE OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

1. Can we get to know God? God is a spirit; nobody can see Him nor touch Him. However there are two ways to get to know God: observing His works and receiving His divine inspirations whenever He sends them.

2. How come you say observing His Works? We know about the Phoenicians or Pharaohs etc. by studying their archaeological artifacts. In a similar way, observing the creation we can reach out to its Creator. For example, observing a starry night we realize the wisdom of He who has organized the universe.

3. Has God manifested himself? Jesus, the Lord, has revealed himself to men through the prophets and saints and above all with the coming of the Son of God into the World.

4. How can we know that God Himself is the one speaking? Divine manifestations come along with supernatural events which support their divine origin.

5. Where can I find the divine revelation? The Bible and the Jewish traditions were the origin. Our Lord Jesus completed the Revelation and gave the Apostles the task of transmitting His teachings. They did it mostly orally (tradition). The Lord also willed that the message be written so the Bible was written. The successors of the Apostles: the bishops and the Pope, continue this mission with their teachings (Magisterium).

6. Is tradition just spoken? Tradition started orally and got engraved in the life of the first Christians. It appears written in the books of the great saints of Old –the Holy Fathers- like Saint Augustine.

7. What can we obtain by learning the Christian doctrine? We get to know Christ and His teachings; to practice them in order to acquire sanctity and gain eternal life.

8. What is holiness? By looking at a saintly person we can conclude that:

  • he or she is a person who imitates Christ and does it to the point of being like Him.
  • he or she tries to perform God’s will at every moment.
  • this holy person has acquired many virtues and practices them to a heroic degree.
9. What are virtues? Positive habits. You can receive them as a gift from God (these are called supernatural virtues) or by repeating the same positive acts many times (human virtues). Virtues improve our personality as human beings by enabling us to undertake good actions and overcoming difficulties.

10. What are the different parts of the Doctrine? We can find four parts:

  • The Creed or Truths revealed by God so that his children may know more about Him.
  • Sacraments or gifts from God to become better children of His.
  • Commandments or way of life of a child of God.
  • Prayer, that is to say, how children should approach their God the Father.
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