God

Father Hardon’s writings on God explore the nature, attributes, and mystery of the Divine Being revealed in Catholic teaching. These articles examine the Trinity, God’s love and justice, creation, providence, and humanity’s relationship with the Creator.

God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. My purpose is to discuss how we are to put our faith in God’s love as the One who created us and continues to create. This is the first article of faith of the Apostles’ Creed: I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. Each […]

Deity

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Among the religions of the world, the concept of the deity differs considerably. One of the main objects of the study of comparative religion has been to clarify the different ideas of God or the deity professed by the major religious cultures of mankind. See COMPARATIVE RELIGION. God of […]

God the Creator

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. This article on “God the Creator” will be unusual. It will consist of nearly twenty paragraphs. Each paragraph will be introduced by a one-sentence statement. These statements will summarize the content of each paragraph. Taken together, they will form a synthesis of the Catholic Church’s teaching on the basic […]

VI. The Grace of God

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Among the mysteries of Catholicism, none is more practically important for our personal lives than the doctrine of grace. It is the very heart of Christianity on its human side, since it describes the panorama of God’s dealing with each one of us in the depths of our souls. […]

God the Author of Nature and the Supernatural: A Systematic Treatise on God, Man, and the Universe

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION PART ONE: CREATION AS A DIVINE ACT THESIS I: God alone created the world, in time and with perfect freedom. THESIS II: God keeps the world in existence positively, directly and immediately. THESIS III: God’s ultimate purpose in creating is His own goodness: to manifest […]

God the Author of Nature and the Supernatural – Part One: Creation as a Divine Act: Thesis I – God Alone Created the World, In Time and with Perfect Freedom

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Just as deity describes the intimate nature of God, so the whole cosmos or everything which is not God depends entirely on Him as its first and ultimate cause. The world, therefore, otherwise than God is not self-sufficient but contingent on God. Its dependence comprehends all things, from the […]

God the Author of Nature and the Supernatural – Part One: Creation as a Divine Act: Thesis II – God Keeps the World in Existence Positively, Directly and Immediately

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The present thesis is the next logical step after seeing that God created the world out of nothing. By itself, creation implies only that the world was brought into being by divine omnipotence, without further saying how the once created world is kept in existence. Hence the question and […]

God the Author of Nature and the Supernatural – Part One: Creation as a Divine Act: Thesis III

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. THESIS III: GOD’S ULTIMATE PURPOSE IN CREATING IS HIS OWN GOODNESS: TO MANIFEST HIS PERFECTION THROUGH THE BENEFITS HE BESTOWS ON CREATURES, NOT TO INCREASE HIS HAPPINESS NOR TO ACQUIRE ANY PERFECTION. THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF THE CREATED WORLD IS THIS SAME DIVINE GOODNESS: PRIMARILY TO BE MANIFESTED IN […]

God the Author of Nature and the Supernatural – Part Two: Creation as a Divine Fact – Section One: Angelology – Thesis IV

THESIS IVThere exists angels, who are pure spirits; of whom some persevered in grace and entered heaven while others sinned and were damned. The good angels are sent as guardians, but demons tempt men to sin. By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Although human reason may reasonably conjecture the existence of pure spirits, it required […]

God the Author of Nature and the Supernatural – Part Two: Creation as a Divine Fact – Section Two: Supernatural Anthropology – Thesis V

THESIS VIn man there is one rational soul, which is immortal and imediately created by God alone. By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The present section is variously called dogmatic or supernatural anthropology. It is anthropology because its subject matter is man, and to that extent coincides with rational psychology as a philosophical discipline. But […]

God the Author of Nature and the Supernatural – Part Two: Creation as a Divine Fact – Section Two: Supernatural Anthropology – Thesis VI

THESIS VIThe Body of Adam was Made by an Immediate Operation of God. By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The object of inquiry in this thesis is the origin of the body of the first man. In view of the preceding analysis, we can easily conclude that the soul of Adam must have been immediately […]

God the Author of Nature and the Supernatural – Part Two: Creation as a Divine Fact – Section Two: Supernatural Anthropology – Thesis VII

THESIS VIIAdam was an Individual Man, From Whom the Whole Human Race Derives Its Origin. By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The present thesis is a bridge which spans our investigation of the first human being and the rest of mankind. Its importance, however, is more than to state a historical fact, that the human […]

1 2 3 4