Post 1: CCC 26-143

I am not Catholic so this was my first time reading the Catechism. Some new words that I learned are exegete, meaning someone who interprets text, especially scripture, and magisterium, meaning the Catholic Church’s authority to interpret the Word of God. Additionally, I was confused by the way the word “economy” was used in this reading. When I looked it up I saw that there are many ways it can be used in reference to religion, and I wasn’t sure which meaning was intended in this reading. 

One idea that I found persuasive is that humans can be considered “religious beings” and that “the desire for God is written in the human heart” (27). I think that most people, whether they are religious or not, have a natural longing for some type of higher power or for a spiritual explanation of the world. Additionally, the idea of humans as religious beings can also be seen by how many religions there are throughout the world and how much longevity many religious institutions have had. Even though science has now explained many things that were previously unknown and could only be seen through religion, people still have a desire to be religious.

Something mentioned that I found confusing and poorly supported was that all people can know God “with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason” , but that there are many obstacles that can stop people from doing so (36). I didn’t find this convincing because authors had no way of knowing that in a world without “the impact of the senses and the imagination” and “disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin” that reason alone would be enough to believe in God (37). Therefore, I don’t believe that there is any way of knowing that this is true.

2 thoughts on “Post 1: CCC 26-143

  1. I have also never read the Catechism before, so I was also confused by the use of the term economy throughout the text as it is not used in a way we would normally think. In your last paragraph, you mentioned your confusion with all people knowing God with certainty and I agree with this because certainty is an interesting word to use in this case. I think that no one has concrete reasoning for their faith in God, but it is more of a belief which we choose to follow and there is no certainty in this belief.

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  2. I didn’t read Catechism before too and reading your blog has aroused sympathy. In the second paragragh, you believed that people tend to have an expectation to the higher power of the world and I agree with you. Especially when people encounter something they cannot explain or suffer from, people will blame the destiny, the fortune and ask for help from higher power.

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