Posted on 07/01/2003 9:34:44 AM PDT by TPartyType
This Sandbox is devoted to giving you a place to practice basic HTML, and to get some coaching.
So, first things first:
Go to michigander's [ HTML Bootcamp (Cyber patriot training)] and learn there how to change font color, font size, font face, and the like.
THERE'S A WEALTH OF INFORMATION THERE NOT COVERED HERE (so as to avoid duplication).
Learn there also how to post a link and an image, then come back here to practice.
If you're having problems, folks will drop by occasionally to give you pointers and help you troubleshoot.
NEWCOMERS TIP: I just reread the FreeRepublic posting guidelines. They're worth a read by all newcomers [click here].
But first, HTML advice from the FreeRepublic help page:
Basic HTML
The Free Republic forum uses standard HTML coding techniques. Use <p> to start new paragraphs. You may use <b> to begin bolding and <center> to center text, but please remember to end these items where appropriate with </b> and/or </center>, etc. If you post links or other advanced coding, be sure to test before posting.Creating new paragraphs is about the only html that most posters ever need, but if you would like to learn more about html you may use any search engine on the internet to find tutorials. Simply search on "html tutorial". Here are links to a couple tutorials that I found:
Please: ALWAYS turn "OFF" the formatting when you use it.
Some commonly used codes of this type are:
These codes can be "nested" to produce multiple effects at the same time. For instance:
<b><i>Bold and Italic</i></b> produces Bold and Italic
where "URL" is the URL address you want to link to (and you gotta use the double quotes), and Link Description is whatever you want to call your link. For example:
<a HREF="http://www.drudgereport.com/">Link to Drudge</a>
becomes Link to Drudge
And another from the same previous post:
<FONT COLOR="COLOR">Sample</FONT> produces colorful text.
"COLOR" is often a Hexidecimal Code for whatever Color you want, but color names are also supported.
Examples:
<FONT COLOR="blue">blue text</font> produces blue text
<FONT COLOR="red">red text</font> produces red text
<FONT COLOR="green">green text</font> produces green text
Here is an easy way to REMEMBER TO TURN OFF THE FORMATTING.
To be sure I turn off the formatting I TYPE THE "OFF" COMMAND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE "ON" COMMAND.
An example:
I want to respond to a line in a post by another brilliant Freeper.
I type < I >""< /I >< BR>
I then "cut and paste" his remarks between the quotes:
< i>" You are a poopy head "< /I>< BR>
And type my equally brilliant response: "No, you're a poopy head!"
The result:
"You are a poopy head"
No, you're a poopy head!
It's very easy to forget to turn off your formatting!
Yes it is!
Actually, the <ul> tag is for a bulleted list and stands for unordered list. The missing part is the list item tag (<li>) Here's an example:
<ul>
<li>List item #1
<li>List item #2
<li>List item #3
</ul>
Would display:
Finally . . .
Here's the link for [Webmonkey] (a super HTML training site).
"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be." “Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing" it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.”
“Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.”
"It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God. Without God people only succeed in bringing out the worst in one another. Lovers who have nothing else to do but love each other soon find there is nothing else. Without a central loyalty life is unfinished."
"Criticism of others is thus an oblique form of self-commendation. We think we make the picture hang straight on our wall by telling our neighbors that all his pictures are crooked."
"If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave."
"Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday."
"When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women."
"Far better it is for you to say: "I am a sinner," than to say: "I have no need of religion." The empty can be filled, but the self-intoxicated have no room for God."
"Books are the most wonderful friends in the world. When you meet them and pick them up, they are always ready to give you a few ideas. When you put them down, they never get mad; when you take them up again, they seem to enrich you all the more."
"You must remember to love people and use things, rather than to love things and use people."
"The difference between the love of a man and the love of a woman is that a man will always give reasons for loving, but a woman gives no reasons for loving."
“To tell a woman who is forty, "You look like sixteen," is boloney. The blarney way of saying it is "Tell me how old you are, I should like to know at what age women are the most beautiful.”
"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
"Too many people get credit for being good, when they are only being passive. They are too often praised for being broadminded when they are so broadminded they can never make up their minds about anything. "
"A woman gets angry when a man denies his faults, because she knew them all along. His lying mocks her affection; it is the deceit that angers her more than the faults."
"Once you have surrendered yourself, you make yourself receptive. In receiving from God, you are perfected and completed."
"Never forget that there are only two philosophies to rule your life: the one of the cross, which starts with the fast and ends with the feast. The other of Satan, which starts with the feast and ends with the headache."
"We become like that which we love. If we love what is base, we become base; but if we love what is noble, we become noble."
"Many married women who have deliberately spurned the "hour" of childbearing are unhappy and frustrated. They never discovered the joys of marriage because they refused to surrender to the obligation of their state. In saving themselves, they lost themselves!"
"The mark of man is initiative, but the mark of woman is cooperation. Man talks about freedom; woman about sympathy, love, sacrifice. Man cooperates with nature; woman cooperates with God. Man was called to till the earth, to "rule over the earth"; woman to be the bearer of a life that comes from God."
"The Victorians pretended sex did not exist; the moderns pretend that nothing else exists."
"The Western world has been attempting to preserve the fruits of Christianity after having surrendered the roots."
"If the new crime be, to believe in God, let us all be criminals"
"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."
“Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing" it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.”
“Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.”
"It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God. Without God people only succeed in bringing out the worst in one another. Lovers who have nothing else to do but love each other soon find there is nothing else. Without a central loyalty life is unfinished."
"Criticism of others is thus an oblique form of self-commendation. We think we make the picture hang straight on our wall by telling our neighbors that all his pictures are crooked."
"If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave."
"Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday."
"When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women."
"Far better it is for you to say: "I am a sinner," than to say: "I have no need of religion." The empty can be filled, but the self-intoxicated have no room for God."
"Books are the most wonderful friends in the world. When you meet them and pick them up, they are always ready to give you a few ideas. When you put them down, they never get mad; when you take them up again, they seem to enrich you all the more."
"You must remember to love people and use things, rather than to love things and use people."
"The difference between the love of a man and the love of a woman is that a man will always give reasons for loving, but a woman gives no reasons for loving."
“To tell a woman who is forty, "You look like sixteen," is boloney. The blarney way of saying it is "Tell me how old you are, I should like to know at what age women are the most beautiful.”
"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
"Too many people get credit for being good, when they are only being passive. They are too often praised for being broadminded when they are so broadminded they can never make up their minds about anything. "
"A woman gets angry when a man denies his faults, because she knew them all along. His lying mocks her affection; it is the deceit that angers her more than the faults."
"Once you have surrendered yourself, you make yourself receptive. In receiving from God, you are perfected and completed."
"Never forget that there are only two philosophies to rule your life: the one of the cross, which starts with the fast and ends with the feast. The other of Satan, which starts with the feast and ends with the headache."
"We become like that which we love. If we love what is base, we become base; but if we love what is noble, we become noble."
"Many married women who have deliberately spurned the "hour" of childbearing are unhappy and frustrated. They never discovered the joys of marriage because they refused to surrender to the obligation of their state. In saving themselves, they lost themselves!"
"The mark of man is initiative, but the mark of woman is cooperation. Man talks about freedom; woman about sympathy, love, sacrifice. Man cooperates with nature; woman cooperates with God. Man was called to till the earth, to "rule over the earth"; woman to be the bearer of a life that comes from God."
"The Victorians pretended sex did not exist; the moderns pretend that nothing else exists."
"The Western world has been attempting to preserve the fruits of Christianity after having surrendered the roots."
"If the new crime be, to believe in God, let us all be criminals"
"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be." “Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing" it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.”
“Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.”
"It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God. Without God people only succeed in bringing out the worst in one another. Lovers who have nothing else to do but love each other soon find there is nothing else. Without a central loyalty life is unfinished."
"Criticism of others is thus an oblique form of self-commendation. We think we make the picture hang straight on our wall by telling our neighbors that all his pictures are crooked."
"If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave."
"Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday."
"When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women."
"Far better it is for you to say: "I am a sinner," than to say: "I have no need of religion." The empty can be filled, but the self-intoxicated have no room for God."
"Books are the most wonderful friends in the world. When you meet them and pick them up, they are always ready to give you a few ideas. When you put them down, they never get mad; when you take them up again, they seem to enrich you all the more."
"You must remember to love people and use things, rather than to love things and use people."
"The difference between the love of a man and the love of a woman is that a man will always give reasons for loving, but a woman gives no reasons for loving."
“To tell a woman who is forty, "You look like sixteen," is boloney. The blarney way of saying it is "Tell me how old you are, I should like to know at what age women are the most beautiful.”
"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
"Too many people get credit for being good, when they are only being passive. They are too often praised for being broadminded when they are so broadminded they can never make up their minds about anything. "
"A woman gets angry when a man denies his faults, because she knew them all along. His lying mocks her affection; it is the deceit that angers her more than the faults."
"Once you have surrendered yourself, you make yourself receptive. In receiving from God, you are perfected and completed."
"Never forget that there are only two philosophies to rule your life: the one of the cross, which starts with the fast and ends with the feast. The other of Satan, which starts with the feast and ends with the headache."
"We become like that which we love. If we love what is base, we become base; but if we love what is noble, we become noble."
"Many married women who have deliberately spurned the "hour" of childbearing are unhappy and frustrated. They never discovered the joys of marriage because they refused to surrender to the obligation of their state. In saving themselves, they lost themselves!"
"The mark of man is initiative, but the mark of woman is cooperation. Man talks about freedom; woman about sympathy, love, sacrifice. Man cooperates with nature; woman cooperates with God. Man was called to till the earth, to "rule over the earth"; woman to be the bearer of a life that comes from God."
"The Victorians pretended sex did not exist; the moderns pretend that nothing else exists."
"The Western world has been attempting to preserve the fruits of Christianity after having surrendered the roots."
"If the new crime be, to believe in God, let us all be criminals"
“Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing" it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.”
“Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.”
"It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God. Without God people only succeed in bringing out the worst in one another. Lovers who have nothing else to do but love each other soon find there is nothing else. Without a central loyalty life is unfinished."
"Criticism of others is thus an oblique form of self-commendation. We think we make the picture hang straight on our wall by telling our neighbors that all his pictures are crooked."
"If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave."
"Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday."
"When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women."
"Far better it is for you to say: "I am a sinner," than to say: "I have no need of religion." The empty can be filled, but the self-intoxicated have no room for God."
"Books are the most wonderful friends in the world. When you meet them and pick them up, they are always ready to give you a few ideas. When you put them down, they never get mad; when you take them up again, they seem to enrich you all the more."
"You must remember to love people and use things, rather than to love things and use people."
"The difference between the love of a man and the love of a woman is that a man will always give reasons for loving, but a woman gives no reasons for loving."
“To tell a woman who is forty, "You look like sixteen," is boloney. The blarney way of saying it is "Tell me how old you are, I should like to know at what age women are the most beautiful.”
"Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book."
"Too many people get credit for being good, when they are only being passive. They are too often praised for being broadminded when they are so broadminded they can never make up their minds about anything. "
"A woman gets angry when a man denies his faults, because she knew them all along. His lying mocks her affection; it is the deceit that angers her more than the faults."
"Once you have surrendered yourself, you make yourself receptive. In receiving from God, you are perfected and completed."
"Never forget that there are only two philosophies to rule your life: the one of the cross, which starts with the fast and ends with the feast. The other of Satan, which starts with the feast and ends with the headache."
"We become like that which we love. If we love what is base, we become base; but if we love what is noble, we become noble."
"Many married women who have deliberately spurned the "hour" of childbearing are unhappy and frustrated. They never discovered the joys of marriage because they refused to surrender to the obligation of their state. In saving themselves, they lost themselves!"
"The mark of man is initiative, but the mark of woman is cooperation. Man talks about freedom; woman about sympathy, love, sacrifice. Man cooperates with nature; woman cooperates with God. Man was called to till the earth, to "rule over the earth"; woman to be the bearer of a life that comes from God."
"The Victorians pretended sex did not exist; the moderns pretend that nothing else exists."
"The Western world has been attempting to preserve the fruits of Christianity after having surrendered the roots."
"If the new crime be, to believe in God, let us all be criminals"
INTRODUCTION. I. FOR WHAT END ARE WE ON THIS EARTH? As the scholar goes to school in order that he may afterwards attain a certain position in life, so man is placed on this earth in order that he may attain to the lofty end of eternal happiness. As the servant serves his master and so earns his bread, so man has to serve God, and through his service attains happiness to some extent in this life, and in its fulness after death. We are upon this earth in order that we may glorify God, and so win for ourselves eternal happiness. The glory of God is the end of all creation. All creatures on the earth are created for this end, that they may manifest in themselves the divine perfections and God’s dominion over His rational creatures, that is, over angels and men, and that He may be loved and praised by them. Even the material world, and creatures not possessed of reason--animals, trees, plants, stones, metals, etc., all praise God after their own fashion. "The Lord has made all things for Himself" (Prov. xvi. 4). Man is created for this end, that he should proclaim the majesty of God. He must do so whether he wills it or not. The construction of the body of man, the lofty powers of his soul, the rewards of the good, the punishment of the wicked, all proclaim the majesty of God, His omnipotence, wisdom, goodness, justice, etc. Even the reprobate will have to contribute to the glory of God (Prov. xvi. 4). In the end he will show how great is the holiness and justice of God. Man, from being possessed of reason and free will, is through these enabled in an especial way to give glory to God. This he does when he knows, loves, and honors God. Man is created chiefly for the life beyond the grave. In this life he is a stranger, a wanderer, and a pilgrim. "We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come" (Heb. xiii. 14). Heaven is our true country; here we are in exile. Hence we are not upon earth only to collect earthly treasures, to attain earthly honors, to eat and to drink, or to enjoy earthly pleasures. He who pursues ends like these behaves as foolishly as a servant who, instead of serving his master, devotes himself to some passing amusement. He stands idle in the market-place, instead of working in his master’s vineyard. He is like a traveller who, attracted by the beauty of the scenery, does not pursue his journey, and so allows the night to overtake him. We are not made for earth; we are made to look upward to heaven. The trees, the plants point upward to heaven, as if to remind us that it is our home. For this reason Our Lord says: "One thing is necessary" (Luke x. 42), and again "Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all other things shall be added unto you" (Matt, vi. 33.) Unhappily, too many forget their last end, and fix their hearts on money, influence, honor, etc. They are like the kings of that heathen country who, althpugh they reigned but for a year and after that had to go and live on a barren island, spent all their time in luxury and feasting, and did not lay up any provision for the future on the island whither they were bound. He who does not think on his last end is not a pilgrim, but a tramp, and falls into the hands of the devil as a tramp into the hands of the police. He is like a sailor who knows not whither he is sailing, and so wrecks his ship. Our Lord compares such to the servant who sleeps, instead of watching for his master’s coming (Matt. xxiv. 42).
INTRODUCTION. I. FOR WHAT END ARE WE ON THIS EARTH? As the scholar goes to school in order that he may afterwards attain a certain position in life, so man is placed on this earth in order that he may attain to the lofty end of eternal happiness. As the servant serves his master and so earns his bread, so man has to serve God, and through his service attains happiness to some extent in this life, and in its fulness after death. We are upon this earth in order that we may glorify God, and so win for ourselves eternal happiness. The glory of God is the end of all creation. All creatures on the earth are created for this end, that they may manifest in themselves the divine perfections and God’s dominion over His rational creatures, that is, over angels and men, and that He may be loved and praised by them. Even the material world, and creatures not possessed of reason--animals, trees, plants, stones, metals, etc., all praise God after their own fashion. "The Lord has made all things for Himself" (Prov. xvi. 4). Man is created for this end, that he should proclaim the majesty of God. He must do so whether he wills it or not. The construction of the body of man, the lofty powers of his soul, the rewards of the good, the punishment of the wicked, all proclaim the majesty of God, His omnipotence, wisdom, goodness, justice, etc. Even the reprobate will have to contribute to the glory of God (Prov. xvi. 4). In the end he will show how great is the holiness and justice of God. Man, from being possessed of reason and free will, is through these enabled in an especial way to give glory to God. This he does when he knows, loves, and honors God. Man is created chiefly for the life beyond the grave. In this life he is a stranger, a wanderer, and a pilgrim. "We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come" (Heb. xiii. 14). Heaven is our true country; here we are in exile. Hence we are not upon earth only to collect earthly treasures, to attain earthly honors, to eat and to drink, or to enjoy earthly pleasures. He who pursues ends like these behaves as foolishly as a servant who, instead of serving his master, devotes himself to some passing amusement. He stands idle in the market-place, instead of working in his master’s vineyard. He is like a traveller who, attracted by the beauty of the scenery, does not pursue his journey, and so allows the night to overtake him. We are not made for earth; we are made to look upward to heaven. The trees, the plants point upward to heaven, as if to remind us that it is our home. For this reason Our Lord says: "One thing is necessary" (Luke x. 42), and again "Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all other things shall be added unto you" (Matt, vi. 33.) Unhappily, too many forget their last end, and fix their hearts on money, influence, honor, etc. They are like the kings of that heathen country who, althpugh they reigned but for a year and after that had to go and live on a barren island, spent all their time in luxury and feasting, and did not lay up any provision for the future on the island whither they were bound. He who does not think on his last end is not a pilgrim, but a tramp, and falls into the hands of the devil as a tramp into the hands of the police. He is like a sailor who knows not whither he is sailing, and so wrecks his ship. Our Lord compares such to the servant who sleeps, instead of watching for his master’s coming (Matt. xxiv. 42).
Thus God spoke to Abraham, Noe, and Moses. He sent Noe to preach to sinful men before the Flood, He sent Moses to the Israelites when they were oppressed by Pharao. Sometimes God spoke to a number of men who were assembled together, as when He gave the law to the people on Mount Sinai, or when Our Lord was baptized by St. John and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, a voice being heard from heaven : " This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." Sometimes God revealed Himself through angels, as for in stance to Tobias through the archangel Raphael. When God spoke to men, He took the visible form of a man or of an angel, or He spoke from a cloud (as on Sinai), or from a burning bush, as He did to Moses, or amid a bright light from heaven, as to St. Paul, or in the whispering of the wind, as He did to Elias, or by some interior illu mination (Deut. ii. 6-8). Those to whom God revealed Himself, and who had to bear witness before others to the divine message, were called messengers from God, and often received from Him the power of working miracles and of prophecy, in proof of their divine mission. (Cf. the miracles of Moses before Pharao, of Elias, the apostles, etc.)
3. Those who were specially intrusted with the communica tion to men of the divine revelation were the following: the patriarchs, the prophets, Jesus Christ the Son of God (Heb. i.1), and His apostles.
Revelation is to mankind in general what education is to individual men. Revelation corresponds to the needs of the successive stages of human development, to the infancy, childhood, and youth of mankind. The patriarchs, who had more of the nature of children, needed less in the way of precepts, and God dealt with them in more familiar fashion ; the people of Israel, in whom, as in the season of youth, self-will and sensuality were strong, had to be trained by strict laws and constant correction; but when mankind had arrived at the period of manhood, then God sent His Son and introduced the law of love (1 Cor. xiii. 11; Gal. iii. 24). Of all those who declared to men the divine revelation, the Son of God was pre-eminently the true witness. He says of Himself, " For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I should bear testimony to the truth" (John xviii. 37). He was of all witnesses the best, because He alone had seen God (John i. 18). The apostles also had to declare to men the divine revelation. They had to bear witness of what they had seen, and above all of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts x. 39). With the revelation given through Christ and His apostles, the revelation that was given for the instruction of all mankind was concluded.
4. Even since the death of Our Lord and His apostles God has often revealed Himself to men; yet these subsequent reve
2. God’s revelation to man is generally made in the following way: He speaks to individuals and orders them to communicate to their fellow-men the revelation made to them.Thus God spoke to Abraham, Noe, and Moses. He sent Noe to preach to sinful men before the Flood, He sent Moses to the Israelites when they were oppressed by Pharao. Sometimes God spoke to a number of men who were assembled together, as when He gave the law to the people on Mount Sinai, or when Our Lord was baptized by St. John and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, a voice being heard from heaven : " This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." Sometimes God revealed Himself through angels, as for in stance to Tobias through the archangel Raphael. When God spoke to men, He took the visible form of a man or of an angel, or He spoke from a cloud (as on Sinai), or from a burning bush, as He did to Moses, or amid a bright light from heaven, as to St. Paul, or in the whispering of the wind, as He did to Elias, or by some interior illu mination (Deut. ii. 6-8). Those to whom God revealed Himself, and who had to bear witness before others to the divine message, were called messengers from God, and often received from Him the power of working miracles and of prophecy, in proof of their divine mission. (Cf. the miracles of Moses before Pharao, of Elias, the apostles, etc.)
3. Those who were specially intrusted with the communication to men of the divine revelation were the following: the patriarchs, the prophets, Jesus Christ the Son of God (Heb. i.1), and His apostles.
Revelation is to mankind in general what education is to individual men. Revelation corresponds to the needs of the successive stages of human development, to the infancy, childhood, and youth of mankind. The patriarchs, who had more of the nature of children, needed less in the way of precepts, and God dealt with them in more familiar fashion ; the people of Israel, in whom, as in the season of youth, self-will and sensuality were strong, had to be trained by strict laws and constant correction; but when mankind had arrived at the period of manhood, then God sent His Son and introduced the law of love (1 Cor. xiii. 11; Gal. iii. 24). Of all those who declared to men the divine revelation, the Son of God was pre-eminently the true witness. He says of Himself, " For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I should bear testimony to the truth" (John xviii. 37). He was of all witnesses the best, because He alone had seen God (John i. 18). The apostles also had to declare to men the divine revelation. They had to bear witness of what they had seen, and above all of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts x. 39). With the revelation given through Christ and His apostles, the revelation that was given for the instruction of all mankind was concluded.
4. Even since the death of Our Lord and His apostles God has often revealed Himself to men; yet these subsequent reve
Catholic Dogma and Teaching on Creation
and the 1909 Pontifical Biblical Commission on Genesis
|
Catholic Dogma and Teaching on Creation and the Fall
Dogmas and teachings on Creation and the Fall from Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott (TAN Books, 1974), pages 79-122 on "The Divine Act of Creation" and "The Divine Work of Creation" :
The highest degree of certainty appertains to immediately revealed truths. The belief due to them is based on the authority of God revealing (fides divina), and if the Church, through its teaching, vouches for the fact that a truth is contained in Revelation, one's certainty is then also based on the authority of the Infallible Teaching Authority (Magisterium) of the Church (fides catholica). If truths are defined by a solemn judgment of faith (definition) of the Pope or of a General Council, they are "de fide definita" (or simply De Fide). There are other levels of certainty as well: faith which is based on the sole authority of the Church (fides ecclesiastica); a teaching proximate to faith (sententia fidei proxima); a teaching pertaining to the faith (sententia ad fidem pertinens, i.e. theologice certa); a common teaching (sententia communis); lesser grades of certainty are called probable, more probable, or well-founded (sententia probabilis, probabilior, bene fundata); there are also pious opinions (sententia pia); and the least degree of certainty is tolerated opinion (opimo tolerata). With regard to the doctrinal teaching of the Church it must be well noted that not all the assertions of the Teaching Authority (Magisterium) of the Church on questions of faith and morals are infallible and consequently irrevocable. Only those are infallible which emanate from General Councils representing the whole episcopate, and the Papal Decisions declared Ex Cathedra (cf. the 1869-70 Vatican Council I definition). The ordinary and usual form of the Papal teaching activity is not infallible. Further, the decisions of the Roman Congregations (Holy Office, Biblical Commissions -- see below) are not infallible. From philosopher Dennis Bonnette, Origin of the Human Species (2003), chapter "The Truths of Revelation" : The Catholic Church's teaching magisterium has clearly identified essential facts whose literal and historical meaning Catholics may not call into question because they touch upon fundamental Christian teachings. The 1909 Pontifical Biblical Commission affirms these facts include:
Not all of these doctrines touch directly upon science. Sanctifying grace is not subject to empirical speculation. The theory of evolution cannot confirm or falsify concrete historical acts of God (e.g. miracles) or human beings such as (1) the divine command to Adam and Eve, (2) the transgression and fall, or (3) the promise of a Redeemer. God's creation of the world in time concerns evolution's preconditions, not evolution as such (from Bonnette, page 145-146). Theologian Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, comments:
Response of the Pontifical Biblical Commission on Genesis -- June 30, 1909
see also these articles on creation and evolution on this site Evidence for Evolution and an Old Earth |
Another Test
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