XVII. OF MAN'S ORIGIN OR HIS CREATION BY GOD
Do all men on earth, and all those who preceded then come from one father and one mother?
Yes.
This first man and this first woman from whom all men come, what were they called?
They were called Adam and Eve.
Who was the author of Adam and Eve?
Almighty God.
How did God make Adam and Eve?
By giving them a body and a soul.
How did God give a soul to Adam and Eve?
By creation
How did God give a body to Adam and Eve?
God tells us that He made the body of Adam from the slime of the earth and that He built up Eve's body from a rib of Adam
Must we say that man was made to God's own image and likeness?
Yes
What is understood by this?
By this is understood that God has given to man a nature and corresponding actions of such a kind that in their highest reach man is enabled to enter in some measure into the spiritual life of God and appreciate the inner life of the three august persons; and owing to this he is enabled to imitate the perfection proper to the Divine Persons
Is it possible to show how the nature of man and his actions, viewed in their highest endeavour, enable him to know God in His spiritual nature and to catch a glimpse even of the intimate life of the three Divine Persons?
The reason is because man's soul as regards its highest faculties is also spiritual in nature; moreover its supreme acts are those of thinking and loving, which are capable of reaching to the First Truth and the First Good which is God Himself
In these acts of thought and of love how can we catch a glimpse of the inner life of the three Divine Persons?
By these acts we can attain even unto this because when our mind thinks of God it forms within itself an interior word wherein it reads an object; and under the very impulse of the thought which conceives the word there is begotten an act of love for this same object conceived by the mind
How can we imitate the perfection proper to the Divine Persons?
We can do this, as God Himself does, by making God conceived in our mind and loved by our will the first object of our life of thought and of our life of love.
In the corporeal world is man only made to the image and likeness of God?
Yes; and this by reason of his spiritual nature
Do not other creatures in this world resemble their Creator in some way?
Yes, all creatures in the world bear a mark or a trace of God who made them, by reason of their perfections which are of a lower order
XVIII. OF THE STATE OF HAPPINESS IN WHICH MAN WAS CREATED
Was man created by God in a state of great perfection?
Yes.
What did the state of perfection in which man was created comprise?
It comprised the mind's complete knowledge void of error; original justice with all the virtues of mind and: will; entire command of the soul over the body and over every creature inferior to man
Was this state of perfection proper to the first man only or ought it to have been common to all who are descendents from Adam by generation?
It was proper to Adam as regards the gift of knowledge only; but since original justice and the gifts of integrity and complete moral rectitude are inseparable from human nature as such these would have been transmitted to all by way of origin or generation had not sin stood in the way
In this state in which man was created, would he have been subject to death?
No, in this state man would not have died
Would man have suffered in this state?
No, for by a special privilege man's body was guarded from all evil by the soul which itself was incapable of suffering so long as it remained subjected to God by its will
Was man created by God in a state of happiness?
Yes.
Was this state that of his final and perfect happiness?
No, it was only temporary, and would have been followed by another state which was final
What then may one call this state of happiness in which man was created by God?
It may be called a state of initial happiness which was to prepare man by way of merit to enter into the state of his final and perfect happiness in token of reward
Where would man have acquired this state of final and perfect happiness had he remained faithful?
He would have acquired this happiness in the glory of heaven in the company of the angels, whither God would have transferred him after a certain period of probation
Where was man placed while awaiting to be transferred to the glory of heaven?
He was placed in a garden of delights prepared by God for him
What was this garden of delights called?
It was called the Garden of Eden
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