THE CRAIG-NIELSEN DEBATE: GOD, MORALITY, AND EVIL
William Lane Craig and Kai Nielsen
with annotations by William Lane Craig
February 1991, University of Western Ontario
This debate is presented on the Internet as a project of Leadership University. Leadership University is dedicated to providing the best information in the world informed by a biblical worldview.
Not an option, justice is a mandate of Catholic faith. From the beginning, the educational mission of the church has been seem as participation in God’s saving mission. The divine edict of justice requires education for personal and social transformation.
The Catholic school, since it is motivated by the gospel message of Jesus Christ to proclaim liberty to the oppressed, is particularly sensitive to the call from every part of the world for a more just society, and it tries to make its own contribution towards it. It does not stop at the courageous teaching of the demands into practice, first in its own community in the daily life of the school, and then in the wider community.
Catholic schools aim towards a synthesis of faith and culture, of faith and life, syntheses that characterize mature faith. A mature faith will be able to recognize and reject cultural counter-values which threaten human dignity and are therefore contrary to the gospel.
Although all the problems of religion and faith will not be completely solved by academic studies, nevertheless, the Catholic school should be a privileged place for finding adequate ways to deal with these problems.
Strategies to incorporate the Justice Dimension of Catholic schools:
Catholicism is not simply a system of beliefs; it is also a life to be lived: a life of worship, shaped by the Eucharist and the other sacraments, and a life of moral commitment and behaviour, shaped by moral values rooted in the teaching and example of Jesus Christ. Catholic schools foster this way of life grounded in the love of God and values of the Reign of God proclaimed in the gospels.
Spirituality in Catholic schools consists in letting God be present in each moment of the day, becoming attuned to God”s presence in the ups and downs of the life journey of the school community. Prayer and a commitment to the moral and ethical values of the gospel provide the opening to God’s presence. The Catholic school, therefore, is a place of prayer, a place where the principals of Christian morality find expression in the interactions that take place there.
Catholic schools invite all members of the learning community into that place of prayer and moral living by modelling a prayer life in the school and by providing a learning environment characterized by relationships that are caring and nurturing.
Strategies for nurturing Spirituality in Catholic Schools:
How do Catholic schools integrate spirituality into the learning environment?
The real subjects in Catholic education are the learners in the sense that wisdom requires that the learners be the primary agents of their own learning. Learners are invited to see for themselves: to be active agents of their learning rather than passive recipients of knowledge.
Learners are encouraged to use their whole minds in the pursuit of learning – their reason, memory, and imagination. And because learning proceeds from what is known to the unknown, learner’s own lefe experiences become the building blocks to new learning. An attitude of openess to the truth requires that practices of exclusion – such as racism and sexism – be absent from the learning environment. Wisdom is the antithesis of injustice. Such openness also welcomes everyone into the learning process. Everyone’s voice can be heard in the learning environment just as everyone has the opportunity to learn.
Strategies to engage Reason and Rationality in Catholic Schools:
How can Catholic educators educate for wisdom?
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In the 1970s, the United Church reached an ecumenical agreement with the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Anglican churches in Canada that baptisms within these churches are mutually recognized as valid. Further to that, the United Church recognizes the validity of any baptism by another denomination that was performed with water and in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.[1]
Scriptures used in support of unlimited atonement
These are Scriptures commonly used by those who support Unlimited atonement:
Confession Bible Quotes
• James 5:16
• Acts 19:18
• Matthew 3:5-6
• Mark 1:5
• 1 Timothy 6:12
• 1 John 1:9
• Numbers 5:6-7
• Nehemiah 9:2
• Sirach 4:26
Grave sins must be confessed once per year.
Venial sins are “recommended” for confession.
CHAPTER III : THE PENITENT
Can. 987 In order that the faithful may receive the saving remedy of the sacrament of penance, they must be so disposed that, repudiating the sins they have committed and having the purpose of amending their lives, they turn back to God.
Can. 988 §1 The faithful are bound to confess, in kind and in number, all grave sins committed after baptism, of which after careful examination of conscience they are aware, which have not yet been directly pardoned by the keys of the Church, and which have not been confessed in an individual confession.
§2 The faithful are recommended to confess also venial sins.
Can. 989 All the faithful who have reached the age of discretion are bound faithfully to confess their grave sins at least once a year.
Can. 990 No one is forbidden to confess through an interpreter, provided however that abuse and scandal are avoided, and without prejudice to the provision of can. 983 §2.
Can. 991 All Christ’s faithful are free to confess their sins to lawfully approved confessors of their own choice, even to one of another rite.
“Catechism of the Catholic Church”. 2000.
Grave Sin
`CCC 2272
`CCC 2480
`CCC 2380
`CCC 2148
`CCC 2434
`CCC 2181
`CCC 2117
`CCC 2384
`CCC 2385
`CCC 2386
`CCC 2290
`CCC 2291
`CCC 2539
`CCC 2277
`CCC 2302
`CCC 2152
`CCC 2476
`CCC 2353
`CCC 2303
`CCC 2357
`CCC 2388
`CCC 2482
`CCC 2352
`CCC 2268
`CCC 2163
`CCC 2354
`CCC 2355
`CCC 2356
`CCC 2439
`CCC 2120
`CCC 2284
`CCC 2281
`CCC 2297
`CCC 2413
`CCC 2434
`CCC 2268
`CCC 2400
`CCC 2434
Venial Sin
`CCC 1863
Penance
`CCC 1422
The Gravity of Sin: Mortal and Venial
`CCC 1854-1864
A sacramental outlook invites Catholic educators to develop and nurture their own sacramental consciousness. When Catholic educators live their own lives in appreciation of the goodness of creation and as meaningful and worthwhile, their attitude permeates their interaction in the educational milieu and will encourage a similar outlook in others. The ideal of a Catholic school is to educate its members into a world that is sacred and holy because it is God’s creation. Appreciation for God’s gift finds expression in the attitudes and actions of a school community through liturgy and stewardship. School policies and practices include reverence for the sacredness of created things through environmentally respectful actions that regard creation as the Lord’s and for the enhancement of the life of all people.
Strategies to Develop a Sacramental Awareness in Catholic Schools
How does Catholic education express the sacramentality of all creation?
In partnership with the entire community, the Catholic school has a value and importance that are fundamental to the integral human formation of children. In virtue of its mission, the Catholic school constantly and carefully attends to the cultivation in children of the intellectual, creative and aesthetic gifts of the human person. Catholic schools foster in children an appreciation of their God-given dignity; the ability to make correct use of their judgement, will and affectivity; promote in them a sense of values; encourage just attitudes and prudent behaviour; introduce to them the cultural heritage handed down from past generations; prepare them for professional life; and encourage the friendly interchange of diverse cultures and backgrounds that will lead to mutual understanding.
In short, Catholic schools contribute to integral human formation. Catholic schools strive to form strong and responsible persons who are capable of making free and correct choices and are able to form in themselves a clear idea of the meaning of life.
Strategies to develop the Human Dimension of Catholic Schools:
How does Catholic education respect the dignity of human persons?