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Creation, the fall, angels & demons
www.unamsanctamcatholiocam.com
Look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did
not make them out of things that existed.
- 2 Macc. 7:28
And whence and in what manner was this, unless from You, from whom are all things, in so far
as they are? You, therefore, O Lord, who art not one thing in one place, and otherwise in
another, but the Self-same, and the Self-same, and the Self-same, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God
Almighty, did in the beginning, which is of You, in Your Wisdom, which was born of Your
Substance, create something, and that out of nothingtherefore, out of nothing You created
heaven and earth: a great thing and a small, because You are Almighty and Good, to make all
things good, even the great heaven and the small earth. You were, and there was nought else
from which Thou created heaven and earth
- St. Augustine, Confessions, Book VII
Creation- A Product of Gods Abounding Love
All cultures throughout history have asked themselves questions about the origin of all things:
Where did the world come from? How was it created? Where is it going and how will it end?
Where did man come from and why is he different from the other animals? This longing to know
is part of mans nature, as Aristotle says, All men by nature desire to know (Metaphysics, I).
The existence of creation testifies to the existence and power of God. The heavens proclaim the
glory of God, and the firmament declares His handiwork the Scriptures tell us (Ps. 19:1). Why
did God create the universe?
It is important to acknowledge that God was in no way constrained to create: He has existed
from all eternity as infinite blissful communion between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is
wrong to imagine that God needed to create the universe because He was lonely or to increase
His glory or otherwise suffered some lack. He would have been just as blissful, loving and
glorious had He chose never to create at all.
The Church teaches that God chose to create out of His infinite goodness, in order to show forth
and communicate His glory to the creatures He would form. The universe was created because
and for love, the love of the Trinity, Who is Everlasting Love. As Vatican I stated:
This one, true God, of His own goodness and almighty power, not for increasing his own
beatitude, nor for attaining his perfection, but in order to manifest this perfection through the
benefits which he bestows on creatures, with absolute freedom of counsel and from the
beginning of time, made out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the
corporeal
- Vatican I, Dei Filius, 1
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The source of creation is Gods overflowing goodness, motivated by Divine Love that by its
nature is diffusive.1 The Divine Goodness resounds to the eternal praise and glory of God.
Creation ex nihilo
It is of the Catholic faith that God created the universe ex nihilo, which means that He created all
things out of nothing with no prior material to work with. In the strict theological sense, only
God is able to create anything; man can manipulate and rearrange matter, but only God can cause
it to come into being. Despite all our technology, nobody has yet to be able to bring one particle
of matter into existence; this power belongs to God alone.
If God had drawn the world from pre-existent matter, what would be so extraordinary in that?
A human artisan makes from a given material whatever he wants, while God shows his power by
starting from nothing to make all he wants.
- St. Theophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolycum II (c.175 A.D.)
Creation ex nihilo is taught plainly in the Scriptures in 2 Maccabees 7:28 and is implied in the
Creation story of Genesis 1.
A Trinitarian Work
The creation of the universe out of nothing is a mystery veiled to the human mind; but the
Scriptures and Catholic Tradition tell us that it is a work of the Holy Trinity. Though God the
Father is often associated with Creation, it is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who create.
Genesis 1 tells us that it is through the agency of Gods Word that creation was called
forth and uses the formula and God said to denote creation. Christian (and even Jewish)
tradition holds Gods Word to be active and dynamic. Christians know that the Word is
Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, through Whom God created. As Psalm 148:5
says, Praise the name of the Lord. For he spoke, and they were made: he commanded,
and they were created.
From the beginning, Genesis tells of the Spirit of Gods involvement in creation. It is He
who hovers over the waters (or in some translations, broods) waiting to give form to
the world God has called forth. The Old Testament often presents the Spirit as the One
who gives life to all things: The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the
Almighty gives me life. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created; and you
renew the face of the earth. (Job 33:4, Psalm 104:30)
The New Testament tells us that Christ was present at the Creation and indeed was the
agent through whom God created: He was in the beginning with God; all things were
made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. For in him
[Christ] all things were created, visible or invisible (John 1:2-3, Col. 1:16
Thus the classic saying, bonum diffusivum sui est (The good spreads itself).
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God sustains Creation
Furthermore, God not only created the universe at a single point in the past but continually
sustains it at every moment. This is against the notion, made popular by the Deists in the 18th
century, that God created and founded the universe, but He then let it go according to its own
laws and no longer has any involvement in it. According to Deism, God is bound by the natural
laws that He set in place and consequently is unable to intervene in the affairs of the world (i.e.,
through miracles).
On the contrary, Scripture and Tradition affirm that God is intimately involved in the affairs of
the world and, furthermore, that He continually holds the world in existence at every second. As
Job stated, If He should take back His spirit to Himself, and gather to Himself His breath, all
flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust (Job 34:14-15).
Creation is Good
Because God is supremely good, everything He creates is good, as an effect always bears a
resemblance to its cause, and God, who is Goodness, is not able to bring forth anything evil.
Thus, all things created by God are good, insofar as they exist and are made by Him. As St.
Thomas Aquinas says, Every being that is not God is God's creature. Now every creature of
God is good and God is the greatest good. Therefore every being is good (STh I, 5, iii). This is
against the Gnostics and Hindus who claim that matter itself is evil, a prison or distraction from
the pure realm of the Spirit, and something we must escape from. Christianity affirms the
goodness of the material world.2
Man-Made in Gods Image
Of all visible creatures only man is able to know and love his creator. He is the only
creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake, and he alone is called to share, by
knowledge and love, in Gods own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the
fundamental reason for his dignity.
-CCC 356
Man alone among the creatures is endowed with a body and a spirit and alone among the animals
can exercise reason. It is because of this intellectual faculty that man is said to be made in the
image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26), for by exercising his intellect in search of truth and will
in pursuit of the good he resembles His Creator, who is Truth itself. Man, though created on the
sixth day along with the beasts, is (unlike them) destined for eternal life with God.
This refers only to the goodness it possesses insofar as it is created by God and exists; this is called ontological
goodness and does not take into account the possibility of moral evil, which will be touched on later.
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Man is a composite being; he is made up of a material body and an immortal, immaterial soul.
This is contrary to modern secular science, which sees man as just a biological being, and is also
contrary to the systems of Descartes and Plato, who saw man as a spirit trapped in a body, a
ghost in a machine. On the contrary, the Catholic faith teaches that the essential man is a
composite of body and soul, flesh and spirit.
Angels
The Catholic faith, following the Scriptures and ancient Judaism, asserts the existence of other
intelligences besides humans who are non-corporeal (do not possess a body). These beings are
called angels. The word angel is Greek for messenger (angelos).
St. Augustine says, Angel is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name
of their nature, it is spirit; if you seek the name of their office, it is angel: from what they are,
spirit, from what they do, angel.3
With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they always
behold the face of my Father who is in heaven they are the mighty ones who do his word,
hearkening to the voice of his word. As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and
will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as
the splendor of their glory bears witness.
-CCC 330
Angels, even the lowest, are much more powerful than humans. Nevertheless, they are not
infinite, nor omnipotent or omnipresent. They are created along with the rest of creation and,
though they are incorporeal, can be said to occupy whatever place they are active in at any given
time.
Tradition distinguishes nine different grades or choirs of angels: seraphim, cherubim, thrones,
principalities, powers, strengths, dominations, archangels and angels. The exact hierarchy
andpowers of each choir are a matter of speculation.
It is also of Catholic Tradition that every person has a guardian angel, a protector and shepherd
leading him to life (CCC 336).
Devils (Demons)
The Church also affirms the existence of angels who are fallen and have turned their will
towards evil. These are called demons (from the Greek word daemon meaning spirit) or
sometimes devils (from the Greek diabolos, meaning accuser). Demons are angels who, at
some point after their creation by God, rejected Gods lordship and thus fell from heaven. The
St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 103,1,15:
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leader of these fallen angels goes by many names: Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Belial. 4 Tradition
simply calls him The Devil or The Evil One. No one knows how many devils there are, but
Tradition and Scripture seem to suggest that around 1/3 of the angels followed Lucifer in his
revolt against God (see Rev. 12:4)
Though official dogmatic pronouncements on the demons are scarce, a few things are certain
about them:
They, like the angels, are individual, personal intelligences (not impersonal forces or
bad karma)
The devils were originally created good and became evil through a free choice of their
own. Scripture attributes this sin to pride (see: Isa. 14:12-14; Eze. 28:11-19).
Their sin is irrevocable. It is through the final, definitive and irrevocable nature of their
decision and not through any defect of Gods mercy that their sin is unforgivable.
It is through the instigation of the Devil that our first parents chose to disobey God and
fall into original sin.
The demons continue to this day to attempt to lead man away from God and into sin in
thought, word and deed. However, they are not omnipotent and cannot read our thoughts.
The power of God and the good angels is much greater. Despite the devils temptation,
man is still responsible for his own moral actions.
Their final downfall and condemnation is assured by Scripture and it is only a matter of
time until their ultimate defeat. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into
the lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:10)
Though one ought not to dwell inordinately on the presence and activity of the demons,
one ought certainly not disregard them either.
The Fall of Man
Man, created in the image and likeness of God, possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just
a something but a someone. Man was not only created good, but was created in a state of
friendship and communion with God his Creator and in harmony with himself and with the
creation around him. This is called the original state of holiness and justice, which was to
share in divine life (CCC 375).
Adam and Eve existed in a state of original innocence and were destined to live forever with
God. What happens next is referred to in Christian Tradition as the Fall of man; i.e., his fall
from grace. Through the agency of the devil, sin and death make their entry into human history.
4
Satan = Heb. Satan, adversary; Lucifer = Lat. Lucifer, light-bearer, morning star; Beelzebub = Heb.
ba'al-z'bub lord of the flies; Belial = Heb. Belyyaal, the worthless one, or destruction.
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Man was put to the test by God and, because he heeded the voice of the serpent, failed his trial.
Some quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church best exemplify this point:
397 Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his
freedom, disobeyed Gods command. This is what mans first sin consisted of. All subsequent
sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.
399 Scripture portrays the tragic consequences of this first disobedience. Adam and Eve
immediately lose the grace of original holiness. They become afraid of the God of whom they
have conceived a distorted image - that of a God jealous of his prerogatives.
400 The harmony in which they had found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now
destroyed: the control of the souls spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man
and woman becomes subject to tensions, their relations henceforth marked by lust and
domination. Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to
man. Because of man, creation is now subject to its bondage to decay. Finally, the
consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will return to the
ground, for out of it he was taken. Death makes its entrance into human history.
Results of Adams Fall
402 All men are implicated in Adams sin, as St. Paul affirms: By one mans disobedience
many (that is, all men) were made sinners: sin came into the world through one man and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned. The Apostle contrasts the
universality of sin and death with the universality of salvation in Christ. Then as one mans
trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one mans act of righteousness leads to acquittal and
life for all men.
403 Following St. Paul, the Church has always taught that the overwhelming misery which
oppresses men and their inclination towards evil and death cannot be understood apart from their
connection with Adams sin and the fact that he has transmitted to us a sin with which we are all
born afflicted, a sin which is the death of the soul. Because of this certainty of faith, the
Church baptizes for the remission of sins even tiny infants who have not committed personal sin.
404 How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? The whole human race is in
Adam as one body of one man. By this unity of the human race all men are implicated in
Adams sin, as all are implicated in Christs justice. Still, the transmission of original sin is a
mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we do know by Revelation that Adam had received
original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the
tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that
they would then transmit in a fallen state. It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to
all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and
justice. And that is why original sin is called sin only in an analogical sense: it is a sin
contracted and not committed - a state and not an act.
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Original Sin & Concupisence
Although it is part of each individual, original sin does not have the character of a personal fault
in any of Adams descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human
nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to
ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is
called concupiscence. Baptism, by imparting the life of Christs grace, erases original sin and
turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil,
persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle.
Besides original sin, the fall of Adam leaves us with what Tradition has termed concupiscence.
Concupiscence arises because of original sin, and disposes us to commit actual sin, but itself is
not sin. Concupiscence is marked by three characteristics that plague mankind:
A darkened intellect
A weakened will
Disordered passions
These three factors are a result of losing the original grace of God given to man at his creation.
Without this grace, our intellects are unable to clearly perceive the truth of God, our wills are
weakened in standing up to temptation, and our passions are disordered, often ruling us when we
ought to rule them. Concupiscence is a fact that we all must live with. Baptism, though remitting
all sin (original & actual) and the consequences due to sin, does not remove concupiscence,
which will remain as long as we are in this mortal life.
Evolution and the Literal Meaning of Genesis
In the modern world, Christians are often left wondering how to properly interpret the Creation
account of Genesis 1. Some Christians have wholeheartedly adopted the account offered by
evolutionary theory and have relegated Genesis 1-3 to the realm of mythology; others have
adopted a strict literal view of the account and believe in a literal 6 day creation and believe the
earth to be only around 6,000 years old. What is the Catholic Churchs teaching on this matter?
The Catholic Church has no official teaching on how Genesis must be interpreted, and the
ancient Fathers have widely divergent opinions on the matter. The encyclical Humani Generis
(On Human Origins) of Pope Pius XII issued in 1950 teaches that while it may be acceptable
to believe the evolution of the human body may have taken place, certain traditional Christian
doctrines must be preserved. According to the Church, what we must believe about Creation is:
Evolution can be said to have occurred with the material from which the human body
comes, but it can by no means be taught as certain and must be put forth as only a theory
(36).
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The human souls of Adam and Eve, and of all subsequent humans, are immediately
created by God; the soul did not evolve (36).
All human beings take their origin from an original pair or two human beings (Adam &
Eve) and that Adam and Eve were real, historic individuals (37).
Genesis 1-11, though containing metpahoric images, are nonetheless to be taken as
historical accounts of true events (38). The language is metaphorical, and perhaps mythic,
but preserves the account of a truly historic event.
Therefore, strict materialist evolution is ruled out entirely. Evolution is permitted within a
limited framework, so long as certain truths of the faith (the special creation of man by God, the
historicity of Adam and Eve, the reality of the Fall and Original Sin) are preserved. That being
said, in recent years there have been many criticisms of evolutionary theory, many of them very
significant. At most, a Catholic can acknowledge the evolution of the human body from preexisting matter as a possibility, but that is the extent of it (for more on some criticisms of
evolution, see Darwins Black Box by Michael Behe).
Why did God not prevent the first man from sinning?
To this perplexing question, St. Leo the Great responds, Christs inexpressible grace gave us
blessings better than those the demons envy had taken away. and St. Thomas Aquinas wrote,
There is nothing to prevent human natures being raised up to something greater, even after sin;
God permits evil in order to draw forth some greater good. Thus St. Paul says, Where sin
increased, grace abounded all the more; and the Exsultet sings, O happy faultwhich gained
for us so great a Redeemer!
Conclusion
After the Fall, man finds himself subject to sickness and death, ruled by his passions and drawn
to sin despite his best intentions. Nevertheless, God, who knows all, did not abandon man but
promised him a redeemer and announces the coming of a Messiah, born of a woman, who will
triumph over the serpent.
For a monumental struggle against the powers of darkness pervades the whole history of man.
The battle was joined from the very origins of the world and will continue until the last day, as
the Lord has attested. Caught in this conflict, man is obliged to wrestle constantly if he is to cling
to what is good, nor can he achieve his own integrity without great efforts and the help of God's
grace.
- Gaudium et Spes 37 2 (1965)
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For Further Reading: Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book I; St. Augustine, Confessions, Books XI, XII,
XIII; Genesis 1-3; Psalm 19; Isa. 14:12-14; Eze. 28:11-19; 2 Maccabees 7; Vatican I Dogmatic
Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Dei Filius, 1 (1870); St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa
Theologiae, I, 5-6; Michael Behe, Darwins Black Box; Humani Generis, 1950; Catechism of the
Catholic Church 279-425; Vatican II Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern
World, Gaudium et Spes 37 (1965); Jean Danielou, The Angels and Their Mission
