Chapter 1:
In the Beginning
THE MYSTERY OF REDEMPTION
1. Introductory Lesson – for first day of class
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Syllabus.
How the lessons of this text will be taught.
Instructional policy.
Materials.
Homework.
1. Introductory Lesson – for first day of class
HOMEWORK
Reading
 Chapter 1 through Creation as the Work of the Blessed Trinity, including
the sidebars Good Stewardship and What Catholics Believe about the Bible
(pp. 2-10)
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
ANTICIPATORY SET
Incorporate the first creation account in Genesis into the class’s
opening prayer (Gn 1—2:3).
Have the students free write briefly on the thing that surprised
them the most about this passage.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
BASIC QUESTIONS
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Who is the origin of all things?
What is man’s original vocation?
What are the Sacred Scriptures?
Can we detect the Blessed Trinity in Genesis?
KEY IDEAS
 God is the creator and sustainer of all that exists, whose work is good.
 Formed in the image of God, man is the pinnacle of creation and was made to be in
friendship with God, to fill the earth with people, and to rule over all creation through
wise stewardship.
 The Bible is the inspired and inerrant history of salvation of which God is the principal
author and men were the secondary authors. It is ancient, religious literature and must be
read as such.
 Creation is the work of the Blessed Trinity, which can be seen in Genesis in the light of
the New Testament.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What does the “Redemption” mean in theology?
It means the atonement or deliverance from sins merited by the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
How are man and woman unique in all creation, according to the
opening chapters of Genesis?
They were created to know and to love God and to share in his divine life.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
FOCUS QUESTIONS
How did sin result in a dramatic change in the human condition?
Adam and Eve’s sin moved them from paradise to a fallen state, which
became the condition of all their descendants.
How did God respond to man’s fall?
He introduced a plan of Redemption to restore the friendship man had
lost.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
GUIDED EXERCISE
Have the students free write on the question listed under
“In this chapter,” that they currently know the most about.
Briefly share responses.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
GUIDED EXERCISE
Have the students free write, explaining in their own words why
Genesis presents the work of creation in two groups of three days.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
GOD’S GOOD CREATION AND MAN
Where does the word “Genesis” come from?
It is derived from the Greek word meaning “origins.”
What three things do the opening words of Genesis affirm, according
to CCC 290?
(1) The eternal God gave a beginning to all that exists outside of himself. (2)
He alone is Creator. And (3) the totality of what exists depends on the One
who gives it being.
What is the significance of the Hebrew verb “bara” for God’s role in
creation?
The Hebrew word for “create,” bara, always has God for its subject.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is the literary style of the beginning of Genesis not intending
to convey?
The scientific intricacies of how the universe came into being or the exact
dates on which each part of the universe came into existence.
What is the basic message the author was intending to convey?
God created the world according to his divine plan.
What vocation or mission did God give Adam and Eve?
To fill the earth with their offspring and to have dominion over it.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What concept explains the attitude humans are to have toward
dominating creation?
Men are to exercise stewardship, that is, to be responsible caretakers of
the portion of creation God has given to them to subdue.
What was the function of work in God’s original plan?
Adam and Eve were to work to bring creation into the service of man.
What are the basic tasks man has in regard to knowing and using
creation?
God wants man to discover the deep mysteries of the created world and
the ways creation can be “subdued” or used.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Within the Blessed Trinity, who created?
Although we generally refer to God the Father as the Creator, each Person
of the Blessed Trinity acts in concert with the other divine Persons. Thus
we can say that creation was an act of each Person of the Blessed Trinity.
How does the opening of St. John’s Gospel help us see the person
of Christ in the beginning of Genesis?
St. John explains that God made all things through the Word, Christ. In
Genesis, God simply spoke a word and the thing was created. This word
was Christ.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
FOCUS QUESTIONS
How does the creation of the world through the “Word” foreshadow God’s
re-creation or redemption of the world through the “Word of God”?
Through Christ, the Word, all things were originally created, and through
his redemption all things will be made anew.
How is the person of the Holy Spirit alluded to in Genesis?
The “breath of life” or “spirit” that moved on the waters are images of
the Holy Spirit.
How is the Blessed Trinity present in the Genesis creation, in the view of
the early Christian writers?
The use of the plural as in “Let us make man in our image,” was seen by
early Christian writers as a reference to the Blessed Trinity.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is salvation history?
It is the story of how God’s plan of salvation has unfolded throughout
history.
How is salvation history different from other kinds of history?
The Bible not only teaches us the meaning of past events, but how those
events affect our lives today.
What does it mean to say that the Bible is inspired?
Inspired means that God himself guided the Sacred Authors, who were
enlightened by the Holy Spirit to write what God wanted and nothing
more.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Who are the two authors of Scripture?
God is the principal author of Scripture and the human authors are
instruments God chose to reveal himself to his people.
Why must we affirm that the Bible is inerrant?
We must affirm this because God is the principal author of Scripture and
he can neither deceive nor be deceived.
Why is the Bible sacred literature?
It is sacred because God is its author, and it is literature because it uses
literary forms and techniques to convey its meaning.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think / pair / share on the following question:
Why it is important to keep in mind that the Bible is “ancient, religious
literature” in order to understand it properly?
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
CLOSURE
Have the students write a paragraph summarizing what Genesis tells us
in general about man’s place in creation.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Reading
 The Creation of Adam and Eve through the sidebar The
Creation of Angels (pp. 10– 15)
Study Questions
 Questions 1–7.
 Practical Exercise 1.
Workbook
 Questions 1–14.
2. God’s Good Creation and Man
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
Conduct a class discussion on to what extent Genesis supports the idea
of environmentalism.
With which ideas in the environmental movement does Genesis agree?
Which ideas are in contradiction to Genesis?
3. Before the Fall
ANTICIPATORY SET
Incorporate the second creation account from Genesis
(the creation of Eve) into the class’s opening prayer (Gn 2:4–25).
Have the students free write on what this passage might be telling
them about God’s original intention for marriage.
3. Before the Fall
BASIC QUESTIONS
 What does Genesis mean when it says that Adam and Eve were created in the
image of God?
 What are angels?
 What does the Church mean when she says that Adam and Eve were created in an
original state of holiness and justice?
KEY IDEAS
 God created Adam and Eve in his image with souls possessing intellect and free
will. Consequently, man has the special dignity of being able to understand God’s
infinite goodness and to reflect his glory.
 The angels are purely spiritual beings who love and serve God.
 In their original state of holiness and justice, Adam and Eve shared in God’s life
and were in harmony with God, each other, and all of creation. They also enjoyed an
inner harmony in which their passions were at the service of their reason and will.
They were also immune from suffering and death.
3. Before the Fall
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Why did God create the universe?
To show forth his infinite goodness and love.
Why was the creation of human beings a special way of revealing
God’s goodness and love?
As the only rational beings in the universe, only they had the capacity to
understand God’s infinite goodness and to reflect his glory.
How is the creation of man and woman the climax of creation?
Adam and Eve were created last and different and superior to all other
creatures by being made in the image of God.
3. Before the Fall
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What does it mean to possess the image and likeness of God?
It means having a rational soul with the powers of intellect and will.
What does it mean to say that man is a composite being?
He has a body and a soul.
What operations does the human soul carry out?
The spiritual soul makes it possible to form concepts, know God, make
choices, and love. Through the soul, people also have the capacity of
knowing themselves, possessing themselves, giving themselves, and
entering into communion with God and other persons.
3. Before the Fall
FOCUS QUESTIONS
How is natural science a consequence of the soul?
The human mind can decipher the complex laws of the universe and can
describe them in mathematical formulas.
Extension: All the other human sciences are equally the result of our
intelligence, which is spiritual.
Does the Church see science as an obstacle to faith?
No. Science is a great gift that can lead us to a deeper understanding and
appreciation of God’s creation, and ultimately of God himself. For
example, the rich complexity and fine-tuned harmony of the created
world reflect an infinitely intelligent and powerful Creator.
3. Before the Fall
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What objection do some people make to claims about
knowing about God through reason?
They argue that human knowledge is restricted to what can be
deduced solely from empirical data. If this argument is true, then
we can say nothing about God from reason because God cannot be
empirically detected or measured.
What is metaphysical knowledge?
It is knowledge derived from our capacity to know things that go
beyond empirical data.
3. Before the Fall
GUIDED EXERCISE
Conduct a think/pair/share on the following question:
Explain how, in the Church’s view, it takes three to make a
human being: the mother, the father, and God?
3. Before the Fall
FOCUS QUESTIONS
According to CCC 356, what is the fundamental reason for human dignity?
Man is the only creature God willed for its own sake and God’s will is for
man to share in God’s own life by knowledge and love.
Why did God endow the human person with the capacity for knowledge
and love?
So we could share in God’s love and friendship.
What was Adam and Eve’s relationship with God like before the Fall?
Before Original Sin, Adam and Eve possessed a clear awareness of God’s
presence and enjoyed a profound and loving relationship with him.
3. Before the Fall
FOCUS QUESTIONS
In what “state” did God create Adam and Eve?
In a state of holiness and justice.
What was the grace of original holiness?
It was a “share in . . . divine life.”
What does the state of original justice mean?
It means that in fidelity to God’s will, Adam and Eve were in a right
relationship with God, each other, and the rest of creation.
3. Before the Fall
GUIDED EXERCISE
Present a mini-lecture on empirical versus metaphysical knowledge. The
purpose is to show students that the claim that only empirical knowledge
is valid is invalid.
 Empirical knowledge is that which can be known by direct experience or
observation. Generally it means the facts that can be gathered from the
senses and measured.
 Metaphysical knowledge is that which is gained through abstract thought.
 Empirical knowledge is essential in the natural sciences. For example,
the time it takes for a marble to drop one meter is empirical knowledge.
 Whenever one is dealing with ideas, one is using metaphysics. For
example, love or liberty cannot be directly observed or measured but are
real.
3. Before the Fall
GUIDED EXERCISE (continued)
 At the beginning of the twentieth century some philosophers of science tried
to reduce all knowledge to empirical knowledge. They ruled out any nonempirical
knowledge as nonsense. This idea itself is unable to be proven empirically and,
therefore, by its own definition has no scientific validity. However, some
philosophers and scientists still adhere to it.
 Science requires scientists to exercise great creativity, to create abstract models
of physical reality, to devise methods of testing, and to use conventions (or
agreements). Even a task like classifying rocks is a metaphysical exercise, since
one is abstracting qualities and sorting the rocks.
 A further reason that strict empiricism fails is because some branches of
modern science study aspects of reality that simply cannot be directly observed,
like sub-atomic particles. Yet we know a lot about them due to ingenious theories
and complicated experiments that measure the effects of invisible interactions.
3. Before the Fall
GUIDED EXERCISE
To learn more about the good angels, have the students work with a
partner to do a bulletpoint summary of Supplemental Reading 2: “The
word ‘angel’ denotes a function rather than a nature” (p. 28).
3. Before the Fall
GUIDED EXERCISE
Have the students work with a partner to make a bullet-point list of
gifts that Adam and Eve enjoyed because of their original state of
holiness and justice.
3. Before the Fall
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What does the Nicene Creed mean when it refers to God as the
creator of “all that is . . . unseen”?
It is referring to the angels and to the human soul.
What are God’s two spiritual creations?
The human soul and the angels.
What is an angel?
It is a purely spiritual or noncorporeal being with intelligence and will but
no physical body. Because angels have no body they are immortal.
What does the word angel literally mean?
Messenger.
3. Before the Fall
CLOSURE
Have the students write a paragraph on the physical, mental, and moral
state of Adam and Eve before Original Sin.
3. Before the Fall
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Reading
 Original Sin through The Consequences of Original Sin (pp. 15–20)
Study Questions
 Questions 8-13.
 Practical Exercises 3, 4.
Workbook
 Questions 15-21.
3. Before the Fall
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
Have the students free write for five minutes on how they personally
experience their own dignity.
Why do they think they have intrinsic rights that no one should violate?
Do they think they are “like God” in any way?
4. Original Sin
ANTICIPATORY SET
Incorporate a reading of Genesis 3, the fall of Adam and Eve, into the
class’s opening prayer and then have the students free write for five
minutes on why Adam and Eve chose to disobey God.
Briefly share responses.
4. Original Sin
BASIC QUESTIONS
 What is Original Sin?
 Who are Satan and the demons?
 What are the effects of Original Sin?
KEY IDEAS
 The Original Sin was Adam and Eve’s disobedience of God’s command under
the temptation of the Serpent.
 Devils are originally good, but fallen, angels who are enemies of God and bent
on our destruction.
 The Original Sin deprived Adam and Eve of their original state of holiness and
justice and wounded their souls.
4. Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What was the one limitation God had placed on Adam and Eve’s freedom
in the Garden?
They were forbidden to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, which would result in death.
What lie did the serpent tell Eve?
He said, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
According to Genesis, for what reasons did Eve disobey God’s prohibition?
Eve “saw” that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to look at,
and that it could make her wise.
4. Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
In the Old Testament, how is the word “nahash” used?
It is used to describe powerfully evil creatures.
According to Catholic tradition, who is the serpent?
It is Satan, the leader of the fallen angels.
How did Jesus describe Satan?
Jesus called him “a murderer from the beginning” and the “father of lies.”
4. Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Were the demons created evil?
No. “The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good
by God, but they became evil by their own doing.”
What is the self-appointed mission of Satan and his followers and
how do they carry it out?
Their mission is to sabotage God’s loving plan for his people through
temptations, lies, and deceits that lead us away from God and toward our
destruction.
4. Original Sin
GUIDED EXERCISE
Have the students work with a partner to write and answer three focus
questions on the sidebar: “Satan and the Fallen Angels” (p. 17).
Have students answer each other’s questions.
4. Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What was the nature of the sin of Adam and Eve?
Disobedience.
How could the first sin be described as a sin of pride?
In the Original Sin, Adam and Eve preferred themselves to God, wishing
to possess the absolute freedom and knowledge that can belong only to
God, rejecting the fact that they were creatures and not God.
Why was the Original Sin particularly grave, compared to our own?
Our personal sins are partly committed under a weakness of soul, a
disorder of our appetites and passions, and an inclination to sin called
concupiscence. In contrast, Adam and Eve were not influenced by these
disorders but were completely free, deliberately choosing to disobey and
distrust God.
4. Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What were the consequences of Original Sin for Adam and Eve?
They lost their state of original holiness and justice, as well as their
friendship with God, and consequently were expelled from the Garden of
Eden.
What were the consequences of Original Sin for Adam and Eve’s
descendants?
Adam and Eve’s sin injured all their descendants. They lost original
sanctity and justice for us and made us subject to suffering and death.
What was the effect of Original Sin on our minds and wills?
The human intellect became clouded and limited in discerning God’s laws.
Bodily desires now would enslave the will. People became selfish.
4. Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
According to Gaudium et Spes, how is human life now a moral drama?
Man still desires the good, but his nature bears the wound of Original Sin
and, thus, is inclined to evil and subject to error. Because of this, the life
of individual men and all of society is a dramatic struggle between good
and evil.
What is the significance of Adam and Eve realizing they were naked?
It signaled the experience of loss of innocence and purity, replaced by
disorder in their passions and appetites.
What is concupiscence?
It is the inclination to sin.
Does creation become evil because of Original Sin?
No. God’s creation is inherently good, especially the human person.
4. Original Sin
GUIDED EXERCISE
Have the students complete the following table to see how the four
major wounds of Original Sin relate to the four cardinal virtues.
Wound
Definition
Example
Cardinal Virtue
Malice
Justice
Ignorance
Prudence
Weakness
Fortitude
Temperance
Concupiscence
Definition
Example
4. Original Sin
Wound
Definition
Example
Cardinal Virtue
Malice
The desire to
inflict injury;
pleasure in
another’s
misfortune.
Taking revenge
on someone you
don’t like.
Justice
Giving others
their due.
Returning something you
borrowed from someone
who isn’t your friend
anymore.
Ignorance
Difficulty in
discerning the
truth.
Thinking
premarital sex is
okay because
“everyone does
it.”
Prudence
Sound decision
making.
Not going out with someone
who just wants to have sex
with you.
Weakness
The desire to
avoid effort or
difficulties.
Putting off a
term paper
because of how
much work it
will involve.
Fortitude
Doing the right
thing in the face
of difficulties.
Staying on a diet even though
offered a delicious dessert.
Allowing our
appetites to
dominate our
reason.
Getting drunk
because it will
be a lot of fun.
Temperance
Using pleasure
in a reasonable
way.
Turning off a video game
because it is time to start
homework.
Concupiscence
Definition
Example
4. Original Sin
GUIDED EXERCISE
Have each student complete a paragraph shrink on the paragraph
beginning, “Satan told our . . .” (p. 20).
4. Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What was the effect of Original Sin on sexual relations?
Once the intimate harmony that existed between God and man, and
between man and woman, had been damaged, the body became an object
of lust. Sexual relations become marked by lust and domination.
Did Original Sin destroy our ability to know the truth or to act freely?
No. It damaged or wounded our human nature, but it didn’t destroy it.
4. Original Sin
CLOSURE
Have the students write a paragraph summarizing the origin and
nature of Original Sin.
4. Original Sin
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Reading
 God Confronts Adam and Eve through Conclusion (pp. 21–
25)
Study Questions
 Questions: 14-21.
 Practical Exercise 2.
Workbook
 Questions 22-31.
4. Original Sin
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
Have the students free write for a few minutes on how, as Gaudium et
Spes asserts, human history is an individual and social struggle
between good and evil. Have them discuss one individual and one
societal example.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
ANTICIPATORY SET
Incorporate Genesis 4:1–16 (Cain and Abel) into the class’s
opening prayer.
Then have the students free write for a few minutes on what they
think God meant when he told Cain that, “If you do well, will you
not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the
door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Share responses.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
BASIC QUESTIONS
 What were the consequences of Original Sin for Adam and
Eve?
 What are the consequences of Original Sin for the human race?
 How do we overcome the effects of Original Sin?
KEY IDEAS
 As an effect of Original Sin, Adam and Eve experienced illness,
suffering, and death. In addition, Eve suffered pain in childbearing
and became subject to Adam. Adam’s work became toilsome.
 For Adam and Eve’s descendants, Original Sin is a wound in
their nature, transmitted from parents to children, which has
resulted in every kind of actual sin, beginning with fratricide.
 The wound of Original Sin can be overcome through
sacramental graces and personal struggle, as the Saints have shown
us.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What did banishment from the Garden of Eden symbolize?
Banishment symbolized the loss of sanctifying grace and of the intimate
friendship that they had enjoyed with God, as well as the impossibility of
entering Heaven.
What in the life of Christ did the Garden of Eden prefigure?
The Garden of Eden prefigured the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ
inaugurated his Passion, which reopened the gates of Paradise.
How did Eve suffer for her sin?
God informed Eve she would now suffer pain in childbearing.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
How did Adam suffer for his sin?
Adam’s work became difficult and frustrating.
What effect did Original Sin have on Adam and Eve’s physical life?
They lost their immunity from sickness and suffering and would one day
die.
What effect did Original Sin have on Adam and Eve’s souls?
Their former self-control typified by the dominion of mind and will over
bodily passions was at an end.
What is the first tangible sign in Genesis that sin had entered the world?
Cain killed his brother Abel out of envy and hatred.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
According to the biblical record, what was the subsequent moral history of
the world?
After the murder of Abel by Cain, the subsequent history of the world was one of
tragedy upon tragedy in the form of injustices, violations of human dignity, and
untold destruction of human life.
How are the effects of Original Sin transmitted?
They are transmitted from parents to child at conception.
How is our involvement in the sin of Adam and Eve both an unfortunate
and a fortunate example of human solidarity, according to CCC 404?
Because of the “unity of the human race” all men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as
all are implicated in Christ’s justice.” In other words, we all suffer because of
Adam, but we all benefit due to Christ.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
GUIDED EXERCISE
Have the students complete this table to articulate the crucial difference
between Original Sin for Adam and Eve and for the rest of us.
Original Sin for Adam and Eve
Original Sin for their descendants
5. The Effects of Original Sin
GUIDED EXERCISE
Original Sin for Adam and Eve
Original Sin for their descendants
The actual, personal sin that Adam and
Eve committed when they disobeyed
God’s command.
Not an actual sin but a state in which
human nature is both deprived of
original holiness and justice and
wounded.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
How could it be said that St. Elizabeth Ann Seton understood both lay and
religious life?
Elizabeth was married to a man she loved deeply and with whom she had five children.
She was also a vowed sister who founded what became six religious communities.
How did Elizabeth experience the consequences of Original Sin?
Her husband lost all his money, became sick, and died, leaving her to raise their children
by herself in poverty. She was rejected by her family and former friends for joining the
Catholic Church.
Why is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton important to the Catholic Church in America?
She was the first native-born American citizen to be canonized, i.e., declared a saint. She
is also the founder of the Catholic elementary school system in this country.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
GUIDED EXERCISE
Catholic Tradition has identified seven deadly sins we are inclined to commit
due to our wounded nature.
Have the students work with a partner to create a graphic organizer that
identifies, defines, and provides a concrete example of each of the “Seven
Deadly Sins.” (The Internet may be used to identify and define the sins, but the
Web site consulted should be approved.)
Deadly Sin
Lust
Gluttony
Greed
Sloth
Wrath
Pride
Envy
Definition
Example
5. The Effects of Original Sin
GUIDED EXERCISE
Deadly Sin
Lust
Definition
Example
Consenting to sexual thoughts or actions outside Adultery.
the marriage act.
Overindulgence in anything to the point of
waste or loss of reason.
Getting drunk.
Greed
Desire to possess anything, especially wealth,
beyond what is reasonable.
Theft.
Sloth
Laziness, especially spiritual laziness which
despairs in making an effort to love God.
Suicide.
Inordinate or uncontrolled and unjust anger.
Murder.
Pride
Love of self perverted to hatred and contempt
for one’s neighbor.
Always talking about oneself.
Envy
Resentment of or sorrow because of another’s
good.
Gossiping to ruin someone’s
reputation.
Gluttony
Wrath
5. The Effects of Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What is the “wound” of Original Sin?
We are born with a damaged but not corrupted human nature, which
inclines us strongly to every conceivable form of selfishness.
What is the way to happiness and salvation?
We need a removal of Original Sin and a purification of our souls.
What part of human nature has Original Sin damaged?
Original Sin has damaged our spiritual operations of intellect and will. It is
hard for us to know the moral law and hard to choose the good.
What is the key to living in conformity with the teachings of Christ?
Sacramental Grace and our personal struggle.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
FOCUS QUESTIONS
What effect does the Sacrament of Baptism have?
It removes the stain of Original Sin by infusing God’s sanctifying grace into
the soul. However, it does not completely heal the sinful inclinations, called
concupiscence, left by Original Sin.
To whom does Original Sin put us in bondage?
Because of Original Sin, every individual is conceived under a certain
bondage to the Devil.
Who are our models in overcoming the effects of Original Sin?
The saints show that by taking advantage of God’s saving and healing
graces, we can possess spiritual goodness and beauty.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
GUIDED EXERCISE
Have the students read CCC 310 and then have them free write on
reasons why God created a world in which—as he foreknew—the first
persons would ruin things for themselves and all others. Specifically, did
God make a mistake in creating human beings?
Share responses.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
CLOSURE
Have the students write a paragraph summarizing the consequences
of Original Sin for Adam and Eve and for us, their descendants.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Study Questions
 Questions: 22-29.
Workbook
 Questions 32-36.
5. The Effects of Original Sin
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
Have the students free write on how the following virtues can help
us combat the seven deadly sins:
 Chastity (lust)
 Temperance (gluttony)
 Generosity (greed)
 Industriousness (sloth)
 Gentleness (wrath)
 Humility (pride)
 Magnanimity (envy)
The End