Catechism of the Catholic Church

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239 By calling God "Father", the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God's parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood, 62 which emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. The language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard: 63 no one is father as God is Father.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

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SECTION TWO: THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

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CHAPTER ONE: I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER

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ARTICLE 1: "I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH"

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Paragraph 2. The Father

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II. THE REVELATION OF GOD AS TRINITY

Notes for the above paragraph:

62 Cf. Isa 66:13; Ps 131:2.

63 Cf. Ps 27:10; Eph 3:14; Isa 49:15.

English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.

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