Term
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Definition
| Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God. |
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Term
| 49. Is this likeness to God in the body or in the soul? |
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Definition
| This likeness to God is chiefly in the soul. |
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Term
| 50. How is the soul like God? |
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Definition
| The soul is like God because it is a spirit having understanding and free will, and is destined to live forever. |
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Term
| 51. Who were the first man and woman? |
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Definition
| The first man and woman were Adam and Eve, the first parents of the whole human race. |
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Term
| 52. What was the chief gift bestowed on Adam and Eve by God? |
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Definition
| The chief gift bestowed on Adam and Eve by God was sanctifying grace, which made them children of God and gave them the right to heaven. |
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Term
| 53. What other gifts were bestowed on Adam and Eve by God? |
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Definition
| The other gifts bestowed on Adam and Eve by God were happiness in the Garden of Paradise, great knowledge, control of the passions by reason, and freedom from suffering and death. |
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Term
| 54. What commandment did God give Adam and Eve? |
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Definition
| God gave Adam and Eve the commandment not to eat of the fruit of a certain tree that grew in the Garden of Paradise. |
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Term
| 55. Did Adam and Eve obey the commandment of God? |
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Definition
| Adam and Eve did not obey the commandment of God, but ate of the forbidden fruit. |
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Term
| 56. What happened to Adam and Eve on account of their sin? |
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Definition
| On account of their sin Adam and Eve lost sanctifying grace, the right to heaven, and their special gifts; they became subject to death, to suffering, and to a strong inclination to evil, and they were driven from the Garden of Paradise. |
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Term
| 57. What has happened to us on account of the sin of Adam? |
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Definition
| On account of the sin of Adam, we, his decendants, come into the world deprived of sanctifying grace and inherit his punishment, as we would have inherited his gifts had he been obedient to God. |
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Term
| 58. What is this sin in us called? |
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Definition
| This sin in us is called original sin. |
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Term
| 59. Why is this sin called original? |
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Definition
| This sin is called original because it comes down to us through our origin, or descent, from Adam. |
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Term
| 60. What are the chief punishments of Adam which we inherit through original sin? |
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Definition
| The chief punishments of Adam which we inherit through original sin are: death, suffering, ignorance, and a strong inclination to sin. |
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Term
| 61. Is God unjust in punishing us on account of the sin of Adam? |
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Definition
| God is not unjust in punishing us on account of the sin of Adam, because original sin does not take away from us anything to which we have a strict right as human beings, but only the free gifts which God in His goodness would have bestowed on us if Adam had not sinned. |
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Term
| 62. Was any human person ever preserved from original sin? |
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Definition
| The Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from original sin in view of the merits of her Divine Son; and this privilege is called her Immaculate Conception. |
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