God the Father, Mentor's Guide, MG06

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G O D T H E F A T H E R

intrigued with certain ideas and want to go on God-ordained tangents in their discussions. Allow for the proper time to focus in on the main points, and still have enough time for a break before the next video segment is started.

Helping your students understand the limits of the intellect to find God is one of the most important tasks for the mentor during this module. In this we can learn from those great theologians of history. Below are two quotes from Anselm, an early bishop of the Church in the 11th century, whose opinion about God’s transcendence helped him set realistic goals in his study of God the Father Almighty. Both of these quotations emphasize the need for the student of the Word of God to be humble; it is not seeking to understand in order to believe , but rather believing in order to understand . I am not trying, Lord, to penetrate your sublimity, for my understanding is not up to that. But I long in some measure to understand your truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I am not seeking to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order that I may understand. For this too I believe: that unless I believe, I shall not understand. The correct order is to believe the deep things of the Christian faith before undertaking to discuss them by reason. But we are negligent if, having come to a firm faith, we do not seek to understand what we believe. By God’s prevenient grace, I consider myself to hold the faith of our redemption, so that even were I totally unable to understand it, nothing could shake the constancy of my belief. Please show me what, as you know, many others as well all seek to know: Why should God, who is omnipotent, have assumed the smallness and frailty of human nature in order to renew it? ~ Anselm. Proslogion 1

9 Page 24 Summary of Segment 2

~ Anselm. Cur Deus Homo (Boso to Anselm) 1:2