Baltimore Catechism No. 2 (of 4) | Page 3

there is but one God.
22. Q. Why can there be but one God? A. There can be but one God,

because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.
23. Q. How many Persons are there in God? A. In God there are three
Divine Persons, really distinct, and equal in all things--the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost.
24. Q. Is the Father God? A. The Father is God and the first Person of
the Blessed Trinity.
25. Q. Is the Son God? A. The Son is God and the second Person of the
Blessed Trinity.
26. Q. Is the Holy Ghost God? A. The Holy Ghost is God and the third
Person of the Blessed Trinity.
27. Q. What do you mean by the Blessed Trinity? A. By the Blessed
Trinity I mean one God in three Divine Persons.
28. Q. Are the three Divine Persons equal in all things? A. The three
Divine Persons are equal in all things.
29. Q. Are the three Divine Persons one and the same God? A. The
three Divine Persons are one and the same God, having one and the
same Divine nature and substance.
30. Q. Can we fully understand how the three Divine Persons are one
and the same God? A. We cannot fully understand how the three
Divine Persons are one and the same God, because this is a mystery.
31. Q. What is a mystery? A. A mystery is a truth which we cannot
fully understand.

LESSON FOURTH ON CREATION
32. Q. Who created heaven and earth, and all things? A. God created
heaven and earth, and all things.
33. Q. How did God create heaven and earth? A. God created heaven
and earth from nothing by His word only; that is, by a single act of His
all-powerful will.
34. Q. Which are the chief creatures of God? A. The chief creatures of
God are angels and men.
35. Q. What are angels? A. Angels are pure spirits without a body,
created to adore and enjoy God in heaven.
36. Q. Were the angels created for any other purpose? A. The angels
were also created to assist before the throne of God and to minister unto
Him; they have often been sent as messengers from God to man; and
are also appointed our guardians.

37. Q. Were the angels, as God created them, good and happy? A. The
angels, as God created them, were good and happy.
38. Q. Did all the angels remain good and happy? A. All the angels did
not remain good and happy; many of them sinned and were cast into
hell, and these are called devils or bad angels.

LESSON FIFTH ON OUR FIRST PARENTS AND THE FALL
39. Q. Who were the first man and woman? A. The first man and
woman were Adam and Eve.
40. Q. Were Adam and Eve innocent and holy when they came from
the hand of God? A. Adam and Eve were innocent and holy when they
came from the hand of God.
41. Q. Did God give any command to Adam and Eve? A. To try their
obedience God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of a certain fruit
which grew in the garden of Paradise.
42. Q. Which were the chief blessings intended for Adam and Eve had
they remained faithful to God? A. The chief blessings intended for
Adam and Eve, had they remained faithful to God, were a constant
state of happiness in this life and everlasting glory in the next.
43. Q. Did Adam and Eve remain faithful to God? A. Adam and Eve
did not remain faithful to God; but broke His command by eating the
forbidden fruit.
44. Q. What befell Adam and Eve on account of their sin? A. Adam
and Eve, on account of their sin, lost innocence and holiness, and were
doomed to sickness and death.
45. Q. What evil befell us on account of the disobedience of our first
parents? A. On account of the disobedience of our first parents, we all
share in their sin and punishment, as we should have shared in their
happiness if they had remained faithful.
46. Q. What other effects followed from the sin of our first parents? A.
Our nature was corrupted by the sin of our first parents, which
darkened our understanding, weakened our will, and left in us a strong
inclination to evil.
47. Q. What is the sin called which we inherit from our first parents? A.
The sin which we inherit from our first parents is called original sin.
48. Q. Why is this sin called original? A. This sin is called original
because it comes down to us from our first parents, and we are brought

into the