Catechism of the Catholic Church

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2501 Created "in the image of God," ²⁹⁴ man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works. Indeed, art is a distinctively human form of expression; beyond the search for the necessities of life which is common to all living creatures, art is a freely given superabundance of the human being's inner riches. Arising from talent given by the Creator and from man's own effort, art is a form of practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill, ²⁹⁵ to give form to the truth of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God's activity in what he has created. Like any other human activity, art is not an absolute end in itself, but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of man. ²⁹⁶

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST

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SECTION TWO: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

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CHAPTER TWO: YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF Jesus said to his disciples: "Love one another even as I have loved you." 1

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ARTICLE 8: THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 253

Notes for the above paragraph:

294 Gen 1:26.

295 Cf. Wis 7:16-17

296 Cf. Pius XII, Musicae sacrae disciplina; Discourses of September 3 and December 25, 1950.

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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