COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE TITLE: CHRISTIAN ETHICS

COURSE CODE/CREDITS: Philosophy 5/Theology 3

“But only God who created man to His own image and ransomed him from sins, provides a fully adequate answer to questions…revealed in Christ His Son who became man. Whoever follows after Christ, the perfect man becomes himself more of a man.”

COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course deals with the study of man as a moral being called by God to respond in freedom and responsibility to attain the fullness of life in Christ. It seeks to familiarize the students with the foundations of morality that would equip them with principles and guidelines to confront contemporary moral situations. This also deals with the challenges of Christian Discipleship and the Christian invitation to moral growth through the study of grace, sin, conversion and virtues.

COURSE SYLLABUS

A.General objectives:At the end of the course, the students are expected to:

1. Establish the link between the “external ritual expression of Christian faith and authentic discipleship following Christ in action” (ECCE: Moral Law – Nos. 5& 6)

2. Acquire ethical and religious values which would affect changes of attitude, behavior and values (CA # 60) in the light of contemporary moral problem.

COURSE SYLLABUS

B. Specific ObjectivesAt the end of this course, students are expected to:

1. Acquaint themselves with the moral dimension of the Christian Faith;

2. Trace the roots of contemporary moral situations;3. Acquire facility in making moral-decisions, through

the study of the human person as moral agent;4. Understand the DECALOGUE in the light of some of

today’s moral issues.5. Appreciate the challenges of Christian Discipleship.6. Value Christ’s invitation to grow morally through the

study of the role of grace, sin, conversion, and virtues.

COURSE OUTLINE

I. Introduction: Understanding Contemporary Moral SituationsA. Moral Situations: An OverviewB. Contemporary Moral Trends and Their RootsC. Notions of Morality

1. Popular Notions2. What Morality Is: Clarifications

and TermsD. Understanding Christian Morality

COURSE OUTLINE

II.Man as a Moral BeingA. Man: The Image of God

1. Man as Body-Soul Unity a. Human Needs: Hierarchy of

Needs b. Needs as Values2. Man as a Person a. Intelligent and Free b. Endowed with dignity and

Inalienable rights c. Always an End, Never as

Means

COURSE OUTLINE

B. Man the Traveler: In Pursuit of His Goal1. End/Purpose of Man a. Different Theories of the God and

Happiness b. The Ultimate Happiness: The

Supreme Good2. Pathos of Man: Wounded (fallen) but

Healed (redeemed)3. Historical Man

C. Man Being For Others1. To be Oneself2. To be with and for Others3. To be with and for God

COURSE OUTLINEII. Man as a Moral Agent: Responsible for

his/her ActsA. The Human Acts

1. Human Acts and Acts of Man2. Constituents of Human Acts a. Knowledge b. Freedom c. Voluntariness3. Impairment/Obstacles of Voluntariness

B. Sources of Morality1. Object2. Intention3. Circumstances

C. Interrelations of the Sources of Morality: Toward Personal Integrity

COURSE OUTLINE

IV. Norms and Guidelines for Moral ManA. The Objective Norm: Law

1. Eternal Law2. Natural Law3. Human Law4. Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount: Basic

Christian CharacterB. The Subjective Norm: Conscience

1. Definitions a. As Moral Faculty b. As a Moral Judgment2. Theories of Conscience3. Kinds of Conscience and their Binding Force

COURSE OUTLINE

4. Development of Moral Conscience5. The Christian Formation of

ConscienceC. Concrete Guidelines for Making a Moral Decision

V.Christian Discipleship: The Way Towards Christian MoralityA. Living Authentic Human Life: Christ as a ModelB. Responding to Christ’s Commandment of Love (Agape)C. Living the Life in the Spirit

COURSE OUTLINE

VI.Invitation to Christian Growth and perfectionA. Sin as an Obstacle to Moral Growth

1. Nature of Sin a. Biblical Views of Sin b. Theological Reflection on Sin c. Moral, Grave and Venial Sin2. Kinds of Sin a. Different Kinds of Internal Sins b. Sins of Omission and Commission c. The Capital Sins

COURSE OUTLINE

3. Sources of Sins a. Impact of a Sinfully Distorted World

b. Temptation4. Responsibility for Sins of Others and Sinful

Cooperation a. Seduction b. Scandal c. Cooperation in the Sins of Others

B. Conversion: The Continuous Process for Growth1. Man’s Need for Conversion2. Nature of Conversion3. Conditions of Conversion4. Fruits of Conversion5. Sacramental Enactment and Realization of

Conversion

COURSE OUTLINE

C. Virtues: Habits for Effective Christian Living

1. Nature of Virtues2. Systems of Virtues a. Primacy of Charity b. Diversity of Virtues3. Fundamental Requirements for

Virtue a. Moral Knowledge and Prudence b. Love of Moral Value c. Dominion Over Passions

COURSE OUTLINE

D. Christ’s Invitation to Perfection1. Defective Ideals2. The Call to Perfection in Holy Scripture a. Old Testament b. New Testament3. Essence and Universality of the Call to

Perfection a. Nature and Perfection b. Universality of the Call to Perfection c. Manifold Realization of the Common Call

to Holiness4. Pathways to Holiness

COURSE OUTLINE

VII. The Decalogue in the Light of Current Moral Problems5th – Issues on Life and the Body6th – Issues on Sexuality7th – Issues on Management of Resources8th – Issues on Truthfulness

INTRODUCTION:

PHILOSOPHY/

THEOLOGY/

MORALITY

INTRODUCTION: PHILOSOPHY

A: Etymologically: It comes from two Greed words philos (“love”),

and sophia (“wisdom”). Hence, philosophy is

defined as “love of wisdom”.

Q: What is Philosophy?

Classical Definition: It is the science which studies the final or ultimate causes of all things in the light of human reason.

INTRODUCTION: THEOLOGY

Etymology: (THEOS: GOD / LOGOS:STUDY/SCIENCE)

HENCE, THEOLOGY IS THE SCIENCE OR STUDY OF GOD

Q: What is Theology?

THEOLOGY AS SCIENCE

In the sense that theology as a study of Godis also a systematic body of knowledge

However, unlike other human sciences, theology solely relies on divine revelation

DIVINE REVELATION

Through revelation, God makes himself known…

…as well as his plan of salvation

God’s revelation comes to us even through

the most ordinary circumstance of our life.

Divine revelation can only be accepted by FAITH

Revelation is God’s initiative.

Through revelation God establishes a relationship with humanity

FAITHenables us to see God’s intervention even in

human history

Through theology: we learn of a God who is active in human affairs…

Not a God who watches from a distance

Hence, THEOLOGY is:

The study of God and his relationship with man and the world

Studied through the use of reason illumined by faith

INTRODUCTION: MORALITY/ETHICS

Where am I going?

INTRODUCTION: MORALITY/ETHICS

Q: What is Ethics?

A: Etymologically: It comes from two Greed word ethos, meaning a characteristic way of doing things, or a body of customs. Hence, it is a study of human customs or ways of doing things.

Classical Definition: It is the science of the morality of human acts. It is a science because it is a systematic body of knowledge meant to guide men in their pursuit of the good and happy life.

Ethics is therefore a practical science; it is not a speculative science that merely theorizes. Ethics is meant to be applied, i.e., it teaches how men ought to live.

INTRODUCTION: MORALITY/ETHICS

Note: Ethics can be divided into two:

A. General Ethics – concerns the individual and what he ought to do to live happy and fruitful life in this world.

B. Special Ethics – concerns the individual as a member of society. All problems concerning society and the social orderare taken up.

THE IMPERATIVES OF ETHICS

Ethics presupposes some imperatives or sine qua non, “those with which” Ethics would not be possible. These imperatives are:

1. the existence of God or a Supreme Being

2. the existence of human freedom;

3. the existence of an afterlife, i.e., life beyond

the grave, or the immortality of the soul

INTRODUCTION: MORALITY/ETHICS

Q: What is Morality?

A: Mortality is the quality of goodness or badness of human acts. It is also the rightness or wrongness of human acts as they conform or do not conform to standards.A: Human acts are those that are done with full knowledge and full willingness or deliberation. Acts that are done without full knowledge or full willingness or deliberation or both are termed acts of man.

Human acts must conform to a standard to determine

whether they are good or bad, right or wrong, moral or

immoral.

MORAL THEOLOGY• Moral Theology seeks to relate the Christian to the complex realities of living in the world. • Interested on the implications of the Christian faith.

A. Ethics of BeingB. Ethics of Doing Ethics of Being Ethics of Doing

Interiority of the person. Interiority of the person get expressed in behavior

Actions are always expression of a person.

Right actions come from a good person

It pays attention to what is happening to the person performing actions rather than on the actions the person performs.

Attends not only to the duties and obligations of the person acting but also to the circumstances which make up the moral situation

It asks: What sort of person should I become because I believe in Christ?

It asks: What sort of action should I perform because I believe in Christ?

Character Action

MORAL THEOLOGY“Special attention needs to be given to the development of moral theology. Its scientific exposition should be thoroughly nourished by the scriptural teaching. It should show the nobility of the Christian vocation of the faithful and their obligation to bring forth fruit in Charity for the life of the world.” (Optatem Totusis, 16)

Five Guidelines to the Development of Moral Theology1.Vocation of the Christian

- Call to Holiness- Invitation from Christ to a personal response of love.

2.Love God through one’s neighbor- The life of Christian must live daily in word and deed.- As a service for others not purely between God and individual.

3.More Biblical- More thoroughly nourished by scriptural teaching.- Imbued with a deeper sense of the Word of God as revealed in scripture and of the history of Man’s salvation revealed in the bible.

4.More Scientific - constant dialogue with other field of study.5.On Going Task

- Socially oriented and must come into grips with contemporary problems.

MORAL THEOLOGY

“Someone came to Him…”For the young man, the question is not so much

about rules to be followed, but about the full meaning of life. This is in fact the aspiration at the heart of every human decision and action, the quiet searching and interior prompting which sets freedom in motion.

This question is ultimately an appeal to the absolute Good which attracts and beckons us; it is the echo of a call from God who is the origin and goal of man’s life.

In order to make this “encounter” with Christ possible, God willed His church.

“Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”It is essential and unavoidable question for the life

of every man, for it is the moral good which must be done, and about eternal life.

People today need to turn to Christ once again in order to receive from Him the answer to their questions about what is good and what is evil.

“There is only one who is good.”The answer to the question, What good must I do to

have eternal life?, can only be found by turning one’s mind and heart to the “ONE” who is good; only God can answer the question about what is good, ultimately means to turn towards God.

“If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments”

God has already given an answer to this question. He did so by creating man and ordering him with wisdom and love to his final end, through the law which is inscribed in his heart. The natural law is no other than the light of understanding infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided. God gave this light and this law to man at creation.

The Ten Commandments are part of God’s revelation. At the same time, they teach us man’s true humanity. They shed light on the essential duties, and so indirectly on the fundamental rights, inherent in the nature of the human person.

Without love of neighbor made concrete in keeping the commandments, genuine love for God is not possible.

Jesus brings God’s commandments to fulfillment, particularly the commandment of love of neighbor, by interiorizing their demands and by bringing out their fullest meaning.

INTRODUCTION: MORALITY/ETHICS

Q: What is Ethics?

A.MORAL SITUATION: AN OVERVIEW

B.CONTEMPORARY MORAL TRENDS

An overview of the moral situation presents to us the contemporary moral trends

The present generation is characterized by the extraordinary increase and gravity of

threats to life

THE THREATS TO LIFE DIRECTLY AFFLICT

THE WEAK AND THE DEFENSELESS

THREATS TO LIFE:

A.WHATEVER IS OPPOSED TO LIFE

Murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, suicide

B. WHATEVER VIOLATES THE INTEGRITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

mutilation, torments inflicted on body and mind

C. WHATEVER INSULTS HUMAN DIGNITY

Subhuman living conditions slavery

imprisonment human trafficking disgraceful working

conditions

ALL THESE ARE:Poisons to human society

Against the order of reason

THEY ARE:Expanding with new prospects

Opened up by scientific technological progress

IRONY

Progress in science and technology

Regress in moral life

GRAVE CONCERN:

Broad sectors of public opinion JUSTIFY certain crimes against life

HOW?

By invoking the rights of individual freedom and

By obtaining exemption from punishment even authorization by the state, so that

these crimes can be done with total freedom

IT IS GRAVE AND DISTURBING THAT CONSCIENCE IS DARKENED BY WIDESPREAD CONDITIONING

AS A RESULT,IT HAS BECOME DIFFICULT

TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL

SYMPTOMATIC OF MORAL DECLINE

C. ROOTS AND SOURCES OF CONTEMPORARY MORAL TRENDS

1. Profound Crisis of Culture

CULTURE

pattern of human knowledge, customary belief, and behavior of a racial, religious, or social group

the characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people in a place or time

the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices

CAUSE: Skepticism in relation to the foundations of knowledge and ethics

EFFECTS: difficulty in grasping clearly:

- The meaning of human existence

- The meaning of man’s rights and duties

MAN FINDS HIMSELF LOST

2. Existential and Interpersonal difficulties

EXISTENTIAL

grounded in existence or the experience of existence

Aggravated by the complexity of society where people

no longer want to take responsibility for their neighbors

3. Situations of Acute Poverty, Anxiety or Frustration

CONCLUSION:

THE CONTEMPORARY MORAL TRENDS MAKE THE CHOICE TO DEFEND AND PROMOTE LIFE

DEMANDING AS SOMETIMES TO REACH THE POINT OF

HEROISM

2[1]._NOTIONS_OF_MORALITY.ppt