Moral Theology Exam 1

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Moral Theology Exam 1 (1) Christian Anthropology: What are some important elements of an authentically Christian anthropology? How are these elements relevant to giving a proper account of the moral ... life? In your answer please discuss 5 distinct elements of Christian anthropology we covered in class and explain how they each relate to the moral life (we covered 11 elements in class) - ✔✔Christian anthropology is the study of man from the Christian perspective. The study of this is important so that man may know himself and how he ought or ought not act in accordance with his nature. 1) God Created Man: God is man's designer and therefore knows what is good and bad for him. When we sin, we are attempting to tell God that we know better than him. 2) Man's Special Relationship to the rest of Creation: Man was placed by God at the summit of creation as the only creature who can know God and the steward of creation. We must therefore not abuse creation but rather man's vocation is to develop creation and present it back to God. 3) Man was made in the image of God: All creatures have a certain likeness to God. However, only man was made in God's image, or reproduction. This is understood in two ways: Firstly by our will and intellect as pointed out by Aquinas and Augustine; secondly as pointed out by JPII in Theology of the Body by our capacity for union as a representation of the Trinity. Since we are created Imago Dei, man is meant to live in such a way that honors his creation and improves his image, which was damaged by original sin, in order to be like God. 4) Man is in a fallen condition: We have inherited original sin because of what our first parents did. Consequences of this include 1) Loss of original holiness, 2) Loss of original justice, 3) Disordered passions, 4) Weakened will, 5) Concupiscence, 6) Darkened intellect, 7) subjection to the dominion of the devil, 8) Ultimately, suffering and death. Our understanding of these consequences is that man was still created good but is injured. Unlike Luther and Calvin, we do not believe that human nature is destroyed. Neither do we believe that man is unaffected by the fall as the pelagianists do. 5) Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God and therefore our model and redeemer: We are meant to follow Christ's teachings and conform ourselves to them since Jesus shows us how to restore our image. Christ, the final Adam, by his revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his most high calling clear. (2) Present and Explain the main points of Thomas Aquinas' morality of happiness ( explain briefly his answers to the four articles from the Summa theologiae I-II: q. 1, a. 7 ("Whether all men have the same last end"), q. 1, a. 8 ("Whether other creatures concur in the last end?"), q. 2, a. 8 ("Whether any created good constitutes man's happiness?"), and q. 3, a. 8 ("Whether man's happiness consists in the vision of the divine essence?"). - ✔✔In Q1A7, Aquinas says that all men desire happiness. However, not all men agree on what will bring them happiness. Thus, happiness is objective, but the means to happiness are subjective. In answering Q1A8, Aquinas says that there are two ways that we can answer this question either by considering the end as an end in itself or as the end in the acquisition of the end. When speaking of the end as a thing, all things have their end in God and therefore all things concur in God. When speaking of the end as the acquisition of the end, only man can know and love God so therefore only man can acquire happiness in God as his last end. In answering Q2A8, Aquinas says that it is impossible for any created good can make man happy for even when things are acquired, there still remains something for man to desire and happiness does not exist when there still remains something to be desired. Complete happiness satisfies the will, this is in God. In answering Q3A8, Aquinas points out that man cannot be happy while there still remains something to seek with his intellect. Therefore, happiness can only be in the vision of the Divine Essence where God is known by man. In perfect happiness, the intellect is satisfied. (2) Present and explain the main points of Kant's morality of obligation (explain in a coherent and cohesive manner the 5 distinct points covered in class: anti-teleological, categorical imperative, act for sake of duty alone, autonomous freedom, and postulates of freedom, God, and immortality). - ✔✔Immanuel Kant says that the moral life is anti-teleological, that is, acting morally in life cannot benefit man, nor should man act morally in order to be happy because this is selfish and immoral. His categorical imperative for living the moral life said: "Always act in such a way that the maxim describing your action can be applied everywhere to all people, without exception." His third point is that man should always act for the sake of duty along, meaning that one can never act selfishly or to make himself happy, for this is immoral. Fourthly, he believed that freedom is an efficient cause, that is, the rules that man follows in order to live a moral life come from freedom. This is a concept of autonomy. Fifthly, all of these principles hold, as Kant says, as long as God, freedom, and immortality exist. (2) Compare/contrast the two accounts of Aquinas and Kant's moralities - ✔✔The fundamental difference between the two thinkers resides in how the reward or punishment is related to the person. For Aquinas, in living the moral life, man is perfected and achieves his happiness. Thus the reward in intrinsic. Likewise, if man does not live the moral lie his punishment is intrinsic. Kant however, believed that the reward or punishment is extrinsic to you. For example, if one lives a virtuous life, he is not happy in life for he does not work for his self. Then, an extrinsic reward is tacked on. It is not a part of him. (3) JPII's Encyclical Veritatis Splendor and the Story of the Rich Young Man: In Chapter 1 of the encyclical Veritatis Splendor, St. John Paul II draws upon the encounter between Jesus and the rich young man recounted in Matthew 19:16-22 to develop 7 basic principles about the moral life from a Christian perspective. Please discuss each of these points we discussed in class (a) by giving the particular line (or part of a line) quoted by John Paul from the Gospel passage, and (b) by identifying and explaining the moral principle(s) John Paul derives from each line (or part of a line) that guide us in living a good moral life in the way that Christ calls us to live. - ✔✔1) "Teacher, what good must I do to attain eternal life?": JPII says that the rich young man is asking the right person; thus God knows how man can attain eternal life; he has the answers to man's moral questions. 2) "only God is good": man's moral questions are also religious questions. Only God can answer the question 'what good must I do' because God is the highest standard of goodness. Furthermore, he made man and knows what's best for him. 3) "If you want to attain eternal life" JPII makes the point that the moral life is directly related to eternal life. Thus, not only does the young man ask the right person, but he also asks the right question. 4) "Follow the commandments" JPII says that Jesus links following the commandments to attaining eternal life. The Commandments are the foundation upon which man is meant to build is moral life however they are not the height of moral life. 5) "I have done all these, what do I lack?" "If you wish to be perfect..." Th Commandments are the starting point and foundation upon which man builds his moral life, but they are not man's perfection. Jesus brings the Commandments to perfection and call us to go beyond the Commandments for our perfection. 6) "come follow me": Man's perfection beyond the Commandments consists in following Christ. Christ is the example of the moral life; Christ says: "I AM the way, the truth, and the life." 7) "The young man went away sad...who can be saved...for God all things are possible.": In order to attain the perfection that Jesus Christ offers, man needs God's grace and cannot rely on himself. (4) What is the Catholic understanding of human freedom? - ✔✔The Catholic Church understands freedom to be the power of the will which gives man the capacity to direct himself toward his final end by the choices he makes to do this or that, to act or not to act. (4) How is freedom related to "the truth of the good" and why? - ✔✔Freedom is oriented toward the good and in choosing the true good. When we choose the true good, we order ourselves toward the greatest good which is God and thus man is perfected as he moves toward God. (4) How is freedom related to the universal moral law, and how does this differ from the modern notion of absolute autonomy? - ✔✔Freedom is related to the moral life in that the moral life does not come from us but instead from God's wisdom and providence, but man participates in God's law by virtue of our choice to follow it or not follow it. However, we do not choose the law, this understanding that each person decides the law is one of absolute autonomy. This leads to moral relativism. (4) What is the Catholic understanding of conscience? - ✔✔Conscience is the power of the intellect to make practical judgements about how we ought or ought not act by applying universal moral principles to a particular person in a particular circumstance. (4) What are the two acts of conscience? - ✔✔1) To discover the moral universal law 2) To make a practical judgment about how it applies to me in this particular situation (4) How is conscience related to the universal moral law, and how does this differ from the modern notion of a creative conscience? - ✔✔The conscience is the bridge between the universal moral law and man's particular choices. We recognize that there is indeed a natural moral law that is for the conscience to discover, not create. The conscience is the judge, not the legislator of the law. That is, it interprets the law, it does not make the law. (4) What is the role of conscience in making free choices from a Catholic perspective (i.e., please explain the relationship between conscience and freedom using the analogy of a navigator and a pilot)? - ✔✔Freedom is the power of the will and conscience is the power of the intellect which together give man the capacity to make free choices. Using the analogy of a pilot and navigator, the navigator directs as to what path should be chose and the pilot physically steers in that direction. In this analogy freedom is the pilot and conscience is the navigator. (4) What is the meaning of participated theonomy? - ✔✔Participated theonomy is the conception of law that says that man is subject to the universal moral law that he does not ordain, however he participates in it by his choosing. Theo + nomos means God's Law. God ordains the law in accordance with his wisdom and providence. His wisdom allows him to see the comprehensive whole and order things correctly and his providence allows him to move all things toward their end. (4) What is the meaning of total or absolute autonomy? - ✔✔Auto + nomos means self-law. This means that man believes he ordains his own law rather than discovers a universal law. This leads to moral relativism. This is not true law becuase there is no true authority. (4) What is the meaning of heteronomy? - ✔✔Hetero + nomos means alien law. This means that law is imposed upon man without regard for his reason. This is not true law because it is not rational. It is contrary to the dignity of the human person. (4) How does the Catholic understanding of participated theonomy differ from the modern notions of absolute autonomy, on the one hand, and heteronomy, on the other? - ✔✔Participated theonomy is the median between the two extremes. While it believes that man can make his own decisions, it also holds that man does not make his own law. He therefore participates in the universal moral law. It honors both right authority and human dignity. (5) What is the classic Catholic definition of law given by St. Thomas Aquinas (i.e., in Summa theologiae I-II, q. 90, a. 4)? - ✔✔Law is an ordinance of reason given by one in authority over the common good and promulgated. (5) What is the meaning of each of the four elements that define law? - ✔✔Saying that law is an ordinance of reason is to say that it is accessible to the human mind, that is, it is not an arbitrary imposition of the will. A good is something that is perfective of man according to his nature. A common good is something that is is indivisible and one person having it does not take away from another having it. The ultimate common Good is God so law points us to him. Saying that law necessarily has authority is to say that there must be one who can reward or punish the people under the law. Without this proper authority, it is not law, it is only advice. Law must "have teeth." To say that law has to be promulgated means that law must be made public so that the people subject to the law can know it. (5) What are the four types of law (i.e., given in Summa theologiae I-II, q. 91, aa. 1-4)? How is each type of law defined? What is the meaning of each definition? (N.B. In your answer to this question, please make sure to both define and explain the definition of each type of law) - ✔✔1) Eternal Law: this is God's law by which he governs the cosmos by his wisdom and providence. He governs by his wisdom in that he sees the comprehensive whole and is able to rightly order accordingly. He governs according to his providence in that he moves all things to their proper end. 2) Natural Moral Law: This is man's participation in the eternal law. It is innate in human beings by their very nature and by virtue of their freedom and conscience. 3) Human Law: These are laws enacted by human beings which are more particular specifications of the natural moral law. However, if there exists a human law that is not in accordance with natural moral law, it is not truly a law. 4) Divine (Divinely Inspired Law): This is the law that is revealed through divine revelation. Divine revelation is the revelation of God himself and his plan for salvation in history in both work and deed, beginning with creation, culminating in Jesus Christ, and ending with the death of the last disciple, John. Not all divine revelation is divine law, but all divine law is found in divine revelation. We need divinely revealed law in addition to moral law because sometimes our reason goes astray and also because we are made for a supernatural end so we must transcend reason. (6) What is the classic Catholic definition of natural law given by St. Thomas Aquinas in Summa theologiae I-II, q. 91, a. 2, in relation to the eternal law that we discussed in class, and what does this mean? - ✔✔Natural Law is man's participation in the eternal law. This means that God in his wisdom and providence has instilled in man a way of understanding his law and participating in it by virtue of his freedom and conscience. It is natural because it governs us according to our human nature and is a measure for how we should act that corresponds to our design. It is called law because it is an ordinance of reason given to all human beings commonly, by one in authority and promulgated in our intellects. (6) How do we discover the natural law? - ✔✔We are able to discover the natural law because it is implicit in our hearts. We can know it by reflecting on human inclinations and by divinely revealed law. (6) What is the role of human nature in natural law, and why? - ✔✔Natural law is written into human nature and is said to be natural because it governs us according to this nature and is a measure for how we should act that corresponds to our design. All men are under the same law by the very fact that we all have the same nature. This is a common source of morality for all men in a pluralistic world. (6) What role do man's natural inclinations play in discovering the natural law, and why? Why are not all human inclinations considered criteria for discerning the natural law? - ✔✔God has given man good inclinations to lead him to his perfection. For example the first principle of practical reason is: "Do good and avoid evil." however, not all of men's inclinations are considered good for him to follow because since man is fallen, he is subject to concupiscence. (6) What is the role of human reason in natural law, and why? Why is the natural law considered law? - ✔✔Natural law is natural because it is implicit in us by our very nature. It is our participation in the eternal law, that is, we understand this about how God operates. It's called law because it is an ordinance or reason. It would not be law if we could not participate in it in this way. (6) Why is natural law so important to the Catholic Church when we have divinely revealed law? - ✔✔Natural law is important even though we have divinely revealed law because it is not possible for divinely revealed law to account for every moral situation that we may find ourselves in. Furthermore, even if it did, it would be very inconvenient to look everything up and furthermore people who did not believe in divine law would not do so. The Natural moral law allows us to make moral decisions through he use of our freedom and conscience. (6) What are the similarities between the natural law and the Ten Commandments, and how do they differ? - ✔✔The 10 Commandments are divinely revealed law. However, the natural moral law can be found in this divinely revealed law. For example, we can know through use of reason that it is wrong to kill, and the 5th Commandment says it explicitly. Both the natural moral law and the 10 Commandments serve as a basis upon which we can build our moral life, but we are meant to transcend them both. (7) Divinely Revealed Law: What is divine revelation (i.e. please give the definition given in class)? - ✔✔Divine Revelation is God's revelation of himself and his plan for salvation in history both in word and deed beginning with creation, culminating in Jesus Christ, and ending with the death of the last disciple, John. (7) What is divinely revealed law? - ✔✔This is the law that is found in divine revelation in its two modes of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (7) What is the difference between divinely revealed law and divine revelation? - ✔✔Divine revelation contains in to divinely revealed law, but not all divine revelation is divinely revealed law. (7) What is the Old Law? What is contained in the Old Law? What is the relationship between the 10 Commandments and the moral precepts of the Old Law? - ✔✔This is also called the Mosaic Law. It provides a foundation for living the moral life by prohibiting what is bad for love of God and proscribing what is good. It has two parts including the Decalogue and the 613 Moral Precepts of the Old Law. The Decalogue is also known as the 10 Commandments. The 613 Moral Precepts are divided into 3 categories: the judicial, the ceremonial, and the moral. The judicial refers to how Israel should be governed, the ceremonial refers to the proper worship of God but this is transcended by Jesus Christ. The moral are those that pertain to everyone everywhere at all times. They are more particular specifications of the 10 Commandments. (7) Why is the divinely revealed law so important to the Catholic Church when we have natural law? - ✔✔Although we have natural law, sometimes our reason goes astray because of the fall; also man is made for a supernatural end, therefore, he should transcend reason. (7) What is the relationship between the Old Law and the New Law? - ✔✔The New Law perfects the Old Law which existed as preparation for the New Law. (7) What is the New Law? - ✔✔The New Law is the fulfillment of the Old Law. It is also called the Law of the Gospel. (7) What are the two main elements of the New Law? - ✔✔It contains outward instruction and inward grace. The outward instruction is the instruction explicitly given by Jesus Christ which tells man how he can transcend the Old Law. Inward grace is the grace given by God to do this and attain eternal life. It is a supernatural, undeserved gift. (7) Where in the New Testament do we find crystallized the outward instruction of the New Law? - ✔✔The Sermon on the Mount. Here, Jesus acts as the New Moses. Where Moses went up Mount Sinai alone, received the law from God and brought it down to the people, Christ brings his disciples with him up the mountain. This is symbolic of bringing man to his perfection. The Sermon on the Mount thus perfects the 10 Commandments. (7) How does the New Law perfect the Old Law? - ✔✔The New Law perfects the Old Law by encouraging man to build a foundation on the Old Law, but stresses the fact that man need not limit himself to this. By calling man to his perfection and to transcend the Old Law and go beyond it, Christ makes man's most high calling clear. (7) What are the 6 antitheses in the Sermon on the Mount, and how do they perfect the Old Law? - ✔✔These are instances in which Christ points to a part of the Old Law and instructs regarding the Spirit of the Law which lies beneath the letter of the law. For example, the Old Law stated "thou shalt not kill." Christ reveals and perfects this by saying that man may not even have unjust anger. (7) What are the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, and how do they perfect the Old Law? (N.B. For these last two questions, you do not need to list each antithesis or list each beatitude, but instead you must generally describe each category and then offer one example to illustrate what they are and how they perfect the Old Law.) - ✔✔The Beatitudes are the height of man's perfection which involves instruction on how man can conform himself to the image of Christ. Rather than just follow the 10 Commandments, man becomes more like Christ. Thus the beatitudes are the concrete content, light, and path for following Christ and HIs promise to use for following him is happiness. (Bonus) Ave Maria Statement: - ✔✔Ave Maria University is a Catholic, liberal arts institution of higher learning devoted to Mary the Mother of God, inspired by St. John Paul II and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and dedicated to the formation of joyful, intentional disciples of Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament, scholarship, and service. (Bonus) 4 Constitutions of Vatican II: - ✔✔1) Lumen Gentium (Light of the Nations): the nature of the church itself 2) Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope): The church's relation to the world 3) Dei Verbum (Word of God): Divine Revelation in history and the way it comes to us in sacred scripture and tradition 4) Sacrosanctum Concilium (The Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy): The Liturgy and the 7 Sacraments (Bonus) Gaudium et Spes 22: - ✔✔Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the father and his love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his most high calling clear. [Show More]

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