CFED 1023 Christian Morality - Introduction & Norms

# School of Education, Arts and Sciences Christian Faith Education Department # LEARNING MODULE CFED 1023 (Christian Morality in Our Times) ## Lesson 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE CFED 1023 **Topics:** * What is Morality? What is Norm? * Sources of Morality and the Misconceptions of Morality Mo...

# School of Education, Arts and Sciences Christian Faith Education Department # LEARNING MODULE CFED 1023 (Christian Morality in Our Times) ## Lesson 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE CFED 1023 **Topics:** * What is Morality? What is Norm? * Sources of Morality and the Misconceptions of Morality Moral Philosophy and Moral Theology **Learning Outcomes:** At the end of this module, you are expected to: a. Define comprehensively the term “Morality” and “Norms"; b. Identify the sources of the norms of morality; c. Explain the cause of the misconceptions of morality; and d. Differentiate Moral Philosophy from Moral Theology. ## Introduction to the Course The course introduces the students to the main themes of Christian Morality. It searches more deeply, in the light of Christian faith for the design of God for humankind and creation, and the deep implications of the moral issues and concerns that surround the human person most especially in the contemporary time. Christian Morality asks what life is and seeks, in the light of Christian faith the basic goal or direction of humankind. It studies the relationship between revelation and faith, grace and sin, and faith and salvation. Christian Morality studies the various paradigm shifts in the context of the history of salvation and their relationship with the mystery of Jesus Christ and the Christian Church. **LEARNING CONTENT:** **INTRODUCTION:** Formation in Morality is at the forefront of the development of the faith of a Christian. To live a moral life entails that Christians conform to the life and teachings of Jesus. However, for them to live a moral life, it is crucial that they understand what morality is and to unlearn all sorts of misconceptions. For a clear understanding of morality, one can ascertain what action is appropriate and necessary for a certain circumstance. With this, the concept of morality must be very clear to the human person since this will be his/her very guide for his/her day-to-day living. Before going to the unique or specified Christian sources of morality this lesson will first present the basic concepts of how Christians arrived at their different general moral norms so that we will be able to connect the different concepts or norms of morality laid for the human person. ## Lesson Proper The Descriptive title of our course is Christian Morality in Our Times. First, we have to ask what is Morality. Morality is connected with norms. So, the next step is to ask what is the norm. The image shows a word cloud with the word "morality" in the center and other words like integrity, concept, ethics, standards, principles, and rights surrounding it. These words are related to the concept of morality. Norm is a fundamental concept in the social sciences. It is commonly defined as rules or standards that are socially enforced. In the ancient times, when there were no formal social structures such as government and the Church; or when the different religions were not yet as organized as they are now, norms often come in the forms of customs, rituals, and traditions. This was so since people would easily follow these standards if it became part of their lifestyles until it became part of their way of living. In the Philippine context, respecting one's parents would be taught by saying “po” or “opo” to them, or by the practice of “pagmamano”. Norms would only come in the forms of rules, regulations, or technically called laws when society became more socially organized in its government systems. When different societies mature or develop, their moral standards also become more organized, more so when they realize how important the laying out of the rules to govern human actions for the sustenance of peace and order in society which will pave the way for more social progress and further developments. So, what is “Morality” in a more technical definition? Morality is a science that deals with the “quality” (goodness or badness) of human acts/actions. “science” generally means a field of study. So, Morality will judge whether a certain act or action is good or bad. How does morality judge human acts/actions? Morality needs basis/bases which are the rules or standards or technically called Law. general, these rules or standards or laws are called Norms. The image is a photo of a directional signpost. The text written on the direction signs are the following: Corrupt, Wrong, Duty, Right, Forbidden and Good. Our next question is, how did morality arrive with these norms? If human person came up with these norms or found these norms by thinking deeply/ reflecting or so-called philosophizing, then the process or the science is called Moral Philosophy. In other situations, norms or rules were given or revealed by God or the Divine being, the science is called Moral Theology. What is the difference between the Moral Philosophy found out the norms or rules by using purely human reasoning called philosophizing, while in Moral Theology, these rules or norms were given or revealed by God. An example of norms in Moral Theology is the Ten Commandments. So Moral Philosophy relies on pure reasoning/deep thinking while Moral Theology depends on God's revelation and faith. Aside from Philosophizing and God's revelation, let us try to find out how others come up with norms for the human person **Sources of Norms:** Three **Bases** in coming up with a good/right norm for human act/human life: Knowing the Origin, Nature, and the End/Destiny of the human person. The concepts of the Origin, Nature, and the Destiny of the Human Person and their serious implications in coming up with moral norms. 1. **The Concept of the Origin of the Human Person and all things that surround him/her.** n: * God (man is a creature of God) Origi * Apes (man came from apes) Most if not all religions strongly believe that all creation and the human person came from a creator whom we call “God” whether you call that God YHWH, Allah, Brahman, Bathala, Kabuniyan, or whatever term which would indicate being all-powerful and other traits expected of a supreme being. Outside the realm of beliefs, some would strongly propose other theories for the origin of the human person such as the theories that the human person evolved from other creatures or animals or even the product of purely natural happenings. **Serious Implications to Morality:** If you believe that the human person originated from a supreme being called “God”, then it follows that your moral norms/laws will depend on the characteristics of that “God”; or that “God” will be the one to command or give norms to the human person. An example of this is the 10 Commandments in the case of Judaism or Christianity. The moral laws will greatly respect the dignity of that “God” and the human person whom He also created. There is what you call “fear of the Lord” as part of your moral norms. For the second concept of the origin of the human person which suggests that we evolved from other animals or are just products of purely natural events, its moral norms will just depend on the nature of the human person which will just be purely animal. With this, there will be no higher dignity for the person to be respected and there will also be no fear or respect for a higher being or higher authority which is called “God”. So, you can just do whatever you want such as easily manipulating others even to the point of killing fellow human persons since you may think that man is the highest authority on earth. 2. **Human Nature / Natural law (since man is part of the whole nature or Creation)** The same as the concept of the origin of the human person, one's concept/view of the nature of the human person will also dictate what set of moral norms is being set to be followed or lived by us humans. **Serious Implications to Morality:** As explained above in the concept of the origin of all things, if you believe that we are both bodily and spiritual beings since we are creations of God, then our moral norms will flow from such a concept, and if you just believe that we are pure animals, then our moral norms will also flow from such view like treating us as pure animals. 3. **Destiny / End / or the Ultimate Goal of human life** Different religions commonly believe that as we were created by a higher being or called a supreme being, we also have a good destiny prepared for us. We commonly believe that there is a life after the death of our physical aspect. This is called “heaven” in Christianity, and other religions have also their terms for such a destiny for the human person. On the other way around, other people who do not believe in beings that are higher than the human person will just say that there is no such thing as life after death. Death is the ultimate end of the human person. **Serious Implications to Morality:** The same with the case of the concept of the origin of all, the view for the end/destiny of the human person will also dictate what set of moral norms is being laid for us. If you strongly believe in life after death and going there at the end of life requires a good moral life, then we have to do good in our lives to be able to attain such destiny. On the other hand, if there is no noble end/destiny for the human person, then there is no such thing as moral norms. There will be norms but they will greatly depend on the concept of the people who can manipulate the others. With the presentation of the different sources of moral norms, I hope it is now clear to us why there are norms or laws which we find not compatible with what we believe especially with our views on the origin and the destiny of the human person. There are also norms/laws which we find not compatible with our basic nature as human persons. These norms which we strongly believe as not good for us are what we call **misconceptions on morality.** So, coming up with “wrong” norms is a product of one's misconceptions of morality. The misconceptions about morality are just a product of the “wrong” concept of the origin, nature, and destiny of the human person. Summarizing what is being discussed above, morality is centered on norms used to judge human acts/actions or other practices of society whether they are good or bad. The nearest and best basis to come up with moral norms is the nature of the human person and his/her surroundings/environment since for some people, the origin and destiny of the human person are still unclear or for others' belief on those matters is unacceptable. As stated at the beginning of this discussion, for us Christians, the two basic ways how we arrive at our moral norms are Philosophy (Moral Philosophy) and Theology (Moral Theology). Formally defining the two will be as follows: Moral Philosophy studies the goodness and badness of human actions in the light of the highest principles based on human reason alone while Moral Theology studies the goodness and badness of human actions in the light of revelation (in the light of Christian faith to attain his final goal). Our course, Christian Morality is based on both Moral Philosophy and Moral Theology. Christian Norms are the product of these two fields of science. *****END OF LESSON***** The image shows a text in a box that is a reflection activity: Instruction: Create a simple acrostic poem by putting **UNDERSTANDING** with the word **NORM**. Be creative. You are free to style your acrostic poem. The image also provides an EXAMPLE to guide with writing an acrostic poem such as: GIVE **CRITERIA:** * Content: 10 points * Creativity: 3 points * Uniqueness: 2 points * TOTAL: 15 POINTS **REFERENCES:** **School of Education, Arts and Sciences** Christian Faith Education Department **LEARNING MODULE** CFED 1023 (Christian Morality in Our Times) Lesson 2: HUMAN NATURE/THE HUMAN PERSON ## **Topics:** * The Nature of the Human Person and Their Implications for Morality Some views on the Ultimate End/Destiny for the Human Person and their Serious Implications for Morality **Learning Outcomes:** At the end of this module, you are expected to: a. Describe the holistic nature of the human person; b. Explain how the moral norms flow from the nature and the end of the human person; c. Trace the source of the wrong principles of morality; d. Explain the serious moral implications of the different ultimate goals for the human person by some philosophies and beliefs; and e. Cite some probable things that will happen if the wrong principles of morality are correct. **LEARNING CONTENT:** **INTRODUCTION** In our discussion last week, we mentioned the three bases on how morality came up with the norms for the human person which are: the origin of all things, nature, and the destiny of all. Among these three bases, the closest or nearest from which morality derived norms for the human person is Nature. Nature in its totality refers to our environment as a whole, and since we are living on earth or specifically since we have a body (physical part) that is connected to mother nature/earth, we are essentially part of nature. With this, we will discuss first the characteristics of the nature of the human person based on nature, after which is his/her traits in a theological view and the last part will present some views about his/her ultimate end/destiny. **Lesson Proper** **Human Nature/The Human Person** The image shows a drawing of a human body lying on the floor. ho or what is the Human person based on Nature? Since the actions of the human person flow from what he/she is, we need to discuss his/her nature by enumerating its essential characteristics. 1. **Rational being** - The human person has **intellect/mind/reason**. She/he discovers things by reason, and she/he is the only animal who knows that she/he knows. He/she thinks, rationalizes, reflects, and other activities of the intellect. 2. Has **free will**. The human person is free/ has **freedom** which means he/she has two or more options or choices and also has will which is the power to act or not to act on his/her choices. Will is the power to do or not to do or to act or not to act. 3. Has **Conscience**. – is the practical judgment of the intellect on what is good or what is bad, and is prompting the person to always do/follow what is good. 4. **Loving being** Aside from the love between the opposite sex which is designed for the continuity of the human species, generally, loving means desiring the good of others. 5. **Body - Person** We have a flesh (physical part), which connects us to the material world. Our bodies (physical parts) are dependent on nature/earth. Our bodies use the elements of the earth. The death of Mother Earth will also be the death of our bodies. 6. **Sexual** refers to being male or female which is intended for companionship and procreation. 7. **Unique Though Social:** - We are individuals and need independence but we are also social beings: who live with others. These two are inseparable. We are individuals and need independence but we also need the presence of others to complete ourselves. 8. **Historical:** We have a continuity with the past. 9. **Transcendental:** We always aim higher, to surpass our achievements, since we are longing for Completeness or total satisfaction/contentment. This also means that the human person has Metaphysical (meta = beyond) aspects such as intellect, emotion, conscience, and others. What is the Implication of the Human Nature to Morality? Going directly to the point, what does your nature have to say about your actions? As we have stated above, our actions flow from our nature. For example, if you are historical beings, then you must learn from your past experiences; if you are a loving being, you must always desire what is good for others; if you are a rational being, then think before you act; if you are transcendental, then you are not satisfied with your present achievements, or it will lead us to ask and reflect that if we are transcendental, are we heading to a certain destiny. if we are body persons, do we need to take care of Mother Earth? and the likes. Among these traits of the nature of the human person, which should regulate the others and his/her human actions/decisions? Among the nine traits stated above, the one that should always regulate others or human actions which proceeds from the other traits is **Conscience**. This is because using other traits like intellect or free will alone without the intervention of Conscience can lead to misuse or abuse of human actions. An example is thinking, if you are problematic, you can think of some bad actions as a solution to your problems which in the end is not the case, but it will just add to or complicate your problem. Since we are Christians who strongly believe in the existence of a Creator (Theos or God) as the origin of all and the proper destiny that this Creator prepared for us, we also need to look at the other traits of the human person based on this perspective. The image shows the painting of Michelangelo called "The Creation of Adam", part of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, showing God and Adam reaching out to each other. Who/What is the human person in a Theological Perspective/View? 1. **Masterpiece of God (God's Image and likeness):** If we are the image and likeness of God, means we reflect some of the important characteristics of God such as goodness, loving, just, compassion, and many others. So, if God is good, then basically we are also good; if God is just, we are also basically just, and others. 2. Fundamentamynininatery good or morar peng. No naman person is evil, only our wrong actions are evil and not the human person. 3. God's partner / “co-creators” of God. God created the world and us as "incomplete” or imperfect so our mission is to develop or bring ourselves and our world to perfection. This is why we are called stewards of God's creation. Part of our being "co-creators” of God is our being sexual (male or female) which is designed for procreation. 4. Rational being- has intellect or reasoning or mind. 5. Free-will – has the freedom and will which he/she can use to act or not to act. 6. Brother's keeper (social, and communal): we need to take care of others aside from ourselves. 7. Weak / has fallen nature/ “**brokenness**”: This is called original sin in Theology. In other terms, we may call this being “incomplete”, or “unfinished”. From this being incomplete comes your mission which is to finish or complete yourselves. Point for reflection: What if God created us as perfect beings, what would you do? 8. Graced: this means we are aided/being assisted by God in our journey of bringing ourselves to perfection. In the Catholic Church, God's grace will come to us through the **Seven Sacraments** and our other ways of connecting with our Creator. 9. Transcendental: this pushes us to look for the ultimate meaning of life and ultimately to our God. 10. Children/family of God. We belong to the family of God, formally through **Baptism**. 11. Destined for the Kingdom. We have our destiny which we commonly call “heaven” or “paradise” or in Jesus' words called the Kingdom of God. Most of these traits of the human person in this Theological respective are the same as those traits based on Nature since these are parts of the basic nature of the human person. There are just other traits that are rooted in our connectedness with our Creator. So, for its relevance to Morality, we have to ask the same question, what do these traits of the human person in the Theological view say on how he/she should act or live? The same answer is that these traits of the human person should strongly influence how he/she acts or lives his/her life. In the formulation of specific norms for the human person, these traits should be strongly considered since these are the ones that will help direct the human person to perfection/completeness or to his/her proper destiny which we call the Kingdom of God. The same clarification is also why we need to formulate norms/rules/laws for the human person if his/her nature should influence his/her actions. Well, many people abuse their other faculties like mind/intellect, freedom, and others, and they also ignore the very basic and immediate norm which is **Conscience**. This is why there are many norms or sets of norms laid for the good of the human person and one of the very basic sets of norms is the Ten Commandments. With this, we hope that the sources of the norms of Morality are now very clear to us. For a kind of widening horizon, let us look at the other views on the destiny of the human person since we also said earlier that the concept of destiny is also one of the sources of the norms of morality. **Some Views on the Ultimate End/Destiny of the Human Person** Most if not all of these other views or concepts of the destiny for the human person are just products of philosophizing (Philosophy). a. **Hedonism** For this Philosophy, the ultimate goal for the human person is Happiness, and this happiness is found in pleasure (“sarap)”. So, “kung saan ang masarap' dun ang kasiyahan”. This pleasure is sensual. Therefore, for this certain philosophy, the norm for human action is to look for pleasure/pleasurable things. b. **Marxism:** A philosophy by Karl Marx which looks at the human person as purely material being or from matter and there are no such things as metaphysical aspects such as the soul and also God. This view just focused on the way of governance since it was more of a reaction to the abuses of the democratic and other forms of governing people. For Marxism, the ultimate goal of people is to have a Classless Society (no rich, no poor). This was achieved in a communistic form of government. Development or progress must always be for the common good / not individualistic. Norm: Do everything for the common good. Never mind individual goals or individual progress, set aside yourselves. “all for one, one for all”. c. **Nihilism:** For this philosophy, the human person and his/her life have no ultimate meaning, no ultimate value. If the human person and life are meaningless or have no value at all, what is your norm for life and for your actions? Aside from having no definite norm, you reflect on the danger of this kind of philosophy. d. **Christian view:** For Christianity, the ultimate goal/destiny for the human person is to enter the Kingdom or to have eternal union/happiness with God. Norm: Follow the teachings of God such as the Ten Commandments and others. As you may have noticed in our discussion, the view of the nature of the human person and his/her ultimate destiny plays a very crucial role in laying out norms for human actions or for his/her way of living. As we have said in our past discussions, the “wrong” concept of nature and the destiny of the human person causes a lot of misconceptions about morality and produces a lot of wrong principles or norms. Examples of these **wrong principles/norms of morality** are the following: a. Morality is a matter of opinion. This means that moral norms are subjective, and depend on the person. b. All opinions about morality are equal and correct. Therefore, all opinions should be followed. c. Morality is outside the world of practical people. Whatever is impractical is not good. d. Morality develops guilt and moral obligation which makes life unhappy. So, we need to set aside moral norms. Point for reflection: What are the possible or even probable things that will happen to people and society if all these wrong principles about morality are correct? After discussing all the sources of norms for the human person and their serious implications if there are misconceptions, our next question is, what should we judge as good or bad? Is it the human person or his/her qualities or traits or his/her actions? Reflect on this for our discussion next meeting. *****END OF LESSON***** **EVALUATION:** Directions: Read each statement below carefully. Write T on the line if you think a statement is TRUE. Write an F on the line if you think the statement is FALSE. (2 pts each) 1. There are three bases of morality which are the origin of all things, nature, and the destiny of all. T 2. One of the human nature of a human person is that everyone has their standard and things they like. True 3. Human beings aim high because they want to achieve greater things. T 4. One of the important traits of a human person is being loving. F 5. The key to happiness according to hedonism is being healthy and financially stable. F 6. Marxism believed that human persons are often material beings. F 7. Nihilism believes that humans have no ultimate meaning. T 8. Christians believe that the destiny of the human person is to enter the paradise of God. T 9. Morality is subjective and is a matter of opinion. F 10. One of the traits of a human person is his freedom to choose and decide. T 11. Norms are also called rules, standards, and non-normative. F 12. Morality is a science that deals with the quality of human acts/actions. T 13. Christian morality is based only on Moral Theology. F 14. The wrong norm is the product of one's misconceptions of morality. T 15. In Moral Theology norms were given and revealed by God. T # School of Education, Arts and Sciences Christian Faith Education Department # LEARNING MODULE CFED 1023 (Christian Morality in Our Times) ## Lesson 3: BASIC CONCEPTS IN MORALITY **Topics:** * Meaning and Purpose of Morality * The Presuppositions of Morality * Human Acts and Acts of Man **Learning Outcomes:** At the end of this module, you are expected to: a. Explain the Purposes of Morality; b. Explicate the Causes and Implications of Morality; c. Elaborate the Object of Morality; and d. Differentiate Human Acts from Acts of Man. **LEARNING CONTENT:** Morality is an encompassing concept that serves as the underlying force for every action of an individual and of a society. Morality takes the crucial role of formulating, establishing, and setting ethical norms of conduct that govern the behaviors and actions of an individual or group of individuals to achieve harmony, unity, and order within a society. **Purposes of Morality:** Why do we need to follow certain standards or sets of norms? In our past discussions, we answered this by saying that we need norms since some of the faculties of the human person like freedom and his/her passions can be exercised in an abusive manner or even destructive to the person himself/herself and others. Going deeper, why do we need to use our faculties in a wise or good way? Will it lead us to a higher end? This will tell that there are noble reasons why we need to follow a set norms which are the below: A. For the **Fullness of Freedom** for the human person to be free The image shows a word cloud with the word "morality" in the center and other words like integrity, concept, ethics, standards, principles, and rights surrounding it. These words are related to the concept of morality. * God created the human person as a rational being, conferring him/her the dignity of an individual can initiate and control his/her actions. God willed that man/woman should be ‘left in the hand of his/her counsel' so that she/he will, of his/her own accord, seek his/her Creator and freely attain his/her full blessed perfection. Man/Woman is “rational and, therefore, like God. He/She is created with free will and is master over his/her acts.” So, norms are not prohibitions or imprisonment for the human person but are guides for him/her to be free. To clarify this, what will happen to you if you do whatever you want? This is the young's perception of freedom. If I do whatever I want like I will just steal others' property or even kill someone, what will happen to me? It is either I will end in up in the prison cell or I will go hiding. Doing whatever I want will make me unfree. So, freedom does not mean I will do whatever I want, but I **will always do anything so long as it is good for me and others.** Freedom is aimed at the perfection of the human person. B. A Guide to the **Fullness of Human Development** * Moral development is part of human development. Moral development is the process through which children develop proper attitudes and behaviors toward other people in society, based on social and cultural norms, rules, and laws. * Moral development is a concern for every parent. Teaching a child to distinguish right from wrong and to behave accordingly is a goal of parenting. * Moral development is a complex issue that—since the beginning of human civilization—has been a topic of discussion among some of the world's most distinguished psychologists, theologians, and culture theorists. * Material progress that does not follow moral norms and which others still consider as development is not so. Examples of this are the jet fighters, bombs, and others. These are not developments but are aimed at destruction; destruction of human lives or destruction of things, and nature. * So, developments whether scientific, social, economic, or others should always follow norms of morality, or else, they are aimed at the destruction of many things as mentioned above. C. A Guide towards **Reality (truth of things,life)** * Morality is a guide for the human person to discover reality or the truth of things, and life. This will lead the human person to discover the hierarchy of values until the ultimate value of life and all things. So, this will help the human person to set his/her priorities in life until her/his attainment of the ultimate goal which is the eternal union and happiness with his/her Creator. D. A Guide towards Meaning of Life * As mentioned above, morality or always doing good will allow the human person to discover the real value of things and life which in the end will let him/her experience the true meaning of life. E. The **Entrance of Eternal Life into the Life of the Human Person** * After following the moral norms, discovering the truth and real value of all things, and bringing himself/herself to perfection, the human person will be able to reach his/her final destiny which is to enter the kingdom of God. Morality reveals and leads the human person to his/her ultimate end/destiny. After finding out the Purposes of Morality, let us go back to the causes of why there is morality. Although theses were implied in the discussions above, we will enumerate and briefly explain them for clarification purposes. **MORALITY PRESUPPOSES the following:** 1. **The existence of God** Morality points us to the existence of the Creator of all things who is good and perfect and whom we call “God”. Since this Creator is good or perfect, He/She also gave us guide to attain total goodness or perfection. 2. **Intellect and Free Will** Intellect, fre