Religion Exam Review PDF

Religion – Exam Review UNIT 1: Biblical Literacy Literary Genres - Historical Account / Narrative → A story about people’s actions and deeds, often describing historical events - Law → A set of rules of conduct or moral prin...

Religion – Exam Review UNIT 1: Biblical Literacy Literary Genres - Historical Account / Narrative → A story about people’s actions and deeds, often describing historical events - Law → A set of rules of conduct or moral principles to guide one relationship with God and others (eg: 10 commandments) - Prophecy → The accounts and words of those called to be messengers of God’s word, to bring God’s message to a particular group of people, often expressed as words of comfort or a call to conversion - Wisdom → Statements offering instruction, often given as short, to the point words of advice - Poetry → Sacred poems or songs expressing relationship with God and others, often expressing the hopes and fears of an individual nation - Letters → Specific communication often describing events or offering guidance, usually written to a particular audience - Gospels → Faith accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, stories about Jesus and the sayings of Jesus - Parables → Stories based on the experience of ordinary life, usually containing a surprising or unusual twist, used to instruct by comparing a familiar understanding with a new or unfamiliar understanding - Apocalypse → A revealing or uncovering of new knowledge, often regarding God’s victory over the forces of evil, usually intended as a message of hope for those who remain faithful Two different accounts of Creation: Why and what they provide "Why Are there Two Different Accounts of Creation" and "The JEPD Theory" [focus on the explanations for the Yahwist (J) and Priestley (P) writer]: - They are written in two different genres (I.e. chapter 1=Poetry) - They're symbolic in different ways - JEPD—personification of God, revealing his character, ideas, and purpose for humanity (Yahwist) - Gen. 1 focuses on pre-history (Priestly account) - Written by different authors in different periods for different audiences - Different authors had different goals when writing—that should affect the lens that we read them through - Yahwist—Adam was created first and then Eve o Priestly—first creation story (written approx. 500 BC) o Yahwist—second creation story (written approx. 950 BC) o Yahwist—focus on the responsibility of humans o Priestly—focus on Sabbath and worship  - Genesis 1 serves as a prologue to the rest, like an “Entrance Hymn” - Genesis 1 and 2 give us two complementary accounts of creation that help us understand the “who’s” and “why’s” of existence - The Yahwist source is focused on God’s promises for salvation and the importance of cultic worship - The JEPD theory proposes that each source reflects a particular community and historical situation Issues in understanding God’s existence - Since the beginning of time people have searched for a god, a supreme being, a most powerful force in their lives. - The issues that can arise are as follows: o Acceptance of God is not purely logical o The problem is that we live in a society where we want to know the answer to every problem o The acceptance of God involves FAITH Meaning of “faith” What is Faith? - "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1 - Faith is the free human act by which a person commits his or her entire self to God - Faith is the acceptance of the mind to the truths revealed by God - Faith is opening your mind and accepting some things that you are unable to explain or see or touch - Right relationship with God. It is a relationship of trust that God loves humanity and desires totally that it be. Nothing can come between us and God except sin. Thomas Aquinas’ Five Proofs/Ways (possible Short Answer Question) Aquinas' Five Arguments for the Existence of God: The Summa Theologica is a famous work written by Saint Thomas Aquinas between AD 1265 and 1274. It is divided into three main parts and covers all of the core theological teachings of Aquinas’ time. One of the questions the Summa Theologica is well known for is addressing the question of the existence of God. Aquinas responds to this question by offering the following five proofs: 1. The Argument from Motion: Our senses can perceive motion by seeing that things act on one another. Whatever moves is moved by something else. Consequently, there must be a First Mover that creates this chain reaction of motions. This is God. God sets all things in motion and gives them their potential. 2. The Argument from Efficient Cause: Because nothing can cause itself, everything must have a cause or something that creates an effect on another thing. Without a first cause, there would be no others. Therefore, the First Cause is God. 3. The Argument from Necessary Being: Because objects in the world come into existence and pass out of it, it is possible for those objects to exist or not exist at any particular time. However, nothing can come from nothing. This means something must exist at all times.  4. The Argument from Gradation: There are different degrees of goodness in different things. Following the “Great Chain of Being,” which states there is a gradual increase in complexity, created objects move from unformed inorganic matter to biologically complex organisms. Therefore, there must be a being of the highest form of good. This perfect being is God. 5. The Argument from Design: All things have an order or arrangement that leads them to a particular goal. Because the order of the universe cannot be the result of chance, design and purpose must be at work. This implies divine intelligence on the part of the designer. This is God. Pascal’s Wager Blaise Pascal (French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, writer, and Catholic theologian) argued that people can choose to believe in God or can choose to not believe in God, and that God either exists or he does not. Under these conditions: o If a person believes in God and this God actually exists, they gain infinite happiness o If a person does not believe in God and God exists, they receive infinite suffering. o On the other hand, if a person believes in God and God does not exist, then they receive some finite disadvantages from a life of Christian living o If a person does not believe in God and God does not exist, then they receive some finite pleasure from a life lived unhindered by Christian morality. Moses’ Mission and what he was trying to tell God’s Chosen People Moses’ mission is to speak. God calls Moses to be a prophet, an intermediary between God and people. In the Bible he is the first to receive this mission to speak. As other prophets would do afterwards, Moses tries to convince God that he is the wrong person. Moses is to serve as the mouth of God to Aaron and to the people. He is to tell them that he has been sent to them by the God of their ancestors to bring them to the mountain of the Lord in the power of the holy Name of YHWH. Bringing the people to the holy mountain would become a test of power between the Pharaoh and God. To go to the mountain would signify a shift of service for the people: from slavery under Pharaoh to the service of YHWH, the God who set them free. Moses and Aaron first go to the people to try to convince them that God has sent them. They are successful; the people believe them, at first. But later, when the Egyptians – in response to the demands of Moses and Aaron – increase the workload of the Hebrews, they begin to doubt that God will be able to liberate them from the powerful Egyptians. At first Moses and Aaron cannot convince the Pharaoh to let the people go, forcing God to use a heavy hand. The story of this contest of wills is detailed in the Book of Exodus (5–12). At long last, the night comes when Israel can eat the Passover meal and leave the land of their oppression. Even though the Egyptians try once more to force them back to work, the Israelites make a miraculous escape through the sea and finally arrive at the mountain of the Lord. On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possessions out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.” 5 Traits of a Covenant 1. The preamble o The treaty begins with the name, the titles and attributes of the Great Hittite King and his genealogy. 2. The historical prologue o The Great King then gives a historical overview that describes the previous relations between the two contractors. It recounts the many benefits the sovereign has bestowed upon the vassal. The prologue forms an essential part of the covenant. There can be many variations depending on the circumstances at the time of entry into the treaty. For example, the sovereign might point out how he has come to the vassal’s aid when he was threatened by an enemy attack. 3. The submission o The submission states what the Great King expects from the vassal. This submission often includes a fundamental declaration on the future relations of the partners. It consists in a request of loyalty. This aspect of the submission is expressed frequently by the formula: “With my friend, be a friend! With my enemy, be an enemy!” Often at this point the submission details certain conditions that must be met, for example, taxes to be paid, prisoners to be released, etc. 4. The witnesses o Every legal document requires witnesses. This is also the case with treaties. In this case, the witnesses are the gods of the two partners, but also the deified elements of nature: the mountains, the rivers, the sea, the heavens and the earth. 5. The blessings and curses o The treaty tells what will happen if the vassal remains faithful or is unfaithful to the demands of the treaty. Characteristics of a prophet and why they were sent by God What Was the Prophet's Role? - God’s action of sending prophets to point out Israel’s sin is a loving and constructive thing to do. - The foretelling of future events was not a necessity but only an incidental part of the prophetic office. The great task assigned to the prophets whom God raised up among the people was “to correct moral and religious abuses, to proclaim the great moral and religious truths which are connected with the character of God, and which lie at the foundation of his government.” - God gave the prophets a mission in order to bring back the people of Israel into a relationship with Him - Through their sin, or transgressions, the people of Israel had broken their covenant with the Lord  - God wants the people to know that He has not abandoned them - God loves His people, does not want them to suffer, and wants them to keep the covenant. God wants His people to be right before him (righteous) - Breaking the commandments affects the Chosen People’s relationship with God and with one another. The breaking of the covenant also affected who they were - The prophets helped people to understand how to live in accordance with the Holy One, even though what they did was not equal to God’s holiness - Prophets help people to go back to the right path that leads to God and happiness - Prophets are called not only to bring a judgement upon the people or to be “prophets of doom”, but to keep God’s covenant with Israel from totally unravelling - Sin was so deeply rooted in the people of Israel that they were hardly alive anymore - The people began to see how sin was turning them away from - Through God’s instruction and guidance, and through the prophets, God was teaching Israel that the road to its freedom was in recognizing its faults and sins. The people began to realize that the goodness of God is revealed and given out when we act justly in our lives and in our community - Through the prophets, the people of Israel are called back into a relationship with one another and hence also with their God Characteristics of Prophets in the Old Testament: - Someone who was used by God to communicate His message to the world - Prophets came from a variety of backgrounds, spoke to different audiences, possessed unique styles, and used assorted methods - A prophet was called by God to be a prophet - A prophet was required to deliver God’s message accurately - A prophet sometimes had a unique appearance - A prophet often led a hard life - A prophet in the Old Testament predicted the future (often) Historical (exegesis) background of Matthew and how the Torah is brought to fullness in Jesus Exegesis - The gospel of Matthew was likely written in the city of Antioch (in today’s Turkey) in the last twenty years of the first century – some fifty or sixty years after the death of Jesus and ten or twenty years after the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem by the Romans. Matthew’s gospel primarily addresses a Jewish community, concerned with the division that had arisen between those who followed Jesus and those who saw him as subversive to the Jewish tradition. These were turbulent times for the followers of Jesus. With the destruction of the temple, a split developed between the Jewish rabbis and the Jewish followers of Jesus. Until this time, the followers of Jesus had been considered part of the Jewish mosaic. There had been some clashes, and even some deaths (such as Stephen the deacon and James, the brother of Jesus), but there was no breakup. After the Roman army laid siege to the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in the year 70, however, the conflict became so intense that the rabbis and Pharisees refused the followers of Jesus the right to participate in the synagogue. The two groups went their separate ways. Those who followed the rabbis and the Pharisees formed Rabbinic Judaism, which remains the main form of Judaism today. Those who followed Jesus became known as Christians and formed the early Church. Fullness in Torah - The gospel of Matthew was likely written in the city of Antioch (in today’s Turkey) in the last twenty years of the first century – some fifty or sixty years after the death of Jesus and ten or twenty years after the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem by the Romans. Matthew’s gospel primarily addresses a Jewish community, concerned with the division that had arisen between those who followed Jesus and those who saw him as subversive to the Jewish tradition. These were turbulent times for the followers of Jesus. With the destruction of the temple, a split developed between the Jewish rabbis and the Jewish followers of Jesus. Until this time, the followers of Jesus had been considered part of the Jewish mosaic. There had been some clashes, and even some deaths (such as Stephen the deacon and James, the brother of Jesus), but there was no breakup. After the Roman army laid siege to the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in the year 70, however, the conflict became so intense that the rabbis and Pharisees refused the followers of Jesus the right to participate in the synagogue. The two groups went their separate ways. Those who followed the rabbis and the Pharisees formed Rabbinic Judaism, which remains the main form of Judaism today. Those who followed Jesus became known as Christians and formed the early Church. UNIT 2: Ethics and Morality 4 Ways of locating the ethical in you 1) The Scream—The Experience of Personal Response: The scream for help is an alert that causes a person to lose all self-centredness for a moment and become aware of their responsibility to others An automatic urge to act, not think or analyze, is created The person feels compelled to respond because there a threat that danger exists around our community and its inhabitants This experience is uniquely human (Aristotle, to a degree) 2) The Beggar—The Experience of the Other: An encounter with “the Other” forces a person to react — shock, anxiety, judgement, remorse are all part of this experience Face-to-face encounters are at the centre of ethics because they remind us of the Other and our responsibility to others Although there are a variety of ways to respond to the beggar, the face of the Other remains with us when we walk away A person cannot remain neutral in the face of the Other — it takes us hostage (Levinas) 3) "I Have to..."—The Experience of Obligation:  Our ethics are engaged when we feel obliged to do something or listen to someone — We know it is right to do so and wrong to ignore Duty, rules, laws, orders, instructions and even responsibility to one’s own goals all appeal to our ethical sense Even when others are not around to evaluate our actions, our own shame, doubt and guilt force us to relive our situation and debate our decisions 4) This is Intolerable! This isn't Fair!— The Experience of Contrast: A feeling of outrage is often prompted by actions or decisions that cause blatant injustice or unfairness to be inflicted on others or oneself We often feel overwhelmed by unjust suffering and want to speak out about what we believe ought to be Humans have a natural disposition for care and compassion and recoil from destruction — our ethical sense and our sense for preservation working together Ethics and Morality: what they’re interested in and the relationship between them - Ethics is interested more in the good that humans tend towards, such as happiness and freedom. - Morality is interested more in the ways that humans can attain this good, such as the rules, laws or commandments which we experience as a duty or obligation to follow. - Ethics guides morality; it gives vision to our action. For example, in terms of music, ethics is like understanding musical theory, knowing how to read music, and understanding technique, while morality is like actually playing music, hitting the right notes, correctly interpreting the musical phrase, performing. Or, we can compare the two to driving a car. Ethics is like understanding the laws of physics that govern driving a car; for instance, knowing that it takes friction between the tires and the road to have good traction, and that in a snowstorm this friction is reduced. Morality is like good driving: slowing down in a snowstorm and allowing greater distance to stop the car, knowing and applying the rules of the road, driving defensively. Aristotle and Teleological Ethics - His father was the court physician for King Amyntas II of Macedonia and Aristotle became friends with the King's son, Philip - Aristotle was introduced by his father to anatomy and medical practices - His study of various organisms at a young age influenced his ideas about how we come to know and understand the world and our place within it - His parents died when he was seventeen years old - He then went to Athens to study at Plato's Academy; Plato was a philosopher and at the time, Greece's leading thinker - Plato took Aristotle under his wing, and he stayed with his teacher for twenty years - Plato and Aristotle had different approaches to philosophy - Aristotle explored the natural world and human experience. He thrived on hands-on experience, observation, and classification - Plato focused on abstraction, contemplation, and the world of ideas - Despite these differences, Aristotle had the greatest respect for his teacher - He later returned to Macedonia to tutor the son of his friend, now King Philip of Macedon - The king's son was Alexander, later known as Alexander the Great, whose armies conquered and controlled much of Asia - Aristotle, under Alexander's sponsorship, opened his own school called the Lyceum in Athens - He wrote extensively on logic, metaphysics, theology, history, politics, ethics, psychology, anatomy, biology, zoology, astronomy, (physics and chemistry- ancient equivalents) - After Alexander's death there was a backlash against all things Macedonian and charges were brought against Aristotle for not respecting the gods of the state - Aristotle fled for his life but died within a year The Pursuit of Happiness - Community takes precedence over the individual - Pleasure is not the same as happiness - Happiness is the good (the ethical) - Happiness is to live well and do well - Happiness is achieved by frequently performing with success the most perfect of typically human tasks - Ethics aims at what is good for us as human beings, what permits us to reach our potential, what we are intended to be Teleology - “Every art and every scientific inquiry, and similarly every action and purpose, may be said to aim at some good. Hence the good has been well defined as that at which all things aim - Happiness is what we want, but we are confused about how to achieve it - Happiness is the end we desire it for its own sake - Humans are intended to be rational, our greatest capacity is our intelligence, therefore, this must be developed, not just in science, but also in practical life-in developing our character - To act ethically, therefore, is to engage our capacity to reason as we develop good character Human Excellence - People who set out to become what they are intended to be develop habits that represent the best of what it means to be human (i.e., to become an athlete-develop hard work and discipline) - These habits are called "Virtues" - It is by doing these things, to the point that they become habitual, that the good (happiness) is achieved - States of character arise out of doing like activities - For example, people become just by performing just acts - Our habits make all the difference The Mean - We need to maintain balance in our action  - Avoid excess, but not complete avoidance - Be moderate in all things - Moral virtue becomes, for Aristotle, a state of character enabling people to perform their functions by aiming at intermediary points between opposing extremes of excess and deficiency - The virtuous person must enjoy being virtuous, not regret it - Virtue is its own reward Conditions required for an act to be considered virtuous: - Individuals must know what they are doing - Individual must consciously and deliberately choose to perform virtuous acts - They must perform them for their own sake, for what they are. - Must not be an isolated incident, but rather a manifestation of an enduring state of character. Vice (Deficiency) Virtue (Mean) Vice (Excess) Cowardly Brave Rash Addictive Temperate Ascetic Stingy Generous Extravagant Self-deprecating Truthful Boastful Boorish Witty Buffoonish Quarrelsome Friendly Bootlicking Melancholy Spirited Boisterous Depraved Conscientious Deferential Envious Indignant Retributive Mean Benevolent Self-sacrificing Lazy Industrious Single-minded Immanuel Kant and Deontological Ethics (including the primary concern of his ethics and his 3 areas of interest) Practical Reason: - Moves beyond scientific and empirical knowledge to the moral dimension guiding human behaviour - Within the realm of knowledge, humans act not only on impulse as affected by the laws of nature, but also out of conscious choice based on principles - Using Theoretical Reason, we can know only what people actually do - Using Practical Reason, we can come to understand what we ought to do (E.g., alcohol consumption) - It is this concept of moral duty that Kant contributed to our understanding of ethics. Primary Concern: - Primarily concerned about the certainty of the principles of ethical reasoning - He recognized that in the domain of ethics we cannot arrive at the same type of certainty as we can in physics and mathematics - Ethics presents us not with rational, cognitive certainty, but with practical certainty - In this practical area of our lives, he held that there are three areas of interest: God, freedom, and immortality  - We may not be able to prove any of these empirically. Nonetheless, we need these practical principles – God, freedom and immortality – to be able to pursue and attain the supreme good. 1) God: Humans cannot out of their own power achieve the supreme good. There are too many circumstances beyond our control. For this reason, Kant proposes the existence of God to allow us to achieve the supreme good 2) Freedom: If the supreme good is to be, in part, our achievement, then what we ought to do, we can do. To have the duty to do something, we must be able to do it. Therefore, Kant argues, humans are by nature free 3) Immortality: Achieving the supreme good is an immense task. It is impossible to obtain it completely in this life. That is why there is immortality, a life beyond, in which we can achieve the supreme good - Unlike Aristotle, his ethics is to be discovered in private life, in the inner convictions and autonomy of the individual - For Kant, in all circumstances, what is to be prized above all else is a good will. It is our most precious possession, a good in itself - Good Will: it is the will to do our duty for no other reason than that it is our duty That is why Kant’s ethical theory is known as deontological – from the Greek word deon, meaning “duty.” This perspective is very different from Aristotle’s rational desire for the good - He acknowledges that it is not easy for humans to attain their purpose in life - Impulses and desires can easily draw us away from our duty. After all, our will is finite. - We don’t always manage to act according to our duty - Kant’s language is full of “shoulds.” It is a language not of desires, but of “ought” Emmanuel Levinas and An Ethics of the Face - Like Aristotle and Kant, Levinas is in search of the Good - For him, the good is the center of all philosophy, whereas for Western philosophers, the center of their philosophy is Being - Levinas says the Good goes beyond Being. Good is infinite. - While Being seeks to eliminate all differences, to bring all people together, Levinas says in being rid of differences, we ignore the uniqueness of every individual, every thought or act - Nothing is identical to God, but in our uniqueness, we see a trace of God - Everything we encounter is finite. Our encounters with the infinite God are only traces of the perfect presence because it is always on the move one step ahead of us - Where do we encounter this trace of the perfect God if it is always one step ahead of us? - The face is the most naked part of our body, and we cannot help but encounter one another through our eyes - The eyes penetrate every mask - In the eyes of the other you meet a stranger, one whom you cannot reduce to being you. She or he is "other"  - You are not to take the otherness away from someone (in doing so, Levinas refers to the commandment "You shall not murder") - You cannot deny the uniqueness of their face, it is an authority, “highness, holiness, divinity - Levinas refers to the Book of Deuteronomy (10.18), where the Israelites are told to love the stranger as themselves because the Lord watches over the stranger - At this point the face becomes ethical - The face makes the absolute demand come across as a petition, as "please" - Levinas says the face that imposes itself does not limit your freedom but rather promotes it. - The face of the beggar makes you aware that you are not innocent - The face of the Other reveals you as someone who is concerned only about yourself and it therefore makes you responsible - There is another order of existence: a calling to be responsible - The Divine speaks to us as a humble God who refuses to use power - For Levinas, God never seduces. He is in the humble and vulnerable - The face is a trace of God who has already passed by - The face makes us responsible - This responsibility is our human vocation, our calling - Levinas’ ethics do not bend us in God’s direction but rather turns us to the face of the Other - God’s touch is indirect. God touches us through the face of the Other (i.e., the one who begs spare change from us) - God refuses to appear, leaving only a trace in the face of the Other, retreating to make room for the Other - Goodness, the Infinite One, translates into responsibility for the Other - How far should this responsibility, this generosity go? Goodness sets no limit Religious Determinism - Around the 3rd Century BCE, The Stoics and other Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, were the first to establish the ideas about the universe being governed by divine reason which would lay the foundation for determinism - Augustine of Hippo took these ideas further and incorporated them into Christian theology and introduced the idea of divine predestination. - In the Medieval era, Thomas Aquinas combined both Augustine's and Aristotle philosophies based on Christian theology, natural law and reason, and argued that God's will does not override human freedom. - During the protestant reformation, John Calvin insisted that humans cannot choose salvation on their own but are completely dependent on God’s will. - In the 17th and 18th century, the rise of enlightenment thinkers like Spinoza and Hume argued that determinism and free will could coexist, with Spinoza seeing freedom in alignment with nature and Hume stating that moral responsibility remains intact under casual laws.  - Theological determinism is a form of predeterminism which states that all events that happen are pre-ordained, and/or predestined to happen, by one or more divine beings, or that they are destined to occur given the divine beings' omniscience (google) Social Determinism; and Freud’s Theory of the Unconscious and his thoughts on morality - Social Determinism – a theory that social interactions determine individual behaviour - Determinism – the thesis that all events in the universe, including human decisions and actions, are casually inevitable - Like naturalism in many ways - Social determinism would say behaviour is determined by the influence of others upon you - Actions can be explained by what you have gone through at the hands of others (“I did this because I was abused as a child”) - Past determines who you are - Behaviour is determined by social factors and not by your decisions - Born Moravia in 1856 - Moved to Vienna from ages 4 to 82 - In 1873 attended the medical school at the university of Vienna - Worked and did research on the human brain at Vienna’s general hospital - Interested in neurology, the study if neurotic disorders - The Interpretation of Dreams - Continued to practice psychanalysis and published widely - In 1938 he Fled Vienna and died a year later in London - Concept of the unconscious mind - Human behavior is often driven by unconscious impulses based on repressed memories and desires - It they are not accepted, they end up in the unconscious mind - Freud believes that your no-longer conscious memories and desires exert a constant pressure on your conscious mind and play an indirect role in shaping your perceptions and decisions - Dreams and “neurotic” behavior patterns are resurfacing memories and desires - Neurotic- act out of your unconscious, these are your behavior patterns - Sublimation- people who use the emotional power of repressed memories and desires for right action by channeling this energy creatively and less neurotically Life/love instinct: - Goes beyond the sexual instinct - Includes - life, growth and struggle against death - It is found when humans express their desire for life and love for the other - The commandment "love your neighbour as yourself" is an expression of the life instinct Life/love instinct: - Goes beyond the sexual instinct  - Includes - life, growth and struggle against death - It is found when humans express their desire for life and love for the other - The commandment "love your neighbour as yourself" is an expression of the life instinct Morality: - Freud saw morality as self-aggression - In a letter to Einstein, Freud wrote about morality: o it consists of precepts and sanctions imposed upon people from the outside o it is built on coercion o it demands the renunciation of one's instincts - Freud believes that people take on morality from their parents from early infancy - When internalized, these rules form the superego Conscience: Actions are relational Actions are considered relational because when trying to understand an action, we often think about “with whom or against whom” the action was done. According to Levinas, the human person is relational. Our actions are mostly believed to be relational due to the fact that they involve other people in some way: they are motivated by others, they are done with or against others, and they impact and affect others. Our actions (what we do and how we do it) are highly dependent on our relationship with others, and the other is a central part of our own personal search for the good. Stance in life and how it’s shaped According to the first anthropological trait, you are a self for and through others. Secondly, you are a self because you take a stance in life. But your stance in life is not shaped by you alone. You are also part of a community that shares a common language. What you value, aspire to, plan for, dream of, hope for, work for was first made known to you as good and desirable by others in your life. Your parents, teachers and many others teach you what is right and wrong, naming it as either good or evil. Charles Taylor writes that we live in a world shaped by language. To answer the question, “Who am I?” you must recognize the community into which you were born, by whom you were raised, and whose language you speak. … This is the sense in which one cannot be a self on one’s own. I am a self only in relation to … those conversation partners who were essential to my achieving selfdefinition… A self exists only within what I call “webs of [conversation]”… The full definition of someone’s identity thus usually involves not only his stand on moral or spiritual matters but also some reference to a defining community (Catholic/ Québécois etc.). Aspects of “character” - Character refers to the way your actions, over time, tend to become fixed in your body - Example: training for an athletic competition - The same can be said of your choices in life: o What training does to increase the body’s capacity, so moral and ethical actions do to increase character  o “Moral fibre” is something like muscle fibre – the more you exercise it, the stronger your character. By constantly repeating your actions, you create habits. o When you repeat a certain action, over time, the action becomes fixed; it takes root in you. Others will recognize this as one of your character traits. They will identify you as kind, helpful, cheery, or stubborn, argumentative, vain o Once these character traits take root, they are not easily changed - The choices you make day after day are often the product of what you believe and value, and the habits you have formed over the years - The moral principles you learn also help to make up your character – that is to say, your character determines what you see, how you interpret what you see, and how you respond to what you see 5 ways in which it is developed 1) Your conscience develops as you mature. Your sense of right and wrong, which began to be formed within your family, becomes increasingly refined with time. 2) Your conscience develops as you take account of and follow the norms, values, virtues and commandments found in our Christian tradition as guidelines for your conscience 3) Your conscience helps you deal with your moral failures and sins. Through your faults you become aware of your weakness and fragility as a human being and of your need for support from others, especially from God. 4) Your conscience develops as you participate in the Eucharist and prayer life of the Church. 5) Your conscience develops as you grow in the virtue of humility, realizing that we are not the final arbiters of what is right and wrong. Our humility leads us to seek direction of the Church. Norms for Moral Living: Must be Reasonable - For norms to become obligatory, they must be reasonable - If norms are to be a guide towards the common good, they cannot be arbitrary - If a rule is reasonable and is explained rationally, it creates a sense of obligation to obey it - If you accept a norm as obligatory, it does not come from the outside (an authority) but from within (your reason) - If an appropriate rule is explained and justified, you feel impelled from within to follow it Conditions for a Law 1) Lawmakers - Who are the lawmakers? We identify two kinds of law: God’s law and human law. a) God’s law is also called eternal law. We find it expressed in two ways. First, we find it revealed in the Bible and other sacred texts. It is in this first sense that we spoke of God’s law of the covenant at the heart of which are the Ten Commandments (Chapter 4). These laws were written down by human hand, and so they require human interpretation. In order to understand them properly, we turn to the  Church as an authentic interpreter of God’s law. For this reason, the Catholic Church has its own law found in the Code of Canon Law (last promulgated in 1983). But God also reveals this law in a second way. Since we are in the image of God and created by God, God’s law is also written in our capacity to reason, in our inclinations and passions, in our actions and relationships. We call this natural law. (Read more on natural law below in “Moral principles and natural law” on page 155.) b) Human law has its own legislators. In Canada these legislators are first of all elected members of federal parliament and provincial legislatures. Municipal governments also have the right to pass laws, called municipal by-laws. Through the democratic process of voting for their representatives, and more directly through referenda, citizens are also legislators. Also, over time societies create what are known as laws of custom that are then recognized by the courts. 2) The law itself – a specific directive - Laws tend to be very specific, spelling out exactly how the subjects of the law are to act. That is why we have laws covering every area of human life: property, housing, food safety, economic life, criminal justice, traffic, transportation, and so on. Similarly, the Church’s Code of Canon Law covers all the aspects of the life of the Church (such as the laws, customs and decrees of the Church, the celebration of the sacraments, the administration of material goods, and sanctions) in order to allow the Church to function as a community. 3) The common good - Who comes first, the individual or society? Catholic social teaching – without denying the rights of individuals – holds that laws are primarily intended to give shape to the common good.7 What is this common good? It is not the sum total of all material goods of a society. The common good refers to the general well-being of all in a society. It includes such things as peace, security, protection of the law, and good order. It is a dynamic process in which a society, by means of its laws, seeks to meet the needs of all and to protect the freedom of all. Catholic social ethics gives priority to the common good over private good. This is consistent with the recognition of persons as relational beings. (Chapter 11 will explore this in greater depth.) 4) A specific group of people - Laws function within an institutional framework. They address the people who participate in these institutions of society and the Church. Institutions, as the contexts in which we live the good life (Chapter 7), are guided by laws to help them realize the good life, or the common good. One way in which the Catholic Church seeks to use laws to promote the common good can be seen in what it calls the “preferential option for the poor.” Aware of the impact that sin and disorder have on the dignity of persons, the Church proposes that preference be given to the poor. That is, it urges that laws governing institutions be attentive to the well-being of those on the margins of the institutions (the poor, the homeless, the sick, the disabled, and so on). 5) Obligation - So important is the common good, that we are morally obliged to choose the means necessary to achieve it. Therefore, if a law contributes to the common good, we are obligated to follow it. For example, if I want order and security for myself and for others, I must support police protection and a system of justice. If I want safety on the roads, I must follow the speed limit and refrain from driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. If I want social services, education and health care, I consent to pay taxes. Since our obligation to follow a law is  derived from our moral obligation to the common good, a law that does not promote the common good or that clearly infringes on the dignity of persons (such as laws that would allow human cloning, certain types of stem cell research, abortions, slavery) loses its right to obligation. Instead, it becomes obligatory to oppose and seek to abolish such laws. Unjust laws do not oblige.8 Thomas Aquinas and Natural Law (including 6 principles of Natural Law) a) “The natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid” b) Thomas Aquinas' principles of natural law: 1) "Do good and avoid evil" 2) We have an inclination to preserve and protect life 3) We have an inclination to procreate 4) We have an inclination to educate 5) We have a tendency towards truth 6) We have an inclination to cooperate with one another (social beings) - Aquinas says that all of the principles are all derived from natural law and whatever relates to right reasoning belongs to the natural law UNIT 3: Freedom Erik Erikson’s Cognitive Developmental Stage Theory and how each stage is launched - Each of Erikson’s stages is launched by a crisis (ie. death, new knowledge, a moral realization … etc.) in one’s life - How a person handles these crises in their lives dictates how successfully they move into the next stage of their development - Developmental psychology shows how, over a lifetime, our personal freedom can either mature or decline depending on how we respond to different challenges in our lives - He suggests that personality development occurs as we develop physically and cognitively. This development takes place as the result of socialization by parents, teachers, and other influential members of society - Our personal growth is bound up at every level with our relationships to those around us - Erikson discovered a pattern to this psychological and social growth - He proposed that this process occurs in 8 stages and spans the whole of one’s lifetime - Each stage of life presents us with a unique and specific challenge that we must face and overcome in order to advance to the next developmental stage - The healthier our personality development, the greater our capacity for freedom - The specific challenges he refers to is usually a Crisis: opportunity or occasion for an important decision. A crucial or decisive turning point in a situation that can signify either a change for the better or for the worse o E.g., Falling in love, a death in the family - You can find detailed explanations of each stage on pages 191-192 in the textbook Trust vs. Mistrust - Happens in the first year of life - Crisis: learn through his or her caregivers whether or not to trust others - Successful resolution occurs if the child develops a sense of trust rather than mistrust - Because of trust, the child is able to form relationships that express a healthy dependence on others Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - During the next two years of life - Crisis: a healthy need for independence or autonomy. It is a crisis because it is a struggle between the will of the child and that of the parents - If the child is not allowed to experience independence, they will most likely experience feelings of shame or doubt - This stage is extremely important to the development of teens and adults as independent thinkers Initiative vs. Guilt - Happens as children approach their first years of school - Crisis: children are expected to assume more responsibility for their behaviour, appearance, schoolwork and peer interactions - Responsibility develops into initiative. Failure to develop responsibility often leads to feelings of guilt - Here the child builds self confidence Industry vs. Inferiority - Normally occurs in the elementary school years - As the cognitive abilities of the child advance, he or she experiences a new love of and excitement for learning - Crisis: Limitations become challenges and new horizons that excite the learner - The teacher has a significant role in forming in the child a sense of industry Identity vs. Identity Confusion - Happens during adolescence as teens develop the ability to explore different alternatives to questions of concern - Crisis: seeking to find an identity for themselves - Parents and teachers can either help or hinder the individual, by supporting and encouraging or trying to mold the search for identity Either way, they are an important influence Intimacy vs. Isolation - These are the early adult years - Crisis: Forming intimate relationships with others - A healthy relationship is one in which one is capable of giving oneself for the good of the other - Without this ability, a person cannot develop feelings of intimacy Generativity vs. Stagnation - These are the mid-life years - Crisis: A longing to make a productive contribution to the younger generation (generativity) - Failure to make this contribution leads to feelings of stagnation: Their life at this point will mean nothing to those who come after them Integrity vs. Despair - This stage takes place in the last years of life - Crisis: Individuals evaluate the choices they have made and attempt to see the worth of their lives - If they successfully complete the last 7 stages, they will feel integrity - Without the successful resolution of each crisis, a sense of despair may arise Harmful side effects of freedom (including Nietzsche’s position) i) Growing Atheism – The Atheism of Modern Times - Our freedom leads us to no longer believe in God - The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed the dangers of an emerging atheism in his work, "The Madman" - He realized that without God humanity is rudderless, without a horizon - It was like “loosening the earth from the sun” - Without God, there will be tremendous emptiness in life - What is perhaps the most damning part of his vision is the accusation, that we, citizens of Western society, have “murdered” God - He asked how we dared to do it - As so many visionaries of the West have testified, while God’s name is still remembered, God seems to have died in our culture - Atheism is one of the consequences of self-discovery as free - I can indeed free myself or anything that is not me - I can doubt not only mathematical or scientific truths; I can be equally skeptical about religious truths and about God - Nietzsche predicted that it would become emptier and colder in the world without God - He said that in humanity’s headstrong rush forward, without God we would surely lose our firm footing - Nietzsche’s prediction has come true. The West feels itself pulled and pushed in every direction - In the public sphere of the West, we are expected to be agnostic. God is not to be mentioned. He has been ciphered out of public language and projects even though in private life 85% of Canadians say that they still believe in God (2004) - Another Argument: There is still hope - According to a global survey on belief and religious indifference from the Pontifical Council for Culture in 2004, “It is not true that atheism is growing in the world. From the militant and organized atheism of other times, we now have a situation of practical indifference, of a loss of the relevance of the question of God, of abandonment of religious practice, above all, in the western world. But not an abandonment of belief in God.” ii) The Isolation of the Individual - In experiencing the self as a subject in modern times, we tend to see ourselves as different and isolated from everything else - Whatever is not “I”, the subject, becomes and object. The “I” is isolated and set apart - This newfound freedom placed such a high value on our capacity to think and to will that everything else in God’s creation was suddenly reduced in value - People began to think that the only values that God’s beautiful earth— plants, animals, the soil, the oceans, minerals etc., had was “for us”; for our benefit - These other “objects” have no value in themselves - They are objects for our use and exploitation without our being responsible for them - How can the planet benefit me? Not what can I do to benefit the planet? - We no longer see or heed the sacredness of all of God’s creatures They have become secondary to the advancements and wants of humanity - We no longer live in harmony with our fellow creatures. - Is this what God wanted? - We need to take responsibility - This dramatic change in how people viewed themselves and the world can be seen in a number of developments: o The rapid development of science and technology The scientific and technological revolution of the past four centuries has been so successful that we tend to see the world through its eyes Nature is separated from the spiritual. It is considered on its own as an independent reality. Nature is seen as less and less as a reflection of the glory of God It is now and object to be manipulated by the “I” o The impact of science and technology on freedom It was hoped that science and technology would free us from the domination of nature, leaving us in control of our lives We would have to work less and be freer to develop ourselves Science and technology would serve to make us less dependent. Is this the case? We work harder and longer hours than ever before and hardly know the value of rest (the Sabbath) o My body as object Since the “I” is located in my thinking capacity, the self was isolated from the body It meant that even my body could be reduced to an object The human body has lost its sacredness Do you agree or disagree? o Rise of individualism There is only one perspective from which to view the world: mine—the isolated “I” The “I” is where everything begins The family, the community and the state are made up of such isolated individuals Communities have come to be seen as voluntary associations where individuals decide to belong and participate only when it serves their individual interests: “what is in it for me?” iii) Autonomism - One of the most detrimental outcomes of the discovery of the self as free is what is known as autonomism: literally, “a law unto myself” - Freedom came to be seen as a power on its own. The rule of reason became secondary - Emphasis began to be placed on the will on its own—on doing whatever one pleases - Freedom in this sense is looking after one’s own well-being and interest - This freedom as a will to power is known as autonomy, where I alone am the moral law - In our final analysis, the notion of autonomy is the freedom “to be like God” (which was the first temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden: Genesis 3.5) This is freedom as a power: a power to do what I will! - This freedom does not want to consider any constraints. This kind of freedom demands that there are no rules - The more I am able to assert myself from these limitations, the more I am free - In the end, it is a freedom without morality, having little or no concern for the other. The limits of freedom 1) Social Limits to Freedom - We become most aware of our freedom when we experience constraints - Some limits are imposed by individuals in authority (parents, teachers, etc.); other limits are imposed by society (social rules or laws of school, church or state) - Testing these limits is the manifestation of freedom in us; our capacity for freedom showing itself 2) Moral Limits to Freedom - The limits of our freedom can also be moral or ethical - Acts are moral or ethical because they come from our freedom, but this freedom is not without obligation (with freedom comes responsibility) - Freedom must take account of the moral norms, rules, proverbs, laws and principles that we discussed in Chapter 8 - **Only when we reflect on them do we realize how these limitations are not a denial of freedom but a guidance or education of our freedom. With them, we become morally free Philosophies on freedom by … (possible short answer question) - Thomas Hobbes - Hobbes' position is hardly liberal or democratic - He believed that political obligation and rights must be deduced from the interest and will of the individual - Hobbes had a very pessimistic view of human nature - He had imagined what life would be like without laws/rules in place to limit what people can do - According to Hobbes, an "uncivilized" person can never let their guard down and they would be in constant struggle with others - In that scenario, there could be no peaceful living. Society would live in constant fear and struggle - He referred to the individual as a "beast" that is set in motion by selfish desires - Hobbes also believed that the power and gifts of an individual could translate into market terms = Everything has a price - The government would be the framework that would keep the individual "safe" and prevent chaos from erupting. - Hobbes was one of the first to look at our work/talents as a commodity that could translate into value. Meaning people get paid for their work.  - John Locke - Locke had a firm belief in the protection of property - He believed that the individual had the right to property and the right to protect what is theirs - He believed that all individuals are equal and free to act as they will without interference from others - Locke was a strong believer in reason and that reason could guide the individual - While Hobbes looked at the individual as selfish and corrupted by power, Locke believed that people would use reason to follow the laws and act justly - According to Locke, the earth and all of its riches belonged to all people in common - With all people being equal, everyone has the right to use what they find so as long as they respect each other's presence and property - With this idea, a person's labour would impart upon the goods of nature o Ex. A field belongs to everyone. But if someone ploughs the field, the field now becomes property of the plougher - The reason for government = the protection of private property - The common good is served when individual rights are protected - Individuals are free to pursue their own life, health, liberty and possessions. But... - According to Locke, individuals enter into a "social contract" with one another, where we voluntarily surrender our individual rights to upload the natural law of the community - Locke's notion of freedom is the pursuit of one's own life - Jean Jacques Rousseau - Wrote the Social Contract—one of his most important pieces on individual freedom - Starts it off with: "Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains." What do you think this means? - Believed if the individual was self-sufficient and autonomous, why would we accept to be a part of society that makes us dependent and restricts our liberty? - Considered people to be good by nature and inclined toward compassion for one another - While this sounds good, he also looked at this as leading to competition between one another and leading to more interdependence...which Rousseau saw as threatening to both the individual's survival and freedom - By coming together through what he called a social contract, individuals can both preserve themselves and remain free by submitting to the "general will" of the people - This concept of the "general will" guarantees individuals against being subordinated to the wills of others and also ensures that they obey themselves because they are, collectively, the authors of the law - In this society, the people themselves are sovereign, and they themselves should make the laws under which they agree to live - The government is then charged with implementing these laws and enforcing the general will of the people - One thing that Rousseau always circled back to was this: is the will of society always correct? - He argued that the goal of the government should be to uphold freedom, equality and justice for all, regardless of the will of the majority - Government loses its authority when it fails to uphold the "general will" - Rousseau argued that the individual would accept society only if society had something to offer that the person could not attain individually - "To live in accordance with the general will is a way of forcing people to be free" - John Rawls - Rawls links the thinking of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau with more modern times - He focused mainly on the idea of the individual freedoms and the constraints of society. He realized that people will only accept what is just and fair - He looked at society and the individual as a person going through a door o The door opens up into society and the person must choose whether or not to enter it o Stepping through the door would commit this person to the "social contract", but they are unaware of the situation that would lie ahead through the door (ex. financials, rights, laws, etc.) - He believed that there was 2 principles that governed society on the "other side of the door": 1) Each person would have the most extensive system of rights and freedoms which are given to everyone These include freedom of speech, conscience, peaceful assembly, democratic rights This principle should never be violated, even for the sake of the 2nd principle However, various basic rights may be traded off against each other for obtaining the largest possible system of rights Ex. A person's right to privacy could be limited to the degree necessary to ensure security for all members of society 2) Economic and social inequalities are justified only if they benefit all of society, especially those who are the most disadvantaged - All economically and socially privileged positions must be open to all people equally Example: It is justifiable for a doctor to earn more money than an assembly line worker because the doctor goes through years of training/schooling and is held responsible for life/death and health/safety of the individual. They have a much greater responsibility than the assembly line worker. If there was no economic or social compensation, fewer people would undergo the expense and effort of becoming a doctor (leading to a shortage) and society would suffer because of this. Rawls believed that this system was best for everyone and left society better off - To summarize his teachings from his most famous work, A Theory of Justice, Rawls believes that: The rights and freedoms of the individual supersede whatever notion of the common good may be discerned by society, and must be protected Spirituality: Desire - It is no easy task to walk this earth and find peace - At times, it seems like inside of us, something is at odds with the very rhythm of things, and we are forever restless, dissatisfied, frustrated, and aching - We are so overcharged with desire that it is hard to come to simple rest - Desire is always stronger than satisfaction - Simply put, there is something within us that doesn't allow us full peace (in this life) - Desire lies at the centre of our lives We are obsessed by desire....desire is the straw that stirs the drink - It intrigues us, stirs the soul - We love stories about desire—tales of love, sex, wanderlust, haunting nostalgia, boundless ambition, and tragic loss - So what does that have to do with Christian Spirituality???? - Desire is also a deep energy - It is something beautiful - It pulls us toward love, beauty, creativity, and a future beyond our limited present - Spirituality is about what we do with our desire - God's love exists deep within each of us - God won't let go of us - Love is a powerful force in life - Spirituality and ethics or morality are not far apart - Our ethics and morality must be nourished by spirituality - Ethics and morality need to be fed by the spirituality of love Vocation 1) Married Life 2) Single Life 3) Priesthood 4) Religious Orders Liturgy What happens to us through liturgy: 1) God gathers us o God is the one who desires to meet us 2) God and creation exchange gifts - God shares with us the gift of creation and the gift of the life, death, and resurrection Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit - Our part is to offer to God the gift of praise and thanksgiving 3) The mystery of God's love made known through ritual, symbol and word - We don't see God directly, in liturgy, it happens sacramentally - This happens through language, rituals, and symbols 4) The liturgy achieves our salvation - Our liturgy on earth is an anticipation of and participation in the heavenly liturgy - This is a foretaste of our interaction in the fullness of life, in the resurrection - This salvation is intended for the world 5) Liturgy promotes moral living - In liturgy, ethics and morality are nourished and received their highest motivation - Liturgy empowers us to act in accordance with the gifts of creation and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus - Ethical and moral actions become ways of giving thanks and praise, celebrations of the gift of God - We become generous in our moral life because God is generous Marriage (including stages of married life) 1) Catholic teaching defines marriage as an “intimate partnership of life and love” - Marriage is a “covenant” and “partnership” - It is important to note that Catholic teaching does not use the word “contract” to describe marriage Marriage is an unconditional and public “yes” of a man and a woman to create a complete and personal community of life and love - Marriage is a communion of a man and a woman in all the things of life 2) The central trait or soul of marriage is love - It is a love that is to grow from eros – physical, sexual love – to agape, the love with which Christ loved: a selfless love totally for the other 3) This love is open to procreation - “By its very nature, the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory” (CCC 1652) - Love and new life are the gifts of marriage - Mutual love and the procreation and education of children are both central goods of marriage 4) Consent in marriage - Marriage is built on the consent of the two partners - The Church’s canon law describes this consent as “an act of will by which a man and a woman by an irrevocable covenant mutually give and accept one another for the purpose of establishing a marriage” 5) A valid marriage between baptized persons is a sacrament - The matrimonial bond establishes itself as part of a covenant, an unconditional promise between two persons and two wills - “It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life” - The grace of the sacrament of marriage supports and strengthens the couple. - The Holy Spirit at the heart of the couple’s communion, revitalizes them and renders the man and the woman capable of the same love as that of Christ for humanity - At the marriage celebration, the presider represents the entire Church community, but is not the one performing the marriage - The husband is the sacramental minister for his wife, and the wife is the sacramental minister for her husband - The married couple, like the universal Church, constitutes a small Church whose mission is to express God in the world by offering it true love 1) Stage 1: Beginnings - Every couple brings with them their family backgrounds, their past, their education, their friends and relatives, and their previous relationships - This past will have an influence, sometimes despite best-laid plans, upon every aspect of the new couple’s life together - It is good right from the beginning to be aware of what family background and lifeexperience one brings into the marriage 2) Stage 2: Romantic Love - This romantic phase begins when the couple begins to talk about sharing life together - Depending on cultural customs this is the phase of engagement, marriage and cohabitation - The challenge of this stage is to create an intimate, deep and durable relationship based on good communication 3) Stage 3: Power Struggle - Some four or five years into the couple’s life together the idealized image of the partner starts to fade - The hidden expectations that one puts on a back burner suddenly begin to crop up - i.e., He doesn’t clean up behind him. She is never ready at agreed upon times - In this stage each partner works toward a new identity in the marriage. This is not disastrous; in fact, it is a new opportunity to grow - This phase requires good negotiating skills and the ability to forgive. It is worth it 4) Stage 4: Stability - If the challenge for change in the previous phase is handled well, a period of stability may follow - Often this is a time of deepening of the relationship - Each partner begins to ask himself or herself how each is contributing to the marriage - They may also ask themselves how they are the source of the problems in their marriage - Their deepening relationship often means that the couple will work to rekindle their deeper interest and love for each other - The challenge is to remain creative, not to fall into a deadly routine or to reinvent one another 5) Stage 5: Recommitment - This stage takes place around the midlife point of the couple - It is a time again for questioning one’s choices and commitments - If in the previous stage, their efforts at deepening the relationship have not taken place and everything has become routine, the partners may drift apart - They may find it increasingly difficult to communicate with one another their fears and aspirations - Each will live in his or her own shell - Mid-life then leads to a real crisis in the marriage and often a withdrawal from the relationship - If the couple has succeeded in being inventive in the previous stage, a new sense of trust and appreciation for each other may emerge - Each now will see the partner realistically, recognize the limitations and promote each other’s strengths - This means a new commitment to the other with a deepening appreciation of each other’s differences 6) Stage 6: Fruitfulness - Recognition and appreciation of each other’s differences can have life-giving effects - Because each partner pursues personal interests, their individual identities grow - Couples at this stage also begin to do more things together, such as travel, work together in a business, or become involved in social and community events - Finding this balance between personal and mutual interests makes the couple more fruitful at the physical, psychological, affective, social and spiritual level - The challenge will be not to go under as individuals and as a couple by becoming too involved in all sorts of activities 7) Stage 7: Growing Old Together - This is the last stage of the couple’s journey together - This may be the longest stage and they now have time - If they have succeeded in integrating all of their life’s experiences and their married life together, they are often seen as pillars of stability and wisdom for their offspring, especially for their grandchildren - As grandparents they can remain fruitful for society. But this time is also a time of withdrawal. They become less involved in the social, political and economic sphere - They also experience the loss of friends and family through death - They are less active physically and socially - Those who remain positive and serene as they grow older can teach others that life together always contains opportunities for growth “Family as domestic church” and defining family - Domestic Church: The home as a "little church" where its members find life, are nurtured and formed. It bears the characteristics of the larger Church, being one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in a manner appropriate to the family - The family is the primary institution that teaches children faith, customs, tradition, and proper behaviour within a community. For this reason, it has often been called “the original social cell of life.” Defining Family - Although families come in many configurations, it is common to speak about the nuclear family as a norm - The extended family includes the nuclear family and its blood relations - Pope John Paul II stated that the family is the symbol of Christ because it is the primary agent that fulfills the precepts of the Kingdom of God - The Nicene Creed (our profession of faith) lists 4 signs— one, holy, catholic, apostolic — that the church follows in order to embody Christ's message. As the little or “domestic church”, the family follows these signs too Defining Family: ONE - The family is called to be one in Christ—individuals who come together because of common unity and faith - This bond is defined by love and commitment to one another and neighbour Defining Family: HOLY - Families are bonded by their common spirituality - St. John Chrysostom called the family the “little church” because it is the place where children receive their spiritual and behavioural formation - Prayer and our relationship with God are central to the family for this reason Defining Family: CATHOLIC - The word catholic means “universal” in the sense of being open to everyone. The family teaches this by practicing acceptance and inclusivity - Solidarity and hospitality are key values that a family must embody - St. John Chrysostom called families to live modestly and to focus on contributing to “the other” and the larger community Defining Family: APOSTOLIC - Members of the family are called to be apostles (teachers of the faith) - Families spread the gospel teachings and traditions of the church - The family model their faith and love for Christ in their every action There are 4 conditions for a truly human and sacramental love: - Freedom: The man and woman are called upon to choose each other and to choose marriage without regard for social pressure (by parents and friends), emotional pressure (such as the fear of being alone), institutional constraints (getting married because it is the tradition), and so on. In fact, the couple reach their full depth when they welcome and accept the other’s gift, offered fully and freely. - Fidelity: Both partners must help each other to remain faithful to their love. The goal of fidelity is to accept the full and therefore exclusive integration of the other into one’s own life. - Permanence: Marriage is for life. Indissolubility is not based on emotion, because emotions are changeable. It is not based on the force of will, which stands on its own, because then love would be a matter of willpower. Rather, the permanence of the couple is based on faith as an affirmation of self and of the other. And it is based on promise. - Fruitfulness: The culmination of a couple’s fruitfulness is the desire for and acceptance of [children], with all the attendant responsibilities of parenthood. Bringing a child into the world is an act of faith and hope. Beyond the child, the fruitfulness of human love flows out in all spheres of human life. Through the communion of persons, the couple creates its own sense of unity and reaps the fruits of patience, of service, of love that “rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13.4 - 7) Freedom and Morality (possible short answer question) UNIT 4: Social Justice 7 Core Values of Catholic Social Teaching 1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person  - Our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. 2. Call to Family, Community, and Participation - Our tradition proclaims that the person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society - in economics and politics, in law and policy - directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. The family is the central social institution that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. The role of government and other institutions is to protect and promote the common good. 3. Rights and Responsibilities - The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected, and responsibilities are met. Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities - to one another, to our families, and to the larger society. 4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable - Catholic teaching proclaims that a basic moral test is how our must vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. 5. The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers - We believe that the economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God's creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected -the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to private property, and to economic initiative. 6. Solidarity - Our culture is tempted to turn inward, becoming indifferent and sometimes isolationist in the face of international responsibilities. Catholic social teaching proclaims that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers, wherever they live. Learning to practice the virtue of solidarity means learning that loving our neighbour" has global dimensions in an interdependent world. 7. Care for God’s Creation - The Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God's creation. Different types of Justice 1. Commutative Justice - Commutative Justice deals with the relationship of one individual to another individual or institution through contract.  - This type of justice ensures that all individuals in all circumstances are treated the same by the people or institutions that they deal with. - The contract that binds these two parties is based on trust and confidence. - EXAMPLES: Keeping your commitments/obligations; Receiving the correct pay for your hours worked; Goods and services are the same price for all people. 2. Legal Justice - Legal Justice deals with the relationship of the individual to society or the government. - This type of justice not only ensures that individuals obey the laws of their community (or nation), but also that they act in a way that benefits the common good. - The goal of legal justice is to help us recognize that we have both rights and responsibilities that must be used to contribute positively to society in an attempt to make it better. - Right—A claim or entitlement that protects human dignity or allows people to live cooperatively in a community. - EXAMPLES: Respecting municipal by-laws; Respecting legitimate authority; Voting in an election. 3. Distributive Justice - Distributive Justice deals with the relationship of society or the government to the individual. - This type of justice ensures that all government programs burden or benefit each of its citizens equally. - This all revolves around defining the word equality. - EXAMPLES: Establishing a fair minimum wage; Setting a fair level of tax; Creating a strong welfare system to ensure the safety of all citizens. The Circle of Faith in Action Step 1: Awareness - We must begin by understanding how the Kingdom of God is achieved in our world. - More importantly, however, we must recognize when action is needed to help create this Kingdom. - This involves being stewards of the earth by looking out for creation and "the other". - EXAMPLE: There are poor people in the world who need our help. Step 2: Analysis - Analysis involves recognizing what specifically, is needed to achieve Christ's vision for the Kingdom of God. - This step requires us to figure out why injustice is present within society and to brainstorm possible ways of combating it. - EXAMPLE: Poor people in the world need food and shelter but are not getting it because it costs money. Step 3: Action - It is not enough to recognize injustice in the world and hope that others will correct it. We too must take action, no matter how small. - Even small actions against large injustices are helpful — a small action contributes to a larger goal just like a puzzle piece contributes to solving a puzzle. - It is in action that we truly work to create the Kingdom of God. - EXAMPLE: Donating your money and time to a hostel that houses and feeds the poor. 2 Different Categories of Sin - Sin is an offense against God, in word, thought or deed - Sin is a refusal to love - Sin is saying no to God and putting your desires ahead of God’s Law of Love - All sin is an offense against God and a rejection of his perfect love and justice - “Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” (John 8:51) There are two types of sin: Mortal and Venial (YOUCAT #316). Below are the distinctions that Jesus makes between the two types of sin: Mortal Sin: Most serious and grave sins - Serious sin breaks with God - Mortal sins destroy the grace of God in the heart of the sinner - By their very grave nature, a mortal sin cuts our relationship off from God and turns man away from his Creator - St. Paul's letter to the Hebrews tell us that "For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:26). - In order for a sin to be mortal, it must meet 3 Conditions: 1. Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter 2. Mortal sin is committed with full knowledge of the sinner 3. Mortal sin is committed with deliberate consent of the sinner - This means that mortal sins cannot be done "accidentally" - A person who commits a mortal sin is one who knows that their sin is wrong, but still deliberately commits the sin anyway - This means that mortal sins are "premeditated" by the sinner and thus are truly a rejection of God's law and love - Jesus warns us that "Anyone who does not abide in me will be thrown away like a branch and wither; such branches will be gather and thrown into a fire and burned." (John 15:6) Venial Sin: Less grave matter - Venial sins do not cut us off from God. They strain the relationship with Him - However, venial sin does weaken grace in the soul and damages our relationship with God - People who frequently indulge in venial sin are very likely to collapse into mortal sin if they persist in their evil ways - Venial sin weakens a person's will to avoid evil and thus may indirectly lead to mortal sin - It can also be a sin of less grave matter if which the sinner did not fully consent to the sin or did not have knowledge that his actions were sinful The Sacrament of Reconciliation and Mortal and Venial Sins (YOUCAT #227) - Mortal Sins: must be confessed in order to be forgiven - Venial Sins: if a person repents of his/her sin, intends to live a new life of grace, performs some act of penance, their sin may be forgiven without reconciliation (although it is always recommended) - Our sins can be forgiven, because Jesus Christ paid for the price of human sin by dying on the cross for the redemption of humanity - Jesus Christ, true man and true God, was the perfect sacrifice for human sin and as a result saved those who are baptized, repent and believe in him - Because a baptized Christian can still sin, Christ instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the forgiveness of our sins - Jesus gave the power to forgive sins in his name to the Church. He told his apostles: Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”" (John 20:21-23) - This means that the apostles and their successors, the priests and bishops of the Catholic Church, can forgive sins in Jesus' name - It is vitally important that Catholics confess sins on a regular basis, especially if we are in the state of mortal sin - A person who dies in mortal sin cannot enter the kingdom of heaven and is doomed to eternal suffering in hell - Even when we have not committed mortal sin, we are still obliged to confess our sins at least once a year - Christ, in perfect love, laid down his life so that we may be forgiven of our sins - The sacrifice of the cross should not be neglected or taken for granted - Jesus died for the life of the world and is thus the light of the world Vices - Everyone sins. There has never been a human who has never sinned, with the exception of Jesus Christ - All sins are an offense to God Almighty Who is holy, but some sins are specifically mentioned as an abomination to God. In fact, seven sins are said to be deadly 1. Pride: Is an excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity. 2. Envy: Is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation. 3. Gluttony: Is an excessive desire to consume more than that which one requires. 4. Lust: Is an obsessive craving for the pleasures of the body. 5. Wrath: Is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. 6. Greed: Is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.  7. Sloth: Is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work. It is also called Laziness or Procrastination. Virtues A Virtue is a Good Habit. A Vice is a Bad Habit (Seven Deadly Sins) Cardinal Virtues - They are called cardinal (Latin: cardo, hinge) virtues because they are hinges on which all moral virtues depend. - They are also called moral (Latin: mores, fixed values) because they govern our actions, and guide our conduct according to faith and reason. - They are human virtues that are acquired through education and good actions. They guide our interactions with others. 8. Prudence: To be able to judge between actions that are appropriate or good and those that are inappropriate and harmful at a given time. 9. Justice: To be able to balance self-interest and the rights and needs of others. 10. Temperance: To be able to practice self-control, and not overindulge. 11. Fortitude: To be able to face fear and uncertainty, or intimidation and endure hardship. Theological Virtues: - They are the character qualities associated with salvation. - They are freely given by God and guide our relationship with God. 1. Faith: To keep believing no matter what. 2. Hope: To not despair and see good possibilities no matter what. 3. Charity/Love: To be selfless, unconditional, and give voluntary loving- kindness to others. TERMS TO KNOW Covenant → A binding agreement between two parties that spells out the conditions and obligations of each party; rose from a contractual notion. Covenant with God is far more – It is a sacred agreement, bond, or promise between God and people (the two main parties). In the Old Testament, it refers to the relationship between God and the Chosen People (the Israelites). God's covenant is a bond of love that calls to us in our freedom to respond in love. God's commitment to us is forever (He never breaks the covenant). His commitment is founded in love Exegesis → the study of scripture texts in their original context. It looks at the language, the historical context in which these texts were originally written, the religious traditions and other existing writings that influenced the authors of the texts. To understand fully what the authors intended, we need to understand something about their world, their motivations, and so on. Hermeneutics → essentially the task of interpretation Character  Deontological Ethics → (relating to moral theories): relating to philosophical theories that state that the moral content of an action is not wholly dependent on its consequences. Duty → An act or a course of action that is required in order to perform a service, function, or task that has been assigned. Maxim → A general truth or rule of conduct. Ex. Treat others as you want to be treated. Ethics → A discipline that deals with the nature of the good, the nature of the human person, and criteria that we use for making right judgments. Morality → A system of right conduct based on fundamental beliefs and obligation to follow certain codes, norms, customs and habits of behaviour. Obligation → Something you are bound to do by duty; your responsibility Moral Principles → Basic truths used to determine rules of conduct. In moral reasoning, principles are used to measure moral obligation or to determine how to act in particular situations. Rule → A prescribed guide for conduct or action that indicates how we ought to behave in certain situations. Rules are not strictly legislated but are nevertheless obligatory guidelines for action. Ex. All students must wear their school uniform to class. Natural Law → The original moral sense which enables people to discern by reason what is good and what is evil, what is true and what is a lie. Norm → Norms are guides for action. They come in the form of laws, rules, principles, commandments, and maxims. They come with varying degrees of obligation. Law → The judgment of a lawmaker about the means necessary to promote and protect the common good. maxim: A general truth or rule of conduct. The highest expression of a norm for action. A law is the judgment of a law maker about the means necessary to promote and protect the common good. Above all, a law must be just and reasonable to follow. Ex. The speed limit on the QEW is 100 km/h. Nuclear Family → A father, mother, and their children Extended Family → The nuclear family and its blood relations, namely grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and in-laws Domestic Church → The home as a "little church" where its members find life, are nurtured and formed. It bears the characteristics of the larger Church, being one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in a manner appropriate to the family