1st Term CCF Reviewer PDF

1. Introduction to Christian Morality The Story of the RIch Young Man ○ A rich young man approached Jesus and asked what he must do to receive eternal life. Jesus instructs him to follow the commandments “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adulter...

1. Introduction to Christian Morality The Story of the RIch Young Man ○ A rich young man approached Jesus and asked what he must do to receive eternal life. Jesus instructs him to follow the commandments “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother. The young man had followed all these commandments since he was a child. Mark notes that Jesus looked at him with love and said he must do one more thing: “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, then come, follow me. The man was very rich and was unwilling to give up all of his possessions, so he “went away sad”. Jesus takes the opportunity to teach about wealth and the Kingdom of God. People at the time of Jesus thought that the rich were in favor with God – their money was a reward for good behavior. But here Jesus is telling them the opposite. This must have been very confusing for the young man and the followers of Jesus. Jesus declared, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” He then states that it is easier for a camel to go through “the eye of a needle” than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. ○ The eye of the needle could have referred to a small door in Jerusalem’s city wall. A camel would not have been able to fit through it if there were many items hanging off its sides. The possessions would have to be discarded for it to fit. Jesus does not mean that all rich people cannot enter the Kingdom of God, it is just those who are obsessed with their wealth and riches and who do not use them for the good of others. Christian Morality ○ Christian Morality Entails Keeping the Commandments ○ Christian Morality Is Following Christ ○ “If you wish to enter into life, keep the Commandments” ○ Jesus affirms the place and importance of the Commandments in doing the good. ○ “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Christian Morality Entails Keeping the Commandments ○ Decalogue Concrete expression of their covenant relationship with God. Loving God and loving one’s neighbor.  It expresses the identity and mission of the people of God. Central to Christian morality because it expresses clearly and perfectly how we are to love one another. Jesus reminds us that love of God and love of neighbor are the very foundation of the freedom and happiness. Christian Morality Is Following Christ ○ Christ’s First Disciples Were able to leave behind works and their families to follow Christ. ○ Discipleship demands his detachment from everything that hinders us from following Christ. ○ “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for the one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.” ○ How can we follow Christ? Imitating Jesus on the cross dying to our self-centeredness and sin to a new life of loving service to God and our neighbor. 2. Introduction to the Notion of “Being Human” Concept of Popularity Measuring people’s worth by physical traits or ability 3. Human Dignity Part 1 and 2 Touch of The Master’s Hand ○ POET: Myra Brooks Welch ○ SUMMARY: A poem about a violin a mother bought for her child. The violin eventually broke so the mom sold it away. It ended up in a garage sale, eventually getting given up at an auction. It cost 3$, yet it was still the last item at the auction. I violinist then took this violin, fixed it, played it, and it was as good as new. Expressing its true value to others. The same violin that was previously sold for 3$ was now worth $3000. What Does It Mean to be Human Person? ○ We are Historical Beings This means that we grow and develop in discernible stages. We are bound by time – We are shaped by our past, we live in the present, and we shape our future. We are called to understand the process of growing as an opportunity to become a better person and live a fuller life. “When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things” (1 Cor 13:11) ○ We are Embodied Spirits Being embodied spirit, we have: Bodily needs: like food, water, and rest  Spiritual needs: like companionship, sense of mission, and education. Although limited by our bodies, we have the capacity for self- transcendence the ability to go beyond our physical or bodily limitations for love. Our bodies are “the Temples of the Holy Spirit”, we ought to respect bodies. ○ We are Conscious Beings We have the capacity because of our intellect and will, for self reflection. We are not merely driven by external forces or instincts. God has created us with intellect and free will so we can discern His empowering actions in our everyday moral lives. Human acts – freely chosen acts Acts-of-humans – involuntary or instinctive actions e.g. breathing, digesting. ○ We are Relational Beings We are always by, with, and for others. “By others” - because we are born and raised in our own families. “With others” - because we only become our fullest selves in the company of others. “For other” - because our call is to genuine love and serve others. We act in a way that truly considers the good for others. Our Christian faith affirms our relational nature because of our Triune God Himself is a communion of loving persons. Jesus has redeemed us not just as individuals but as a people. Christ command: “Love one another as I have loved you.” ○ We Are Unique Though Fundamentally Equal In all measurable ways, we are all different. We are all fundamentally equal at the core because of our common human dignity. Therefore, we have the obligation to treat all persons with genuine respect and understanding ○ Synthesis Christian faith affirms our fundamental equality in dignity: We are created in the image and likeness of God. We have been redeemed by Christ. We are empowered to love by the Holy Spirit We are destined to share in God’s eternal life. 4. The Good Samaritan (Who Is My Neighbor?) Luke 10:29-37 Summary of the Parable of the Good Samaritan ○ In one of the New Testament’s most well known parables, Luke tells us that Jesus used this story as the answer to a man’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus describes a man lying on the road, dying. Neither a passing priest nor a Levite helps him, because touching a dead body was considered utterly impure. The Samaritan, however, rescues the man, thereby breaking two social conventions—associating with what could be a corpse, and crossing the border between the rival communities of Jews and Samaritans. The Samaritan can be understood to symbolize both Christ’s message that the poor and outcast are blessed, and that Christ’s message is for Gentiles as well as Jews. Characters ○ Levites Descendants of Levi Set apart for the secondary duties of the sanctuary service, as assistants to the priests, who were also Levites. All priests were Levites, not all Levites were priests. ○ Pharisees Pharisee means “the separated ones.” Also known as chasidim, which means loyal to God, or loved of God ○ The Samaritans Enemy of the ordinary Jew Considered were “not even a people” Cause: Intermarriage of Samaritans with pagan foreigners and their consequent assimilation of pagan practices into traditional Jewish worship. The Parable of the Good Samaritan ○ The parable was Jesus’ response to the young man’s question: “Who is my neighbor?” ○ Because of their narrow and legalistic understanding of Jewish law, the Priest and the Levite chose not to help the wounded man they found lying by the roadside. Jewish Law of Purification ○ Strict prohibitions against touching anyone considered unclean: Lepers Afflicted people Women who had just given birth The dead Samaritans. ○ If a Jew touched anyone unclean, he would have to go through a tedious process of ritual purification.  The Good Samaritan ○ The one who truly lived out Christ’s commandment of love because of his genuine concern for the wounded man. ○ Able to clearly see the dignity of his neighbor in need. ○ Because of compassion, he truly lived out his dignity as a neighbor to others. ○ Authentic love of neighbor transcends boundaries of race, religion, or prejudice and how it recognizes the innate dignity of others. 5. What Our Christian Faith Reveals to Us About Our Human Dignity “Our Christian faith reminds us that what is truly important is not so much who we are but whose we are.” - Kanino Tayo? Four Revealed Truths About Our Human Dignity 1. We have been created in the image and likeness of God. 2. We have been redeemed by Christ. 3. We are empowered to love by the Holy Spirit. 4. We are destined to share in God’s eternal life. We Are Created In The Image and Likeness of God ○ God created us and continues to sustain us. ○ He further dignified us through the mystery of incarnation. ○ Mystery of Incarnation: Jesus became “flesh” (human being) like us. ○ We are thus a new creation in and through Jesus Christ. ○ It is in Christ’s image and likeness that we have been created. We Have Been Redeemed By Christ ○ Through His Paschal Mystery (His suffering, death, and resurrection) Christ freed us from slavery to sin and death. ○ By His self-offering, He opened the way so that we may be able to share in His life and live as adopted sons and daughters of the Father. We Are Empowered To Love By The Holy Spirit ○ Christ’s gift of His Holy Spirit continually empowers us to overcome sin and truly love God and others. ○ The grace we receive through the indwelling Spirit strengthens and transforms us so that we may grow in love and live according to our dignity as God’s children. We Are Destined To Share In God’s Eternal Life ○ Because of Christ, we have become adopted sons and daughters of the Father, called to share in the freedom and happiness of God’s family. ○ Thus, every person we meet is a brother and sister in Jesus Christ. 6. Introduction to Human Freedom Human Freedom  ○ We experience freedom both as individuals and as members of a community. ○ Our individual exercise of freedom affects the freedom we have as a community and vice versa ○ Freedom is not merely an absence of restraint It also means the presence of certain conditions - e.g. cooperation social responsibility, peace - within a community ○ We, as persons endowed with intellect and free will, are the true “freedom meters”. We can discern our own level of freedom and the level of freedom in our society through our critical analysis of our individual and social contexts Synthesis ○ We are not only called to discern the degree of freedom of individuals and communities ○ We are called to be agents of change and promote our true freedom and freedom of our society by doing the good 7. Freedom in the Old Testament Freedom and God’s Law ○ The experience of freedom in the life of the Israelites was their exodus from slavery and suffering in Egypt to a new life of freedom and dignity as God’s people ○ Sending plagues upon Egypt (Ex 7-11) ○ Bring His people safely across the Red Sea (Ex 14) ○ Decalogue - “Ten Words” summarize and express our most basic duties and rights It protects and promotes authentic freedom First Three Commandments - Concretely expressing how we should love and worship God Other Seven Commandments - Express how we should love our neighbor By giving Israel the Ten Commandments, God did not only free His people from abuse and injustice But also summoned His people to love one another and live freely as community ○ Freedom is Relational We are relational being “Persons-in-community”  True freedom is fostered when people respect the freedom and dignity of each other Freedom is threatened when some individuals simply “do what they want to do.” without regard for the good of other members of the community ○ True Freedom Is “Doing the Good” True freedom is not our capacity to do anything we want, but our capacity to do what we should as persons-in-community True freedom is “doing the good” 8. Freedom in the New Testament Jesus Calls Us to True Freedom ○ Jesus is the most perfect sign of God’s call for us to become truly free ○ Jesus has shown us that in truly loving God and others can we become truly free ○ Jesus empowered us to overcome self-centeredness and sin - abuses of freedom Freedom From ○ True Freedom is freedom from everything that opposes our true good as persons-in-community, and not “freedom” from moral obligations ○ True freedom is our freedom from acts, conditions, attitudes, and people that hinder us from doing what is truly good as members of a community in the particular circumstances of our daily living ○ Obstacles to Freedom: Interior Threats to Freedom Those that come from within us ○ E.g. Vices Exterior Threats to Freedom Forces or realities in our community that influence us to act in a self-centered way ○ E.g. Peer Pressure ○ Sin - The greatest single obstacle to our authentic freedom Freedom For ○ True Freedom has purpose: To grow as full persons and disciples of Jesus, sharing in His life through His Spirit ○ It is freedom found and expressed in authentic love through a genuine concern and a sincere desire for the good of others 8. The Experience of Freedom: Choices and Character Freedom Grounded in Truth ○ “Truth”  Refers to what Christ has revealed about who we are and what we should do through His life, His teaching, and most importantly, His Paschal mystery ○ Jesus sets us free by giving us the power to overcome sin ○ Through His indwelling Spirit so that we may live in true happiness and freedom The Experience of Freedom: Choice and Self ○ Two Level of Personal Freedom Free Choice The freedom “we have” It is the freedom to choose and do particular acts Fundamental Freedom It is person’s basic choice in life that reflects his or her particular, everyday moral choice We become who we are because of the moral choices we make Growing in Freedom ○ Being aware of our inner obstacles to our authentic human freedom ○ Acting with consideration for the welfare of others ○ Reflecting on and identifying our personal values ○ Nurturing our prayer life