Morality, Happiness, and Christian Teachings: Key Concepts and Figures

amoral

no sense of right or wrong

immoral

decisions that harm or frustrate the development of our genuine humanity

morality (definition)

reasonable judgments about the rightness or wrongness of particular acts

objective approach to morality

the catholic approach, we discover morality through our use of human reason, morality is already 'inscribed on our hearts' ('natural law')

subjective approach to morality

creating morality (not the catholic approach)

consumerism

drives the pursuit of happiness by encouraging the purchase of goods and services as a partial solution for our desire for happiness 5 7

empathy

understanding the situation and feelings of another person as if they were your own, putting yourself in another person's shoes

happiness material from textbook (christian view vs pop culture, where found)

society pushes consumerism and money buying happiness, christian view disagrees, god is the source of real happiness

happiness and having our skills challenged

testing skills through meaningful activities is an ingredient to happiness, hobbies, sports, finding 'flow' where useful, a job you love

ring of gyges

invisibility ring, claims humans want to be immoral but laws force morality, if you have ring and don't act selfish you're an idiot

morality and reality

morality is based on reality, our views on moral issues must be based on the truth of a situation, truth may be difficult to know

morality as an art

creativity/imagination

morality as a science

critical thinking/analyzing skills (it has a method)

blaise pascal quote

"there is a god-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by god the creator known through jesus christ."

pope benedict and consumerism

denounced consumerism, warned of violence it does to human dignity, secularism leaves us unhappy, in lent 2011 address

irenaeus (textbook quote/review question)

sums up gods divine will for us by teaching 'the glory of god is the human person fully alive'

secularism (definition)

influences our desire of pure happiness by denying that god is the source of all life and our desire for true happiness

story of st augustine

of hippo, born in algeria ad 354, detoured from christianity to party, yearning for happiness and inner conflicts led him to be the model of human search of happiness, st monica (mom) tried passing on christianity

beatitudes (originally from who?)

Promises

Reversal of the present unfortunate situation and reward for present righteous conduct, means blessedness (happy), in the synoptic gospels of Matthew and Luke from Jesus.

Jesus' teachings on retaliation and divorce

No retaliation (if someone slaps you turn the other cheek for them to hit), no divorce.

Virginal conception

Jesus is conceived without a human father.

Jesus' central message

Kingdom of God, what results if people put Jesus' teachings into practice (justice, peace, love).

Minimalism

Doing the least required.

Atonement

At one with God, one way to describe the significance of Jesus' death.

Parable of the Last Judgement in Matthew's Gospel

Belief that Jesus Christ will return in glory to bring history to a close and to judge all of humanity, find Jesus in the outcasts.

Hard sayings of Jesus

Overturn conventional values and are hard to put into practice.

The Sermon on the Mount

A significant teaching of Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew

Contains Jesus' hard sayings, love of enemy, no divorce, no retaliation/turn the other cheek, give to those who ask.

Jesus' exorcisms

Drives demons out of people.

Jesus' 2 natures

Fully human and fully divine, reaffirmed in Chalcedon 5th century meeting.

The Golden Rule

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Agape

Greek word for love.

Kenosis

Self-emptying love.

Story of Sister Faustina

Helen Kowalska, 3/10 kid, poor family struggled on small farm during WW1, worked in kitchen, veggie garden, porter, feast day Oct 5.

Natural Law

Those standards of behavior (dos and don'ts) that any person can know by using reason and thinking about what it means to be a person, the way humans participate in eternal law, not based on religion.

Cesar Chavez Story

Fam was migrant farm workers from AZ to CA, dangerous job no labor laws, joined navy, UFW protests, fasts, boycotts grapes to unionize for better pay, conditions, healthcare, education, nonviolent.

Civil Law and Natural Law

Ordinances of 'right reason' for the common good, usually state the minimum you must do, based on natural law.

Franz Jagerstatter Story

Born and lived in Austria, refused violent Nazi army but offered nonviolent service, violated his religious conscience, can't be Nazi and Catholic at the same time, witness for those who must decide in conscience upon a course of action, war vet called him coward for betrayal of comrades, 3/4 daughters, charged with sedition, beheaded on guillotine, bishop called him martyr for the faith, Franziska changes his life, blessed from pope in Rome, followed Assisi.

Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey Story

Honorably discharged from army, Rick tried breaking color barrier with his flawless character, wouldn't retaliate, went from Kansas City Monarchs (Negro League) to Brooklyn Dodgers (MLB), served as cultural progression in breaking color barrier, won rookie of the year, helped win World Series against Yankees.

Natural Law and Creation of General Principles for Morality

NL provides these that everyone can live by, don't murder, don't steal, treat others fairly.

Natural Law: Do? Avoid?

Do good and avoid evil (classic expression).

Natural Law: An Objective or Subjective Approach to Morality

An objective approach, discover it through human reason.

Natural Law and Human Reason

Our ability to think, analyze, judge, evaluate, sense, and feel.

pluralistic

diverse, different politically, ethically, philosophically, religiously

john paul ii on 'following your conscience'

doesn't mean doing anything you feel like, does mean accepting the challenge of jesus, recognizing we live in community (rejecting an individualistic notion of conscience), drawing on the moral teachings of the magisterium (the church's teaching on authority), demonstrating heroism in following conscience

erroneous conscience

it tries to do the right thing, but it makes a mistake

lax conscience

a lazy or under used conscience

the examen

used to form your conscience well, method of discernment to guide in living god's will by responding to holy spirit

what helps you form your conscience

we form our conscience according to the law god implanted in our heart, scripture and tradition

thomas more story

lord chancellor of england in 1529, works closely with king, kings decision to divorce catherine of aragon and marry anne boleyn led to conflict, refused to take oath of allegiance to the act of succession and oath of supremacy, arrested and beheaded

precept

a rule intended to regulate behavior

aquinas

made many important contributions to philosophy and theology

4 basic inclinations/instincts according to aquinas

preserve self and preserve species (shared), know truth and live in society (unique)

rwanda story

800k-1mil killed by machete in 100 days, hutus (majority) feared president would share power with tutsis so kill him, exterminate tutsis and hutus with sympathy, 3/4 killed

adam and eve story teaches?

capital sins/deadly sins

lead us into more serious sins, avarice (greed), anger, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, sloth

free will

god's gift of freedom

genocide

killing of a racial/cultural group, social sin

mortal sin

breaks our relationship with god, criteria = grave matter (seriously hurtful), sufficient reflection (grasp the impact of the action), full consent of the will (action shows the kind of person i want to become)

new testament image of sin - 'missing the mark'

not achieving the christian goal of a life of love

new testament image of sin - 'hardness of heart'

failing to be human, failing to be sensitive to or concerned about others

new testament image of sin - 'darkness'

failure to see the genuine or true goods in life

new testament image of sin - 'rebellion' and 'lawlessness'

rejecting god's guidance and discipline

new testament image of sin - 'twisted out of shape'

long term effects of sin are self destructive

occasions of sin

situations that make it easier to commit a sin

original sin and the human struggle

from the beginning of history, human beings have misused their freedom and rebelled against god, born with this, don't actually commit

sin of omission

failing to do the good we have a duty to perform

sinful social structures

ways that a society is organized that cause harm

temptation

intrinsic or extrinsic attraction to evil

tolerance

can be a distortion of jesus' teaching, 'do not judge, so that you may not be judged.'

venial

harms but doesn't break relationship with god, any sin that isn't mortal