Decision Making

Discernment

a decision making process that attends to the implications and consequences of an action or choice. The Holy Spirit aids in distinguishing trials and temptations

Prudence

the moral virtue that inclines you to discern a good, ethical, and moral life and to choose the means to accomplish it

Magisterium

the bishops and the pope who are the living and teaching office of the Church. The Magisterium is entrusted with guarding and hand the Deposit of Faith and with authentically interpreting God’s Revelation in the forms of both Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

Infallibility

A gift of the Holy Spirit whereby “the pope and bishops in union with him can definitively proclaim a doctrine of faith or morals for the belief of the faithful” the word itself refers to “something that is preserved without error”

Objective norms

expresses rational ordr of good and evil, attested to by conscience

Principle of double effect

guidelines for determining when it is morally permissible to perform an action of pursuit of a good end in full knowledge that the action will also bring about bad results

Culpability

the degree to which one is responsible for an action

Decisive factor

looking at the options of decisions and considering the consequences, one can make morally good actions

Hasty Generalization

an inference drawn from insufficient evidence

Bandwagon

arguments urging to follow the path everyone else is taking. This technique is commonly used with teens and voters

Appeal to false authority

presenting an unqualified person or institution as a source of credible information

Slippery Slope

Exaggeration of the likely consequences of an action, designed to show that a misstep could result in disaster in the future

Faulty Casuality

Incorrect assumptions that one event caused another event

Situational ethics

doctrine of flexibility in morality due to circumstances

Proportional ethics

weighing up good and evilness of an action

Consequentialism ethics

whether an act is morally right depends only on consequences

What are the parts of the STOP process?

Search out the facts

Think about the alternatives and consequences

Others can help make good decisions

Pray always for guidance

What makes up the content of the moral object?

Action

What must happen for an action to be morally good?

The moral object of the action and intention must be good

Why does the Magisterium get to enjoy the gift of infallibility

The Holy Spirit preserves the gift in popes and bishops

What are the 2 parts of prayer?

Talking and listening

What is the perfect prayer and why?

The Our Father because it’s the summary of the whole Gospel. In it, Jesus invites everyone to call God “Father” and for his will to be done

What are two ways of listening to God respond to us through prayer?

Meditation- the mind is focused to see and understand what God is saying

Contemplation- mental prayer, thinking of what was heard during prayer

What is at the heart of moral theology?

Intention

What are the three components of moral action?

Moral Object (what), intention (why), circumstance (who, when, where, how)

How did God inscribe some of His eternal wisdom in the human heart?

Prayer, leaving lessons about morality