Religion Test #1

Morality

reasonable judgements about the rightness or wrongness of particular acts

Moral

decisions that promote the development of out genuine humanity

Immoral

decisions that harm or frustrate the development of our genuine humanity

Amoral

no sense of right and wrong

Objective Morality

morality is discovered through human reason; it is already "inscribed on our hearts"

Subjective Morality

Creating morality ourselves

Empathy

understanding the situation and feelings of another person as if they were your own

5 Ingredients of Happiness

Control: How much control you have over your life

Optimism: Being confident to make things work out better

Faith: Being actively religious( a sense of purpose outside oneself)

Testing your Skills: Meaningful activities where you feel "in the flow"

Close Relationship: Marriage, friends, and family

Blaise Pascal's Quote

"There us a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator"

The "Triumvirate" of Happiness in Society

In today's society, happiness if often falsely identified with wealth, power, and pleasure

St. Augustine

-Born in 354AD, died in 430 AD

-The Confessions (a spiritual autobiography recounting the first 33 years of his life prior to his conversion)

-Crossroad Moment: Augustine took hi slike journey to a crossroad where he "detoured" from the way of chasity that his mother sought for him

St. Monica (St. Augustine's Mother)

-Father was a pagan and his mother Monica was a devout Christian

-Through long and painful struggles, Monica never stopped praying and believing that her son would respond to God. She is the patron saint of mothers and has her own feast day

St. Thomas Aquinas

-Born in 1225 and died in 1274

-Nickname: "Dumb Ox"

Magnum Opus: Summa Theologiae ( a stunning exploration of virtually every dimension of Christian theology, intended for "beginners"

St. Thomas Aquinas on Happiness

-We will not be satisfied until we possess a happiness that "essentially remains and is forever"

-Candidates for happiness (money, honor, fame, power, pleasure, health) are good, but insufficient/incomplete on their own

Genetics and Happiness

-Twins have the same DNA/nature

-About 50% of happiness comes from genetics

St. Irenaus quote

"*The glory of God is the human person fully alive*; moreover, human life is the vision of God"

Sin

An abuse of freedom

Temptation

presents evil as good; an attraction to sin

Consumerism

encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater amounts as a partial solution to our desire for happiness

Secularism influences happiness

It denies that God is the source and center of all life and our desire for true happiness

unconstrained

people thinking the world is good or can evolve well

constrained

bad overall worldview