theology 3 midterm

The Law of Human Nature

definition: fair play, decent behavior, moral law, natural law, origin: God/we realize it exists when people argue about fairness, characteristics: goodness, fair

Fair play expectation

we technically know to avoid selfishness, morality that we should know

Decent Behavior

goal, The thing we should do and how we should live (the right thing to do)

Two Major Points

There is a Law of Human Nature (a.k.a. Natural Law) & None of are 100% keeping it since it’s an ideal we can’t fully live up to

Man Cries for Help

Desire to give help (instinct) and desire to keep out of danger (instinct), We also feel a third thing which tells us to follow the instinct to help (moral law)

Piano and Sheet Music

Keys are instincts and moral law is the tune played, In order to play a tune on the piano, you must choose which keys to hit, In order to follow moral law, you must choose which instincts to follow

Most dangerous thing

Follow instincts at all costs

Stone or tree

stones and trees may not be the right shape or not bend the right way but since they do not exist for out purposes it doesn’t mean they are immoral, nature is just nature and does not have instincts, just because something is inconvenient does not mean it is immoral

Law of nature

might not be laws, just things that naturally occur without a choice ex: gravity

Man in your seat

inconvenient vs indecent behavior, a man in your seat because he got there first is inconvenient, a man in your seat after moving your stuff is immoral/indecent

Unselfish

because we ought to be

Football

the point of football is not just to score touchdowns, that’s just part of the game,We just ought to be unselfish

Law of Human Nature

There is a Natural Law which we did not invent and we know we ought to obey

Materialist View

matter and space just happen to exist, no one knows why (behavior is a fluke or beneficial accident)

Religious View

what created the universe is most like a mind, it is conscious/has purposes/prefers things

Life Force View

creative evolution, what created the universe is more of a force than mind, Lewis criticizes because how could something without a mind have a purpose, attractive because you get comfort of belief in God without sacrifice (God that switches on and off)

Humanity observation

Humanity can only observes things we can see, since we cannot see a creative being, we cannot observe it

Architect and house

creator of the house is not a piece of the house but we can see their work and be reminded of them, we don’t see them, same with God and the universe

Turning clock back

We must turn our clocks back in order to make progress

Wrong turn

Must go back and fix it

Math problem wrong

Must go back and fix it

Being values

Goodness, fairness, unselfishness, courage, honesty, truthfulness

Supreme Comfort/Terror

God is both, we most need him (supreme comfort) and most hide from him (supreme terror)

Christianity speaks

When we realize there is a Moral Law and a power behind that law, and we break it

Other religions

Christians believe they are not simply wrong and all contain hints of truth, Christians believe they are most correct

Math problem

some answers are much closer to being true than others, there is one that is most true, all answers are not equal

Pantheism

God is beyond good and evil, everything is relative, universe is like a God or Gods and is an extension of him

Monotheism

God is one and good, God takes sides/loves, hates hatred and wants us to believe/be Christians

Painter

God is creator/painter, Pantheists believe God is creator/painter and creation, Monotheists believe God is creator/painter but not creation

Relativism

if no law exists, anything can be good/bad

Justice

the only reason we can call something is unjust bc we have a standard of justice

Crooked Line

we cannot know what is wrong before knowing the idea of what is right

Darkness

There would be no dark without light or else it would have no meaning, must be good and bad in the world in order for us to know what bad is

Religion

not simple, acknowledges SIN & redemption which Makes it unpopular

Christianity

world is good but has gone wrong, can be saved or turned around

Dualism

two equal but opposite powers (good and evil), world is battlefield, two powers are interdependent of each other

Wickedness

The pursuit of some good in the wrong way, most people don’t look to be bad, dualism disagrees (a person would be evil because there is an evil power)

Badness

requires intelligence, excellence, and will.

Enemy Occupied Territory

the world has been occupied by evil but the rightful king has landed and wants to win it back, advocates for preaching against this evil and fighting against it

Schoolboy God

God snooping around and spying on us (but he doesn’t)

The Human Machine

designed to run on God himself (directed by moral rules)

Moral perfection

cannot be achieved

Sailing Analogy

Two ways human machine can go wrong (two images of how a ship might sink): People drift apart or collide with one another or Something goes wrong inside human machine

Morality

Harmony between individuals, inside individuals, with God for all individuals

Cardinal Virtues

prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude, cardinal means hinge (like a door), cardinal virtues hinge us to Natural Law and our God

Prudence

practical common sense, the ability to make the right decision at the right time

Temperance

not abstaining, but going the right length and no further, everything in moderation

Justice

fairness in all respects

Fortitude

courage and determination, the ability to be heroic even at a cost to self

Tennis Analogy

making a few points in tennis doesn’t make you a good tennis player, doing a few good/just actions doesn’t make you a just man

Intentions

if you do the right thing for the wrong reason it is less right

God

God looks for people of a certain moral quality

Great moral teachers

never introduce new moralities “people need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed”

Christian society

people must work, there must be obedience, and have a cheerful society

Charity

essential to Christian morality because we must give to the poor

Psychoanalysis

A psychological therapy that aims to treat mental illness by looking at the way someone acts consciously and unconsciously, aims to give people better raw material meaning they will have better behavior and then act morally

Christian Morality

old values and morals that have been taught for a long time that are retaught by christ and important part is charity, aims to make people do things out of comfort zone and things that are good even if they have bad raw materials

3 Soldiers Analogy

1st soldier: has natural fear but overcomes it with courage and moral, 2 other soldiers: both have irrational fears that become cured, One is glad he can now serve his country & other cured man is aware of danger and wants to take care of himself

Judgment

humans judge based on raw materials, while God does not

humans based on actions, God based on what we do with raw materials

Iceberg

helps us to consider what is unseen in someone’s actions and what shapes our morality (action, moral process, intentions, full consent, full knowledge, family background, and raw materials)

Virtue Ethics

Ethics are the moral principles that govern our actions, virtue ethics is having ethics that aim to emulate the cardinal virtues so that we can be more virtuous

Choices

are important because God judges us by our moral choices

Love thy neighbor

this includes loving your enemies. It becomes love the people who we hate, who hurt us, who made fun of us, who stole from us, made us cry, and made us angry

Murder vs killing

Murder is premeditated and there is some kind of malice and hatred behind it (requires hatred and is planned, murderous intent and immorality), killing is taking someone’s life whether it's by accident, through self defense, or to protect someone from being murdered (in an instant by accident with good intent)

Pacifism

against war, Lewis is not in favor of it, should not be ashamed to fight

Christians

can be in the military because they have the right to

Pride

the ultimate evil because it leads to all other evils, synonyms: self conceit, antonym: humility, causes other sins by being the source of all evil, spiritual cancer

Prideful people

can’t know God because if you look down on others it is hard to recognize a power greater than you

Vanity vs pride

vanity is constantly want attention from others, pride is ignore completely for self

Old charity

used to be alms or giving to the poor

Charity

love, in the christian sense

Liking vs charity

liking is not a virtue and it is not a sin, it is something that we are not judged for. Having a natural liking or affection makes it easier to be charitable because charity is something that comes out of our natural liking.

Vicious/prosperous cycle

if you act like you love someone you will come to love them more, if you act like you dislike someone you will find yourself disliking him more

Worldly

treats certain people kindly because they like them

Christian

tries to treat everyone kindly and finds themself liking more and more people as they go on (even people they used to hate)

God’s love

God’s love is not weakened by our sins or our indifference, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured at whatever cost

Conscience

a judgment of reason to recognize the moral quality of an act

morality

what people ought to do by nature of who they are as human beings. Implies responsibility and requires knowledge and freedom

Moral Code

Principles that assign moral status to individual actions and shapes the way we make decisions, fundamental principles that shape how we act

Moral Character

what kind of person am I seeking to be? Are we seeking to do more good than harm?

Moral Community

People that I influence and who shapes my morals

Discernment

prayerfully choosing between options

Benevolence

to wish well for another (attitude), mindset, looking for good of other people

Beneficence

to actively seek and work for another’s good (action/activity), love and action

Conscience

is a judgment of reason to recognize the moral quality of an act, It is formed by our family, church, community, friends, etc, tells us what to avoid: if we want to avoid it then it’s probably a sin

Well formed conscience

Using Jesus as the example for us (paradigm), model that we learn from, We apply Jesus’ teachings in our lives

theological virtues

faith, hope, love

Faith

the ability to believe beyond our reason, a combination of trust and belief

Hope

an ability to look forward to the future/moment after this one positively

Love

actively pursuing the good of others even by denying the self (love your neighbor as yourself)

Mencius

good but life corrupts us, need self control to be moral

Hsun Tzu

selfish and envious, seek self preservation, need state control/laws to be moral

Socrates

naturally good but sometimes ignorant, mental/physical weakness causes immorality, not evil

Hume

fundamentally good but selfish when we can gain from a situation

Richard Taylor

hearts have morality inside of them already, might call this conscience

Aristotle

the good/foundational value is happiness

Plato

the good/foundational value is perfect form found in world

Socrates

the good/foundational value is found in virtue

Charity

private individual acts, responds to immediate needs, requires repeated actions, directed at symptoms of injustice (ex: homeless shelters, clothing drives), less important than justice because it tries to fix problems

Justice

more public group actions, responds to long term needs, changes institutions, requires structural change, directed at root cause of injustice (ex: changing laws in society, The Exodus), more important than charity because it stops problems