Ethics Test #1

1. What is the purpose of life? The purpose of life is to live now in a way as to enjoy eternal life with God.

2. What is morality? Morality is the standards by which we judge actions to be good or bad.

3. Why is it important to be a moral person? It is important to be a moral person because it is the way to happiness and a life with God.

4. Explain the difference between objective morality and moral relativism. The objective or natural law is rooted in the fundamental dignity of the human person and the sacredness of human life. Moral relativism claims that what is good or evil can vary from situation to situation and by opinions.

5. Why do so many people associate morality with sexual and marriage issues? Sexual freedom became a big issue and that is in conflict with traditional understandings of sexuality.

6. Name several social and political issues today that pertain to the moral law. War, healthcare, economics, poverty, discrimination, calumny, and criminal justice.

7. What is Christian morality? Moral norms that were instituted by Jesus.

8. Why is the view of Christianity “a mere set of rules” incorrect? The commandments of the moral law, which the Church teaches are rooted in the Great Commandment to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. 

9. Explain how the 10 Commandments can be summed in the Great Commandments of God and love of your neighbor. The Great Commandment contains the basic principle of love, on which the entire law is based on. 

10. They exist to help people reach perfection or holiness. They also exist because they correspond to the needs of human nature (pg.6).

11. Christ observed the Sabbath, fasted, and obeyed the purification laws (pg.6).

12. 1. Caring for the sick. Comfort, hopefully recovery and peace for the sick person.

2. Lying. Spreading lies about somebody, and later on finding out nobody wants to befriend me. It demonstrates a lack of love because your not following God’s purpose of loving your neighbor as you love Him (brain).

5. They demonstrate the revelation of God (Mr. Shallcross).

6. Moral life is necessary to enter the kingdom of God (Mr. Shallcross).

7. 1. Prudence enables us to choose the right course of action inspired by the moral law.

2. Justice enables us to render what is due to God and neighbor. 

3. Fortitude enables us to perform good actions in the face of obstacles, and difficulties.

4. Temperance enables us to control our passions in order to maintain a clear mind and a strong will (pg. 7).

8. To be united to God himself (pg.7).

9. Tendency humans have to sin, due to original sins, it is an obstacle to Christian life (brain). 

10. It was revealed By God to Moses In the Ten Commandments, and it was fulfilled and brought to perfection by Christ (pg.9).

11. Moral law is discovered through reason and experience., but we are flawed by sin (pg.9).

12. 1. Sanctifying grace gives us the very life of God. 

2. Actual grace is a temporary help that God gives us so we have the knowledge and strength to do what is right in particular circumstances (pg. 10-11).

13. Christians look like hypocrites, when they preach something and then do something else. However, Christians are inclined to sin. The response to those who would use scandal as an excuse to reject the Christian message is that the people that do this do not represent God (pg.12).

14. We are all called to be holy (pg.12).

15. To accept the call and live by the example of Jesus Christ (pg.12).

16. “Follower” indicates an individual who has adopted another person's way of life and taken on his or her particular type of discipline.

17. Love, think, and act according to Christ's example (pg.13).

18. Sanctifying Grace enables a person to share the actual life of Christ. Explain what this means to a Christian? Through sanctifying grace, Christ dwells in the heart of his followers. Therefore, one can be transformed from within in order to increasingly love, think, and act according to Christ’s example.

19. Explain the following terms: “Put on Christ”, “born again”, and “formed in Christ”. These terms refer to the new life of sanctifying grace and actual graces, in which the disciple is transformed in Christ, beginning with Baptism.

20. Someone might say that as long as you love God, your actions are irrelevant. Use the image of a tree and its fruit and explain what must come before good actions.  Just as a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit, a good man does good deeds, just as a bad man does evil. If someone is performing bad actions, his or her inside must reflect that. A good heart must have good actions. 

21.  What is the purpose of wil? It is the power of choice, hopefully the choice of good over evil. 

22. The Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist fortify a person living in a virtuous life. Explain. Through these sacraments, God forgives our sins and fills us with actual grace so that if we cooperate with them, we will advance in virtuous living.

23. Explain what the parables of the talents has to do with moral actions. In the parable of the talents, the men who received five and ten talents were rewarded because they had increased them. The one who had received only one talent was condemned. However, because he refused to make use of the talent that he was given. If we use the talents God gives us, we do well. If we neglect them, we are condemned.

24. Read the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Mt 25:31-46). How does one show love of God? What happens to those who fail to show love of neighbor? One who loves God by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, and clothing the naked, and visiting the ill and imprisoned. Those who fail to do these things are condemned in Hell.  

25. List those things that set human beings apart from the rest of creation. If we are created in the image and likeness of God, what can we learn about the nature of God? We possess reason and free will. If we are made in the image of God, then God must possess reason and freedom to an infinite degree.

26. If human beings have caused so much harm throughout history why would God have created humans with free will? God wants us to freely choose to love him.

27. Explain how sin diminishes freedom, and how moral actions increase freedom. When we sin, we become enslaved to our sin. Good moral actions done under the influence of grace set us free from sin and free to do good.

28. “Love for God guarantees the authenticity of the love for neighbor, and the love for neighbor is an indispensable evidence of a genuine love of God.” Explain. Love of neighbors proves our love for God. Love for God shows our love for our neighbor to be authentic.  

29. Explain the role of the sacraments and prayer in achieving greater union with God. The sacraments give us Christ and actual graces to bring us closer to him. Prayer is talking to God. 

30. What does it mean to be a saint? It means to be holy, that is united to Christ. 

31. In what ways might a Christian share in the kingly, priestly, and prophetic mission of Jesus? A Christian might rule by helping form the world through their work. Sacrifice by offering his work and sufferings to God, and proclaim the truth through word and example. 

What is the link between happiness and moral behavior? How can moral behavior result in a foretaste of Heaven in the here and now? By imitating Christ in our lives, we become more united to God, who is the source of all happiness. This is a sample of Heaven, where we will enjoy perfect communion with God and perfect happiness.