Christian Moral Living

1
Christian Moral Living

• So for one who knows the right thing to do and
  does not do it, it is a sin.
• James 417

2
Question?

• Why do you think people commit actions that they
  know are sinful or wrong?
• Ex Speeding

3
Aspects of Morality

• A. The ability to know right from wrong.
• The ability to know good from evil.
• B. The ability to distinguish what is appropriate
  from what is inappropriate.
• C. The commitment to do what is right.

• .

4
Questions?

• What is one action you consider wrong or evil?
• What is one action you consider right or just?

5
Christian Moral Living

• Christian morality is based on the teachings of
  Jesus and his Church through
• The teachings of the Magisterium (Pope, bishops).
• The essence of Jesus teaching is love.

6
Christian Moral Living

• Jesus summarized the way we are to live when he
  taught
• You Shall love the the Lord, Your God, with
  all your soul, and your neighbor as yourself.
• Matthew 22 37-39

7
Question?

• Why is loving our neighbor as important as loving
  God?

8
Christian Moral Living

• Jesus teachings about love have two dimensions
• 1. Vertical pointing to God
• 2. Horizontal pointing to others
• Faith in God alone is not enough in order to live
  a good life. We must also love our neighbor.

9
Question?

• Why do you think people who consider themselves
  Christians commit actions that are not Christ
  like?

10
Did You Know?

• The book, The Day America Told The Truth reports
• 91 of Americans lie on a regular basis both at
  home and at work.
• Most Americans admit goofing off on the job on
  the average of seven hours per week, according to
  this book.

11
Did You Know?

• Most workers admit calling in sick regularly even
  if they feel well.
• 25 of Americans say they would be willing to
  leave their families if offered 10 million to do
  so.

12
Did You Know?

• 23 of Americans would be willing to act as
  prostitutes for a week for that same amount.

13
Did You Know?

• 7 of Americans would agree to murder strangers
  if offered 10 million dollars.

14
Question?

• Do you think money has the power to blind
  peoples good judgment?

15
Catholic Faith

• A. The Catholic Faith teaches that wrong is
  wrong, even if everyone is doing it.
• B. And that right is right, even though no one
  else is doing it.

16
Catholic Faith

• God is going to judge us
• on our COURAGE
• to choose what is good in ALL circumstances.

17
Questions?

• What makes something wrong?
• What makes something right?

18
The Sources of Morality

• Because we have free will and reason,
• we are responsible for our acts
• and our failures to act. (sin of omission)

19
The Sources of Morality

• We can judge whether our actions are good or bad
  by reflecting on three traditional sources of
  morality
• A. The object
• B. The intentions
• C. The circumstances

20
The Sources of Morality

• A. The object Chosen (What I choose to do).
• B. The intention
• (Why I choose to do something).
• C. The circumstances (The what, where, when, how
  of my actions).

21
What is the Object Chosen?

• In morality the Object chosen is what we choose
  to do, the act itself.
• The act can have good matter, bad matter, or just
  be neutral.
• An example of a good act could be tutoring a
  classmate in math.

22
What is the Object Chosen?

• Bad matter automatically makes an act evil.
• Ex Gossiping about a classmate is consider bad
  matter.
• Spreading half truths about someone is always
  wrong.

23
Questions?

• What is one thing you would consider bad in
  itself?
• What is one thing you would consider good in
  itself?

24
The Intention

• What is the intention?
• A. The motive
• B. The purpose
• C. The end for which we choose to do something.

25
The Intention

• Our intentions answer why we acted in a certain
  way.
• Intentions can be good, bad, or mixed.
• Intentions determine whether our acts are morally
  right or wrong.

26
Intentions

• An example of a good intention
• You tutor a friend because you want him or her to
  do well on the upcoming test.
• In this example, what you choose to do, the
  Object, and why you choose to do it are both
  good.
• The act is good.

27
Intentions

• Our intentions may also be mixed.
• Example You can give money to a charity for two
  reasons
• First, you wish to help the poor.
• Second, you want to be praised for your
  generosity.

28
Intentions

• A good intention can never turn something that is
  bad (the object) into something good.
• Ex Robbing a bank in order to help the poor.

29
Intentions

• Good intentions can never justify choosing
  something that is by its nature wrong.
• Example cheating to get higher grades so you
  can get into a good college.

30
Intentions

• Wanting to go to a good College is a worthy
  motive however, cheating is a bad action.
• A good intention cannot make something that is
  bad into something good.
• The opposite is true.

31
Intentions

• A bad intention can turn something that is good
  into something bad.
• For instance complementing someone just to get a
  letter of recommendation.
• In this case, one is insincere and deceitful
  using a person to get something you want or need.

32
Question?

• How would you feel if you discovered your friends
  are nice to you just to get something out of you?

33
Circumstances

• Circumstances are the how, who, when, and where
  of an act.
• It includes the acts consequences.
• Circumstances can lessen or increase our
  responsibility for an act.

34
Circumstances

• Ignorance, fear, psychological, and social
  factors can lessen and in certain cases cancel
  out our responsibility for our actions.

35
Summary

• For an act to be morally good and acceptable, the
  object, the intention, and the circumstances must
  all be good.
• A person also has to have full knowledge of his
  or her actions.
• And free consent of the will (permission to act
  in a certain way).

The end