Religion 11: Morality
Final Review
1) Thou shalt have no false gods
2) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in
vain
3) Keep holy the Sabbath
4) Honor thy mother and thy father
5) Thou shalt not kill
6) Thou shalt not commit adultery
7) Thou shalt not steal
8) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
9) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife
10) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods
First Commandment: Thou shalt have no false
gods before me
Faith
Heresy
Schism
Hope
Despair
Presumption
Love
GOYA
Idolatry
Worshipping
anything besides God
Money,
power, sex, drugs, etc.
Superstition
Ascribing
power to the objects themselves rather than to God
Magic
Second Commandment: Thou shalt not take the
name of the Lord thy God in vain
Oaths: made to other human beings with God as witness
Assertory
oath
Example:
oath in court
Promissory
oath
Example:
getting sworn into office
Truth
Necessity
Justice
Perjury
– lying under oath
Vows: made to God with another human being as a witness
Blasphemy
Third Commandment: Keep holy the Sabbath
The two requirements of the Sabbath
Rest
Worship
The Sabbath is on Saturday
Christians observe Sunday as a day of rest because that
is the day on which Christ rose
Observance
of Sunday as a day of rest began in the 2nd century
Became
official in 341 AD under Emperor Constantine
The two reasons for the Sunday obligation
Need
for worship
The
centrality of the Eucharist
The Mass is important because
It
is Christ’s sacrifice on the cross
The
Eucharist is the literal flesh and blood of Christ
Reasons that excuse you from attendance of Mass on Sunday
Grave
and serious matter
Sickness
Care
for infants
Fourth Commandment: Honor thy mother and
father
The family is a natural institution
No
one created the family, it is written into our nature
A
man and a woman fall in love and commit themselves to each other for life
The
fruit of their love is children
This
naturally provides a stable environment for bringing up children
There
is one parent who can devote themselves to being the breadwinner
The
other parent is then free to devote themselves to the care of the children
Being male and female, they
bring skills and dispositions that complement each other
Having committed to each other
for life, both are there for their children so long as they live
When the parents grow too old
to support themselves, their children are there to support them
Parents are the natural head of the family
Equality
of persons but difference of functions
Both
husbands and wives are equal
But
that doesn’t mean they have to do the same things
A
husband should love his wife as Christ loves the Church
That
means being willing to lay down his life for her
Children’s obligations to their parents
Love
Honor
Obey
Parents’ obligations to their children
Love
Educate
Discipline
Provide
for physical needs
Provide for spiritual needs
The
only time we may not obey our parents is if they command us to commit mortal
sin
All legitimate authority comes from God
For
that reason, we are obligated to obey legitimate authorities
If the government gives a
command contrary to what God commands, we must obey God
Citizens’ obligations to the government
Respect
Pay
taxes
Government’s obligations to citizens
Common
good
Fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill
Murder: the killing of an innocent human being
Sanctity of life: human life is sacred
Death penalty
The
state has the right to use capital punishment to defend society against an
unjust aggressor
This
is the same reason the state has the right to wage war
The
state cannot execute whomever they choose
The state cannot execute
someone out of vengeance: they must be enforcing a legitimate law for the
common good
The state should account for factors
such as whether the person in question is still a threat to society
Conversion
Age
Mental illness
Where
possible, capital punishment should be avoided
Human
life is sacred (sanctity of life)
Taking
a life is never desirable but permissible because of double effect
Double effect – a morally good
action can bring with it certain evil unintended side effects
Just war – in defending your
society (a good action) it is possible innocent people get hurt (an evil side
effect)
Death penalty – in defending
your society against an unjust aggressor (a good action), it may be necessary
to execute that unjust aggressor, in which case their death is an unavoidable
but regrettable side effect
If
imprisonment is sufficient to protect society, it should be preferred to
execution
First world countries have no
need of capital punishment since they have the infrastructure to support a
prison system
Third world countries are not
as well endowed – capital punishment may be all they have
138
death row inmates were exonerated as of 2011
Abortion
The
unborn are human beings with human dignity
All DNA is present at
conception, indicating that the cells present belong to a unique person who is
neither the mother nor the father
This human being will continue
to develop for the next twenty-five years
Even though the appearance
changes over the course of development, it remains the same person
Legal
protection for children begins at birth
Babies in the womb through all
9 months of pregnancy are not considered persons according to the law
Abortion
is currently legal through all 9 months
Women
seek abortion for a variety of complicated reasons
The
most common reported was financial
Women
are afraid they don’t have a enough money to support a child
31%
of women reported partner issues as a factor in choosing abortion
The
father wasn’t supportive of having the child
The father wasn’t responsible
and the woman didn’t want him as the father of their child
The
father was abusive
Christians are called to be there
for people in need, including women in crisis pregnancies
Charities such as the Elinor
Martin Residence, Good Counsel Homes and Expectant Mother Care support women in
crisis pregnancies
Provide financial resources and
baby supplies
Be an emotional support for
women who are struggling and feel alone
Adoption is also an option for
women who feel they cannot care for their child
It
is vital that women do not feel stigmatized for pregnancy
There
is no sin in being pregnant
The
health effects of abortion
Some women experience something
similar to post traumatic stress disorder after abortion called post abortive
syndrome
44% of women who have abortions
experience nervous disorders within 8 weeks after the abortion
Women
who have had abortions are 9 times more likely to commit suicide
3-5%
of women who have abortions are found to be sterile
Complications of abortion can
include infection, excessive bleeding, tearing of the uterus, tearing of the
cervix among other things
Silent No More is an awareness
campaign in which women speak out about how abortion has affected their lives
The
legal question
The
purpose of laws is to promote the common good
This
includes protecting the innocent and protecting the weak from the strong
Because logically and
scientifically the unborn are human, it follows that society should accord them
the same protections we accord to any human being
The killing of innocent people
is wrong and cannot be justly permitted
The government restricts our
choices all the time
We are not allowed to choose to
steal, commit perjury, refuse to pay our taxes, buy drugs, rape, set prices,
run red lights, among other things
The government says that
certain choices are forbidden because they hurt the common good and other
innocent people
Abortion is another one of
those choices that hurts innocent human beings and hence cannot be permitted as
a legitimate option
Abortion
is not a religious issue
The
evidence that the unborn is human is scientific, not theological
Even non-religious people can
see that there is something wrong when society permits the killing of innocents
Religious people tend to be
more active in the pro-life movement because Christians have a moral obligation
to speak out in the face of injustice, even when much of society has gone along
with it
The
number of abortions would decrease if
abortion was illegal
Culture
would recognize that abortion is not a legitimate option
The number of women who died in
illegal abortions before Roe vs. Wade was officially 39 in 1972
Dr. Nathanson estimate it might
have been around 500 accounting for cover ups that took place
Society as a whole needs to
work together to make sure women never feel they have no option other than
abortion
Suicide – the killing of oneself
All
human life is sacred, including your own life
Taking
your own life is taking a human life and wrong for that reason
All creatures naturally seek to preserve their own life
This
is part of the natural law
Our
very nature tells us life should be preserved
We can
defy our nature, but we were made for life
Our lives belong to our community
Human
beings are communal creatures by nature
We
depend on others and others depend on us
This
means our death effects not only us, but those around us
Our
friends, family, neighbors, coworkers all rely on us in various ways
Emotionally
Spiritually
For
work
For
help
For
advice
Etcetera
In
this sense, suicide violates love of neighbor since our death hurts our
neighbor
Our lives belong to God
God
is the ultimate source and protector of our life, therefore He is also the
master of it
We
are stewards of our lives, not owners
God
has a plan for our lives
We
need to trust in Him
Suicide
despairs in God’s help and providence and attempts to take control of our lives
ourselves
He
alone can justly make the call when we live or die
Although suicide is a mortal sin, those who commit
suicide can still go to Heaven
To
be fully responsible for our actions, we must be completely free in our choices
Those
who commit suicide are often not free
Psychological
disorders
Fear,
anxiety, depression
Duress
(i.e. pressure to commit suicide)
The influence of drugs or alcohol
The influence of drugs or alcohol
All
these factors impair our ability to make a choice of our own free will
Euthanasia – literally “good death”
Euthanasia
seeks to end a person’s suffering through death
In some cases, the patient has
the faculties to consent to this, in which case euthanasia is a form of suicide
In
other cases, the patient is unable to give consent, in which case this a form
of murder
The Church opposes euthanasia
for the same reasons she opposes suicide, with some additional caveats
Life, even in the face of suffering is still sacred
Suffering
is part of life to varying degrees
It
has meaning and purpose
Christians
believe in offering sufferings up for the sake of others
It
is possible to live a life with joy even in the face of suffering
Those who are disabled still
have value, even though they have to endure suffering that most of us never
have to deal with
Those who are terminally ill,
still have value even in their last days
Some of the most touching
moments occur in those days as friends and family care for that dying person
It is important to avoid what
Pope Francis calls “the throw-away culture” where our solution to people who
are burdensome to us is simply to get rid of them
The
sick need to be cared for the very end, not euthanized
It is permissible to allow a person to die but it is not
permissible to kill them
You are obligated to maintain
ordinary means of care but may refuse extraordinary means
Ordinary
means include food, water and ordinary medical care
Extraordinary means include
those means which have little hope of success and are unduly burdensome
The line between what constitutes
ordinary and extraordinary shifts as medical technology advances
Sixth Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Commit
Adultery
Genesis 1
God
created man male and female and in his image and likeness
He
commanded them to “Be fertile and multiply”
After God created Adam, Adam needed a companion
After God created Adam, Adam needed a companion
None
of the animals would do
God
created Eve out of Adam’s rib
“At
last, this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”
“This is why a man leaves mother
and father to cling to his wife and the two of them become one flesh.”
Adam
and Eve are the first marriage
Because
in marriage, two people become one flesh, divorce is impossible
Only
death itself can break that bond
Jesus on marriage
A
man who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart
“What
God has brought together, let no man tear asunder”
Marriage
is for life
Whoever divorces and remarries
commits adultery, because he is still married to his first wife
According
to Jesus, not everyone is capable of marriage
Some
give it up for the sake of the kingdom (e.g. priests, nuns, religious, etc.)
Some
are born that way or made that way by others (impotency)
The two essential purposes of marriage
1)
Good of the spouse
2)
Procreation
(Closely
related to the purposes of sex which is babies and bonding)
The two properties of marriage
1)
Exclusivity – you commit yourself to one
person
2)
Indissolubility – you commit yourself for life
Annulment
Acknowledgement
by the Church that the marriage in question was never real
Divorce
says that the marriage existed and now is over
Chastity – moderating one’s sexual appetite according to
your state in life
It’s
a way of loving
Single
– abstain from sex
Be
careful not to look on others with lust
Treat
every person with dignity, love and respect
Relationship
– discern marriage with that one person
It
is okay to break this relationship off
It is okay to express a degree
of affection, but boundaries still have to be respected until you’re married
(i.e. you may kiss.)
Marriage
– you commit yourself to life to that one spouse
Sex
open to life with that spouse
You
do not have to guard your mind against sexual thoughts about your spouse
Sex
before marriage is a counterfeit of real love
With your body you’re saying
you give yourself completely and unreservedly to that person for life
In
reality, neither person is willing to live up to that and commit to the other
If
it was actually about the good of the other person, they would be willing to do
that
When
it comes right down to it, sex before marriage becomes about lust and pleasure
Contraception
The
sin of Onan
Genesis
God
told Onan to take his brother’s widow as his wife
Onan didn’t want to have
children by her because they would be his brother’s and not his
While
lying with her, Onan “spilled his seed on the ground”
God
struck him dead
Contraception
was around during the time of Jesus
Christians
consistently taught against the use of contraception until 1930
In 1930 the Anglican Church
permitted the use of contraception under limited circumstances
Now
only the Catholic Church stands by the original teaching
Sex
was meant to strengthen the marriage bond and for the procreation of children
When
sex is severed from this purpose, it becomes instead about lust and pleasure
As
contraception was being introduced, the Church predicted the following
consequences
There
would be a rise in marital infidelity
Sexual
morality in general would be lowered
Men
would lose respect for women
Every
time a married couple has sex it must be open to life
But
that does not mean every act of sex must end in pregnancy
The
woman’s body has natural period of fertility and infertility
Couples with a serious reason
to space out the number of births may use Natural Family Planning
Sex
is open to life
However, by abstaining from sex
during those period in which the woman is fertile, nature regulates the number
of births they have
NFP
is 99% effective
Children
are a blessing to a married couple
One consequence of contraception
is that now pregnancy is instead considered a risk or liability
If marriage and family are
properly understood, fertility is a blessing as are children, even large
families
Pornography
Men
were meant to deny themselves to defend their spouse
In
using pornography, men deny women their dignity in order to gratify their
desires
This
emasculates them, i.e. robs them of
the ability to be men
When
a man gets married, the effects of porn don’t go away
The
man brings those sexual fantasies into the bedroom
He’s
trained himself to expect a woman is physically flawless and constantly
available
His
wife can’t live up to that
For
the man who views pornography, sex becomes about lust and pleasure
Women
become objects to be used to gratify his sexual desires
Respect
for women tends to decrease
Pornography
can play into a rape mentality
Masturbation is immoral because it is fruitless self-love
The
love that is meant to be directed towards your spouse is instead directed
towards yourself
Sex
again becomes about lust and pleasure
Homosexuality
The
Church distinguishes between homosexual attraction and homosexual behavior
There
is no sin attraction
It
is not chosen, therefore it is not a moral issue
People with same sex attraction
are children of God to be loved and treated with dignity
Homosexual
behavior is immoral
Sex
in its rightful place is open to life
The Church teaches that both
for heterosexual couples and people with same sex attraction, if sex is taken
outside this purpose, it becomes about lust and pleasure
For sex to be truly about love,
it needs to be in the context of marriage and family
Outside of that, it harms the
people who engage in it
The Church’s concerns about same
sex marriage have nothing to do with any arguments about the dignity of
homosexuals
The Church firmly acknowledges
that all human beings have dignity granted to them by God, including those with
same sex attractions
However, to say that it is
possible for two people of the same sex to be married requires that you rely on
a definition of marriage that is radically different from what has been meant
by the term for the last several thousand years
What made marriage different
from any other committed relationship was that its primary end was for the
procreation and raising of children
This would do away with that
essential purpose of marriage and marriage would instead be the loving
commitment of two people for life
Even the reason for committing
for life is undermined if marriage and family are not essentially related
Children
need both a mother and a father
It
is not that same sex parents cannot be loving
However,
a child needs both that masculine and feminine influence in his/her life
Same
sex parenting intentionally robs a child of one or the other
The Church’s teaching is ultimately a call to everyone
towards authentic love
