Nature of Christian

Morality
Ronald B. Lapuz, Ph.D., CHRP. FPM, LPT
 Definition
 The term ethics comes from the Greek e
ethos (characteristic way of acting) and
Latin Mos, morrs (way of acting). Ethics
from its etymological meaning is the study
of human acts or conduct from a moral
perspective as to whether they are good
or bad. We commonly associated ethics to
customs, morals and etiquette and even
used them interchangeably.
 We commonly associated ethics
to customs, morals and etiquette
and even used them
interchangeably. Customs are
acts approved by a group or
society; Etiquettes is social
observance required by good
breeding like table manners,
dress code, etc.
(Ciabal:2001,p.5).
.Ethicsis a reflective or
theoretical business while
morals are often seen as
being more concerned with
practical than theoretical
issues (Ethical Issues in
Health Care:2003,pp.4-5)
 According to German theologian,
Franz Bockle, he defines “moral
theology” as that part of
theology that searches for the
norms of free human conduct in
the light of revelation.
 Morality presupposes freedom
 Human intelligence can be a
powerful guide in working out
moral problems.
French
theologian/philosopher,
Antonin Sertillanges had
defined “morality as the
science of what man ought
to be by reason of what he
is.”
 What ought to be is not just content
describing things as they are. It is
concerned with how things should be
and how people should act.
 Morality is future directed
 Morality judges right and wrong in
light of what humanity is.
 Moralityask people to be the persons
they are meant to be (e.g cosmetic
products)
 Some people define morality as right
conduct; some define it as
conformity to law.
 The dictionary defines it as ‘the
quality of that which conforms to
right ideals or principles of human
conduct.”
 Many people look upon morality as
conformity to acceptable social
behavior, and not a few consider it
to be “doing you own thing.”
 However, this definition seems to be
0
agreed upon: morality is primarily
concerned with the quality of human
behavior (Wilkins:1972,p.17).
 Qualityis concerned with the degree
of conformity to an ideal.
 Human behavior is concerned with
actions performed by a human being
in a conscious state and performed
knowingly and willingly.
Final definition

 RESPONSIBILITY(there is a
response and ability)

 Moralityis a response to
God’s incredible, freely given
love and his gift of salvation
offered to us through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Nature of Moral Theology
 The issue here is we have to treat
ethics and morals separately.
 Christian theology seeks to
understand God’s revelation of
divine love in Christ Jesus and
through Spirit.
 Systematic theology tries to work
out a coherent view of the world by
integrating the truths of faith with
all other truths we can know.
 Moraltheology sometimes called
“Christian or theological ethics” is
particular expression of systematic
theology which focuses on the
implications of faith for the way we
live.
 Moralphilosophy or philosophical ethics
can reflect quite well on the nature of
the moral life and what constitute right
and wrong behavior without any
references whatsoever to God’s
revelation and to Christian beliefs.
Ethics of being or
character ethics focuses
on what kind of person we ought to be
(good person)

Ethics of action focuses on

the action we ought to perform (right
actions).
Division of MT
 Fundamental MT
 Special MT
 Whilethe two needs to be
carefully related, they can be
treated separately.
 Fundamental show the “why”
behind the “what” of special
issues.
Structure of Moral Theology
 Since moral theology is a species of
ethics, it shares the same formal
structure.
 According to James M. Gustafson,
ethics explores the theoretical
foundation of moral theology while
morals is the practical level of
moral theology.
 In short…
 Moral theology is a two fold enterprise of
ethics and morals.
 Because ethics and morals consider the
same matter differently, each perspective
must be used and allowed to inform the
other. This makes inquiry that constitutes
the field of moral theology a dialectic of
theory and practice (Gula:1989,pp.6-11).
Why Christian Morality?

 We look upon morality from a

religious point of view. That is, we
see man not simply as unique part
of the world but a special part of
the total world. We see him as
special creature of God, made to
His image and likeness (Gen.1:26),
with special dignity and a unique
destiny.
Development of moral
theology

Vatican I (legalistic)
Renewal of Vatican II
Post Vatican II
Classical (Vatican I)
-Regards person
as body and soul
-God is the law
giver
-Sin is defined as
breaking God’s
law
Renewal (Vatican II)
-We realized that we are in
the world of history
-We have diversity in
religion
-There is unity of body and
soul
-Emphasized the sense of
Responsibility
-Respond to my needs
and needs of others
-Sin is defined as breaking
our relationship to God.
-We have to respond to
the signs of the times
(Gaudium Et Spes)
 Moral
Paradigms
Liberationist
-To liberate the
people from
oppression.
-Poor are respected.
-Poor are part of
society
-Rights are promoted
Feminist
-We build equal
community
-Women are no
longer differ
from men
Ecological Ethics
We have to build
relationship with nature
because God created
nature
Filipino Paradigm
-DIYOS (nagbigay
ng kagandahang
loob)
-Each of us has
utang na loob but
some has
masamang loob
-The concept of
malakas,
maganda, mabuti,
mabait at
magaling na loob