CHRISTIAN LIVING EDUCATION 2

CHRISTIAN MORALITY
LESSON 1
TOPIC: “MORALITY AND ITS MEANING”

I. DEFINITION AND TERMS:

1. Morality is a science, concerned about what ought to be; judging right and wrong in the light of
revelation: one’s act of responsibility; and responding to all personal invitations of Jesus. – Michael
Pennock
2. Morality is how human relates to or treats one another to promote mutual welfare, growth, and
meaning, in striving for good over bad and right over wrong. - Jacques Thiroux
3. Morality is searching for the norms of free human conduct in the light of revelation. – Franz Bockle

II. TYPES OF MORALITY

1. Moral – one who correctly judges between right and wrong and consequently acts on what is
virtuous.
2. Immoral – one who does not act in conformity with the accepted principles of right or wrong.
3. Amoral – one who is not concerned with any moral standard at all: such person who does not accept
any concept of right or wrong.

III. ELEMENTS OF A MORAL ACT

Every moral act consists of three elements:

1. the objective act (what we do),
2. the subjective goal or intention (why we do the act),
3. the concrete situation or circumstances in which we perform the act (where, when, how, with
whom, the consequences, etc.).

For an individual act to be morally good, the object, or what we are doing, must be objectively
good. Some acts, apart from the intention or reason for doing them, are always wrong because
they go against a fundamental or basic human good that ought never to be compromised.

The goal, end, or intention is the part of the moral act that lies within the person. For this reason,
we say that intention is the subjective element of the moral act. For an act to be morally good,
one's intention must be good. If we are motivated to do something by a bad intention—even
something that is objectively good—our action is morally evil.

It must also be recognized that a good intention cannot make a bad action (something intrinsically evil)
good. We can never do something wrong or evil in order to bring about a good. This is the meaning of the
saying, "the end does not justify the means" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1749-1761).

IV. CHRISTIAN MORALITY VS. OTHER CONCEPTS OF MORALITY

1. Hedonism claims that only pleasure has worth or value and only pain or displeasure has disvalue or
the opposite of worth.
2. Utilitarianism- the doctrine that an action is right insofar as it promotes happiness, and that the
greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct.
 3. Egoism - an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality. This is also called as
egotism.
4. Stoic Moral Principle - the only thing that always contributes to happiness, as its necessary and
sufficient condition, is virtue. Conversely, the only thing that necessitates misery and is “bad” or
“evil” is the corruption of reason, namely vice.
5. Categorical Imperative: “This tells you how to act regardless of what end or goal you might desire.
Taking the fundamental principle of morality to be a categorical imperative implies that moral
reasons override other sorts of reasons.
For instance: You might think you have a self-interest reason to cheat on exams. But morality
is grounded in categorical imperative, then your moral reason against cheating overrides your
self-interested person.
V. JESUS’ MORALITY
- The Morality of Jesus is characterized by His teachings which revolve around the concept of love.
For Jesus, LOVE is always found in man’s daily interaction with one another. It is not just a meaningless
word that is sung and talked about. But love is a reality that is a part of man’s life expressed in acts of
forgiveness, honest conversation, concern for the needy, understanding, and compassion for one another.

- Jesus was more concerned with his loving action than keeping the Mosaic Law to the letter. In
one occasion, He cured a woman, who had been possessed by the evil spirit for 18 years, on the
Sabbath Day (Luke 13:10-27). This act of Jesus prompted negative reactions among the
Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law. Thus, the basis of Jesus’ moral teaching is Love.