CHRISTIAN MORALITY – GRADE 12

Compiled by: Sem Freddie

AD USUM PRIVATUM

SUBJECT/COURSE TITLE:
CHRISTIAN MORALITY (FUNDAMENTAL CHRISTIAN MORAL
THEOLOGY)

SUBJECT/COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course introduces the students to the world of CHRISTIAN MORAL
(theology). Essentially, it is biblical, fundamental, and systematic in its treatment of this
theological discipline: the nature of the Good in the Judeo – Christian tradition, the
human person as moral agent (his/her dignity, human act and fundamental option,
freedom, and conscience; grace and virtue as well as sin and conversion), and the
criteria of moral decision making (the Word of God in Tradition and Scripture, the
church as communal support, in particular the magisterium, the theology of law and
the lives of holy men and women).
As a point of departure, the students are initiated into the framework of
CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP. In the end, accompaniment in discernment synthesizes
the course. Moreover, understanding and application of moral concepts and principles
form part of the course.

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 CHRISTIAN MORALITY – GRADE 12
Compiled by: Sem Freddie
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PRELIMINARY: ETHICS: THE STUDY OF MORALITY

THE STUDY OF ETHICS

Ethics is derived from the Greek term “Ethos” which means “characteristic way
of acting”.1 Its Latin equivalent is “Mos” or “Mores” which means “tradition” or
“custom”. Ethos includes politics, laws, and social aspirations of a group of people.2

The Ethos of man is revealed in the following:

1. He is able to distinguish between good - evil, right - wrong, moral - immoral.
2. He feels within himself an obligation to do what is good and to avoid what is
evil.
3. He feels himself accountable for his actions, expecting reward or punishment.

In other words, man is endowed by nature with moral sense. This much is expected
of man: that he conducts himself according to the “dictates or reason”.

ETHICS: ITS MEANING

Ethics is defined as the science of the morality of human acts and because actions
reflects the motives of the doer. Ethics is said to be the study of human motivation and
ultimately of human rational behavior.

Human Acts are those actions performed by man, knowingly and freely. They are
also called deliberate or intentional actions, or voluntary actions. As such, they are
differentiated from the so-called acts of man which are instinctive and involuntary.

Morality is the quality of human acts by which they are constituted as good, bad,
or indifferent. That which is good is described as moral; that which is bad is immoral
which is indifferent is amoral.

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS
Ethics is an indispensable knowledge. Without moral sense, man is only an
animal. Human Life does not only imply merely physical survival. It is vocation
towards the refinement of the spirit. Without morality, man as rational being is a
failure.

Moral integrity is the only true measure of what man ought to be. “We are
tempted to center everything on human happiness” says Jacques Leclercq, “forgetting

1
(Gk. “éthikos” from “éthos” meaning “usage, character, custom, disposition, and manners.)” 1. The analysis of concepts such
as ought, should, duty, moral rules, right, wrong, obligation, responsibility, etc. 2. The inquiry into the nature of morality or moral acts. 3. The
search for morally good life. Peter A. Angeles, The HarperCollins Dictionary of Philosophy 2nd ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.,
1992), 92 and 194.
2
(Lt. “moralis” from “mos” or “moris” meaning “manner, custom, and conduct.)” 1. Having to do with human activities that are
looked upon as good/bad, right/wrong, correct/incorrect. 2. Conforming to the accepted rules of what is considered right (virtuous, just, proper
conduct). 3. Having (a) the capacity to be directed by (influenced by) an awareness of right and wrong, and (b) the capacity to direct (influence)
others according to rules of conduct judged right and wrong. 4. Pertaining to the manner in which one behaves in relationship with others. Peter
A. Angeles, The HarperCollins Dictionary of Philosophy 2nd ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1992), 92 and 194.

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that man’s greatness, perfection, and happiness, his whole meaning in fact, consist in
transcending the commonly accepted human good.

Morality is the foundation of every society. Rightly, Russel observes that

“without civic morality, their survival has no value.” When the moral foundation of a
nation are threatened, the society, itself is threatened.

TWO ETHICAL SYSTEMS

There are two general categories under ethical theories may be classified: the
atheistic and theistic approaches:

1. The Atheistic approach assumes that only matter exists, and that man is
responsible only to himself since there is no God who creates and rules the
universe. Morality is an invention of man to suit his requirements and to
preserve his society. Moral truths are temporary and mutable depending on the
situation. Accordingly, the concept of good and evil is always relative and
changeable.

Atheistic theories propose the following principles:

a. Matter is the only reality.
b. Man is matter and does not have spiritual dimension.
c. Man is free and must exercise his freedom to promote the welfare of society.
d. There is no life after death.
e. Man is accountable only to the state.

2. The Theistic approach begins with the assumption that God is the Supreme
Lawgiver. Everything must conform to God’s eternal plan of creation. Man must
exercise his freedom in accordance with God’s will. There are absolute principles
of morality which are not changeable. Man is accountable for his actions and
deserves either a reward or punishment in this life or in the next.

Theistic theories postulate the following truth:

1. God is the Supreme Creator and Lawgiver.
2. Man is free and must use his freedom to promote his personal and social
interests along with his fellowmen.
3. Man has an immortal soul which cannot die.
4. Man is accountable for his actions, both good and evil.

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A. The Nature of the Good - An understanding of the good as the goal of the moral
life. The basic reason for being moral and it treats God as the center of value. This
part establishes God as the central point of reference for objective morality. It
then gives particular attention to the relation of faith and morality in order to
understand the distinctiveness of Christian morality.

I. The Judeo-Christian Fundamental Belief (Bible, Catechism of the Catholic

Church)

i. Creation
- Man is united with God; he develops a friendship with God – man as created
and God as Creator.
- The Unity of Man and his wife – their marriage.
- The Unity of man with creation.

ii. Fall
- Man’s division with God because of sin, guilt, disobedience, and shame.
- Man blames his wife, and this creates division between them.
- Division with creation when they sent out from the Garden of Eden –
disruption and chaos exist.
 Temptation: suggestion, pleasure, and consent

iii. Redemption
- Incarnation – “The Word made Flesh.”
- The Public Ministry of Christ – the proclamation of the kingdom of God
(words and deeds).
- The Paschal Mystery of Christ – Last Supper, The Agony in the Garden,
Trails, Death, Resurrection, Ascension, and Pentecost.

iv. Eschatology
- The end times – Four last things: death, judgment, hell, and heaven.
- Parousia - the second coming of Jesus Christ.
- Apostle’s Creed – Articles of faith: Communion of Saints, the Forgiveness of
Sins, the Resurrection of the Body, and Life Everlasting.

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TRANSCENDENTAL GOOD
Goodness or Good (Bonum) is a transcendental property of being. “Every being,
as being, is good. For every being, as being, is in act and is in some way perfect, since
every act is a sort of perfection, and perfection implies desirability and goodness ….
Hence it follows that every being as such is good.

HOW EVERY BEING IS GOOD

Every being, as being, is good, for “perfect presents the aspect of what is
desirable and good; but every being, inasmuch as it is being, is actual and in some way
perfect; therefore, every being, inasmuch as it is being, is good. Every being is such
simply and good relatively, in that it has at least its essence and act of being (esse), even
though it is not good simply.” Every being contains at least some perfection, for the act
of being (esse) itself is a perfection. But perfection makes a thing desirable and hence
good. Therefore, every being is good.

Explaining how goodness is found in finite beings and in the Infinite Being in
various passages from the Summa Theologiae and De Veritate, St. Thomas Aquinas
explains how infinite beings are good by participation, having a real distinction
between their essence and their act of being (esse), whereas God is good by essence, as
essence and act of being (esse) are identified in Him: “Since good is what all desire, the
good has the aspect of an end,” i.e., of a final cause or that for the sake of which the
agent acts. Concerning the infinite being, God, “His essence is sufficient to allow Him to
be called good,” for essence of God is the ultimate end of all things, and the ultimate
end is a final cause by its very nature. Finite beings, however, derive their nature of a
final cause from their relationship to God. Therefore, a finite being “is not good by its
very essence but by participation…inasmuch as its essence is considered to be distinct
according to concept from its relationship to God from which it has its nature as a final
cause and to whom it is ordered as to an end.” Hence, it is “from the First Being, which
by its very essence is being and good, that everything can be called good and being
inasmuch as it participates in the First Being by way of a certain assimilation, although
only in a remote and deficient way.

THE DIVISION OF GOODNESS INTO THE VIRTUOUS, THE PLEASANT AND

THE USEFUL
Thomas Aquinas teaches that good is rightly divided according to the manner in
which it is the object of the appetite, into the virtuous or disinterested, the pleasant, and
the useful. Pleasant are those things which have no other aspect under which they are
desirable save them pleasant…; whereas useful are called those things which are
undesirable in themselves but are desired solely because they are an aid to something
else, as for instance the taking of bitter medicine; while virtuous are such things as are
desired for their own sake.

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KINDS OF GOODNESS3

1. OBJECTIVE GOOD
- One will judge correctly what is objectively a good thing to do. Then one will
choose to act in accord with that judgment. Finally, the objectively good thing
will be done. Anything that is good in itself. Any absolute or relative good.
2. SUBJECTIVELY GOOD
- When choice conforms to the judgment of conscience. It is the actual
possession of an objective good. (E.g., an artistic painting, for instance is an
objective good in itself.) It becomes a subjective good to me.
3. ESSENTIAL AND ACCIDENTAL GOOD
- Essential goods are those that fit the natural needs of man as man such as the
basic needs like (E.g., food, clothing, shelter, health, knowledge, virtue, and
life.
- Accidental goods are those that fit the wants of an individual person such as
(E.g., money, academic degree, power, luxuries in life, etc.)
4. REAL AND APPARENT GOOD
- Real Goods – has an intrinsic value. It constitutes qualities rendering it
desirable such as good acts and habits. It constitutes essential and accidental
goods. It is judged to be good for a being, and it actually is good for that
specific being such as (E.g., nature, body limbs, intellect, will) are real good
for us humans.
- Apparent Good is actually evil visualized as good in certain aspects such as
(E.g., diseases, sadness, death, and so on). It has a natural aversion to evil.
Evil visualized as good or disguised as good is deceptively tempting. A
certain kind of food may seem real good for a critically ill patient, but it may
be very harmful.
5. PERFECTIVE AND NON-PERFECTIVE GOOD
- Perfection Good shares to the integral perfection of the person such as (E.g.,
education, food, exercise, medicine, virtue, health, and knowledge.) It is also
known as disinterested good.
- Non-Perfective Good shares to the external appearances such as (E.g., clothes,
food, drink, wealth, social status, political power, and so on). It gives pleasure
or enjoyment. It is also known as delectable good.
6. PERFECT AND IMPERFECT GOOD
- Perfect Good (unlimited, absolute good4) constitutes fullness of qualities
capable of satisfying human desire.
- Imperfect Good (limited, relative good5) constitute certain qualities that is not
capable of satisfying human desire except in relative or limited sphere. All
earthly goods are imperfect. God is perfect good in the absolute sphere.
3
Maria Imelda Pastrana Nabor-Nery, Ph.D., Christian Morality and Ethics, (Mandaluyong City: New Galaxie Lithographic Arts &
Printing Press, 2010), 37-38.
4
Absolute Goodness is goodness in which it is fully perfect. Hence, a thing is absolutely good when it possesses all the perfections
due to it.
5
Relative Goodness is goodness which has not all the perfections due to it, but has some perfection, inasmuch as it is act.

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7. RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE GOOD

- Relative Good is anything which is suitable to another being such as (E.g.,
food, drink, clothes, and shelter).
- Absolute Good is anything suitable to a being itself, irrespective of other
beings. Any reality, which a being possesses, whether substantial or
accidental, is an absolute good for that being such as (E.g., bodily structures,
organs, powers, and functions).
8. ONTOLOGICAL GOOD
- When a thing is good in its very entity or reality. Every being is an ontological
good.
9. PHYSICAL GOOD6
- When a thing satisfies the demand of the nature of a being. Each being has its
own specific and individual nature. It has a definite end and purpose such as
(E.g., sight, hearing, and organs).
10. MORAL GOOD7
- When a thing has everything demanded of it by the moral law.

6
Physical Good (Physical Goodness) is the goodness of the object of the appetite, without any reference to the rule of morals.
7
Moral Good (Moral Goodness), as a thing, is good with due regard for the ultimate end or without consideration of the order of the
ultimate end. Moral good is the goodness of the object of the will, as this object is in conformity with the rule of morals.

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 CHRISTIAN MORALITY – GRADE 12
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS (PART 1) in Moral Theology

1. Person-a conscious, historical, unique, relational, embodied spirit with innate

dignity – created, redeemed, graced for eternal life.
2. Post Modernism- a philosophical movement that attempts to depart from
modernism. Post modernism claims that realities are socially constructed and
may change from time to time. It is attendant “isms” are secularism, moral
relativism, atheism, and materialism.
3. Religious Fundamentalism is religious-philosophical reaction to the prevailing
secularism. It is the strict adherence of a person or group to the literal
interpretation of religious beliefs.
4. Autonomous Ethics it is the ethics that puts emphasis on the human person as the
discoverer of morality. The demands of morality are equally accessible to all
through reason.
5. Faith ethics- movement stresses that Christian morality cannot be complete
without integrating scripture and the mysteries of faith into moral reflection.
6. Human Act- action that proceeds from insight into the nature and purpose of
one’s doing and from consent of freewill.
7. Freedom for Excellence- freedom that proceeds from reason and will and directed
to truth and goodness.
8. Freedom of Choice- it is a freedom that realizes our capacity to be ourselves
through the particular choices we make.
9. Passion- The term "passions" belongs to the Christian patrimony. Feelings or
passions are emotions or movements of the sensitive appetite that incline us to act
or not to act in regard to something felt or imagined to be good or evil. (CCC1763)
The passions are natural components of the human psyche; they form the
passageway and ensure the connection between the life of the senses and the life
of the mind. Our Lord called man's heart the source from which the passions
spring (CCC1764)
10. Impairments to Knowledge- are those that impede knowledge such as:
Ignorance- a.) invincible- that which a man is not able to dispel by such
reasonable diligence, as is commensurate with the issue of an act and with one’s
opportunities. B. ) vincible – that if it could be removed by reasonable diligence
but is not because of negligence or bad will
Error – lies in deficient education, influence of bad company, and reading a
misleading books and papers.
Inattention- an actual and momentary privation of knowledge.
11. Impairments to Will- are those that impede will such as:

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Passion- The term "passions" belongs to the Christian patrimony. Feelings or

passions are emotions or movements of the sensitive appetite that incline us to
act or not to act in regard to something felt or imagined to be good or evil. (CCC
1763)

The passions are natural components of the human psyche; they form the
passageway and ensure the connection between the life of the senses and the life
of the mind. Our Lord called man's heart the source from which the passions
spring(CCC1764)

Fear and social pressure- fear is the shrinking back of the mind on an account of
an impending evil.

Social pressure- is a pervasive form of fear, mostly working in a subtle way.

Violence- a compulsive influence brought to bear upon one against his will by
some extrinsic agent.

Dispositions and habits- roots of the character and inherited propensities.

12. Fundamental Option- those significant moments of choice in our lives, which
establish or affirm more strongly than others the character and direction of our
lives.
13. Fundamental Stance –expresses the sort of person we have chosen to be; the
primary direction we have chosen for our lives.
14. Conscience – a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the
moral quality of a concrete act that he/she is going to perform, is in the process of
performing, or has already completed.

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