Catechesis On Christian Morality

RE104

Morality is
doing good
and avoiding
evil.
 It is the
Knowledge
of moral
principles,
system of
morals, and
qualities of
human
conducts.

Classification of Humans
 • MORAL PERSON – someone who has conscience and knows right and wrong but chooses the
appropriate way rather than the wrong path.

• AMORAL PERSON – doesn’t know right and wrong because they might have mentality problem
or they have insufficient learning.

• IMMORAL PERSON – has conscience and knows what is right and wrong but instead of choosing
the right path he/she chooses the wrong path.

• JESUS CHRIST IS THE MORAL NORM BECAUSE HE IS THE PERFECT MODEL OF BEING GOOD. HE IS
THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.

Different Philosophies

• HEDONISM - the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the
highest good and proper aim of human life. (Philosophy of sex, lust, and desire for materialism.

• HUMANISM - an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather

than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of
human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving
human problems.

• ATHEISTIC EXISTENTIALISM – the unbelief of God or any ruler or creator believing that they are
just poofed in the world.

• COMMUNISM - a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a
society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to
their abilities and needs. Equality for every human being based on property and fidelity.

• HINDUISM – the belief of reincarnation, karma, and more. Hindus have many gods as they
worship and values life in everything.
 • BUDDHISM – the philosophy of happiness. Buddhism is one of the world’s largest religions and
originated 2,500 years ago in India. Buddhists believe that the human life is one of suffering, and
that meditation, spiritual and physical labor, and good behavior are the ways to achieve
enlightenment, or nirvana.

• ISLAM - Islam is an Arabic word which means "surrender, submission, commitment and peace."
Thus, Islam can be defined as a path to attain complete peace through voluntary submission to
the divine will.

• CHRISTIANITY - The essence of Christianity revolves around the life, death and Christian beliefs
on the resurrection of Jesus. Christians believe God sent his son Jesus, the messiah, to save the
world. They believe Jesus was crucified on a cross to offer the forgiveness of sins and was
resurrected three days after his death before ascending to heaven.

What is the difference between Ethics and Morality?

• Ethics (ethos – Greek)

• Morality (mos, moris – Latin)

• Ethics provides the theories and the principles of right or wrong and good or bad actions, while
morality actualizes these theories and principles.

• It is the domain of ethics to outline those theories and principles of right or wrong and good or
bad actions, and it is the function of morality to apply these theories and principles.

Postulates in Ethics

• The existence of God

• The existence of intellect and free will

• The spirituality and immortality of the human soul

• As postulates, they are presumed to be true.

• Moral Assumptions

• That man is a rational being, hence, man is the only being who knows what is right and wrong,
good and bad. Morality is discussed only in the context of Human person.

• Man is the sole moral Agent.

MORALITY AND HUMAN EXISTENCE

1. Man is the only moral being

Man is the only Moral Being by virtue of the following reasons:

• Man is a being of action

• Man has intellect

• Man has will

• 2. Man as an Animal (the schema)

• knowledge: senses

• animal

• appetency: instinct

• Man knowledge : senses

• rational intellect

• appetency : instinct

will

3. Man as a Rational Animal

• It is his being rational that makes man

• It is man’s being rational that makes him unique grade of animal

• Being rational, man’s knowledge does not stop in the senses since his sensual knowledge
(perception) is further processed by his intellect in the form of abstraction.

• When does sensation occur?

• In its simplest form, sensation is an experience when our senses organs are stimulated. Some
say sensation is relatively meaningless bits of information as a result of the processing of
electrical signals by the brain.

• For sensation to occur there must be two elements – stimulus and receptor.

• The stimulus excites the receptors and receptors receive that stimulation. And there will
be no sensation without this process.

• When will you come up with perception?

• Sensation starts from stimulus and receptors, In the process, the physical stimulation will be
changed into neural impulse as received by the sensory nerve. This impulse will be sent to the
central nervous system for interpretation. And that interpretation of transformed sensory
experience into neural impulse is known as PERCEPTION.
• Man’s perceptual knowledge helps him draw judgment as he compares ideas so that eventually
he engages in what is called reasoning

• Man, therefore, does not just perceive things but also analyzes, assesses, criticizes or
intellectualizes things.

• Man’s perceptual knowledge helps him draw judgment as he compares ideas so that eventually
he engages in what is called reasoning

• Man, therefore, does not just perceive things but also analyzes, assesses, criticizes or
intellectualizes things.

• 4. Intellect Compared with Will

• Because man is moral being, man possesses intellect and will

• Through his intellect man knows and can know right and wrong actions

• Through his will man can choose between good or bad actions

5. Concrete Basis of Morality

• Morality is not pure and rigid intellectual affair; it rather entails the human person’s day-to-day
actual existence in the world.

• Morality becomes vivid when one encounters a moral experience.

• This moral experience leads him to moral problem.

• When can we know moral problem?

• When it injuncts him of moral obligation.

• Not all experiences are moral?

• Ex: No answers in Exams. - he begins to cheat

• No foods - he steals

• 6. “Man was created in God’s own image and likeness”. (Gen. 1:26-27)

• “And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness. …. And God created man to his own
image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.” —Genesis 1:26-
27