UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS

Tuguegarao City

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, ARTS and SCIENCES

Department of Philosophy and Religious Instructions
Second Semester
A.Y. 2021-2022

CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

CFED 1023 - Christian Morality in Our Times

Prepared by:

ALLAN ANTHONY BACCAY

IRENE BAUTISTA
THELMA BARICAUA
NICHOLE MAE LOZADA
ARISTOTLE MIGUEL MAGGAY
RAY OBISPO
WILSON TEMPORAL
CHARISSA ZALUN

Reviewed by:

WILSON J. TEMPORAL, LPT, MST

DPRI Department Head

Recommended by:

VENUS I. GUYOS, Ph.D.

Academic Dean

Approved by:

EMMANUEL JAMES PATTAGUAN, Ph.D.

Vice President for Academic
 School of Education, Arts and Sciences
Department of Philosophy and Religious Instruction
Second Semester A.Y. 2021-2022

CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

CFED 1023 (Christian Morality in Our Times)

This Weeks’ Time Table: (February 28 – March 5, 2022)

For this week, the following shall be your guide for the different lessons and tasks that you need to accomplish.
Oops! Be patient, read them carefully before proceeding to the tasks expected of you.

HAVE A FRUITFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Date Topics Activities or Tasks

February 28 Ultimate Norm Read and Internalize Lesson
March 1-2 The Norms Which Govern Human Conduct Read and Internalize Lesson
March 3-4 Forms of Morality Read and Internalize Lesson
March 5 Submission of Learning Tasks Accomplish the learning task in the Activity
portion of this module

CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

CFED 1023 (Christian Morality in Our Times)
Second Semester A.Y. 2021-2022

Lesson 7: ULTIMATE NORM

THE NORMS WHICH GOVERN HUMAN CONDUCT
NORMS OF MORALITY

Topics: Ultimate Norm

The Norms Which Govern Human Conduct Norms
of Morality

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this module, you are expected to:

a. Define comprehensively the word “ultimate norm”;

b. Identify the Norms which govern human conduct;
c. Differentiate Eternal law, Natural law, and Positive law; and
d. Distinguish the two General applications of Morality, the Descriptive and the Normative.

LEARNING CONTENT:
 b. Ultimate Norm

If the Proximate Norm of Morality like conscience is subjective since it is dependent on the person, the
Ultimate Norm of Morality is objective. These comes in the forms of laws, decree or ordinances which are derived
or formulated based on higher orders that are found in Nature and the divine aspects of reality.

THE NORMS WHICH GOVERN HUMAN CONDUCT

LAW

Since not all are able to use properly their intellect and free will and not all really have a formed and informed
conscience at once, people have set for themselves and for the community standards or guidelines to follow in
order to live a morally upright life. These rules are technically called Law/s. These Laws are enacted as standards
of life and to promote genuine human development. As stated above, the human person or Nature as a whole is
not a pure material entity but has spiritual aspect. This spiritual aspect of reality reasonably presupposes that
there (God) is a Creator of the universe and the pattern/order of all things that exist. So, for laws to achieve its
noble purpose, they must be based on higher norms/orders which are called the Eternal Law and the Natural
Law.

1. Eternal Law

Eternal Law can be described as the Divine reason and will commanding that the natural order of things be
preserved and forbidding it to be disturbed. Other definitions of Eternal Law are: God’s divine plan for all His
creatures and the “exemplar of the divine wisdom as directing all actions and movements”. This Law has the
following characteristics:

a. Eternal – this law is with God who has no beginning and no end. It governs all the creatures of God from
the beginning until the end of time (for the material realities).

b. Immutable – the Eternal Law is not subject to change.

c. Absolutely universal – this Law is applicable to all creatures.

2. Natural Law

Natural Law is understood as the light of understanding placed in us by God so that we know what to do
and what to avoid. Or the law of human conduct which arises from human nature as ordered to its ultimate
natural end and which is recognized by the light of reason. Natural Laws are discovered and understood by
people with the aid of reason.
In simple words, Natural Law are the pattern or order of all things which are discovered through experience
and reasoning or even common sense.
Examples of the Natural Law are the following: Fundamental moral principles such as “Good is to be
done and evil is to be avoided”, “Never do unto others what you do not want others do unto you,” “the end does
not justify the means,”” “Honor your parents;” “Preserve life;” “Do not murder;” and others.
With the examples above, you might ask about the Ten Commandments, that are these Natural Laws?
Except for Commandment Number One to Three, the next Seven Commandments are basically Natural Laws.
Actually, people by nature know or will discover these Commandments using their intellect and conscience.
The Four characteristics of the Natural Law:

a. Universal – This law is applicable to all creatures. Example: the rule, “you shall not kill” is applicable in
all countries.

b. Recognizable - The person will realize or notice the existence of the Natural Law through observations,
interactions with others, and through deeper reflection of his/her activities or of his/her very own existence.
So, there is no excuse for one not to obey the Natural Law since they are noticeable or realizable.
c. Obligatory – Since this very law will lead the person to his/her well-being and to his/her desired destiny,
there is no better choice for the human person than to obey it. Not obeying it would lead to the things that the
human person would like to avoid in life such as sickness, calamities, and ultimate to death or total destruction.
In reality, most of the sickness and calamities we experience today are all effect of what people did to mother
Nature or not respecting the order in nature or not following Natural Law.

d. Immutable – Since the Natural Law is in accordance with the divine plan or with the Eternal Law, it will
never change or is not subject to change. Example: The Ten Commandments despite being an ancient set of
law is still relevant all throughout the ages.

3. Positive Law - the word “positive” means being promulgated or

“published.”
- Positive Laws are the specific (laws) formulations derived from the Natural Law and the Eternal Law. These
are the specific application of the Eternal Law or the Natural Law in different human or societal contexts. Positive
laws are formulated since the Natural law often appears in general forms/principles.
As the Eternal Law is seen or expressed through the Natural Law, the Natural Law is also seen, expressed
or applied through the Positive Law. A Positive Law which does not respect the Natural Law contributes to the
damage on the development of the human person and of the whole creation.

Positive Law is categorized into two: the Divine Positive Law and the Human Positive Law.
i. The Divine Positive Law – this is a God-given law which is promulgated for all creatures or only for a
specific group of community. A good example is the Ten Commandments which God gave to the Israelites
through the prophet Moses. (Divine means God)

ii. The Human Positive Law – this is an ordinance of reason promulgated for the common good by one in
charge of the community or by a competent authority. Examples of human positive laws are the ordinances of
a certain place or the constitution of a certain country. Other examples or terms for human positive law are: Civil
Law and the Ecclesiastical Law (Law of the Church). To better understand the meaning of the human positive
law, let us analyze all the key words in the definition.

a. Ordinance – it is a decree or a command and not a request; it demands obedience. One has to follow it.
b. Reasonable – it means a certain positive law is based on reason and not on mere emotion. It must be useful
or good which means it must attain its goal. A positive law is also reasonable if it has the following
characteristics: ͼ just/fair
ͼ honest – in harmony with higher laws (Eternal and Natural Laws)
ͼ possible for fulfillment/attainment – means realistic ͼ useful – it is a means or
tool to attain a goal ͼ Relatively permanent – change if no longer effective/no longer
serves its purpose. Example: Before, people were allowed to wear slipper when driving a
car, now it is no longer allowed since the shoes gives better protection than the slipper.
 ͼ Must be promulgated – made known, announced, published, written, before it takes effect.
c. Common Good – a law must serve the interest of the majority and not favor only few individuals.
d. Competent Authority – one who enacts or authors a law should be someone who is knowledgeable, just, wise,
and respectable.

Other descriptions of a Positive Law:

i. Territorial or Contextual. The application of the law sometimes depends on the context (place and time) or
territory. Example: People on the mountains which is usually cold in climate differ in their way of
dressing from those on the lowlands; such as wearing jacket is necessary in Baguio while people
in Cagayan only wear jackets during cold seasons.

ii. A law continues until it is changed by another. (Relatively permanent)

As stated above, time and place may cause change or revision of a certain law. When we were children,
we were not allowed to enter the room without slippers, but now students are not allowed to enter the classrooms
with slippers. Why? Slippers are no longer allowed for formal affairs and for protection but shoes. Another
example is the people on the mountains who used to wear G-strings (bahag), but now for more descent and
body protection purpose, they are all wearing pants.

The Two General Applications of the Norms of Morality

As we have stated other factors in the application of the Norms of Morality such as time, place, and others,
there are two general applications of the norms of morality.

1. Normative Morality – These are laws or norms that are or should be universally implemented. For
example, the dignity and worth of a human life is a universal concept freely embraced by all individuals
regardless of their profile (religion, ethnicity, gender and others). All cultures put a high regard for life and
attach respect and honor to it. The rule is “you shall not kill”. So, there are laws that crossed all boundaries
such as cultures, time, place, and others. The Commandments Number Four to Ten are good examples of this.

2. Descriptive Morality – this is the application of a universal law to a specific place, time, and other
particular conditions of certain communities/ societies. With this, the law becomes exclusive and applicable
only to a certain society. As we have stated above, the application of a universal law to the people on the
mountains may differ from those living near the sea since their source of income or livelihood may be totally
different.

*****END OF LESSON*****

EVALUATION:

Name: Date:
Course/Year: Score:

Instructions: Fill in the space provided that corresponds to the question. Please type your answer in
UPPERCASE FORMAT. (20 points)

IMMUTABLE 1. What characteristic of Natural Law transcends all time, place and other boundaries?
HUMAN POSITIVE LAW 2. Ordinances of a certain place or the constitution of a certain country falls under
this category.
COMPETENT AUTHORITY 3. Who should enact or author a human positive Law?
NATURAL LAW 4. This law is discovered by the human person through reasoning and experiences.
NORMATIVE MORALITY 5. This refers to the laws which are universally applied regardless of people’s
conditions.
UNIVERSAL 6. It is a characteristic of a Natural law which is applicable to all creatures.
ETERNAL LAW 7. This is the Law on which all other laws should adhere to.
DESCRIPTIVE MORALITY 8. This refers to the application of a law with respect to time, place, and other
conditions affecting a certain community or society.
ECCLESIASTICAL LAW 9. How do you call laws which are promulgated by the leaders and members of the
Church?
CIVIL LAW 10. What is the term that is usually use to refer to the law of the government?

REFERENCES:
Books:

Peschke, Henry C., (1975). Christian Ethics: A Presentation of General Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II
Volume 1

Peschke, Karl H., (1996). Christian Ethics: Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II

Living A Christian Moral Life (150 years of CICM in the Philippines) by CICM Philippines

Salbay, Esteban Jr., (2008). Christian Morality in Contemporary Society. C & E Publishing, Inc.

Online References:

The Free Dictionary by Farflex: Civil Law. Retrieved February 23, 2021 from https://legal-
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/civil+law