Good Conduct And Key Moral Principles Flashcards
What is justification by works
That we have the power through our actions and workings to become in God’s grace. They believe that justification comes first from baptism but that it can then be lost by the committing of mortal sins. Justification can then be regained by confession, reconciliation, and penance, which involves confessing sins and doing good works to make up for them.
Martin Luther: justification by faith
Luther, the protestant reformer, was influenced by St Paul, especially Romans 1:16-17 where Paul claimed that salvation comes to “everyone who has faith” which Paul based on the old Testament passage “He who through faith is righteous shall live”. St Paul claims that God’s grace is not something humans are good enough to earn, because we all sin. We cannot do good enough works to be deserving of God’s grace, therefore justification by faith must be more important. St Paul illustrates with Abraham, pointing out that Abraham had faith in God which made him “righteous” (Romans 4:3).
How do Catholics respond to critics who say they only work to earn justification
they are not saying works ‘earn’ justification. The Catholic view is that justification works in two phases:
1, righteousness is enabled through baptism.
2, righteousness is preserved and regained (if lost) by participation in the Eucharist and by penance which includes doing good works.
This relative certainty of justification is a middle position between assurance of salvation and the despair of views like predestination. Neither faith nor works can be said to merit justification, but both count as progress towards it, which humans can make as their part in a cooperation with God wherein they can ultimately be justified.
Augustine on Original sin
Original Sin is the idea that the first sin of Adam and Eve disobeying God’s command resulted in a corruption in all humanity. Original sin is a corruption in human nature which makes people want to sin. All humans have inherited Original Sin from Adam and Eve according to Augustine as we were all ‘seminally present in the loins of Adam’. Augustine thought that the biological basis for procreation was “some sort of invisible and intangible power … located in the secrets of nature” yet then goes on to argue that all future generations of people are “in the loins of the father”. Augustine claims “We were all in [Adam] … we all were that one man who fell into sin” We existed in merely a “seminal nature from which we were to be begotten” but when that became “vitiated through sin” it became impossible for anyone to be born without original sin.
What is Augustines exsclusivism?
Augustine’s exclusivism holds that we are so corrupted by original sin that genuine persevering faith in Jesus is only possible with God’s help: his gift of grace, which predestines some people to have and keep faith in Christ and thus be one of the ‘elect’ who will be saved.
Who is Pelagius?
Pelagius and Augustine were contemporaries who had a significant disagreement over the issue of original sin and free will. In the end Augustine managed to persuade the Pope to declare Pelagius’ ideas heretical but the debate continues to this day. Pelagius claimed that the doctrine of original sin was false. He claims humans are born “without virtue or vice”, with no innate morally good nor bad inclinations in our nature, which means that we have free will.
What does Pelagius say about freewill?
God’s commanding of moral action presupposes free will. The bible is full of cases of God commanding humans to do morally good actions and avoid morally bad actions. It’s difficult to see why God would make these demands if original sin meant that humans did not have the ability to obey those commands. Furthermore, it’s hard to see what the point of even trying to be good is, if we are so corrupted that we are unable, which Pelagius thought led to a fatalistic and lazy attitude towards morality. Pelagius said that to claim that we cannot follow God’s commands due to our fallen nature amounts to accusing God of ignorance as if God were “unmindful of human frailty” such that he “imposed commands upon man which man is not able to bear”. The fact that God commands moral action therefore presupposes that we have the free will to do them, which means that original sin does not inhibit us.
Predestination
The belief that all events including the fate of humans after death has been decided by God since the beggining of time.
Justification
Being judged as rightous before God, our good deeds truly just and moral.
What is the Catholic view on Justification?
Intermediate view- Justification is both through Faith and Works.
It is given through the atoneing death of Jesus and by baptism. And is Gods gift to humanity, both in devotion to God mentally ( by faith ) and good works physically.
Strong sanctity of life principle
View held by Catholics and certain protestants.
“Human life must be respected and protected from conception”
All humans were given life by God, and all have an absolute right to life that must not be taken away.
Personhood begins at conception, thus from conception there is an absolute right to life and protection.
So they are against-
Euthanasia
Assisted Suicide
Abortion
Weak sanctity of life principle
View held by the Church of England and many protestants.
That an embryo is a potential person, so has the right to a life.
It is a great moral evil but at times is a lesser moral evil eg.
rape, if the womens life is at risk, if the foetus will suffer from a terrible life limiting condition.
Embryo research is permitted, following strict controls as it is using our God given skills to help others. PGD is accepted only for medical uses if to prevent serious genetic diseases.
Just War theory: Context
Jesus himself never did violence. The closest he came was flipping some tables of money lenders in the temple and throwing them out. Early Christians were often pacifists like Jesus, often willing to die (be martyred) for their faith rather than do violence. The 10 commandments also contain a command against killing.
However, in 313AD Christianity become the official religion of the roman empire. The roman empire was not pacifist (to say the least..) – so when Christianity became its official religion, pressure mounted on it to form a theology which would not conflict with roman territorial ambitions.
Augustine was instrumental in formulating just war theory during the next century. He argued that Jesus’ teachings on non-violence applied only to individuals – who should indeed follow them and not immediately report to violence.
However, Romans 13:4 seems to suggest that the ruling authorities have the right to use the ‘sword’ to carry out ‘God’s wrath on the wrongdoer’. So Augustine concluded that the state can be justified, if against wrongdoers.
Just war theory is the Christian theory about the conditions required for a war being morally acceptable. Augustine and Aquinas developed the Just war theory.
Augustinian quote supporting Just War
If thou has: “ put to death wicked men; such persons have by no means violated the commandment, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’”
ius ad Bellum
This refers to the conditions required for starting a just war.
A legitimate authority must start the war – one which has the duty of upholding the common good. In the past this would be a religious authority like the Pope. Today it could be the united nations.
Just cause. The purpose of a war must be just. It cannot be for the purposes of destroying a people, or gaining land/resources.
Right intention
Last resort
Reasonable chance at victory
Christian views on the application of Just War theory to weapons of mass destruction- accepting
Christian views on the application of Just War theory to weapons of mass destruction- Opposing
Strong sanctity of life principle NML Aquinas.
Augustine detailed in his just war theory, Ius in bello that civilians shouldn’t be killed. Which they certainly would be.
Kantian ethics inspires certain Christians, and says no one should be used as a means to an end. It goes adainst all 3 catagorical imperitives. He would completely oppose.
