Morality as the Pursuit of Happiness - Case Study Example

Lesson 2 Q1. Human actions in terms of good, means, and end Thesis: “How do a person daily activities and life projects determine the ends, means, and the goods?” St Thomas Aquinas recognized that moral obligations exist thereby grouping them to virtues. Morality and nominal is greatly spread in the universities at the middle age end. This was accepted by the theology schools despite the differences they had between them. Later, the obligation morality helped a great deal in inspiring moral theology. St Thomas provided a simpler moral teaching that was accessible to the priests and the other people at large. A new method of presenting morality was developed which involved trying to do the right things (McInerny 36). St Thomas stated that the first stage of being happy is by determining whether doing good makes them feel happy. To him, doing good things makes one feel greater than they were before. Faith in God and wisdom are a key to happiness. Christ taught about charity as loving God with the whole heart. Charity is because of faith thus it is the greatest virtue for a Christian to possess. He says that the sermon on the mountain was a way so showing all that God expects His people to do in order to live a Christian life (McInerny 20). St Thomas said that a Christian has to undergo suffering in their life. One also has to sin but God forgives after repentance. Death is also part of human life. This is because each human has to die at some point. He states that God created every person by His own image. He also says that everyone has their own freedom hence every person is responsible for their actions ( McInerny 27). Christian ethics are laws that outline ethical issues such as what is wrong and right. They are used to guide one in doing the right things, following them helps one avoid doing the wrong things. A good Christian should follow the Christian ethics since by doing so; others can emulate one’s example. Jesus taught His disciples to do the right things so that the other people would follow their example. This was a good gesture since Jesus wanted everyone to obey god. The disciples started the early church, and that is when many people accepted Christ (Willocks 99). Since they had come to realize that, he was the promised messiah due to the miracles He had performed and He was able to rise from the dead on the third day. Religion can be described as a very organized collection that includes cultural systems, beliefs, and the worldviews-relating humans to the existing order. They consist of many types of religions that differ from each other. The main aim of these religions is to try to explain how life originated, the meaning of one’s life and how the universe originated. They use sacred narratives, symbols and narrative to explain it (Pinckaers 12). People get to derive the religious laws, ethics, and morals from religion. With this, they are able to live a better lifestyle. This is because religion brings them closer to God and it helps them know on how to live with other people peacefully with no or fewer conflicts (Pinckaers 32). Theology can be termed as the study of God’s nature and the religious beliefs. It shows how Christians should live together, and the type of relationship people should have with God. It differentiates the wrong and the good. Morality is termed as those principles that as a distinction between the wrong and right things (McInerny 88). Christians are expected to have religious morality so that they can act as good examples to the others. Q2. Happiness Thesis: “Do wealth, fame, honor, power, and pleasure determine how happy a person can be in life?” Happiness can be termed as an uncreated thing. God Himself is happiness. God is the only one who is supreme good. This is because He loves His people all the same no matter what they do. He is always there to forgive them when they repent (Langley 132). Forgiveness is something that many people lack but the Bible says that one should forgive others before asking for forgiveness from God. However, man has thought happiness to be money or wealth. This is why most people who are not well off financially are not so happy. With God, everyone should lead a happy life, since God Himself is the provider of everything that human beings possess. Human beings value ease, comfort, and pleasure a lot. They should be pursued intelligently because if not, they might bring unhappiness to others. In everything that humans do, they should always consider other people (Willocks 67). This is because when one considers oneself alone, they will always find it hard to be happy. Catholics have their moral teachings, which do not only evolve around prescriptions and the things they are prohibited from doing. Rather, the Catholic morality can be seen as, a person’s willing heart to be good and truthful. It gives guidelines that once followed, they help one live according to the gospel. The Catholic morality is not oppressive but rather conservative. It has a true mission, which is to teach people and grow their faith (Lowery 45). The Catholic teachings are not only meant for the Roman Catholics only but also for the whole world. It passes its teachings to the world in two ways. The first one is by interpreting the law of God by the use of the Ten Commandments, and the second one is by showing people to live according to the gospels, which Jesus Christ is their example (McInerny 32). Jesus taught the people about justice and the art of repenting since one would gain God’s kingdom after repenting. He told people that they should seek for the heavenly riches instead of the earthly riches. He helped in showing that all people are equal in God’s eyes (Lowery 17). Moral theologians have a task to respond to the questions they get which is a part of the education. Moral theology mainly teaches on how the scriptures teach the trinity and sacrament’s doctrines. The gospel has its sources. These sources are: The New Testament has many moral scriptures some that were reported in the preaching of the apostles while others were the words of the Lord. The apostles together with the early Christians ensured that the words of God were followed to the later. In the book of Romans, chapter twelve, to fifteen a moral teaching example is seen since it shows the importance of an apostle to share what he has learned with others (Pinckaers 47). It deals with using faith for justification, the life in the form of spirit and the love that Jesus Christ has for the people. It shows how those that believe in Christ should live their lives. The teaching has various stages, which are living a Christian life, which is the true worship; faith shapes the moral teachings thus helping one lead a Christian life and charity, which is also part of the religion morality (Pinckaers 73). Lesson 2.2 Q1. Human conscience Thesis: “How has relativism contributed to the mistaken conception of conscience?” Human conscience is an inner voice or feeling that shows whether something is right alternatively, wrong. It guides someone to do the right thing thus; one is able to live in a responsible behavior. With the conscience, one is able to live according to how God expects human to live. Conscience can be mistaken as being always right which is not true. Most people tend to think that they are always right therefore end up judging others. This should not happen because God is the only person who should judge. Giving the Ten Commandments, God had laws which He wanted His people to follow. Following these laws is very important because it shows that one has understood what God expects from them and they are ready to do according to His will. This is religion morality because, with it, God’s will have been done (McInerny 89). Sin can be described as the immoral act of being against the divine law. All humans are considered sinners since at one point they do against God’s will. God is always ready to forgive His people when they repent their sins. Adam and Eve who were the first parents of the human community were the first people to commit sin. This made God angry hence; he punished them and the other people at large. The punishment was that women would endure great pain when giving birth while the men would struggle in order to attain their needs (Lowery 36). Christians are taught to try hard and avoid evil by doing what is good. This is because the good things lead one to universal good. On the mount, Jesus used beatitudes to let people know what God expects of them. The beatitudes give Christians the hope of seeing God’s kingdom. He described His disciples as the world’s light he helped the people realize that justice should be followed since it is a moral law. Since everyone is equal according to God, then every person should acquire justice (Lowery 21). Q2. Moral relativism in the society today Thesis: “Analyze the moral relativism that is dominant in our society by tracing its origins in the nominalist deformation of moral theology” In the modern days, people value earthly wealth more than they value God. This is very wrong since with the earthly wealth people will not attain the kingdom of God. Therefore, one should focus on the heavenly riches and line alone the pleasures of the world. With heavenly riches, one will lead a happy life. It also makes individual increase their faith in God b because they care less about what the world holds. Technology and science have had many developments that have led to questioning on the moral ethics. They have interfered with the environment, changed people’s way of life, and their customary ways. These developments should be undertaken therefore without altering people’s faith (McInerny 43). Many vices have been noted in the society, some of these vices are abortion, divorce, contraception, and homosexuality among many others. These vices should be avoided or discouraged; this is because they go against God’s will (McInerny 43). Prayer is very important in one’s life. Jesus taught his disciples on the importance of prayer. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, Jesus taught them a prayer and in the prayer, it is evident that we call upon God. The prayer recognizes that only God’s kingdom is needed for a happy life. In the prayer, Christians ask God to help them attain their needs. Christians also plead for forgiveness, and they are supposed to have forgiven those that have wronged them before asking God for forgiveness (Langley 71). This shows that God wants His people to live happy lives, and they should be at peace with each other at all times. God does not forgive the people who do not forgive others. Deuteronomy 25: 16 helps in showing that according to God there are different levels of sin. However, the consequences of sin do not differ since they are the same. All sins and rebellion act lead to eternal death and condemnation. Since everyone is a sinner, one can deal with this problem in various ways. This is by acting according to God’s will as Jesus Christ did. In this manner, Christians are able to avoid doing evil hence they in less (Willocks 141). Repentance of sin also helps one reduce the burden of sins since God is there to forgive His people. However, in Mark 3:29 we find that not anyone who commits blasphemy will ever gain forgiveness from God. Sometimes, human beings sin because of temptation. Christians should learn to overcome temptations at all cost. In overcoming temptations, they should follow Jesus Christ’s example. This is where Satan in the wilderness tempted Jesus, but he was able to overcome the temptations (McInerny 56). By tempting Jesus, God wanted to show Christians that temptations will always be there, and it is upon them, to know how to deal with these temptations in order to live a morally upright life. References Langley, Martie. Religion. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1996. Text. Lowery, Mark, D. Living the Good Life: What Every Catholic Needs to Know About Moral Issues. Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2003. Text. McInerny, Ralph. The Good for Man, Ethica Thomistica: The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Equinas. Washington, DC.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1997. Text. Pinckaers, Servais. Morality: The Catholic view. Trans. Michael Sherwin. South Bend, IN.: St. Augustine’s Press, 2001. Text. Willocks, Tim. The Religion. New York: Crichton Books, 2007. Text. Read More