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Lesson-1-PPT

The document discusses the foundations of Christian morality, emphasizing the inherent dignity, freedom, and conscience of human beings as created in the image of God (imago Dei). It highlights the moral implications of this doctrine, including the necessity of loving others and the importance of forming a correct conscience to make moral decisions. The text also addresses the distinction between authentic freedom and mere self-indulgence, urging individuals to seek the good in accordance with God's law.

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marksimonguzman
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13 views

Lesson-1-PPT

The document discusses the foundations of Christian morality, emphasizing the inherent dignity, freedom, and conscience of human beings as created in the image of God (imago Dei). It highlights the moral implications of this doctrine, including the necessity of loving others and the importance of forming a correct conscience to make moral decisions. The text also addresses the distinction between authentic freedom and mere self-indulgence, urging individuals to seek the good in accordance with God's law.

Uploaded by

marksimonguzman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MODULE 1: Basic

Assumptions on Christian
Morality
Lesson 1: The Human
Being with Dignity,
Freedom, and Conscience
CFE 102
There are instances or events
in our life that stop us and make us
realize the need to decide and live our
lives in a human or authentic way.
The struggle to understand and
conform to what we believe as the
right thing to do can become very real
when some people, including our
loved ones, freely choose to act and
Our understanding of what it
means to be human is linked with
our quest for our true human
destiny.
It is by knowing and
understanding what it means to be
human that we are able to direct
ourselves and live as full and
authentic human beings.
Let us now look into what
the Bible says about being human
and how we should live in a moral
way.
Inspired Word of God
The
creation story
tells us that at the
summit of
creation stand
man and woman,
made in God’s
image (imago
Dei). The Bible
vigorously affirms
the sacredness or
The story proclaims that we
enjoy this dignity by virtue of God’s
love, which shapes us prior to any
personal achievements or social
attributes. `Human dignity is a gift
of divine love, which is grace. We
will remain God’s image.
We will enjoy a sacred dignity
– whether we sin or not, whether we
are socially acceptable or not. This
invitation is crucial for it provokes
us to think in order to make a
holistic approach in understanding
what it means to be human and in
responding to the problems and real
situations and issues of the society
The term imago Dei refers
most fundamentally to two
things: first, God's own self-
actualization through humankind;
and second, God's care for
humankind.
To say that humans are in the
image of God is to recognize the
special qualities of human nature
which allow God to be made
manifest in humans.
In other words, for humans
to have the conscious recognition
of their being in the image of God
means that they are the creature
through whom God's plans and
purposes can be made known and
actualized; humans, in this way,
can be seen as co-creators with
The moral implications of the
doctrine of imago Dei are apparent
in the fact that if humans are to love
God, then humans must love other
humans, as each is an expression of
God.
The human's likeness to God
can also be understood by
contrasting it with that which does
not image God, i.e., beings who, as
far as we know, are without self-
consciousness and the capacity for
spiritual/moral reflection and growth.
Humans differ from all other
creatures because of their rational
This freedom gives the human a
centeredness and completeness which
allows the possibility for self-
actualization and participation in a
sacred reality. However, the freedom
which makes the human in God's image
is the same freedom which manifests
itself in estrangement from God, as the
story of the fall (Adam and Eve)
According to this story,
humans can, in their freedom,
choose to deny or repress their
spiritual and moral likeness to God.
The ability and desire to love oneself
and others, and therefore, God, can
become neglected and even
opposed.
Striving to bring about the
imago Dei in one's life can be seen
as the quest for wholeness, or one's
"essential" self, as pointed to in
Christ's life and teachings.
Church Teaching
A. The Gift of Human Dignity

Our inherent dignity, as


rooted in God’s love, is inalienable.
Inalienable means it cannot be taken
away from us. Even our sinfulness
cannot take away our human dignity
from God’s love, and grace can
restore us to God’s friendship.
This intrinsic, inalienable
gift of human dignity morally
implies respect, defense, and
promotion of human wellbeing. It
does not count some other
human values or functions as
more important than being
B. The Gift of Freedom

Many people in today’s world


still understand freedom as choosing
and doing what they want even if it
means breaking civil or moral laws.
But our freedom to act does not
mean we are completely free to do
whatever we want.
We have to follow civil and
moral laws. This means we can
do what we want as long as we
do not negatively affect the
freedom of others around us.
CFC 694 states that it is so
easy to confuse human freedom
with simply “doing what I want.”
Authentic freedom is not “the
right to say and do anything,” but
to “do the good” (cf. Catechism of
Catholic Church [CCC] 1740).
It is not my own individual
private possession, but shared
freedom with others in the
community. It is not found in
prejudice, deceit, or ignorance,
but in truth. Vatican II also
reminds us of a more authentic
understanding of freedom.
Freedom is an exceptional
sign of the image of God in us. It
is in the freedom that we can
turn ourselves towards what is
good.
C. Conscience

A clear definition of
conscience is presented in
Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the
Modern World:
“In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which
he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to
obedience. Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil,
the voice of conscience can when necessary speak to his heart
more specifically: do this, shun that. For man has in his heart a
law written by God. To obey it is the very dignity of man;
according to it, he will be judged. Conscience is the most
secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with
God, whose voice echoes in his depths. (GS 16)”
In short, we have in our
hearts a law written by God. This
law, our conscience, guides us to
love, do good, and avoid evil.
Three Senses of Conscience

The first is the basic sense


of responsibility that
characterizes the human person.
Synderesis
- is the inner drive to the
good. Everyone has this drive to
do good, but it is often obscured
by the complexities and
distortions of life today (a
characteristic).
The second is the exercise
of moral reasoning as a person
searches for objective moral
values.
We need to ask: What is
good? This is the realm of the
formation and examination of
conscience, wherein we seek to
grasp moral truth by making use
of sources of
moral wisdom wherever they may
be found, and then through a
process of reflection, analysis,
and accurate perception, come to
an enlightened decision.
The third sense of
conscience is the judgment by
which we evaluate a particular
action. Making a moral decision
based on “my” personal
perception and grasp of values is
the actual judgment.
This is the conscience that
“I” must obey to be true to
myself. Thus, O’Connell points
out; we can see the proper
formation of conscience is
essential to make a proper
judgment.
One can only choose the
good if one knows what the good
is (an event). Therefore, the third
sense of conscience is
determined by the second sense
of conscience.
God’s law is indeed written in
our hearts, but it needs constant
formation and nourishment to grow
in strength and power. Our
conscience is not something
“automatic.” It is gradually and
continuously shaped throughout our
journey in life, through our family
upbringing and the wisdom of
It is the responsibility of every
Christian and the Church to help
transform such erroneous
consciences into correct
consciences. These consciences are
guided by the inner voice of God,
resulting in actions and decisions
that will bring that person closer to
If a person chooses to remain
ignorant and refuses to form his
conscience properly, he is culpable
for whatever wrong moral decisions
and evil he commits. He cannot
claim ignorance as an excuse
mechanism for doing whatever he
thinks may be right.
Ian Knox also adds, “To act
against our conscience would be to
do violence to our true selves, to the
person God wants us to be; we
damage our relationship with God,
we sin.”
“The worst thing in the world, “is
not sin; it is the denial of sin by a
false conscience - for that attitude
makes forgiveness impossible.”
- well-known writer and broadcaster
Bishop Fulton Sheen
End of the topic!

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