Religious Ethics and Moral Problems REL 3170 Spring 2014 Study Guide for Final Exam 1 Know what ethics is and what the four sources of moral reasoning are a Ethics is a branch of philosophy It is also called moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy ask basic questions about the good life about what is better and worse whether there is any objective right and wrong and how we know if it there is affect the personality of a person b Source 1 Revelation Scripture 2 Reason 3 Experience 4 Tradition 2 What does Novak mean by his claim that humans are sexual and social beings How does he Justify this claim What s the connection between sexuality and sociality Human persons are essentially 1 sexual being 2 social being 3 the image of god Sex and Sociality are human needs and part of the natural order fundamental part of what god created sex is considered a natural right this is important because the seeming admonition be fruitful and multiply The denial of sexuality is considered destructive of human life Human sexuality is not to be suppress but channel Sociality is the immediate source of society and its goals society in its law and institution channel sexuality in socially acceptable seen in the mamzer society is allowed to repent of crime publicly so as not to lose the fellowship of the world to come sexuality to society can t have one without the other Connection both sexuality and society are considered to be natural need that society as an institution is to help fulfill 3 How does Novak arrive at his image of an ideal sexual relationship that is human Heterosexual with someone outside one s family consensual monogamous and bound Together in marriage thereby expressing the enduring faithfulness of God s love for us Precisely through our lasting love for our partner Family is the institution that direct sexuality Homosexuality is consider to be counter familial and counter procreative It intentionality is purely sexual Motif become one flesh Satisfaction in the personal sense is even more social than it is physical The social requirement true can be achieve in monogamy because both are exclusively sanctified to each other rather than divided Humans are created bi sexual need of a male female relationship Have to find your other half to create one Human sexuality socialized and sanctified in the covenant of marriage becomes the way two mortal creature together existentially affirm god s love which alone never dies 4 How does Cahill talk about the five norms of sexuality in the Christian tradition How have Things changed from Augustine to Aquinas to the Reformers to contemporary Christians Cahill Central purpose 1 procreation 2 satisfaction of sexual desire 3 expression of positive affective relation betweeb partners love additional criterial to be met martial commitment usually permanent and exclusive marriage 5 heterosexual family Augustine the purpose of sexual union is procreation Marriage context of legitimate sex three purpose children fidelity and avoidance of fornication and the in dissolution of Christian spouses Although sexualy was created good The fall it always is tainted with sin intercourse thake place by a sheer act of bodily movement original sin is transmitted Aquinas human nature is distinguished by intelligence and free will Expands Augustine perspective by drawing attention to friendship and intensity of love Does not suggest that passion are intrinsically evil or overrides rational ends Reformer god church and soviet Lutheran procreation as the sole of sex and manifest ambivalence to sexual desire marriage is a sacrament divorce in extreme cases Calvin procreation remain emphasis on human sexuality sacredness of conjugal bond with the unity of husband and wife in body and soul Marital marriage in itself holy and is no sin for married believer Marriage continue to be affirmed as ideal context fore sex Contemporary Emphasis on love as a norm less on procreation The ability to experience pleasure is seen as a positive good and an avenue of love and commitment Affective and enjoyable aspect of sex has moral criteria 5 How does Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae arrive at the conclusion that marriage sex are Connected to God How is genuine freedom related to this There is a God component in married love It s about the totality of human existence People following genuine freedom realize that every sexual act must be for the procreati on of human life 6 How do White and Jones use the same source of religious moral reasoning to reach different Conclusions Be able to give examples White favor homosexuality Jesus doesn t mention same sex behavior Jewish prophets say nothing about people s misinterpretation of the Bible has left a trail of suffering bloodshed and death As we search for truth we are to love one another To discriminate against sexual or gender minorities is unjust and un American Jones against Homosexuality most people haven t researched it but the church leaders have Argues that just because some Church teachings have been violently applied that does not mean the teachings are wrong homosexuals are undeserving of a specific class Criticizes White s absence of a sexual ethic 7 Discuss how Hauerwas and Niebuhr both use Christianity to ground their positions on war Why do their positions differ Hauerwas pacifist morally wrong to fight Jesus teaching is to love Niebuhr Christian realism morally wrong not to defend 8 Describe Niebuhr s Christian realism How does it fit between optimism and pessimism and why is the Jewish Christian answer superior to the modern and Marxist answers Neibuhr Christian realism rejection of pacifism Niebuhr argued that the Kingdom of God cannot be realized on earth because of the innately corrupt tendencies of society Due to the injustices that arise on earth a person is therefore forced to compromise the ideal of the kingdom of heaven on earth Niebuhr argued that human perfectibility was an illusion highlighting the sinfulness of humanity at a time when the world was confronted by the horrors of experience Pessimism love ourselves more than others incline to injustice the idea of the frailty of man led to the demand for obedience to intended authority lacking in hope and therefore immobilizing He was as aware as anyone that we cannot prove the truth of Christian faith Optimism the necessity of justice social justice optimistic hope filled and therefore energizing in both judgment and mercy to provide by grace gospels the resources we