Library
Moral Principle of Legitimate Cooperation with Evil
If we were to try to avoid any and all cooperation with evil we would be unable to act. Obviously such a goal is noble, but unreasonable. Moral reasoning guided by moral principles and enlightened by grace can guide us to choose the best possible good even when evil is unavoidable. One important guiding principle…
Read MoreParticipating in the Divine Life
Between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians, the question, “How are we saved?” comes up quite often. Mainline Protestants answer this crucial questions with the list of “solas” created by Martin Luther: sola grazia, sola fides – by grace alone and by faith alone. Catholic answer the question differently, but not in the way that Protestants often…
Read MoreKings & Prophets – God Brings the Covenant to the World
The wish of the Hebrew people to have a king actually constituted an act of defiance and a lack of trust. God was supposed to be their king. However, the people did not trust that God would protect them. They wanted to be like all of the other peoples around them who had kings and…
Read MoreModernism and Post-Modernism
Modernism Opposes Truth Modernism is the belief that objective truth cannot be known because all truth is filtered through our perceptions filtered through our biases distorted by societal influences and authorities (who don’t know objective truth any better than anyone else) As a result of these interferences in our perception of truth, nobody can claim…
Read MoreNatural Law vs. Laws of Nature: Becoming More Human
I once had an argument with a teaching colleague about homosexuality. He told me, “I don’t understand why the Church claims that homosexuality is against Natural Law. You find homosexuality all over the place in nature.” My response was two-fold. One, you really don’t find homosexuality in nature. What you find in nature is what…
Read MoreAdam and Eve – Original Man
What was life like in Eden before Original Sin? Pope John Paul II calls the state of human nature before it was damaged by original sin “Original Man.” Original Man was characterized by a number of important qualities. Adam and Eve Enjoyed Original Justice The human personality was in harmony. There were no unfulfillable desires…
Read MoreMoral Principle of Totality and Integrity
Definition The human body is an integral part of the human person and is therefore worthy of human dignity. It must be kept whole. No body part should be removed, mangled or dibilitated unless doing so is necessary for the health of a more essential body part or the body of a whole. An unessential…
Read MoreWhat is Moral Theology and Why Does It Matter?
As a highschool morality teacher, I get two very different questions from Catholics and Protestants. Catholics often ask me, “Why would you study thay?” Protestants have asked, “What is it, anyway?” Most Catholics assume that this area of theology is an outdated, irrelevant, dry-as-dust subject of study. Most Protestants think that morality is pretty simple…
Read MoreMoral Principle of Interdependence
Definition Moral decisions should nurture human relationships and enable people to help each other meet their needs rather than isolate people, promote too much independence, or promote too much dependence. Explanation Human beings are innately social. We need each other. On a survival level, human beings are not very good at being self sufficient. We…
Read MoreLiving In Covenant
The natural moral law guides us to become more human and to attain the good, the true and the beautiful. The Divine Law builds on the natural moral law to bring us to our true destiny. The purpose of the Divine Moral Law is to guide us to living the loving covenantal relationship with God. …
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