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Flores, Josef Reinard I.

3-ALM

Floresjosef623@hotmail.com

Prof. Julius Tutor

THED4-3AOM

December 5, 2018

Final Examination Essay in Thed 4

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What is being just? Well, it has many definitions such as Conforming or conformable to

rectitude or justice; not doing wrong to any; violating no right or obligation; upright;

righteous; honest; true; -- said both of persons and things. Not transgressing the requirement

of truth and propriety; conformed to the truth of things, to reason, or to a proper standard;

exact; normal; reasonable; regular; due; as, a just statement; a just inference. Rendering or

disposed to render to each one his due; equitable; fair; impartial; as, just judge. It tells us that

God is just. This means that He is fair and impartial. It also means that He hates the ill-

treatment and oppression of people and of nature, which He has created. He hates lying,

cheating, and other forms of mistreatment of others. The fact that God is just means that He

can and will judge between right and wrong and He will administer justice in accordance

with His standards. Many times in the Bible God is pictured as a judge. The Bible says that

He will one day judge the world. Many of us shy away from the thought of God as a judge

because the examples of justice that we see on earth are flawed: some judges are corrupt and,

even when their intentions are good, they can make mistakes. However, the fact that God is

just assures us that when He acts as a judge, He will administer justice perfectly. His ability

to do this involves other aspects/attributes of His character, including His ability to discern

the truth in every situation and see into the hearts and minds of men, His wisdom, His

strength, His authority, and His moral character in establishing what is right and wrong. A

God who did not care about the difference between right and wrong and did not judge

humans for acting one way or the other would not be an admirable being worthy of our love

or trust. The fact that God is just and will judge between right and wrong gives ultimate

moral significance to our lives and makes us accountable for our actions. Many people

believe that they don’t have what it takes to make a difference to the world. They believe
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only people like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Bill

Gates, and the likes, are capable of making a difference.The truth is, every one of us is put in

this world to contribute and make a difference to the world in our own unique way. It need

not be anything out of the world. It just needs to be something you do with the intention of

‘doing good’. You already have what it takes to make the world a better place. Making a

difference to the world may seem like an enormous task, but it is in fact the collective effort

of everyone to make small contributions with a lot of heart. The size of the contribution is not

what matters most. The key here is to have the heart to do it. it is our responsibility to seek

ways to contribute, large and small. You don’t have to be concerned you’re only capable of

making small contributions. What counts is the effort. You can change the world by helping

one person at a time. One of the ways to help someone is to empower the person. But how do

you empower a person? Well, one of the ways is to be generous in giving praise and

encouragement instead of criticism. By praising and encouraging the person, you’d have

helped him/her to accomplish what he/she is meant to be, and that would lead to more value

being added to the world. The good that we seek to do will make more of a difference when

there’s a long-lasting effect rather than a temporary effect. For example, if we make

contributions to build a school, it will benefit many people for years to come. And when

more people receive education, they will in turn provide more value to the world. Other than

doing things to make a difference, we should also seek to influence others to start doing

things that make a difference. And the best way to convince other people is to lead by

example.
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Start doing whatever is within your ability today. Start showing more concern and love to the

people around you. Start to make monthly donations to your favourite charity. Start putting

more effort in your work to increase the value output. Every effort counts, no matter how

small and insignificant it may seem. Just do something, and do something good.

What is Morality? Morality speaks of a system of behavior in regards to standards of right or

wrong behavior. The word carries the concepts of: moral standards, with regard to behavior;

moral responsibility, referring to our conscience; and a moral identity, or one who is capable

of right or wrong action. Common synonyms include ethics, principles, virtue, and goodness.

Morality describes the principles that govern our behavior. Without these principles in place,

societies cannot survive for long. In today's world, morality is frequently thought of as

belonging to a particular religious point of view, but by definition, we see that this is not the

case. Everyone adheres to a moral doctrine of some kind. Morality as it relates to our

behavior is important on three levels. Renowned thinker, scholar and author C.S. Lewis

defines them as: to ensure fair play and harmony between individuals; to help make us good

people in order to have a good society; and to keep us in a good relationship with the power

that created us. Based on this definition, it's clear that our beliefs are critical to our moral

behavior. Morality impacts our everyday decisions, and those choices are directed by our

conscience. Again, we must decide for ourselves where the conscience originates. Christian

moral teachings, as derived from the Bible, are a contradictory mess of historical myths about

human nature combined with a pseudo-historical account which produces a confusing, weird

and inappropriate set of morals. From sex abuse to Christian attitudes towards women, gays,

blacks, slavery, Jews and to human dignity in general, Christianity has highlighted and
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encoded human evil at its worst. It is only against Christian moral theory that Christian

heroes have battled to do good. The Christian concept of original sin - the punishment of

future generations for the sins of parents, and God's example behaviour in the Bible, are

monstrously immoral, and other traditional sets of values such as the seven deadly sins and

ten commandments are, when you actually inspect them, more suited to barbarians than

civilized man. Christianity's best morals happen to also be those espoused by nearly every

other religion and philosophy and as such, in itself, Christianity is morally worthless and has

contributed nothing to the world. The most basic principle of the Christian moral life is the

awareness that every person bears the dignity of being made in the image of God. He has

given us an immortal soul and through the gifts of intelligence and reason enables us to

understand the order of things established in his creation. God has also given us a free will to

seek and love what is true, good, and beautiful. Sadly, because of the Fall, we also suffer the

impact of Original Sin, which darkens our minds, weakens our wills, and inclines us to sin.

Baptism delivers us from Original Sin but not from its effects—especially the inclination to

sin, concupiscence. Within us, then, is both the powerful surge toward the good because we

are made in the image of God, and the darker impulses toward evil because of the effects of

Original Sin. The second element of life in Christ is the responsible practice of freedom.

Without freedom, we cannot speak meaningfully about morality or moral responsibility.

Human freedom is more than a capacity to choose between this and that. It is the God-given

power to become who he created us to be and so to share eternal union with him. This

happens when we consistently choose ways that are in harmony with God’s plan. Christian

morality and God’s law are not arbitrary, but are specifically given to us for our happiness.

God gave us intelligence and the capacity to act freely. Ultimately, human freedom lies in
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our free decision to say “yes” to God. In contrast, many people today understand human

freedom merely as the ability to make a choice, with no objective norm or good as the goal.

An opposite tendency to one that makes the act of choosing the core of human freedom is

one that denies that we are free at all. Some believe that due to outside forces, inner

compulsions, social pressures, childhood experiences, or genetic makeup, our behavior is

already determined and we are not truly free. Though we do recognize that “the imputability

or responsibility for an action can be diminished or nullified by ignorance, duress, fear, and

other psychological or social factors” normally we are still free and responsible for our

actions. Our freedom may be limited but it is real nonetheless. The best way to grow in

freedom is to perform good acts. Good deeds help to make us free and develop good habits.

The road to loss of freedom is through evil acts. Sin makes us slaves of evil and reduces our

capacity to be free. Freedom comes from being moral. Slavery to sin arises from being

immoral. The second element of life in Christ is the responsible practice of freedom. Without

freedom, we cannot speak meaningfully about morality or moral responsibility. Human

freedom is more than a capacity to choose between this and that. It is the God-given power to

become who he created us to be and so to share eternal union with him. This happens when

we consistently choose ways that are in harmony with God’s plan. Christian morality and

God’s law are not arbitrary, but are specifically given to us for our happiness. God gave us

intelligence and the capacity to act freely. Ultimately, human freedom lies in our free

decision to say “yes” to God. In contrast, many people today understand human freedom

merely as the ability to make a choice, with no objective norm or good as the goal.
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An opposite tendency to one that makes the act of choosing the core of human freedom is

one that denies that we are free at all. Some believe that due to outside forces, inner

compulsions, social pressures, childhood experiences, or genetic makeup, our behavior is

already determined and we are not truly free. Though we do recognize that “the imputability

or responsibility for an action can be diminished or nullified by ignorance, duress, fear, and

other psychological or social factors” (CCC, no. 1746), normally we are still free and

responsible for our actions. Our freedom may be limited but it is real nonetheless. The best

way to grow in freedom is to perform good acts. Good deeds help to make us free and

develop good habits. The road to loss of freedom is through evil acts. Sin makes us slaves of

evil and reduces our capacity to be free. Freedom comes from being moral. Slavery to sin

arises from being immoral. one can fall from many angles, but there is only one upright

position. I'll take morality to mean integrity, an internally consistent set of values which do

not change under stress. If the individual makes a mistake due to temporary laziness or a

mood swing, after recovery the individual will rectify the mistake at their own cost without

the threat of external punishment. Moral values are the standards of good and evil, which

govern an individual’s behavior and choices. Individual’s morals may derive from society

and government, religion, or self. When moral values derive from society and government

they, of necessity, may change as the laws and morals of the society change. Moral values

also derive from within one’s own self. This is clearly demonstrated in the behavior of older

infants and young toddlers. If a child has been forbidden to touch or take a certain object

early on, they know enough to slowly look over their shoulder to see if they are being

observed before touching said object. There is no need for this behavior to be taught; it is

instinctive. Once, however, any form of discipline is applied to modify the child’s behavior,
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the child now gains the capacity within himself to distinguish his right behavior from his

wrong behavior. Now, the child can make correct choices based on his own knowledge. The

choices that are made by an individual from childhood to adulthood are between forbidden

and acceptable, kind or cruel, generous or selfish. A person may, under any given set of

circumstances, decide to do what is forbidden. If this individual possesses moral values,

going against them usually produces guilt. Religion is another source of moral values. Most

religions have built-in lists of do’s and don’ts, a set of codes by which its adherents should

live. Individuals who are followers of a particular religion will generally make a show of

following that religion’s behavioral code. It is interesting to note that these codes may widely

vary; a person whose religion provides for polygamy will experience no guilt at having more

than one spouse while adherents to other religions feel they must remain monogamous.

Christianity goes beyond all other religions in that it is more than just a system of do’s and

don’ts; it is a relationship with the living God through His Son, Jesus Christ. A Christian’s

set of moral values go beyond society’s mores and selfish instincts. Christians ideally behave

correctly because they love God and want to please Him. This is at once a high calling and a

low position. It is a high calling because God has required that all who love Him should keep

His commandments; therefore it is an act of obedience. John 14:15 says, "If you love me, you

will obey what I command.” It is a low position because we must totally deny our own will

to do what pleases the Lord. Christ Jesus as He lived His life on earth is our supreme

example; if we pattern our behavior after Him then our lives are most valuable. John 15:10

says, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my

Father's commands and remain in his love.”

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References: Moral Values. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/moral-

values-faq.htm

What are the basic elements of Christian morality? (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://rediscover.archspm.org/belonging/what-are-the-basic-elements-of-christian-morality/

How to make the world better. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://lifesquared.org.uk/how-make-

world-better

How To Make A Difference To The World. (2017, January 01). Retrieved from

https://possibilitychange.com/how-to-make-a-difference/

How To Make A Difference To The World. (2017, January 01). Retrieved from

https://possibilitychange.com/how-to-make-a-difference/

Casey, J. (2014). Morality and moral reasoning: Five essays in ethics. London: Routledge.

Steins, R. (1992). Morality. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.

Harries, O. (2005). Morality and foreign policy. St. Leonards, NSW: Centre for Independent

Studies.
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