COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE TITLE: CHRISTIAN ETHICS

COURSE CODE/CREDITS: Philosophy 5/Theology 3

But only God who created man to His own image
and ransomed him from sins, provides a fully
adequate answer to questionsrevealed in Christ
His Son who became man. Whoever follows after
Christ, the perfect man becomes himself more of a
man.
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The course deals with the study of man as a
moral being called by God to respond in freedom
and responsibility to attain the fullness of life in
Christ. It seeks to familiarize the students with the
foundations of morality that would equip them
with principles and guidelines to confront
contemporary moral situations. This also deals with
the challenges of Christian Discipleship and the
Christian invitation to moral growth through the
study of grace, sin, conversion and virtues.
COURSE SYLLABUS
A.General objectives:
At the end of the course, the students are expected to:
1. Establish the link between the external ritual expression of
Christian faith and authentic discipleship following Christ in
action (ECCE: Moral Law Nos. 5& 6)
2. Acquire ethical and religious values which would affect
changes of attitude, behavior and values (CA # 60) in the light
of contemporary moral problem.
COURSE SYLLABUS
B. Specific Objectives
At the end of this course, students are expected to:
1. Acquaint themselves with the moral dimension of the Christian
Faith;
2. Trace the roots of contemporary moral situations;
3. Acquire facility in making moral-decisions, through the study
of the human person as moral agent;
4. Understand the DECALOGUE in the light of some of todays
moral issues.
5. Appreciate the challenges of Christian Discipleship.
6. Value Christs invitation to grow morally through the study of
the role of grace, sin, conversion, and virtues.
COURSE OUTLINE
I. Introduction: Understanding Contemporary
Moral Situations
A. Moral Situations: An Overview
B. Contemporary Moral Trends and Their Roots
C. Notions of Morality
1. Popular Notions
2. What Morality Is: Clarifications and Terms
D. Understanding Christian Morality
COURSE OUTLINE
II. Man as a Moral Being
A. Man: The Image of God
1. Man as Body-Soul Unity
a. Human Needs: Hierarchy of Needs
b. Needs as Values
2. Man as a Person
a. Intelligent and Free
b. Endowed with dignity and Inalienable
rights
c. Always an End, Never as Means
COURSE OUTLINE
B. Man the Traveler: In Pursuit of His Goal
1. End/Purpose of Man
a. Different Theories of the God and Happiness
b. The Ultimate Happiness: The Supreme Good
2. Pathos of Man: Wounded (fallen) but Healed
(redeemed)
3. Historical Man
C. Man Being For Others
1. To be Oneself
2. To be with and for Others
3. To be with and for God
COURSE OUTLINE
II. Man as a Moral Agent: Responsible for his/her Acts
A. The Human Acts
1. Human Acts and Acts of Man
2. Constituents of Human Acts
a. Knowledge
b. Freedom
c. Voluntariness
3. Impairment/Obstacles of Voluntariness
B. Sources of Morality
1. Object
2. Intention
3. Circumstances
C. Interrelations of the Sources of Morality: Toward Personal
Integrity

COURSE OUTLINE
IV. Norms and Guidelines for Moral Man
A. The Objective Norm: Law
1. Eternal Law
2. Natural Law
3. Human Law
4. Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount: Basic Christian
Character
B. The Subjective Norm: Conscience
1. Definitions
a. As Moral Faculty
b. As a Moral Judgment
2. Theories of Conscience
3. Kinds of Conscience and their Binding Force
COURSE OUTLINE
4. Development of Moral Conscience
5. The Christian Formation of Conscience
C. Concrete Guidelines for Making a Moral Decision

V. Christian Discipleship: The Way Towards Christian
Morality
A. Living Authentic Human Life: Christ as a Model
B. Responding to Christs Commandment of Love
(Agape)
C. Living the Life in the Spirit
COURSE OUTLINE
VI. Invitation to Christian Growth and perfection
A. Sin as an Obstacle to Moral Growth
1. Nature of Sin
a. Biblical Views of Sin
b. Theological Reflection on Sin
c. Moral, Grave and Venial Sin
2. Kinds of Sin
a. Different Kinds of Internal Sins
b. Sins of Omission and Commission
c. The Capital Sins
COURSE OUTLINE
3. Sources of Sins
a. Impact of a Sinfully Distorted World
b. Temptation
4. Responsibility for Sins of Others and Sinful Cooperation
a. Seduction
b. Scandal
c. Cooperation in the Sins of Others
B. Conversion: The Continuous Process for Growth
1. Mans Need for Conversion
2. Nature of Conversion
3. Conditions of Conversion
4. Fruits of Conversion
5. Sacramental Enactment and Realization of Conversion
COURSE OUTLINE
C. Virtues: Habits for Effective Christian Living
1. Nature of Virtues
2. Systems of Virtues
a. Primacy of Charity
b. Diversity of Virtues
3. Fundamental Requirements for Virtue
a. Moral Knowledge and Prudence
b. Love of Moral Value
c. Dominion Over Passions

COURSE OUTLINE
D. Christs Invitation to Perfection
1. Defective Ideals
2. The Call to Perfection in Holy Scripture
a. Old Testament
b. New Testament
3. Essence and Universality of the Call to Perfection
a. Nature and Perfection
b. Universality of the Call to Perfection
c. Manifold Realization of the Common Call to Holiness
4. Pathways to Holiness
COURSE OUTLINE
VII. The Decalogue in the Light of Current Moral
Problems
5
th
Issues on Life and the Body
6
th
Issues on Sexuality
7
th
Issues on Management of Resources
8
th
Issues on Truthfulness

Change is happening very fast.

We live in a planetary society or global city.

So much progress in science and technology.
There is a shift from homosapiens to technosapiens.

Our mission must be different and should make a difference
because we are in a world that is different.

Our mission to uplift morality today must be done with bold
humility. We must be brave, strong and yet humble.

.





Theology is life not anymore a faith seeking understanding.
You cannot stop the modern technology of information. Internet
does not expect borders. We have to join the 21
st
century in our
mission .
For the church to continue to exist in the 21
st
century she must not
remain inward looking but also outward looking.
Globalization is something to be addressed. It cannot be stop so we
continue with our mission to shape the world and morality.
Secularization is an independence of culture from religion which
means that we have a new God and that God is science.
Statistically, according to CBCP survey only 7 percent from 10%
goes to church today because of secularization.
We have to discover a theology of science and technology.




In globalization theres no more boundaries, so we do
not other the others, do not descriminate the others.
Remain being a good catholic, let them be attracted
by your charity, your lived faith. Dont convert them .
Let them be inspired by your life and God will
convert them.
Vatican II says all religions are ways to God. Therefore
dont make a fence, dont look down at other
religions.
MORAL SITUATIONS TODAY
Indications of immoralities.
Indications of demoralization
Indications of Moral Upliftment.




extraordinary increase and gravity of threats to life
Contemporary Moral Trends
THE THREATS TO LIFE DIRECTLY AFFLICT
THE WEAK AND THE DEFENSELESS
T
H
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A
T
S

T
O

L
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F
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THOSE THAT ARE OPPOSED TO LIFE ITSELF
WHATEVER VIOLATES THE INTEGRITY
OF THE HUMAN PERSON
mutilation, torments inflicted on body and mind
T
H
R
E
A
T
S

T
O

L
I
F
E


WHATEVER INSULTS HUMAN DIGNITY
Subhuman living conditions
slavery
imprisonment
human trafficking
disgraceful working conditions
T
H
R
E
A
T
S

T
O

L
I
F
E


ALL THESE ARE:
Poisons to human society
Against the order of reason
THEY ARE:
Expanding with new prospects
Opened up by scientific technological
progress
Progress in
science and
technology/
Regress
in moral
life

Expanding with
new prospects
Opened up by
scientific
technological
progress
IT IS GRAVE AND DISTURBING
THAT CONSCIENCE IS DARKENED
BY WIDESPREAD CONDITIONING


AS A RESULT,
IT HAS BECOME DIFFICULT
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL
S
Y
M
P
T
O
M
A
T
I
C

O
F

M
O
R
A
L

D
E
C
L
I
N
E

MAN FINDS HIMSELF LOST
THE CHRISTIAN IS CONFRONTED BY RADICAL MORAL
QUESTIONS:
WHAT MUST I DO?
HOW DO I DISTINGUISH GOOD FROM EVIL?