Moral Theology
Schedule of Classes
The following schedule of classes is somewhat tentative. Particular reading assignments may be changed to accommodate needs that arise as the semester progresses. Changes will be announced at least one class in advance. Students who miss a class are responsible for any and all changes made to assignments in their absence, including the addition of a quiz or written assignment. For this reason student are encouraged to form groups or partnerships so that when a class is missed they will be able to get the class notes from friends. Also changes in assignments will be posted on the instructor’s college webpage.
In the event that a class is cancelled, students are to keep up with the reading assignments printed below until revisions or adjustments are announced in class. If a class for which a quiz or test is scheduled, or at which a written assignment is due, is cancelled, the quiz or test will be given or the paper collected the very next time the class meets.
1. Wed, 16 Jan
Topics: 1) Introduction: a) texts, b) requirements, c “moral theology” (what is it?); 2) the distinction between “objective” and “subjective;” 3) happiness; 4) the goal of human life; 5) Creation, the Fall, and Redemption.
Class Documents: 1) Schedule of classes; 2) Course Requirements; 3) Student Information sheet (returned to instructor); 4) In class no count quiz #1; 5) Rules for papers; 6) Handout #1: Gen 1-3, with reading questions; 7) Handout #2: Matthew 5-7: The Sermon on the Mount, with reading questions.
2. Wed, 23 Jan:
Quiz #1: On course requirements, lessons of first class, and readings for tonight.
Paper #1 Due: Question/Assignment: Mary and John are both looking at the same garden. Mary describes it objectively and John subjectively. Write two paragraphs the first of which presents what Mary might have said about the garden, and the second what John might have said. Note: As you write, be Mary and then be John. Do not use phrases like “Mary might comment on…” One page maximum. See “Rules for Papers.” Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed in class and posted on the instructor’s college webpage.
Read and prepare: Catechism of the Catholic Church (hereafter CCC), paragraph #’s 374-379, 388-390, 396-407, and 1691-1729; Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (hereafter, Compendium) #’s 66, 72, 75-78, 357-362; Genesis 1-3 with reading questions (Handout #1); Matthew 5-7 with reading questions (handout #2); study the Apostles’s Creed which is found on CCC, page 49-50, left-hand columns (or click link for text).
Topics:. 1) Man: the Image of God; 2) The Sermon on the Mount; 3) Beatitude: the goal of human life.
Class Documents: Handout #3: Outline of material for first week or so of course; Handout #4: Reading questions for next week’s assignment.
3. Wed 30 Jan:
Quiz #2: On lessons of the last class, including: the human person, the goal of human life, the call to beatitude, the Beatitudes.
Assignment: Read: CCC, paragraph #’s 1730-1775; Compendium #363-371; Living the Good Life (hereafter LGL) pp. 13-19, 37-51, 149-176. Look up and study the dictionary definitions of the following words: culpable, culpability, impute, imputability. Be especially attentive to the meanings that correspond to the way these words are used in your texts.
Topics: Freedom, “Participated Theonomy;” 1) Human acts; 2) Sources of morality of human acts; 4) Proportionalism; 3) passions.
Class Documents: Handout #5: Sources of morality; Handout #6: homework exercises on object, intention and circumstances. Handout #7: Proportionalism, and Passions and the Moral life.
4. Wed 6 Feb:
Quiz #3: On freedom, grace, human acts, the sources of morality, proportionalism, and the passions.
Paper #2 Due. Write a one page answer to question #12 on handout #6: Object, Intention and Circumstances. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Paper #3 due. Write a one page paper completely out of your own head (that is, the only thing you are allowed to consult is your own knowledge and experience) in which you 1) state what you know, if anything, about the Catholic sacrament of confession (also called: Sacrament of Reconciliation and Sacrament of Penance) and 2) state what you think about it. Papers will be graded on the quality of the composition, the logic of the argument, and other principally non-theological criteria. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Topics: 1) Moral Conscience; 2) Synderesis; 3) Virtue; 3) Sin
Read: CCC para. #s: 1776-1876; Compendium 372-400; LGL pp. 19-39, 123-148
Distributed in Class: Handout #8: Synderesis, Conscience, and Virtue; Handout #9: Sin; Handout #10: Sacrament of Penance: Handout #11: Midterm Exam Study Guide.
5. Wed 13 Feb:
Quiz #4: On conscience, synderesis, virtue and sin.
Topic: The Sacrament of Penance, the human community, and midterm exam review (student qq only).
Read: CCC para. #s: 1420-1470, 1877-1948; Compendium 295-311, 401-414 and handout on the Sacrament of Penance.
Distributed: In class (no count) quiz #2.
6. Wed 20 Feb:
MIDTERM EXAM: from 7-8.15
CLASS: 8.30-9.30
Read: CCC para. #s: 1949-1986; Compendium 415-421; LGL pp. 53-74.
Topics: 1) The Natural Law; 2) The Old Law; 3) The New Law.
Distributed in Class: Handout #12, Church as moral teacher; Handout #13: Exercise in using sources.
7. Wed 27 Feb:
Paper #4 due. Based on nothing but your own knowledge of Christian principles, thoughts and experience, write a one page paper in which you 1) state your own views on the various things which are classified as occult practices (examples: horoscopes, ouija boards, palm reading, psychic friends, the use of crystal balls and crystals, channeling, séances) and 2) state what you understand the Christian religion, the bible and your own faith (whether or not Christian) to teach about such practices, and why. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Paper #5 due: Complete the assignment set forth in Handout #13.
Quiz #4: Material on Human Community and Law.
Read: CCC para. #s: 1987-2051, Compendium 422-433, LGL pp. 97-122, Handout #12 on Church as moral teacher.
Topics: 1) Grace and Justification (review); 2) Merit; 3) The Church as Moral Teacher; 4) Precepts of the Church.
Assign: Memorize the Precepts of the Church (see CCC para #s 2042-2043 – the precepts are in parentheses in quotes, and also in this handout (click to view, see IV.B.1-5)) and the Ten Commandments (see catechetical formula in the third columns on CCC pp. 496-497) word for word for the next class.
8. Wed 5 Mar:
Quiz #5: The Precepts of the Church and the Ten Commandments. Students will be required to write both out, word for word, from memory. Also on: grace, justification and sanctification; merit; the Church as moral teacher,
Read CCC para. #s: 2052-2141; Compendium pages 126-129 AND #’s 434-446.
Topics: 1) The Decalogue and 2) the first commandment: a) theological virtues and the sins against them; b) the kinds of prayer; c) “You shall have no strange gods before me.”
Distributed in Class: Handout #14 on the Decalogue, the theological virtues and sins against them, and the types of prayer.
9. Wed 12 Mar:
Paper #6 due. Write a one page paper in which, on the basis of Handout #15,“The Faithful and the Sacrifice of the Mass,” you explain why weekly attendance at Sunday Mass is a serious moral obligation required of all Catholics – that is, explain what happens at Sunday Mass that makes it so vital to Catholic Christian life. Your use of the essay is to reflect mastery of the skills set forth in Handout #13 and paper #5. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Quiz #6: Material on Decalogue and First Commandment.
Read: CCC para. #s: 2142-2257; Compendium 447-465; Handout #15: “The Faithful and the Sacrifice of the Mass.”
Topics: Second, third and fourth commandments.
Distributed in Class: Handouts #16 and 17 on the 5th commandment: a) general principles and requirements for a just war, and b) the principle of double effect and health care issues, with special attention to care for the terminally ill.
10. Wed 2 April:
Paper #7 due: Using nothing but your own reasoning powers (that is, do not draw on your knowledge of Scripture, the teachings of your faith, or what your parents have taught you – your answer is to be drawn from reason alone) answer the following question in a one page (approximately) paper: If eyes are for seeing, ears are for hearing, free will is for doing the good and minds are for knowing and understanding truth, what are our sexual faculties for? In a final paragraph answer the following hypothetical question: Does every child have the right (that is, a human right) to be conceived in the context of a loving and stable marriage? Why or why not? The question is hypothetical because the child under consideration does not yet exist and, of course, we know many children are conceived under other circumstances entirely. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Quiz #7 on second, third and fourth commandments.
Read: CCC para. #s: 2258-2330; Compendium 466-486; LGL pp. 177-204 and handouts.
Topics: The fifth commandment: general principles and self defense (with particular attention to the notion of proportionate force, capital punishment and the conditions for a just war); the principle of double effect; beginning and end of life issues (abortion, euthanasia, health care for the dying, etc).
11. Wed 9 April
Quiz #8: material on fifth commandment presented in last week’s class.
Reading: TBA
Topics: Stem cell research and Abortion.
12. Wed 16 April
Paper #8 due. On the basis of Father Kukura’s presentation, write a one-page paper in which you explain the position of the Catholic Church on stem cell research – that is, what the Church teaches and why. Be sure to distinguish between the use of embryonic and adult stem cells in such research. In a final paragraph comment on the appropriateness of his presentation for the course. You may, if you wish, also state what you thought of the presentation and its value. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Paper #9 due. Write a one page paper in which you summarize the content of the video entitled “Door to Hope,” comment on the appropriateness of the DVD for this course, and – if you wish – state what you thought of the DVD and its value. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Read: CCC para. #s: 2331-2400; Compendium 487-502; LGL pp. 75-96.
Topics: Sixth Commandment: Chastity, Matrimony, Annulment, Homosexuality, Artificial Contraception and Natural Family Planning.
13. Wed 23 April:
Quiz #9: material on the 6th commandment.
Paper #10 due. Spend some time, at least thirty minutes, browsing the website Family of the Americas. Note the menu of topics across the blue band near the top of the rectangle or named in the pictures at the bottom. Write a one page paper in which you summarize the content of the portion of the website that you investigated most thoroughly, comment on its connection or relevance to the material covered in this course, and – if you wish – state what you think of what you found presented there and its value.
Read CCC para. #s: 2401-2513; Compendium 503-526.
Topics: The 7th and 8th commandments.
Distributed in Class: Handouts #18 and 19 on 7th and 8th commandments respectively. Handout #20: Final Exam Study Guide.
14. Wed 30 April:
Quiz #10: on 7th and 8th commandments
Read CCC pages 601-611; Compendium 527-533.
Topics: The Ninth and Tenth Commandments and Review.