CHAPTER 10: FREE TO BE FULLY ALIVE

Key Terms:

Autonomism- a law unto myself

Capacity- power or ability to act, know, to hold

Crisis- opportunity or occasion for an important decision

Right- entitlement or claim (human, legal and civil)

Object- physical/mental reality toward which thoughts, feelings and actions can be directed

Licence- disregard norms for governing behavior; irresponsible action

Subject- the “self” that thinks, feels and acts

Will- freedom and power of self to choose, act and decide

Freedom- hallmark of human nature, core of human existence

KEY THINKERS

St. Augustine

Freedom 1st discovered in our capacity to say no to God

Uncovered the terrible grandeur of freedom in the experience of the evil and sin

We have the capacity to turn away from God

Through sin we can say no to the one that gave us existence

Freedom’s reach is infiniteEx: Eve and the serpent

Rene DesCartes

Freedom is the capacity of the human self

Doubting experiment, put everything in doubt

Deep awareness of self as the source of all thinking and doubting

A capacity of the self to be free

Danger: “I” can see God as a competitor and assume “I” is infinite and can do w/o God

ERIK ERIKSON

• Personality development occurs as we develop physically, cognitively

• 8 stages over our entire lives

1. Infant stage- TRUST VS. MISTRUST… let go of mother and trust the world

2. Preschool- AUTONOMY VS. SHAME… confidence to impact environment, independence

3. 1st years of school-INITIATIVE VS. GUILT… assume more responsibility

4. Elementary- INDUSTRY VS. INFERIORITY… sense of competence, discovering ability to learn

5. Adolescence- IDENITY VS. CONFUSION… explore different alternatives to questions of concern

6. Early adult years- INTIMACY VS. ISOLATION… intimate relationships, act out of love

7. Midlife- GENERATIVITY VS. STAGNATION… contribution to younger generations

8. Last stage- INTEGRITY VS. DESPAIR… remain generative, adopt stance of shepherd, stewards of God’s creation

KOHLBERG’S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

• Cognitive psychologist

1. Preconventional moral thinking- children make decisions based on fear of being punished, motive for action

2. Conventional moral thinking- trust, caring and loyalty become centre, social order/justice/duty

3. Postconventional moral thinking- principles of justice, concern for the common good, laws and obligations are less important, universal nature of ethical principles

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE DISCOVERY OF THE SELF AS FREE

• Theories of how freedom and morality develop over one’s lifetime

• Descartes’s recognition of “I” as a separate from the world made everything else into objects, modern science found it’s origins

• Developmental psychology- study the pattern of growth of the human personality and identity

• Erikson states- development takes place as a results of socialization by influential members such as parents, each stage has a crisis one must successfully overcome

TO DEVELOP AS AN ETHICAL PERSON ONE NEEDS:

• To trust in the integrity of others

• Feel capable of acting morally

• Believe in objective truth and principles

• Believe that despite one’s limitations, one can overcome whatever threatens to diminish one’s worth and dignity

• A sense of one’s own identity

• Have a compassionate understanding of one’s limitations so that one can forgive and be forgiven

• A sense of one’s autonomy so that one can follow their conscience

• Pursue a life that is meaningful not just for one’s self but for others

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS TRADITION

• Person has inalienable rights, freedoms

• New proclaimed natural rights ie. Dignity of human person, right of free speech and the right to life

• Right- entitlement or claim based on the dignity of being human

• Legal/civil rights- claims/entitlements that have arisen from need to set up parameters that allow people to live cooperatively without harm

• some rights are acknowledged in the bible, such as the dignity of the human person

• In the bible however they are not rights but gifts from God

• Instead of devising moral code, United Nations developed a declaration, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Declaration- declares certain rights/freedoms as being fundamental to humans

• Catholic church recognizes rights/freedom in harmony with faith tradition used in moral teachings

HARMFUL EFFECTS OF FREEDOM

Atheism of modern times •Skeptical about God•German philosopher Nietzsche •The Madman, w/o God humanity is rudderless, world would be an empty place

The isolation of the individual

•What ever is not “I” is an object•Rapid development of science/technology with an impact on freedom •Body is seen as an object •Rise of individualism

Rise of autonomy

•Freedom and power•Law unto myself, extent of freedom guided by desires •God is absolutely free•Freedom came to be seen as power on its own•Rule of reason became secondary•Power governed by your own will alone

FREEDOM AND NATURE: THE LIMITS OF FREEDOM

•Authority and society, testing parent’s limits•Freedom is power when engaged overcomes imposed limitsSocial •Comes from freedom, not without obligation•Take into account moral norms and rulesMoral•Needs to work with the limits set by our bodies, our genetic code•Struggle of human freedom cannot be denied

Freedom in Face of Nature

CHAPTER 12: ST. PAUL'S UNDERSTANDING OF FREEDOM

• Freedom is not a solidarity achievement but a gift

• During St. Paul’s conversion he experienced a new type of freedom

• Gift of freedom implies 2 things:

• 1. it was a freedom from something (law, death, sin, slavery)

• 2. it was a freedom for something (fullness of life in Christ)

GOD’S INITIATIVE IN OUR FREEDOM

1. Freedom from the law- faith in Christ sets you free- not the Torah, not the law that made people free but faith

2. The freedom we have in Christ Jesus- Saul became Paul as he had an experience of Jesus that overturned his life, Jesus is the glory of God, Christ revealed that the origin of life and freedom lay in God’s self emptying love, faith is needed not laws

3. The indwelling spirit- freedom is primarily and exclusively due to the action of the spirit, we are not free in words only, we are made free in our very being of the holy spirit, task of our spiritual life: to become free with freedom of God

4. What to do then with the laws, precepts, moral norms, rules and principles: faith makes us right before God- not laws, Jesus came not to abolish the law but fulfill it, laws and commandments are powerless without God’s grace, the mosaic law could never make us right

5. Legalism or literalism- each law imposes itself on humans from without, legalism is a counterfeit approach to morality, central to morality is blind to obedience of the law, ethical and moral value do not come from mere obedience but from something being right and wrong

6. The truth will set you free- grace of God is connected to the experience of conversion and to the new freedom that it brings is also connected to the truth, we cannot experience conversion/ freedom unless we confront the truth about ourselves first

GRACE

The gift of God’s love at the center of our existence through the indwelling of the holy spirit

1972, New law= law of love,

makes us act out of the love

infused by the holy spirit, he

law of freedom and grace

1999, sanctifying or deifying

grace received in

baptism

2022, grace responds to the

deepest yearnings of human freedom,

calls freedom to cooperate with it

and perfects freedom

• Conversion- radical transformation of the person, a turning around, intellectual level (awareness and openness to the truth), moral level (recognize yourself as free and responsible)

• Freedom- love of God and life of Christ dwelling in us through the spirit, lived in the love of God

• Grace- gift of God’s life/ love at the center of our existence through the indwelling of the holy spirit, Christ is the source of life

• Legalism- literal interpretation of the law/attitude that something is right b/c it is commanded to be so

• Pelagianism- ultimate happiness is due to our own efforts and good works, not God’s graciousness

• Righteousness- our right relationship with other and before God, moral living response to God’s gift

• Truth- Jesus is the truth, through the holy spirit Jesus dwells in us grace of God moves us towards the truth and the truth sets us free

CHAPTER 13 “I the Lord love justice” (Isaiah 61.8)

DIFFERENT TYPES OF JUSTICE

• There are 3 types of important relationships that undergird the notion of justice: Commutative justice, Legal justice, Distributive justice

COMMUTATIVE JUSTICE• Commutative justice pertains to contractual relationships between individuals

and between institutions that have the legal status of a person.

• Institutions with this status are called corporations. Corporations may include associations, retail stores, schools, sports clubs, law firms and religious communities.

• The contracts and agreements that make up the basis of relationships at this level are subject to commutative justice.

• Commutative justice, in a certain sense, is not personal:

• Example: Clothes shopping. A pair of jeans in a store costs the same whether you are a wealthy person or a poor person. The retailer does not make any distinctions. The pair of jeans forms the basis of your legal or contractual relationship with the retailer. Contracts and agreements of this nature are impersonal and blind.

• Commutative justice is important because of the nature of all agreements and contracts Society is built on trust in the word that is given to another. Without it, society quickly falls into anarchy and mistrust.

LEGAL JUSTICE

• Legal justice refers to the relationship of the individual to society. It is also known as contributive justice.

• In the past, legal justice concerned itself primarily with the individual’s obedience to the laws of society. A citizen’s relationship to society was straightforward, you obeyed the laws, or you paid the penalty for lawlessness.

• During the last decades, legal justice has come to be understood more in terms of what the individual in society can contribute beyond the keeping of the law.

• We are expected not only to obey, but to participate in creating laws that benefit the good of society.

• Legal justice today means that we contribute to the life of society.

• Example: We accept not only the right to vote, but also the obligation to vote.

DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE

• Distributive justice pertains to the relationship of the government or society to the individual.

• What is the obligation of the government toward its citizens?

• Whatever program of distribution of burdens and benefits the government adopts, it is subject to distributive justice.

• Distributive justice deals with all sorts of goods that are not economic.

• there is a variety of goods, and that justice operates differently in each sphere:The good of citizen shipdeals with the conditions of becoming a citizen Is it just to have the an unequal distribution of the rights of citizenship among everyoneThe good of security and public assistance responds to the needs of those who have the right to public protection and help. The economic good regulates the area of money and merchandise. this area of goods touches on salaries and wages for work, the economic benefit of the

stock market and banking, the availability of consumer goods, and the right to private property.

The good of offices and positions here the distribution is not to be based on hereditary or wealth, but on qualifications set

by public procedures.no one may be excluded for reasons of age, sex, or religion

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

• The Church has sought to live and act within different forms of government, voicing its descent whenever important values were threatened.

• The Catholic Church brings the gospel perspective of justice to bear on all political and economic systems.

• The Church’s teaching offers several bases for re-thinking social questions in terms of justice.

• 1. Ownership of Property

• Property and the ownership of property came to be seen as an extension of owning a body. Today the focus has shifted from private property to the ownership of material goods in general.

• The Church: Private property is necessary but not an absolute right. It is always to be seen in relation to all the goods of creation, which in final analysis, are to serve the needs of all.

• 2. Solidarity

• Most modern political theories have a common point of departure: the individual and his or her instincts and drives to possess him or herself and material goods.

• The Church: take the common good as a point of departure. Individuals ought to serve the common good.

• Justice is what binds us to the common good. And solidarity is the virtue that binds us to one another in the distribution of wealth.

Need: Every human being has the right to a decent

human living,

therefore the distribution

of goods must provide

at least a minimum

standard of living. If below

society must intervene

A just wage: need

determines the

wage. A just wage

should allows one

to fulfill the basic needs of human

life.

Effort and skill required: In

our economy wage levels

are determined by a number

of factors: power of the union, the

success of the business, the

scarcity or abundance of workers, etc.

Effort and skill ought to be rewarded

proportionally

Productivity: In

current economics

it is the higher level of

productivity that is

frequently cited as

the reason for higher salaries.

• 3. Proportional Equality • “what is a fair or just distribution of wealth or material

goods?”• There are 4 criteria that have been used to measure the

just distribution of economic goods:

KEY TERMS

• Justice: There are 3 distinctions of justice

• Commutative: pertains to contractual relationships between individuals, and between institutions that have the legal status of a person.

• Legal: the relationship of the individual to society, based on law and the enforcement of law.

• Distributive: the relationship of government to the individual, and the government’s obligations.

KEY TERMS • Common good: “The sum total of social conditions which allow people,

either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.” (CCC, #1906)

• Economics: Originally referred to the household and its management. Generally used to refer to the system of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in a society.

• Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you”

• Private property: Something that is owned for one’s exclusive use, or for one’s exclusive control.

• Solidarity: Unity with and among people, based on common interests, values and principles.

• Righteous: Acting in accord with divine or moral law.

CHAPTER 14 Let earth and sea and sky proclaim your glory

GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND EARTH

• The earth must form one of our first considerations in our search for the good.

• It is connected with our origins; the cosmic dust that exploded into our universe and our earth is the same dust of which we are created.

• It is generously marked with the glory of God and the Spirit of God shouting over the void, “Let there be light”

• Since the stuff of which earth is made is also the stuff of which we are made, ecology asks for a unique kind of ethics.

• Humanity’s increasing power to interfere with or manipulate or extract the basic building blocks of matter has, for the first time in history, created a situation in which human activity has begun to affect the delicate ecological balance of the planet.

• In this context, ecology, becomes a moral issue.

• Our choices affect not only the future of the earth, but also that of humanity.

• This means—as we have come to understand justice—giving the earth its due. But even more than that, it means extending to the earth our solidarity.

THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS

• Ecology is the study of the earth’s biosphere: the interacting web of plants and rocks, fungi and soils, animals and oceans, microbes and air, that constitute the habitat of life on our planet.

• The interrelationships in the biosphere show signs of extensive stress, largely as a consequence of human activity since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.

• The science of ecology is relatively new but it has provided us with some important insights about the earth

• 1. All life is interrelated: In order for creatures to survive, they need other creatures, not only as food, but also to adapt to and create a sustainable environment.

• 2. When one aspect of an ecosystem is changed, repercussions are felt throughout the biosphere: Here human beings have been the greatest culprits of intervening in the ecosystem.

• 3. Some ecosystems are more resilient than others. Generally speaking, the greater the diversity of species, the greater the capacity to bounce back after ecological systems are disrupted.

OUR BEAUTIFUL, IMPERILLED PLANET

• We belong to a planet that is both beautiful and under great strain

• “there remains in us a desire to live off the land, to return to the simple lifestyle that preceded modern urbanization. Nature continues to inspire writers and artists. Many have pointed to nature as a reflection of the sacred. However, the relation of the human to the biosphere has by all accounts become problematic”

• Global warming caused by the excess carbon dioxide which increases by a rate of about half a percent each year

• This causes changes in transport of energy throughout the atmosphere and in the growth and reproduction of plants

• It also causes climate change such as increase in rainfall, cloudiness, wind strength and temperature

• Global warming is “making cold places warmer rather than making hot places hotter”

• The abundance of carbon dioxide is good for the growth of plants

• But our high Artic is a foremost victim of the increase of carbon dioxide

• In 2003 the Canadian bishops wrote:

“ life on earth today is plagued with an unprecedented and accelerating ecological crisis. Deforestation, species extinction, climate change, ecosystem collapse, contamination of air and water, and soil erosion are just a few of the enormous ecological problems which we face un Canada and elsewhere in our world. How many of us remember a childhood spent playing under the sun, a beach we were once bale to swim at, a river we were once able to drink from-but no more!”....etc

• Hardly a day goes by without the news causing us to wonder about some aspect of our ecological crisis

DOMINION OR DOMINATION?

• Some have placed the responsibility of the ecological distribution at the feet of Christianity; that man kind’s given dominion over the creatures of the earth was like an invitation to ravage the earth and assert domination.

• Look at the story in Genesis: 1.26-31

• The dominion is not a dominion without the responsibility to God. It means to rule over so that right order might be achieved.

• God is inviting humanity to steward the animals and other forms of life, that is, to take God’s place in taking care of them.

ANTHROPOCENTRISM OF THEOCENTRISM?

• Our pattern of perception of how things are in our lives has been termed worldview.

• Our worldview has a major influence on our future, because it informs the decisions we make today.

• Anthropocentrism and Theocentrism are two opposing worldviews that influence humanity’s relationship with ecology.

Anthropocentrism

• Sees mankind at the center of all reality and relationships

• evolved out of the possessive individualism of the 17th century.

• focuses on the world as a resource base for human use

• Whatever is one the planet is for the service of humankind.

Theocentrism• A God-centered worldview

• The earth belongs to God

• With all of creation, we bow down to the Creator who has entrusted his creation to us.

• We have a crucial role to play in sustaining a world that is both blessed and broken.

• Both science and religion tell us that we are inextricably entwined in the web of life.

DOES NATURE HAVE MORAL STANDING?

• What is moral standing? We give moral standing, or “value” when we feel an obligation to an entity to treat it well, or to treat it as something important. That entity has a hold on us, and makes us regulate our actions.

• There are 5 different approaches to the moral standing or value of nature: hierarchist, conservationist, preservationist, globalist and sacramental.

Hierarchist: View nature as a hierarchy. Lower, or less rational creatures are made for the benefit of those that are higher and more rational. Aristotle: “Plants exist for the sake of animals and brute beasts for the sake of man”. For these thinkers, only human beings have moral standing., so the welfare of other creatures matters only if they are useful to humans.

Conservationist: Only humans have moral standing. What is done for nature is measured by the good it brings to human kind. See nature as a resource. Nature may be preserved, but it is only for wise human consumption.

Preservationist: Nature is good in itself and needs to be protected against ill-considered exploitation. It is particularly important to protect endangered ecosystems. Aldo Leopold, the pioneering writer on ecology, holds that an action “is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”

Globalist: Go beyond preservationists by also including non-living ecological components. Both the living and the non-living are part of creation and those all need sustaining.

Sacramental: In the document, Caring for Creation and the Common Good, the bishops insist that all creation has moral standing because it is ultimately God’s. Traces of God are woven throughout creation. Creation is sacramental. (Everything is holy now)

MORAL AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGICAL

STEWARDSHIP• As awareness of ecological issues grow, the Church as well reflects on

these issues and develops its teachings.

• The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace has taken on a number of ecological issues as part of its mandate to educate and support efforts in the area of social justice. From these documents, we draw 5 principles*** to consider in our relationship with the ecological system

1) The ecological

disharmony, according to the book of

Genesis, is a repercussion

of human disharmony with God.

2) The earth is the Lord’s and we are charged with being its stewards. It is

the responsibility of humans to

maintain biodiversity and safeguard the

earth.

3) We are called to assume a

God-centered perspective. This means

understanding the earth as

God’s creation.

4) God has given us the earth as our

common home. We live in this home with all its diversity

which we must protect and

respect.

5) The goods of this earth belong to all. The goods must be shared equitably. The

earth is abundant in its gifts. We must

not deprive others of its

wealth because of greed.

ST. FRANCIS AND THE INTEGRITY OF CREATION

• St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of ecology

• Born in the Umbrian town of Assisi, Italy to a family belonging to the up and coming merchant class of citizens

• In his youth he had an active social life

• After being captured in a military skirmish around the year 1205, Francis began to experience a conversion

• He abandoned his apprenticeship in his father’s clothing trade to devote himself to solitary prayer

• While praying he heard a voice telling him to rebuild the church

• He understood this to be physically rebuilding churches in Assisi area

• Later he perceived this vocation as one of living out the gospel ideals of poverty and simplicity

• He experienced the presence of God in creation, calling different aspects of creation as brother and sister

THE OBLIGATION TO REDUCE ECOLOGICAL IMPACT

• In face of the gravity of the ecological crisis, how does our initial shock and outrage at the various ecological disasters turn into constructive actions?

• What is the appropriate form of action? How can an individual become a movement? When do we resolve to act? How is this action a reflection of the gospel’s message of justice and love?

• Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople laid down some considerations for those undertaking ecological action:

1) To think of the world’s children when we reflect on and evaluate our options

for action

2) To be open to study the true values based on the natural laws that sustain

every human existence

3) To use science and technology in a full and constructive way, while

recognizing that findings of science have to always be evaluated in the light of the centrality of the human person, of

the common good and of the inner purpose of creation

4) To be humble regarding the idea of ownership and to be open to the

demands of solidarity

5) To acknowledge the diversity of situations and responsibilities in the

work for a better world environment.

KEY TERMS

• Anthropocentrism: From the Greek anthropos—man. A worldview that considers the human being as the most significant entity in the universe.

• Conservationist: One who sees nature as a resource to be preserved for wise human consumption.

• Dominion: Word used in Genesis to describe humankind’s rule over creation, so that right order may be achieved. Humans are expected to exercise dominion over the earth, a dominion of service, wisdom and love.

• Ecology: Study of earth’s biosphere. From the Greek word oikos, or house, and logia, meaning word, reason or discourse. It is a discourse about our dwelling place—planet earth.

• Globalist: One who regards all elements of nature, living and non-living, as worthy of protection.

• Hierachist: One who views nature as in terms of a hierarchy of living creatures, from the lowest microbe to the highest human being. The lower forms are meant to serve the higher forms.

KEY TERMS

• Preservationist: One who views all living creatures as part of an integrated ecosystem, all having value in and of themselves.

• Stewardship: How human kind is to exercise dominion over creation: a caring cooperation with God, a caring for creation with a sense of service, motivated by love.

• Theocentrism: From the Greek theos—God. A worldview that considers God to be the most significant entity in the universe. (opposite of anthropocentrism)

• Worldview: A worldview is a set of presuppositions (assumptions that may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or unconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic make-up of our world.