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Lesson 3: the reformation and beyond
The history of Christian ethics
Who was bonaventure?
Bonaventure was an Italian
Franciscan friar (1217-1274 c.e.) who taught theology at the University of Paris.
He attempted, in his theology, to integrate faith and reason, and was influenced by the Platonic tradition, which had
prevailed in the centuries before.
It is from this perspective that Bonaventure developed a synthesis of Christian theology and morality.
Synthesizing theology and morality
The central characteristic of people was their will, their power to decide and to act.
The intellect, while important, was in the order of means, a tool to be used for action
Love was the centre of the moral life. Knowledge and practical deeds were secondary.
The role of theology is to make intelligible what scripture teaches about Christ and the moral life.
Who was Thomas Aquinas?
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was an Italian Dominican priest of the Roman Catholic Church and member of the Dominican
religious order.
His work is unparalleled in terms of its influence in the Church.
At the time of Aquinas, the writings of Aristotle were being rediscovered and Aquinas drew on Aristotle for his articulation of
Christian theology.
For Aquinas (following Aristotle) humans are intellectual beings or rational animals.
Their highest achievement is contemplation.
Interest in ethical questions
Aquinas was concerned with protecting the notion of a human agent who is the responsible author of his or her
own actions.
Human beings are not just "spectators” of the world-order in which everything that happens is caused by God's
will. Rather, human beings are actors in the world. God has given human beings the capacity to be reasonable and
responsible agents.
Aristotle’s influence on Aquinas
***because Aquinas drew on the philosophy of Aristotle, we need to consider more deeply Aristotle’s
thought.
Briefly, Aristotle:
rejected Plato's explanation of reality as involving unchanging Forms.
was concerned with the phenomenal world, that is, the world that can be known empirically.
was concerned to differentiate reality and understand how it grows, develops and changes.
For Aristotle, the good consists in the realization of the ends that are potential in one's nature. (Think of an acorn. The 'end' that
is potential in an acorn's 'nature' is an oak tree.)
Thomas Aquinas was hugely influenced by Aristotle's notion of the good. We see this influence in Aquinas' ethics, which is
described as teleological.
For Aquinas, a good life under the control of right reason consists of the best use of:
one's rational powers (intellect and will)
one's lower capacities (appetites and bodily activities)
The relationship between ends (teleology) and means (deontology):
What is teleology?
Derived from the Greek word telos meaning “end, purpose, or goal” and logos meaning “the
study of”.
There is a theory of ethics called teleological ethics.
o
The focus here is on the “end” or “consequence” of an act.
o
An example of this type of ethics is—Utilitarianism.
Asserts that the criterion of right and wrong actions is whether they maximize
welfare, that is, the greatest good for the greatest number.
What is deontology?
Comes from the Greek word deon meaning “law, or duty” and logins meaning “the study of”.
The focus in deontological ethics is the law, the rule or the duty, which takes priority over the
results of an action.
ENDS—ETHICS OF CONSEQUENCES—TELEOLOGY
FOCUS—THE RESULTS OF A SITUATION.
MEANS—ETHICS OF PRINCIPLE—DEONTOLOGY
FOCUS—THE PRINCIPLES OR RULES THAT GUIDE OUR ACTIONS.
***christians must as in an impacted and sinful world in which, not infrequently, the possibilities of
action or inaction all seem, in different ways, morally questionable. Harmless activity may not be
harmless.
o
Some insist: “the higher and more noble an end is, the more it justifies any means used in
achieving it”.
o
Others insist: “in moral matters, the mean affects the end”/
o
EX: the means are not morally indifferent, and a sharp distinction between means and
ends is never possible.
Example: greenpeace
Members of greenpeace, an international organization that works for environmental conservation and
the preservation of endangered species, often break the law in their effort to get publicly about what
they think is right and wrong. For these members, the end (raising awareness of and preventing activities
that are harming the environment or endangering species) justifies the means (breaking the law,
damaging property, endangering their own lives and the lives of others).
The head of greenpeace, Kumi Naidoo, states it is justifiable to break the law inert people to the threat
of climate change.
“The head of Greenpeace has said that it is justifiable to break the law in order to alert people to the
threat of climate change. Kumo said the organization had no intention of scaling back its tactics as he
compared protesters’ actions to Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther king saying they
too broke the law.” In some ways we will probably intensify it because all the science is telling us that
time is running out for this planet”, he said. However, he emphasized that the group was “deeply
committed to peace” and would not resort to violence. Last week 54 greenpeace protestors were
chargedwith trespass after spending the night on the roof of the house of parliament in October last
year.”
Example: my brother’s keeper
Someone whose name is Ed comes to see me because he wants to know where my brother is. I know
that Ed wants to find my brother because my brother owes him money. I also know that Ed plans to
physically injure my brother because of a debt. So, I tell Ed that my brother got a job in canada and he
will not return for months. This, in fact, is not true. I am lying. My brother is staying with me, and I know
he is at my place as I am talking to Ed.
Deontologist—what you did is wrong because you lied and lying is always wrong no matter what the
circumstances. End—keeping brother safe, never justifies the means—lying.
Teleologist—the lying is justified because it protects my brother from harm. End—protecting brother
from harm, justifies the means—lying.
The basis of natural law
The basic principle of natural law— good should be sought after and done, evil avoided. This is known through an intellectual
intuition of practical precepts of moral behaviour.
Natural Law
Constitutes an objective set of principles that can be seen as true by the natural light of reason. The claim of the natural law
tradition is that moral knowledge is accessible not just to believers but to anyone who is willing to reflect critically on human
experience. Natural law assumes that human beings are essentially good and have a capacity to know and choose what is right.
Natural law refers to some innate quality or capacity within human beings that guides us through life and helps us to choose
what is good and avoid what is evil. So, according to the theory of natural law, moral knowledge is accessible through reflecting
on our own experience.
The Biblical Basis of Natural Law
The parables of Jesus use ordinary human experiences to highlight basic human values. Paul, in particular, was explicit in his
reference to 'nature' as a source of moral knowledge for those who did not have access to the revelation of the God of Israel.
Critical reflection on experience is sufficient for moral enlightenment. (Romans 1:20)
Other sources of natural law:
Greek Philosophy
However, the natural law tradition in Christian ethics is due more to Greek philosophy than scriptures. The key Greek
philosopher was Aristotle who influenced Aquinas in particular.
For Aristotle, human nature is rational, therefore, morally good actions are those that are directed (through reason) toward the
full actualization of human potential. While we all have natural capacities for virtue (or vice), these capacities must be
developed as habits through practice.
In the same way that we become better athletes or musicians through practice, we become virtuous by doing virtuous things.
We begin by doing objectively virtuous acts because they are taught to us or commanded of us. We are not yet interiorly
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motivated or do not yet use our reason to choose the "good". Eventually, through education and habit, virtuous actions come
from our own reasoning and intention.
Romans and the 'Law' of the Natural Order
Another important source of natural law were the Romans who emphasized the 'law' of the natural order. Cicero (d. 43 b.c.e.)
wrote of "natural law as the innate power of reason to direct action. To live according to the law given in nature is to live
according to what reason commands."
"Order of Nature" and "Order of Reason"
By the time of the Middle Ages and Aquinas, two strains of interpretation of natural law prevailed. One was the "order of
nature" which focused on the physical and biological structures given in nature as a source of morality. The second, the "order
of reason" focused on the human capacity to discover in experience what promotes human flourishing and well-being. Aquinas
accepted both strains.
Connecting natural aw with practical reason and eternal law
Aquinas links natural law both with practical reason (of which humans are capable) and with eternal law,
which posits that god is ultimately the source of moral value and moral obligation.
Everything participates in god’s eternal law according to its nature.
So animals participate by instinct and humans participate through reason.
The work of reason
For Aquinas, even though the immediate source of moral knowing is human reason, God’s
eternal law is the underlying source.
The work of reason is to discover what being human means. Reason does this by reflecting on
the total human experience, not merely the biological.
For Aquinas, reason “entails the totality of the human tendency to want to know the whole of
reality and come to truth”.
Our moral duties
So, for Aquinas our moral duties are known through our best practical judgement on what is
requires for any particular person problem.
His understanding of natural law:
o
Mora duties can be ascertained by reflection on human nature.
o
God’s plan for us is built into our nature by god’s creation of us.
o
Based on Roman’s 2:14-16-a law written in our hearts.
Reflection on human nature
By using our reason to reflect on our human nature, we can discover both:
“Specific” ends
The specific ends toward which we tend.
An example of a specific end is learning to play a musical instrument. The actual effort
we undergo to learn to plan a musical instrument aims at the specific end of playing the
instrument.
“General” ends
The general end of which God created us.
An example of general end is “happiness” toward which all human beings are oriented.
We all seek happiness as a “general end” of our acts. So, learning to play a musical
instrument is the specific end and the happiness we experience in doing this is the
general end.
When we discovered these ends, it is then possible to determine the means required to achieve them.
To sum up
For Aquinas, this understanding of god’s plan for us, built into our nature by god’s act of creation
is natural law.
For Aquinas, special revelation is not necessary for moral knowledge.
What is nominalistic?
The best way to understand the meaning of "nominalism" is to compare it with "realism". Both nominalism and realism are
epistemological theories (epistemology is the study of knowledge, that is, it is concerned with how we know anything.) We can
compare the theories of nominalism and realism through an example.
Think about a concept like "humanity". What exactly is "humanity"? Realism would say that "humanity" is a universal concept
that exists apart from the individuals to which "humanity" refers and is something that all human beings share in common. We
can think of a philosopher such as Plato who argued that there exists somewhere a more perfect form of everything that exists
in the world. So, for realism, somewhere there exists "humanity".
Nominalism, on the other hand, would say that there is no reality called "humanity" independent of the particular individuals.
So, for example, there are four individuals – John, Mary, Susan and Peter. These individuals may share something in common
that we call "humanity" but "humanity" is located in John, Mary, Susan and Peter and not apart from the individuals to which it
refers.
Who was Martin Luther?
If Aquinas built his moral theology on the basis of a natural law providing human beings with the innate capacity to discern good
and evil, nominalistic denied the possibility for human beings o know anything beyond the concrete and the particular.
Thus, if the church and society could not impose rational guides for action the other alternative became the demand for
conformity. We see develop in the 13
th
and the 14
th
centuries a kind of ethical legalism which, as with most forms of legalism,
led to enormous abuse by those in power, both in the church and in the nations.
Into this situation came one of the most influential figures in the history of Christendom was Martin Luther (1483-546) a
German, Augustinian monk.
Luther-the originator of the reformation in Europe.
Reformation:
The 16
th
-century movement to reform of the doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church which ended in the
establishment of protesting churches.
Luther was tortured by person feelings of inadequacy and sinfulness. He studied the writings of st.Paul and taught theology at
the university of Wittenberg. However, when Luther became an Augustinian monk, the church was far removed from the gospel
ideal. Luther was a perfectionist and could never live up to his own expectations himself.
Indulgence:
Luther’s criticism with the Catholic Church centred on the use of “indulgences”.
Roman Catholic teaching states that: “an indulgence is what we receive when the church lessens the temporal (lasting
only for a short time) penalties to which we may be subject even though our sins have been forgiven”.
In the early church and at the time of Luther, penances could be quite severe. The church taught that penances could be
shortened or lessened through acts of charity or good worlds. This became the source of extreme tension for Luther when, in
1516, johann tetzel, a Dominican friar and paper commissioner for indulgences, was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic
Church to sell indulgences to raise money to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Catholic Church taught that justification
depends not only on faith but also on the acts of charity and good work a person performs. Donating money to the church was
considered a ‘good work’.
Protest against the corruption in the church
In response, Luther emphasized that faith alone saved a human being. In 1517, he launched his protest
against the corruption of the papacy and the Roman Catholic Church. Luther and most of the
reformation movements stressed return to original gospel teachings.
Faith working through love:
Luther felt that natural law undercuts the need for grace. He emphasized that fallen humanity is in need of Christ's revelation if
human beings are to know what is good in God's eyes.
Here Luther referred to Paul's letter to the Romans, 1:17.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and
also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "He who through
faith is righteous shall live."
Luther roundly condemned the moral and rational work-righteousness inherent in the philosophical theology of the Roman
Church. He emphasized that before God, reason must submit to scripture and works must bow to faith. Reason and good works
are the result of the freedom gained through the unmerited forgiveness of Christ. Luther portrays the biblical pattern of a life of
"faith working through love."
To sum up, Luther:
Rejected the intellectual tradition of Thomas Aquinas
Re-appropriates the biblical tradition with its emphasis on surrender to God.
Insists that faith alone saves - not good works.
Who was john Calvin?
John Calvin (1509-1564) French theologian and significant architect of the Reformation.
Calvin taught:
Christian life understood to be a life of faith and faithfulness in response to God's grace.
Salvation is entirely the gift of God's grace; in no respect is it the effect of human "works."
Moral effort is response to grace, essential but not independently initiated.
For Calvin, Christian ethics is about the response of the human subject to what God has already done. Calvin stressed the
importance of "vocation" and that God calls us to a morally responsive life.
Calvin’s legacy: predestination
Calvin accepted Luther's criticisms against the Roman Catholic Church and pushed the positions to their logical conclusions, e.g.,
if everything was God's work, then an absolute and formal pre-destination was clearly a fact, and human free will played no part
in one's being saved or lost.
Calvin systematically works out a doctrine of predestination and defines predestination as...
“God's eternal decree, by which He compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man. For all are not created
in equal condition; rather, eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others.” (Institutes of the Christian
Religion, III, 21, 5)
Free will and determinism
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Believers in free will:
at least some human actions are the result of free rational choice of humans.
Supporters of determinism:
all human behaviour is due to the operation of causes similar to those which determine the course of events in
the natural world.
Various forms of determinism:
physical and chemical — for example, our genes determine many aspects of our personality. There is medication
for depression because many think that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance.
Sociological — behaviour is determined by the society we live in. Most people simply conform to the standards
and patterns of behaviour of the society to which they belong. For example, a social institution like schools will
shape how we think about things. Also, we may think we choose the clothes we wear but in reality, the range of
choices is determined by the society in which we live.
Economic — human behaviour is shaped by economic factors. Marxism is an example of this. Studies suggest that
crime rates are higher among the very poor.
Theological — for example, Calvin’s strong emphasis on divine providence and predestination.
Reason and Grace vs. Freedom and Determinism
The dialectic between reason and grace is the theological counterpart of the ethical dialectic between freedom and
determinism.
Some think that the human will is so disabled by sin that it cannot choose good except through the supervention
of grace (thus determinism).
Others think that the human person has the capacity to develop and grow and so has the capacity to choose good
over evil (Thus freedom).
Counter reformation
Counter Reformation is the revival of the Roman Catholic Church between the mid-16th and mid-17th centuries.
It had its origins in reform movements that were independent of the Protestant Reformation, but it increasingly became
identified with, and took its name from, efforts to 'counter' the Protestant Reformation.
Responding to Protestantism
create it. It gave Catholic reform a dynamic and vitality. There was an effort to revitalize the ancient practices. Medieval
Catholicism sought its highest expressions of devotion in the monastic life.
New Orders and Reforms
During the Counter-Reformation, new orders were founded, or new forms were given to established orders.
An example of a new order was the Jesuits, and a new form of an older order (the Franciscans) was the Capuchins.
There was general agreement that reform was needed, but no agreement on how it should take shape.
Two main positions: 1) Conciliation and concession with Protestants and 2) Refusing all concession.
Increasing the Number of Clergy
The history of the Counter-Reformation is in part the history of the triumph of the conservatives and the militant over the
conciliatory and the liberal. If there is a single theme running through the reforming endeavours of the Catholic Reformation, it
is the quest for a more adequate clergy.
Seminaries were established.
Education provided to the seminarians emphasized the behaviour necessary for the Catholic
A separate moral theology emerged.
The council of Trent
The Council of Trent (1545 - 1563) was the 19th ecumenical council (a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to
discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice) held in the Italian city of Trent.
The Council was the church's formal response to the challenges of the Reformation movement. It sought to both correct what
the Catholic church saw as the imbalance of Luther and the Reformers while at the same time heeding the objections Luther
and others raised.
At the time of the Council of Trent, the Church took up a defensive posture to protect itself from the Reformation. The Council
of Trent sought to provide clear lines which would distinguish Protestant protest from Catholic doctrine. It treated doctrine and
discipline in parallel.
In its effort to respond to specific challenges of Protestantism it emphasized:
faith alone was not sufficient for justification; it must be accompanied by hope and love (charity).
unwritten traditions and Scripture were to be received with equal reverence.
the seven sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders and Last
Rites).
Trent emphasized free will and good works:
Trent formally incorporated into its binding teaching the doctrine of the ancient Council of Orange affirming both free will and
the gratuity of the beginnings of grace, while denying predestination to damnation.
The Legacy of the Council of Trent
Moral theology emerged as a discipline distinct from other theological disciplines. It
became cut off from sacred scripture and spirituality and became aligned with
canon law.
The focus was practical concern: is a particular action sinful and, if so, how sinful?
The point of reference was the 10 commandments and the laws of the Church.
No real consideration of the character or virtue of a person.
But Trent added, following the exhortation of the Bible and of common sense, the necessity of doing good works. It also clearly
affirmed that good works in Christ merit a reward, not of themselves, but because of Christ.
The Council of Trent insisted that the Christian sacraments were efficacious instruments through which God acted
to confer grace.
There was great emphasis placed on the practicalities of behaviour.
Seminaries were established to train priests. This helped to ensure clear and consistent teaching of doctrine.
For the first time a clear and formal system for the education of clergy was developed. Clergy were taught the
behaviour necessary for the Catholic.
The Council of Trent insisted on the importance of knowing proper moral action.
The importance of the sacrament of penance:
The moral manual method:
As a reforming council, Trent stressed the importance of the sacrament of penance.
Attempted to reform the Catholic institution and catholic life.
All catholic were obligated to confess once a year, therefore it was necessary to train priests. The moral manual
method spread in this context.
Determining clear guidelines:
In the seminar, the teaching of morality became closely allied with canon law.
The focus was determining clear and concise guides for the kinds of behaviour, which were allowed, and those that
were forbidden.
Emphasis on the sacrament:
The emphasis on the sacrament of penance meant priests emphasis on the sacrament needed to be trained to serve
as confessors.
The practical problem of the confessor was to determine in the penitent had sinned or not and if the penitent had
sinned or not and if the penitent had sinned, how serious was the offence.
This became the primary focus of moral theology—determining the sinfulness of actions and the principles underlying
the correct solution of cases.
Moral theology focus:
The manuals of moral theology emerged as a way of helping priests in their role as confessors.
The manual was focused on the individual acts in order to determine the degree of sinfulness.
The moral manuals attempted to lay out what was permitted and what was forbidden.
***the key questions used to assess one's actions were?
What am I doing?
Is it allowed?
How far can I go?
***moral theology became more and more legalistic and narrowing.
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