1. Four Ways of Locating the Ethical in You

2. What is Ethics?
the nature of the good and the search for the infinite good
Greek word “Ethika”
Having to do with good character
the good that humans aim for
guide morality and gives vision to our actions. They try to explain the higher good and give us the principles that underline our moral actions.

3. What is Morality?
System of right conduct based on fundamental beliefs and obligations to follow certain codes, norms, customs and habits of behaviour.
Translates to the search for the good into the way we conduct ourselves in our day to day lives
Moralities →Latin →Habits of daily life

4. 1) The scream- the experience of personal response
-something like a scream breaks through your reverie, forcing you to awareness for your responsibility for another person -the scream is an appeal and urges you not to think but to act -Without thinking about it, you feel an inner tension to respond. -It is not a decision you make, rather an automatic response

5. The beggar- the experience of the other
Comes from French-Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas ( )
When encountering another person, we have an ethical experience because face-to-face encounters remind us of our responsibility for the “Other”
For example: When you come across a beggar, you debate with yourself how to respond...whether you choose to give or not, as you walk away you defend your decision to yourself, ie. a response has been evoked
You cannot look at the “Others” face neutrally, it makes you feel responsible and through this you have an ethical experience

6. “I have to”- The experience of obligation
Your ethical sense is turned on when someone orders you to do something
Example: If your parents tell you to be home by midnight, as time passes you grow increasingly aware of your need to get going. If you choose to ignore this and stay anyways, you experience feelings of unrest.
Your ethical side obliges something in you to follow the law, or do what is considered the right thing to do
Your response to an order from someone you consider to have authority over you, such as your parents, has everything to do with ethics, as you show yourself to be an ethical being

7. 4) This is intolerable! This isn’t fair!- The experience of contrast
An ethical experience occurs when you feel outraged by something blatantly unjust or unfair happening to yourself or to others
Example: Your feelings of indignation towards the abuse of children is an experience of contrast to what ought to be
It is an ethical experience to recoil from destruction and the intolerable

8. The Myth of Narcissus
Narcissus was a physically beautiful man, who rejected the longing of a woman named Echo, as he lacked any feeling. One day when he was thirsty after hunting and was about to drink from a well, he noticed his own reflection and fell so in love with it that he died of thirst at the edge of the well.
A healthy individual will find a balance between self love and love for others and work on relationships with others trusting there will be sufficient reward for “me”
The narcissist refuses to look beyond the self to acheive this balance

9. Aristotle’s Teleological Ethics
The pursuit of happiness
-Human life is shaped to its full extent in the context of a community- it is there the citizen will find happiness
-Happiness is not equated with pleasure, pleasure is only momentary while happiness is an enduring state of someone who does well the tasks typical of a human being
For Aristotle, ethics aims to discover what is good for us as human beings, what permits us to reach our potential, what is our internal compass, or what we are intended to be

10. Teleology
We are intended to be rational and our greatest capacity as humans is our intelligence
Humans are rational beings and so we must base our actions on reasoning
Therefore: to act ethically is to engage our capacity to reason as we develop good character, and that is the highest form of happiness
The good person is one whose actions are solidly based on excellent reasoning and who spends a great amount of time thinking

11. Human excellence
-When people seek to become who they are intended to be, they develop habits that represent the best of what it means to be human -> these are excellent virtues
-To act virtuously means allowing reason to guide ones action’s
-Aristotle held that a good person would use reason to control desire

12. The mean
There is a need to maintain balance in our actions
Aristotle’s doctrine: Be moderate in all things
This applies to moral qualities because they are destroyed by defect and by excess
For example: In the case of self control, one who shuns everything becomes a coward

13. Immanuel Kant’s Ethics
Theoretical reason
The area of reasoning by which we come to know how the laws of nature, or cause and effect, govern human behaviour
An area of life where freedom of choice is not an issue
Kant tried to clarify how humans come to know things

14. Practical Reason
Using theoretical reason we can only know what people actually do, while using practical reason we can come to understand what people ought to do
Example: Using theoretical reason we know the effects of alcohol consumption upon the body, while using practical reason we know we ought not to drink and drive
Kant contributed the concept of moral duty to our understanding of ethics
Kant’s ethics
-Kant was primarily concerned about the certainty of the principles of ethical reasoning
-He recognized we cannot arrive at the same type of certainty we can in physics and mathematics
There are three areas of interest: God, freedom and immortality
These cannot be proven empirically but we need these practice principles to be able to pursue and attain the supreme good

15. 1) God
Humans cannot out of their own power achieve supreme good
God exists to allow us to achieve the supreme good
2) Freedom
If supreme good is to be our achievement then what we ought to do we Can do
Therefore: by nature humans are free
Immortality
Achieving the supreme good is an immense task, it is impossible to obtain it completely in this life
That is why there is a life beyond, where we can achieve the supreme good

16. Character- the way your actions, over time, tend to become fixed in your body
* remember to study the moral decision making model at the end of chapter 3*

17. Parousia
Second coming of Christ, which is to take place "at the end of the age"
This time ends time: it is the ending of the story of salvation
The end is described as a completion: the full revelation of God
Jesus will come back to judge the living and the dead.

18. Interpreting Scripture
Understand two important tools of spiritual scholarship, exegesis and hermeneutics
They mean analysis and interpretation. We use exegesis to understand the context of Matthew's gospel, hermeneutics to apply the findings of exegesis to understanding these texts for our time.

19. Exegesis: the study of scriptures and texts in their original context
Looks at the language and historical context in which they were written
Religious traditions and other existing writings that influenced the authors of texts
Task: analyzing the text or event in question as much as possible within original context

20. Hermeneutics: Task of interpretation with reference to something else
Matthew wrote in a different time than our own
Hermeneutics helps us to identify key "lenses" through which we read scripture

21. Apocalyptic Scripture
When Matthew wrote his gospel, Jewish society felt a loss of identity and a sense of hopelessness.
Ruled by Romans, temples run by people who had no right to High Priests
Culturally, experienced great Greek influence and the pressure to adopt all things Greek
They were still dealing with the collective memory of the exile of their ancestors
Apocalyptic writings are writings of crisis, they reflect on how people who find their surroundings corrupt and without hope impacts and reflects on their faith in the Covenant of God.

22. Continued… Wonder whether God abandoned them or is testing them
Conviction that God is coming soon. Emphasize an end to this evil dominated history, God is coming to judge this world.
Apocalyptic vision foresees a time of great distress. Battles between good and evil, where the powers of evil are defeated.
Jesus is presented in the gospels as preparing the coming of God.
God comes as a free gift of salvation

23. Beatitudes
A form of pronouncement that presupposes that a good or happiness has already been given or is about to be received. The Sermon on the Mount contains a list of beatitudes.
The new Torah and the new way of life for Jesus' disciples.

24. Three Senses of Conscience: To Recognize Right and Wrong
Our capacity to know and do the good and to avoid evil.
Our fundamental sense of value and of personal responsibility
Our fundamental awareness that there is a right and a wrong

25. Conscience as a Process of Moral Reasoning
Knowing how to perceive accurately and to think correctly.
This is where moral disagreements and error, blindness and insight occur.
The conscience must be formed and examined
Formed in community, draws upon many sources of moral wisdom in order to know what it means to be human in a truly moral way.
Seeks to know the truth and to make it one's own.
Searches for what is right through accurate perception and a process of reflection and analysis.

26. Conscience as a Judgment
The concrete judgment and decision of what I must do in the situation based on my personal perception and grasp of values.
Conscience makes a moral decision personal and the moral action expressive of "me" by realizing and expressing my fundamental stance.
The decision is not simply about this or that object of choice but also about being this or that sort of person
This is the conscience that I must obey to be true to myself
This is our secret core and sanctuary where we are alone with God

27. Symptoms of a Misinformed Conscience
Rationalization: stealing may be wrong sometimes, but large stores can afford it because they are making huge profits.
Trivialization: It's no big deal-everybody else does it.
Misinformation: My doctor said that all teenage girls should take birth control pills to prevent pregnancy

28. The End Justifies the Immoral Means: I had to steal food because I didn't have any money and hadn't eaten in hours.
Means to an End: By dropping a nuclear bomb to end the war, we'll end up saving lives.
Difficult to Reason: Having been kicked out of his home and finding himself with no place to go a teen acts without thinking. He breaks into an empty home to keep warm when he could have asked for help from the police.

29. The Decalogue (Exodus 20)
On Mount Sinai, God named out the 10 commandments:
You shall have no other Gods before me
You shall not make for yourself an idol
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy
Honour your father and your mother
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor

30. The Ten Commandments
The Decalogue is literally translated as Ten Words and known as the Ten Commandments
Two versions: Exodus 20 (shortened on the previous slide) and the Book of Deuteronomy which contains the shorter version
The Ten Commandments have been adapted and interpreted
Christians interpret them in light of their faith in Jesus Christ
Ex) “Keeping holy the Lord’s day” in the Christian concept refers not to the Sabbath but to the first day of the week: Sunday, the day of the Resurrection
What God expects of the people bound by the covenant
The first 3 Commandments contain the words how to honour and love God; the last 7 concern the human community. Jesus says that the first- to love God- is like the second- to love your neighbour

31. The Ten Commandments make sense only in the context of the covenant
The Ten Commandments make sense only in the context of the covenant. They are not just rules and commandments on their own
They state the type of relationship to which Israel is privileged
At times this covenant is described using the language of adoption (ex: we read in Psalm 2 “You are my son.” Israel is the Lord’s adopted son. That is why the first commandment directs Israel to remember who it is with whom they have entered into a covenant)
The second tablet of the Decalogue describes this relationship with God in our relationship to the other. Our relationship with others is part of our worship of God.
The covenant with God is at the same time a covenant with our neighbour. Our turning to the Lord our God is expressed as a responsibility to our neighbour.

32. Covenant: Its Origins
To understand we need to look at their origins. The ancient Hittites were powerful people who lived in Asia Minor between 2000 and 1200 BC. Covenants were treaties between a sovereign nation and a vassal nation. They exhibited 5 traits:
The Preamble- the treaty begins with the name, titles and attributes of the Great Hittite King and his genealogy
The Historical Prologue-the Great King then gives a historical overview that describes the previous relations between the two contractors. It recounts the many benefits the sovereign has bestowed upon the vassal
The Submission- states what the Great King expects from the vassal. This often includes a fundamental declaration on the future relations of the partners. It consists in a request of loyalty
The Witnesses- every legal document/ treaty requires witnesses. In this case, the witnesses are the gods of the two partners, but also the deified elements of nature; the mountains, the rivers, the sea, the heavens and the earth
The Blessings and Curses- the treaty tells what will happen if the vassal remains faithful or is unfaithful to the demands of the treaty

33. Covenant: Its Origins Continued…
The covenant at Sinai of the Book of Exodus displays these traits clearly
While the covenant at Sinai displays similarities with the other covenants found among contemporary cultures, it is also far greater than these contractual agreements. God’s covenant is a bond of love, calling us in our freedom to respond in love. God’s commitment to us is founded in love, and God’s commitment is forever

34. The Structure of a Call Story:
1. The Confrontation with God- It begins with an encounter with God, each encounter is different. There is disproportion between God and the one being called
2. Introductory Speech- It is God who speaks first. Before the call, God makes a self-announcement. At the heart of each call is an assurance from the Lord- a promise of “God with you”
3. Imparting of a Mission- The prominent phrase in these call stories is “I send you”
4. Objection by the Prophet-to-Be- The prophets are strongly aware that their mission to the people will set them apart from the people…that is their burden
5. Reassurance by God- God reassures the prophets as they receive their mission. The word that the prophets are to speak is God’s word. The prophet’s word is taken over by the Lord’s word.
6. The Sign- The sign is not always clear. Ex) Moses is given a sign: “ And this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain” …Isaiah's sign is the destruction of the land and the

35. Introduction
We examine six aspects of the human person that are important for ethics
The importance of others
The importance of having a direction in life
The importance of communication and language
The importance of character and one’s body
The importance of conscience
The importance of the development of one’s conscience
A philosophical view of what it means to be human is important for ethics, as this viewpoint lets us interpret how we as individuals interact with others, our community, our culture and our religion in the process of becoming moral agents .

36. a. The Importance of others
We ask: Can you be a free, unique individual while bearing responsibility for the other?
In Aristotle’s, Kant’s and Levinas’ theories, the “other” plays a central role
Levinas makes the strongest argument; your relationship with others is a powerful incentive for your actions, what you do and how you do it
The other is central to your search for good

37. a. The Importance of others...
In Western society the idea that “I am my brother and sister’s keeper” isn’t very popular
We tend to think of others as an obstacle to personal freedom and initiatives, because the Western Culture views the person as an individual, emphasizing autonomy, independence and freedom
Humans are singular and unique individuals, BUT that does not mean we need to see others as enemies of our autonomy
Rather, the other makes it possible for us to become our true selves, individuals in freedom
Example, celebrate other people’s successes before your own failures

38. a. The Importance of others...
The Danger of Narcissism
The Greek man Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a well, and he became so consumed with the image that he died of thirst at the edge of the well
A healthy mature personality must find a balance between self-love and love for others
A healthy individual will work on relationships with others, trusting there will be sufficient reward for “me”
The narcissist refuses to look beyond the self to achieve this balance and often feels rage against those who don’t support the self and its needs

39. b. The importance of having direction in life
The second anthropological trait of the human self is about being committed to particular values
Knowing who you are = knowing where you stand
Knowing where you stand and what your commitments are is essential to your self- identity and your moral self
Example: As a member of Students Against Drunk Driving, you make known to others you stand for responsible action and speak out against those who selfishly risk the lives of others
1. my identity lies in my the commitments- spiritual background provides a frame within, without one may encounter an “identity crisis”
2. Identity emerges from the direction I take in life- essential link between moral direction and identity, fundamental direction
3. Where do I stand? Comes in form of a name, to answer one’s self is to know where one stands, defines where you answer from

40. c. The importance of communication and language
Your stance in life is also shaped by your community, that shares a common language
Your values and aspiration where made known to you by others in your life, who also taught you what was right and what was wrong
To answer the question “Who am I” you must recognize the community into which you were born, by whom you were raised, and whose language you speak
We are inducted into personhood by being initiated into a language
We first learn languages of moral and spiritual discernment by being brought into an ongoing conversation by those who bring us up. As a result, meanings key words first had for “me” they have for “us”
Therefore we learn what concepts like love and anger are through “mine and other’s” experience of these objects, only later do we innovate and develop original ways of understanding them
However, this innovation can only take place from the base of our common language

41. c. The importance of communication and language
In this sense, I am a self only in relation to the conversation partners who were essential to my achieving self definition
The self only exists within “webs of conversation”
Therefore: the full definition of someone’s identity usually involves not only his stance on moral or spiritual matters but also some reference to a defining community
Since language contains and shares with others common experiences and commitments, it can be meaningless to those who don’t share the same experience
For example: Words like “Eucharist” and “Trinity” do not have the same meaning for non- Catholics as they do for Catholics. Knowing the dictionary definition is not the same understanding as a term’s meaning within the catholic tradition

42. d. The importance of character and one’s body
You become a self with your body, and might say that it is through your body all human traits become possible.
For this reason your actions too are embodied; they shape your character
Building character
The word character refers to the way your actions, over time, tend to become fixed in your body.
The same way your capacity to run when training for a race depends on your body, so you your choices in life
“moral fibre” is like muscle fibre- the more you exercise it, the stronger your character
Repeating moral and ethical actions embeds them into your character, and others will recognize you by these character traits
Once the traits take root, they are not easily changed..you become set in your ways, for good or for bad
The choices you make each day are often the product of what you believe and value, and the habits you have formed over the years
The moral principles you learn also help to make up your character- your character determined what you see, how you interpret what you see, and how you respond to what you see

43. e. The importance of conscience
Your conscience is more complex than it may appear at first
Conscience is the place where we hold our own selves in our hands
The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World says conscience is an inner voice that tells us “at the right moment: do this, shun that”
Our conscience is our most secret code and sanctuary where we are alone with God whose voice echoes in our depths

44. Conscience in the teaching of the church
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
1778 “Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process or performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgement of his conscience that a man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law”

45. Conscience in contrast to Freud's concept of superego
As people develop a mature conscience, they move from the experience of rules imposed by someone in authority to directing their actions more from within
Conscience is not a feeling that something is right or wrong, or a feeling of guilt, its our capacity to know and do the good
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory helps explain the distinction between conscience and superego

46. Conscience in contrast to freud’s concept of superego
There are three structures to our personality
ID- instinctual drives largely dominated by the pleasure principle
EGO- the conscious structure which operates on the reality principle to mediate the forces of the id, the demands of society, and the reality of the physical world
SUPEREGO- the ego of another superimposed on our own to serve as an internal censor to regulate our conduct by using guilt as its powerful weapon
The superego tells us we are good when we do what we are told to, and makes us feel guilty when we don’t do what authority tells us

47. Three senses of conscience
Conscience as capacity
Our capacity to know and do the good, and to avoid evil
Our fundamental sense of value and personal responsibility
Our fundamental awareness that there is a right and a wrong
Conscience as Process
Knowing how to perceive accurately and think correctly
The conscience must be formed and examined, moral disagreements may occur
Seeks to know the truth and to make it one’s own
Searches for what is right through accurate perception and a process of reflection and analysis
Conscience as Judgement
Your conscience is incomplete until you act on it
You commit yourself to do what you believe to be right and avoid what you believe to be wrong
Conscience makes a moral decision “my own” and the moral action expressive of “me” by realizing and expressing my fundamental stance

48. F. The development of one’s conscience
Your conscience develops as you mature; your sense of right and wrong becomes increasingly refined
Your conscience develops as you take account of and follow the norms, values, virtues and commandments found in our Christian tradition as guidelines for your conscience
Your conscience helps you to deal with you moral failures and sins. Through your faults you become aware of your weakness and fragility as a human being and your need for support from others, especially God
Your conscience develops as you participate in the Eucharist and prayer life of the church
Your conscience develops as you grow in the virtue of humility

49. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Matthew wrote his gospel for the Jewish followers of Jesus
Mark wrote his gospel for the Christian community in Rome in an atmosphere of persecution and fear during a time when it was illegal to be a Christian
Luke wrote his gospel for non-Jewish Christians who lived in a Greek-speaking urban environment
John wrote his gospel to a now unknown community of Jewish Christians

50. Schism- the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the church subject to him. The schism divided the Eastern and Western Churches, then the division between the Catholic and Protestant Christians.
Grace- God’s self gift of love in us. Our participation in the relationship of love that is the trinity, the active presence of God’s love in our lives. The church is intended to be an instrument of God’s love or grace. Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favour, the free and undeserved help that God gives us in response to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and eternal life
Eschatological- pertaining to the end of time, in the sense of its fullness. The coming of the kingdom of God at the end of time, according to Jesus, has already begun in his life, death and resurrection. Ethics that insist we can already live what God will realize/reveal to the world
Gentile- A person who is not part of the Jewish faith or not of Jewish ancestry.

51. Magisterium
The official teaching of the Church on moral matters, the teaching office of the Church. Bishops- in union with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope hold the responsibility to teach with this authority.
Magisterium’s task to teach the faith and to ensure that believer’s honour the values of tradition in their lives
Mission is accomplished by:
A) Bishops delegate- cannot do all teachings by themselves, assign others such as teachers and catechists
B) Give a teaching mission to theologians and to all those who speak in their name
C) Teach directly- publish formal definitions of faith, write encyclicals, pastoral letters and declarations
D) 2 levels- Extraordinary (2 situations, ecumenical council, the college of all bishops united with pope pronounce solemn decree OR solemn decree when the pope speaks explicitly as the head of the church), Ordinary (normal daily teachings of the bishop throughout the world)

52. Saul’s Conversion to Paul (more info on pgs. 109-111)
Saul (Jewish) went around persecuting Christians (called “followers of Jesus” at the time) since for Saul Jesus was a dangerous person
He received letters of authority to go to Damascus to "harass" the believers and put them in prison
While on the road to Damascus, he saw a light and heard a voice claiming to be Jesus. He became blind for three days, but at the same time, he believed and became a devout follower of Jesus
When Saul heard Jesus from out of the blinding light, he realized he had been wrong about God and that Jesus was the Messiah
Saul, took on his new name “Paul” when he turned to Christ
For the rest of his life he gathered communities of Christians into the Church and because he was convinced that the Gentiles were to play a part in fulfilling God’s promise with the resurrection, Paul became the Apostle to the Gentiles

53. Paul’s Conversion
Conversion- radical transformation of values, a turning around that take places at an intellectual level as an awareness and openness to the truth
Before conversion he was known as Saul, “Jew with an agenda”
Law was a weapon and his sword was to divide the true Israel from the false
Went to the high priest and asked him for the letters to the synagogue at Damascus so if anyone belonged to The Way, he would bring them bound to Jerusalem
Light from heaven flashed down on him and asked him “why do you persecute me”, could no longer see, went 3 days without sight, he did not eat or drink
Lord called the disciple Ananias to go to the house of Judas to look for Saul, then Saul regained his vision with the touch of Ananias
Paul was then baptized and proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues

54. Moral Stance
“My moral orientation or direction in life, what I stand for”
Your identity, comes in form of a name
Naturally tend to talk of our fundamental stance in terms of who we are
Once the stance is attained, defines where you answer from, hence your identity

55. The Torah Taught by Moses and is brought to its fullness by Jesus
Jesus is the law and the law is the love
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Torah, Jesus is the new Torah
Guided Jewish people in their intense and passionate search to live the will of God
5 Teachings of Jesus (Moses’ 5 teachings, 5 books of the Torah)
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Matthew passes on authority that we and the church are instructed to pass on

56. The Trinity
The central mystery of the Christian faith and of the Christian life
God alone can make it known to us to by revealing himself as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Distinct meaning for the word person, God is a union of three persons
An individuals who bears rights and responsibilities, to be autonomous
The Father, Son and Spirit in God are all persons singular and distinct from one another, the one is not the other
However, there is unity, Theologians state love binds all three persons together
The love generated the son and breathed forth the spirit
The trinity can also mean the outpouring love towards the other

57. The Formation of the Gospels
3 stages:
Jesus’ Ministry, death and resurrection
Stories and sayings (oral tradition)
Written gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the “Q” to which Mark and Luke refer to

58. The Gospel of Luke
Jesus states, “Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return… Be merciful, jus as your Father is merciful.”
Forgive, give to others, love your enemies
Mark influenced Luke’s gospels
Luke refers to another source known as the “Q”
Wrote for non Jewish Christians who lived in a Greek speaking urban environment

59. The Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Comes among us The Church
Also known as the Kingdom of God, is not a place but a symbol or metaphor for God
A central image of Jesus’ message
God is not distant but close at hand
Jesus is someone in whom the kingdom has taken on flesh and bones
Comes among us
God’s liberating action
Jesus brought it so close that people could almost taste it, those who were sick tasted the generosity of healing
Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God in human history
The Church
The people who follow the way of Jesus and accept the free gift of God’s salvation
Those who gathered in the church are the “first fruits”, the beginning of the harvest
Lives in the present time, what the full revelation of God will bring about
The Ethics
Jesus proclaims the fulfillment of the Torah, Jesus delivers the new Torah from the mountain of beatitudes
Beatitudes- form of pronouncement, propose a good or happiness has already been given or is about to be received

60. The Kingdom of God… Makes us righteous Is an eschatological ethics
To be right with God is to be right with one another
It is gospel ethics

61. Glossary Terms
Apocalyptic Literature- style of writing that evolved during Israel’s troubled history around the time of Jesus. It focused on the end of history and the time of God’s purifying judgement. It employed frightening imagery of end-time wars between good and evil and of convulsions in nature
Beatitudes- form of pronouncement, presupposes that a good or happiness has already been given or is about to be received, Sermon on the Mount
Eschatological- pertaining to the end of time, sense of fullness, the coming of the Kingdom of God at the end of time, insists we can already live what God will realize or reveal at the end
Exegesis- analysis of text in original context
Gospel- literary genre that proclaims life, death and resurrection of Jesus from perspective of the living faith of particularly early church communities
Hermeneutics- interpreting texts and events to understand what they mean for us in the 21st century
Inspiration- sacred scripture in inspired by God
Parousia- refers to the 2nd coming of Christ at the end of time
Torah- 5 books of Moses, contain core teachings of: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy

62. Continued…
Humanism- a worldwide view centered on human interest and values, and the individual’s capacity for self-realization through reason and action. Humanists generally reject reference to the divine
Secularism- a worldwide view that rejects religion and religious considerations. Secularists on accept critical reason