Religion IV

1. November 18, 2013 Religion IV

2. Objective You will be able to define conscience, understand its true meaning and evaluate it as part of moral decision making.

3. Three dimensions of conscience • 1.) Synderesis: the basic tendency in us to do good and avoid evil • 2.) Moral science: the process of discovering a particular good that ought be done or the evil to be avoided • 3.) judgment: the specific judgment of the good that one must do in a situation. This is done after seeking wisdom and knowledge from church teachings, etc.

4. Formation of conscience • Our culture can form or deform a conscience • Jesus’ life and teaching is a basis for formation of the Christian conscience • Magesterium, in forming the scripture and tradition are also used to form conscience

5. The Moral Act • There are three basic elements used in determining whether an action is moral or immoral: • 1. The object chosen • 2. The intended result (the end) • 3. The circumstances around the action

6. The Moral Act • “A morally good act requires the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances together. • An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good in itself (such as praying and fasting ‘in order to be seen by men’). • The object of choice can by itself vitiate [corrupt] an act in its entirety. There are some concrete acts– such as fornication– that it is always wrong to choose, because choosing them entails a disorder of the will, that is, a moral evil.” CCC 1755