DISCUSSING ETHICAL ISSUES

As part of our class discussion, the following items were listed on the board as being ethical issues:

abortion; stem cell research; environmentalism; capital punishment; rendition ;gay marriage / same-sex marriage; racism; separation of church and state; pre-marital sex / cohabitation; evolution vs creation(ism); abstinence only education; education; nationalism; institutionalism

In reviewing all these items, the class discussion became quite energetic.  Once again the question of opinion was raised.  This led to the larger question of authority.  We then considered the question of authoritative teaching in the Roman Catholic Church:

MAGESTERIUM = SACRED SCRIPTURE (being the Word of God) & SACRED TRADITION (being apostolic teaching)

We began to review Willam May's consideration of VERITATIS SPLENDOR (http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/may.html)

 

CUTTING THROUGH THE SPIN

A video was shown in class, entitled "CUTTING THROUGH THE SPIN: on Stem Cells and Cloning."  It is available in the Gabriel Library as DVD 205.64957 P116 2005.  According to the presenter in the video, the Rev. Dr. Tadeusz Pacholcyk, this presentation is summarized in a brochure: for more information, visit http://www.donumvitaecenter.org

HOW TO THINK ETHICALLY ABOUT STEM CELL RESEARCH

In class our discussion focused on how to think ethically about stem cell research. The following notes are taken from what appeared on the board by the end of the class:

STEM CELL RESEARCH     

[proponents highlight possible benefits: tissue regeneration through “genetic imitation” (?)]

What is stem cell research?

Stem cells – developmental term describing undifferentiated cells [these are living cells]

Some ethical issues focus on where these stems are found:

-         umbilical cords

-         embryonic cells

-         adult cells [problematic because of differentiation possiblities]

 

Questions to be answered?

Some discussion considered the role propaganda plays in presenting issues.

-         What is propaganda?

-         Can propaganda be used ethically?

 

 A major question is “Where/when does life begin?” [define “life”]

 

How is an embryo alive? 

Donated eggs and sperm are used to develop embryos outside of a mother’s womb.

How is “embryo related to “child”? [Does this constitute human life? a human person?]

 

Define “personhood” = anyone with a random capacity to …[this phrase was left unfinished; see Catholic Church’s definition]

 

Who has authority? [Who has the authority to determine what is true?]

 

What is truth?

Class AGAIN ended up discussing the issue of holding an "opinion" and articulating opposition another's opinion.  One student suggested that one may be offended by such opposition when one may have doubts about one's own opinion.  I modified that to include having long unanswered questions lingering in one's mind (but then again, how is doubt related to questioning?).  The Roman Catholic Church has been careful to articulate what is to be believed by faithful Christians through Magesterial teaching drawn from Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. 

Essays related to VERTATIS SPLENDOR

I recommend the following essays:

Pope John Paul II's Encyclical Veritatis Splendor 

http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/veritas.htm

 

Pope John Paul II’s encyclical VERITATIS SPLENDOR and Bioethics

http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/VS-bioethics.htm

 

Charles E. Curran’s Grossly Inaccurate Attack on the Moral Theology of John Paul II

http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/curran.htm

 

The “New” Evangelization, Catholic Moral Life in Light of VERITATIS SPLENDOR, and the Family

http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/new-evangelization.htm

DISCUSSING TELEOLOGY

Class discussion focused on how TELEOLOGISM is inconsistent with the Church's teaching on TELEOLOGY? 

The definition given by one student for TELOLOGY was"the study of purpose and design."  I highlighted the word "end" to be significant for understanding TELEOLOGY, in that the teleological doctrine considers THE LAST JUDGMENT which comes at the end of time.  Consider a timeline on which there are three points: the beginning (when God created everything), and the end (when God will judge all creation), and in between the point describing the Incarnation (when God became Man in the Person of Jesus Christ); the OLD AGE describes the time after the Fall of Man, the NEW AGE describes what was intiated because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  When the END OF TIME comes, the OLD will pass away, and the NEW will continue. 

I read from the Book of Revelation where THE LAST JUDGMENT is described.  See Revelation chapter 20.  There we read about Satan (the name comes from a word meaning "accuser") and about how Satan is finally thrown into the lake of fire, as will be death itself.  We read of two books, one a record of all deeds done by everyone, "both great and small," and the other, "which is the book of life."  According to the last verse, "... if anyone's name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." 

A question was raised about taking such Scripture "literally."  I answered that, literally or figuratively, the text revealed the concept of final judgement for which each person is to be held accountable.  The focus of Christian Ethics is on our need to critically consider everything we do in light of such judgement, and on the advocacy available to us through the Spirit of Christ Jesus (the One who determines whether or not our name will be found in the book of life). 

I read also from Paul's Epistle to the Romans to describe how everyone will be accountable and why.  See Romans chapter 1.  It bothers some to think that everyone will be judged; I emphasized that we should first be concerned how each of us will be judged.  Having taking this class in Christian Ethics, no one of us has the excuse of not having heard; each one of us must choose belief or disbelief.  Questions of belief may come up even if one chooses to believe, and this is not a bad thing unless one is unwilling to heed true answers (pray that the Holy Spirit lead us into all truth).  Disbelief, however, leads one, not toward Truth, but away; no answer will be found satisfactory to one who disbelieves.

TELEOLOGY deals with the whole truth about the purpose and design of life.  TELEOLOGISM just considers periods of time, each with a particular beginning and end, but without any care given to the END OF TIME when all things will undergo THE LAST JUDGEMENT.

See discussion in section IV of the second chapter in VERITATIS SPLENDOR, especially nos71-75 which specifically addresses Teleology and Teleologism.

ACTING REPONSIBLY

In class, we considered the following:

- intrinsically evil acts: an act that is wrong in itself cannot be justified for any reason (rationalizing why it wasn't really wrong does not make it right!); it takes merciful grace to overcome the guilt of such an act.

- teleology vs. teleolologism: the Last Judgment, not contemporary opinion/expediency, is the end toward which all action must be directed

- the bondage of guilt and the freedom of forgiveness: not acknowleding one's guilt is to lie to oneself; the burden of living such a lie weighs heavily upon the one who is guilty.  Confession unburdens one of guilt by placing one's faith in the work of Christ on the cross; repentance puts one on the path of following the way of life in Christ.

- working to justify oneself vs. working out one's faith: if one senses that one has fallen short of being a good person, one may strive to do things that seem good so that one is accepted as a good person; however, no amount of doing things that seem good can make one good, because only God is good.  God has proven Himself to be willing to overlook one's human shortcomings by becoming human Himself in Christ Jesus and doing what is right in living and dying in a way pleasing to God.  God showed His pleasure by raising Jesus from the dead; this resurrection power is available to every person whose faith is firmly placed in the person and work of Christ.  One then faithfully goes on to do good in living as followers of the Way which is the focus of Christian Ethics. 

- serving others: See John 13:1-17  Teachers are responsible for teaching what is true and hold high status because of this; however, Christian teachers are called, as are all Chrstians, to hold on lightly to their own status and be always ready to lower their status in order to raise the status of others.  Such servanthood was perfectly modeled in the example Jesus set for His disciples when He washed their feet.

BODY & GIFT

All human relationships involve the body in some way.  Those in right relationships take on the responsibility to respect one another’s body.  How then are human beings to act responsibly in such embodied relationships?

• God is the giver of life and gives the Law which guides how life is to be lived.

• God is pleased to give each human being a body for living one’s life.
Each human body is either male or female, created in God’s own image:

God said, “Let Us make humanity in Our image, according to Our likeness …”

• This gift of life is God’s gracious act of love towards all human beings.

• All human beings are called by God to give oneself over to God – this “self” includes one’s body.

• This obedient giving of oneself to God is an act of love exemplified perfectly in the life of Jesus.

• All human life is lived in the context of relationship with God and other human beings.

• The one God, who is Spirit, is revealed as a relationship of three persons: Father, Son, Spirit.

• The Son has been revealed as Jesus Christ:

Having existed in the form of God, Christ Jesus did not regard equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself taking on the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of human beings. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, God highly exalted Him

• In the fullness of time, the Son, begotten of the Father, became embodied through the action of the Spirit in the womb of Mary, a young virgin engaged to the man, Joseph.

[A virgin is a woman who has had no bodily intercourse with a man.] 

Mary and Joseph, obeying the command of God’s angel, Gabriel, named their son Jesus.

• Jesus, anointed by the Holy Spirit, lived wholly submitted to the will of his heavenly Father.

• While Jesus was still a child, His parents carried out for him all that was required of God’s Law; Jesus then continued in obedient subjection to his parents as he kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and other human beings.

• All other human life has been bodily conceived through procreative intercourse between a person’s mother and father 

[in whatever manner possible] 

(except in the case of the first two human beings, both of whom were made directly by God)
– Adam, [called the son of God in the geneology of Luke’ Gospel] into whose nostrils the LORD God breathed the breath of life after forming him from the dust of the ground; and
- Eve, whom the LORD God made from a rib He had taken from the body of Adam.

• All human beings are embodied persons who have been given their body by God.

• All human beings are persons who, at birth, have no other material thing but a body.

• A person’s body is inviolate – no one can take a person’s body against that person’s will.

If a person is not pleased to give one’s body to another, the other cannot take that person’s body

 [this would be rape]

• Marriage is God’s way of giving one’s body to another

(exemplified in Adam’s relationship with Eve).

• The giving of one’s body to another is appropriate only within the context of marriage.

• Sensation is all that a person can experience bodily – one senses either pleasure or pain.

• Any human activity will involve bodily pleasure or pain.

• Sexual activity is sensual experience focused on bodily pleasure.

• The pleasure of giving one’s body to another is open to life as one’s mind conceives what is in the mind of God.

• If one has given over one’s body to God, 

[All human beings are called by God to give oneself over to God – this “self” includes one’s body] 

then masturbation will be transgressive against God; this act takes for oneself that which belongs to God.

• Adultery transgresses the marriage relationship – this may be other than bodily transgression.  

• Fornication is a transgression of the body – i.e., any inappropriate bodily interaction (including unfaithful fantasy).