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Introduction
After the summer break, I thought it is time to get down to some serious thought about "moral action." In our busy lives it is not easy to spend some time in thought, meditating on the implications of our Christian faith for our own conduct. Sometimes, we are forced to think about 'morality' because of news items about bad behaviour and violent crime on our streets, or because we have been victims of some bad action or indeed perpetrators of actions which we know to be wrong. Also, when we see news items on television and in the newspapers about terrorist activities we rightly make judgements about the morality of such actions.
Some years ago, as a member of a specialist police team, I had to question the morality of having to use a firearm against a possibly armed and dangerous criminal, terrorist or otherwise. Could I kill that person ? Would I be justified in shooting first before he kills me or someone else? Have I a moral right to take a life in those circumstances ? I came to the conclusion that I had a 'right' to defend a life by all means. But upon what did I base this decision - rational argument, instinct, Christian moral teaching, or merely a 'feeling' that this was right ?
Although most of us, thank God, are not faced with such a life or death decision, nevertheless we are faced with personal moral decisions on a daily basis which have serious implications for our relationship with Our Lord and ultimately our destiny and fulfilment. When we consider such decisions and actions, where and to whom do we go for guidance ? Is it simply a question of relying on 'common sense', or on what we think is the right way ? Do we rely purely on our experience of life and a kind of 'natural wisdom' to which we have become accustomed ? Do we follow Church teaching on moral issues ? Has our Christian moral strength become weakened by the constant barrage of immoral and amoral influences in the world around us ?
In this issue I want to identify the moral foundation of our Christian moral life, not in its specific applications but in the context of the relationship of human reason with the light of God's revelation. In this way, not only are we able to comprehend the true moral life but also able to live-out our faith in specific actions. We are subject to many pressures today to reject the Christian moral message, but do we say with St Peter, " Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life". (Jn.6.68)
Brian Pointer BA(Div), MA(Theo)
Adult Christian Formation
St.Richard's, Chichester.
Jesus' proclamation that the reign (kingdom) of God was "at hand" was also a demand for a response from mankind. It would be foolish to think that God's self-communication in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ, was simply a revelation that had no implication for the actions of mankind. Throughout Our Lord's life on earth, through his words, signs and actions, as witnessed by his disciples and given to the Church, he constantly shows us that our response is first of all one of belief and faith in him as the Son of God. However, he also shows that this belief and faith necessarily makes religious and moral demands: It is not anyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.' (Mtt.7:21)
Our Lord makes it quite clear that before we can even think about the question of what is God the Father's will in how we live our lives, we need to have an initial conversion. His call is a change of direction in our lives, expressed in the New Testament by the Greek word metanoia and often inadequately expressed in English as repentance i.e. sorrowful regret: "The time is accomplished and the kingdom (reign) of God is at hand. (Repent and believe the gospel" (Mk.l:15) This change of direction starts with belief and faith in Our Lord and continues with our life-long response to his call to action, for true faith is manifested in the kind of life we lead. It does not stop with our acknowledgement of Christ as 'Lord' but is expressed and demonstrated in our religious and moral actions. We can then say that we are 'doing God's will'.
This question is fundamental to understanding how we form a moral code or law. The problem with talking about a 'moral law' or 'moral theology' is that we have preconceptions that these subjects are really the business of theologians and priests. To some extent this is true, and the many thick tomes on moral theology produced during the history of the Church have not helped to dispel the view that it can be seen as a difficult and dry academic subject.
One of the tasks of theologians is to clearly identify in words that everyone can understand (sometimes unsuccessfully!) the moral teaching of the Church as derived from its understanding of what is it that God wills for mankind. However, it is the bishops and the Pope, in their united role of being Christ's shepherds of his flock, that have the responsibility of proclaiming and teaching the truths about God's will for mankind. The work of particular theologians is there to serve that role as well as providing inspiration to the Church. Therefore, in order for us to come to know the will of God as proclaimed and taught by Our Lord, it is imperative that we listen to those teachings expressed through the teaching office of the Church known as the 'magisterium'. It is through its guidance and leadership that, using Pope John Paul II's phrase, we are helped to know the "splendour of truth" as revealed by God in his creativity and especially in his Son, Our Lord.
The answer lies in the unity of three sources, from the natural law, the Scriptures, and tradition, yet each is derived from the one divine will of God.
It is common today in the context of 'morality, particularly in the field of medical ethics, for those formulating ethical teachings and policies, to have recourse to the so called 'natural law'. It is not possible to give a full explanation in this short letter, but it is helpful to have some idea as to what is meant by the term and its significance for the moral life.
The development of the concept of a natural moral law, intrinsic to human nature and, what is more, capable of being known by the use of reason, as against an external law formulated by an external authority, has been one causing much controversy. Can human beings, with their knowing and reasoning powers, identify a natural moral 'law' within human nature as, for example, scientists have done with the 'laws' of physics ?
The answer is clearly no, for any law of reason in human nature cannot be empirically proved as those of physics. However, by using our reasoning powers we can see that there are 'ends' or 'purposes' of human nature, both in the physical and spiritual sense. In the physical side of our nature we see that each part has a particular purpose in the context of the whole person, e.g. the heart's purpose, or end for which it exists, is to pump blood around the body. In the spiritual side, we see that we have powers to reason and make judgements, to form opinions and beliefs, to love, and above all, a desire for human fulfillment. The purpose of those spiritual capacities is so that the whole person can express his/herself as a human being and not just a collection of physical cells.
It is our power of reasoning which identifies the ends or purposes of human nature, in the integrity of its spiritual/physical wholeness, and the actions which are necessary for us to attain them. In this way, we are able to decide whether certain actions are in harmony with those ends or whether they defeat those ends. We are then able to formulate certain rules or laws by which we can measure those actions as good or bad (evil). This is what is called the 'natural law'.
At the same time, through God's self-communication, we are brought to the realisation that the natural law is a Therefore, the natural law alone cannot give us all the answers we need in deciding whether a particular action is morally right or wrong and what actions ought to be pursued for our fulfillment. Because it comes from the creativity of God it cannot be in opposition to that divine and eternal law:
In God's self-communication, sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture "make up a single sacred deposit of the 'Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church."( Vatican II "Dei verbum" 10) In this way, the revealed word of God is not in opposition to the natural law known by reason, but opens-up man's reason to the fullness of the meaning of life in relation to God's will for human salvation and fulfilment.
Because of our weakened nature which leads us to ignore or go against God's will i.e. committing sin, it is difficult for us to even make the effort to know and follow the demands of the natural law even when it is enlightened by revelation. Our wills become weak and our consciences can become insensitive and unreliable in warning us as to the right or wrong of a particular action. Our consciences can only be really effective as moral guardians if our minds have been enlightened by truth and our wills liberated and strengthened. Pope John Paul's encyclical "Veritatis splendor" (the splendour of truth) is one of the great documents on the relationship between freedom and truth. In chapter 11(64) he wrote, ".. .freedom of conscience is never freedom "from" the truth 6ut always and only freedom "in" the truth ... The Church puts herself always and only at the service of conscience, helping it to avoid being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine proposed by human deceit (cf. Eph..4:14)"
We have not been left without the help we need, first of all to come to know which actions are in harmony with God's will and therefore for our own good, but also in the liberating power of truth in his Church in the gift of his Holy Spirit. The moral teachings of the Church, as formulated and expressed through the unity of the Pope and the bishops, are given to the world in Christ's name and with his authority. That authority and power remains active in the gift of the "Spirit of truth" (the paraclete), through whom the Church is being led to "the complete truth" (Jn.16). We have seen above that the shepherds of Christ's flock, Pope and bishops, form their moral teaching from the one divine law which is expressed through the 'natural law', the Gospel as divine revelation, and the presence of the Spirit of truth. The central figure in these 'sources' is, of course, the person of Our Lord, the Son of God. It is in and through him that God the Father's 'labour of love' is brought to us in our salvation and fulfilment. That love is expressed in many ways in Our Lord's teachings and examples as recorded in the Gospels and taught in the Epistles. Very much to the fore are Our Lord's teachings on how we should think and act towards each other and also in our relationship to himself and the Father. It is in these teachings, which very often are expressed through parables, that we see the fundamental principles from which the Church as the Body of Christ forms its moral character. As Our Lord is the Vine and we are its branches, so we draw nourishment from him to live-out our faith in our moral life. It is not just a question of our inner disposition but that action should be the fruit of that inner faith. One of Our Lord's parables which epitomises his teaching on living-out our faith in him was the final one at the Sermon on the Mount:
"Why do you call me "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say? Everyone -who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them - I will show you what such a person is like. Such a person is like the man who, when he built a house, dug and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock., When the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. (But someone who listens but does nothing is like the man who built a house on ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house. "(Lk.6:46-49)
The teaching of this parable is clear and underlines the imperative nature of listening to those teachings and what is more putting them into action in our lives. Our Lord's teachings are the only sure way of guiding us when we have a decision to make about the good or bad of a particular action. This is why the moral teachings of the Church are built upon the firm foundations of the fundamental principles laid down by Our Lord. This not to say that we can find in Our Lord's teachings a comprehensive list of answers to all moral questions. What we do find are those foundations upon which hangs the whole moral law; for it is from these teachings that light has been continually drawn by the Church under the guidance of the Spirit of truth. The Church is always seeking new light, new understanding in its development of doctrine, but never loses hold of the 'rock of truth' upon which its teachings are built. There can be no doubt that Our Lord's decisive and most demanding teaching was the placing of love of God and love of neighbour at the very heart of all moral action (cf.Mtt.22:34-40; Mk. 12:28-34; Ik. 10:25-28). This message concerning Christian love as agape, i.e. sacrificial love, brought something new into the world. The linking together of love of God and of one's neighbour, and the interpretation of this double commandment as the core of the whole of moral doctrine, was a radical teaching which challenges any kind of moral legalism. These two intertwined commandments are the guiding principles from which we find the direction of the path we are to follow. They also provide the colour, the tone, the flavour for every moral action. They may not provide specific answers to all moral questions, but they give us the very ground upon which the Church should build its moral doctrine. Our love for God is shown in our love for each other. As Rudolf Schnackenburg, a great theologian and Scripture scholar of the last century, wrote "It is not ecstatic visions that lead to communion with God, but love proved in action." ("The Moral Teaching of the New Testament" p. 106)
Very often the Catholic Church is alone in its refusal to move away, even a little, from its stand on moral issues. There are many others who try to ignore the moral implications of Our Lord's message and dilute his teachings to lessen their impact on the individual's freedom. The Catholic Church answers them when Pope John Paul II wrote: "The attempt to set freedom in opposition to truth, and indeed to separate them radically, is the consequence, manifestation and consummation of another more serious and destructive dichotomy, that which separates faith from morality."("Veritatis splendor" 88)
Quote of the monthEmpowered and freed by the truth.
The moral imperatives of the Gospel
The call to action
The primacy of love in the moral law