An Introduction To Moral Theology, 2nd Edition. William May. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: William May
Издательство: Ingram
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Жанр произведения: Философия
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781612782324
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way of life, their fulfillment is not a condition for entering the covenant with God but rather a demand arising from the relationship with God freely accepted by the people. As Germain Grisez points out, “God provides a law so that his people can cooperate freely in their valued personal relationship with him. Law is not a burden but a blessing and a real necessity for developing an orderly life in common, especially for people recently freed from slavery and used to arbitrary treatment.”17 Continuing, Grisez makes a most important observation, central to understanding what the moral life, as understood in Scripture, is like. He writes:

      The major idea common to all the Old Testament sources — given God’s sovereign holiness and the vocation of his people to be holy so that his glory could be made manifest — is that holiness requires morally upright conduct: justice and mercy, concern for the poor and the weak, personal integrity and fidelity.

      The covenant relationship between God and his people in the Old Testament deepens and transforms morality. Grisez well summarizes what this entails:

      The New Testament shows us that Jesus of Nazareth, born of a woman and like us in all things save sin, is indeed the only-begotten Son of God made man, the eternally begotten “Word” of God become man, become flesh (sarx) (cf. Jn 1:14). In Jesus of Nazareth, God comes personally to visit his people, to become one with them by sharing their human nature, and to redeem them by his saving death and resurrection. Jesus invites us to become one with him, to share in his saving death and resurrection, and to become new creatures through the gift of his Spirit. The epistle to the Ephesians begins by summarizing God’s plan for our salvation:

      Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us [Eph 1:3-8].

      Indeed, through baptism we “put on” Christ and become new creatures, God’s very own children, members of the divine family, living Christ’s very own life — a truth developed marvelously and in different ways by various New Testament authors, e.g., by St. Paul, with his teaching on the Church as the “body” of Christ with its many members, and by St. John, with his teaching on the vine and the branches.

      As God’s adopted children — and so we are by virtue of our union with his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Jn 3:1-2), we are given a new commandment: to love even as Jesus loves us. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12). And we can love in this way only if we keep Jesus’ commandments and seek, like him, to do only what is pleasing to the Father, who calls us to be holy.

      This chapter has given a concise description/definition of moral theology; its nature, function, and purpose; the kind of renewal of moral theology called for by Vatican Council II and Pope John Paul II; and its relationship to Sacred Scripture. In concluding, it is important to keep in mind the words of Vatican Council II regarding the relationship between the sources of the truths of faith (Scripture and Tradition) and the magisterium. In its Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) the Council declared:

      The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. Yet this magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant.