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Conscience In The Catholic Church, Hang Geum Augustine Osb

Obsculta

This paper deals with the topic of “conscience” in the Catholic Church. It explores the historical origins from the patristic and monastic traditions to the theologians in the medieval period and then also in the post-conciliar era through the lenses of canon law, catechism, and papal encyclicals. Finally, the author highlights the significance of conscience in monastic life as "mirror" of self-reflection.

Everyday Solidarity: A Framework For Integrating Theological Ethics And Ordinary Life, Conor M. Kelly

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

As moral theology responds to the pastoral emphases of Pope Francis’s pontificate, more work must be done to facilitate the integration of theological ethics and ordinary life. In order to pursue this goal in a consistent fashion, this article proposes a new form of “everyday solidarity” as a framework for linking Catholic theological convictions with everyday moral choices. The article clarifies the often-ambiguous notion of solidarity found in Catholic social teaching and describes how the new species of everyday solidarity can function as both a principle and a virtue to transform discernment in ordinary life.

From Vatican Ii To Amoris Laetitia: The Catholic Social And Sexual Ethics Division And A Way Of Ecclesial Interconnection, Alexandre Andrade Martins

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

This paper navigates the development of ethical issues during Vatican II and the impulse to develop a new moral theology just after the Council. This paper argues, on one hand, that Gaudium et Spes develops a new moral theology based on the imperative of conscience mediated by faith in issues of social ethics. On the other hand, the old moral orientation was preserved on sexual ethics. After the council, these two moral faces have led magisterial teaching to two different paths that can be seen chronologically in approaches used for issues of social and sexual ethics. Vatican II encouraged a …

The Role Of The Moral Theologian In The Church: A Proposal In Light Of Amoris Laetitia, Conor M. Kelly

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia recast pastoral decisions in terms of conscience and discernment and asked moral theology to do the same. Such a request invites reforms for moral theology, requiring a shift from the traditional role of the moral theologian as an external judge to a more personalist role as a counselor for conscience. This change entails prioritizing the process of discernment ahead of the definition of rules, specifying the place of the ideal in Catholic morality, and attending to the ethics of ordinary life.

Guided By Your Secret Life, Homer Massey

Homer Massey

The soul may be thought of as that part of the personality that processes an individual’s highest values. Humanly this may also be thought of as the conscience, an integral part of the soul. This short essay suggests that a Christian has a wonderful secret life within him that must be managed to help him through the day-to-day challenges of life.

Guided By Your Secret Life, Homer Massey

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (1973-2015)

The soul may be thought of as that part of the personality that processes an individual’s highest values. Humanly this may also be thought of as the conscience, an integral part of the soul. This short essay suggests that a Christian has a wonderful secret life within him that must be managed to help him through the day-to-day challenges of life.

On Moral Grounds: The Art/Science Of Ethics, A. Nicholas Fargnoli Ph.D., Daniel C. Maguire

Open-Access Books by Faculty

From the introduction:

Our age can lay claim to a unique moral chaos. Modernity badgers us with perplexing moral questions: Can good ethics and good business ever coincide? Should medical science do all the things that it now can do? Is truth-telling always a virtue? If it is, how can one maintain professional or personal confidentiality? Is honesty always the best policy? What are the proper criteria for the journalistic media when it comes to reporting the real news and avoiding sensationalism? Should there be an “ethics committee” in government, in business, in hospitals, in law firms, or in financial …

The Soteriological Approach To Christian Doctrine., F. E. Mayer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Lutheran Confessions present all Christian doctrine from the soteriological standpoint, that is, from the meaning each has for our salvation. Each and every doctrine of Christian revelation must be viewed in actu, not only in statu; it must be within the focus of a real spiritual problem and be presented only in its soteriological significance.

Situationism And Law In Christian Ethics, Paul Jersild

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our purpose in these pages is to focus on the question of law in Christian ethics and consider in what sense we can speak of the "law of God." This question is raised in a quite critical manner in situation ethics, and for that reason we shall discuss the subject in relation to this approach, and particularly in relation to the work of Joseph Fletcher. Our concern is to present a theological basis for the law-a basis that is notably lacking in situation ethics - and seek to clarify the relationship between love and law in the Christian understanding.

Theological Discussion And The Responsibility Of The Church, Richard L. Jeske

Concordia Theological Monthly

One is easily reminded of the often heard lament during seminary days, ''Why should I have to study about 'Q'? All I want to be is a simple parish pastor!" Sometimes this "simple parish pastor'" who has avoided hard theological work at the seminary emerges as the most vigorous critic of contemporary theology shortly after his graduation.

Freud's Superego And The Biblical Syneidesis, Allen Nauss

Concordia Theological Monthly

This paper is an attempt to define the terms "superego" and "conscience" as they appear in Freud's works and to compare his usage of these concepts with the συνείδησιζ of the New Testament. No application to man's problems of today will be made. This is rather an attempt at clearing the air, as it were, by calling attention to some similarities and differences between the Biblical and the Freudian meaning and usage of these concepts.

The Ecumenical Movement And The Lutheran Church, Hermann Sasse

Concordia Theological Monthly

Church history knows of great movements which sweep through the whole of Christendom, irrespective of national and denominational lines, and bring about profound changes in the inner life and the outward appearance of all churches. Such movements were Pietism and Rationalism in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the great European Awakening in the 19th century. Such a movement is the Ecumenical Movement, which in our time is penetrating all churches of Christendom, including Rome and the Eastern churches. The effects may prove to be as far-reaching as those of the great movement of the 16th century which we call …

Do We Need Another Reformation?, Lewis W. Spitz

Concordia Theological Monthly

In view of the tremendous progress of our age in all areas of human endeavor and the problems it has created, the question has been asked: "Do we need another Reformation?" After all, nearly four and a half centuries have passed since Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg.

Contrition (Concluded), Theodore Engelder, Erwin Lueker

Concordia Theological Monthly

Is the intention to abstain from sin and to live for God a part of the contrition which precedes faith?

Many Lutheran compends answer this question in the affirmative. Luthardt states: 'The process of conversion, wrought by God within man, begins with the self-judgment of repentance, which consists of a change of attitude, manifested in the acknowledgment of sin, sorrow for sin, and the earnest intention to break with sin and live to God"

Luther's Concept Of Conscience, Raynold Eckhoff

Bachelor of Divinity

The object of this thesis is not to determine what others have said, though some comparisons are made in order to point up Luther's view. The etymology of the term ''conscience” and the historical background are not included. Related subjects are touched on only insofar as they contribute to the problem as stated. Various practical applications are referred to because Luther referred to conscience mostly in actual experienced cases.

Aspects Of The Relationship Of Faith To Conscience In Luther's Sermons, 1528-1532, William Arthur Olsen

Bachelor of Divinity

A brief study revealed numerous examples of the close relationship Luther established between faith and conscience in both his formal theological writings and his sermons as they have come down to us. This thesis seeks on a 1imited scale to establish and delineate that relationship between faith and conscience in the theology of Luther.

Both terms about which the thesis revolves are very prominent in the writings of Luther. That “faith” is a decisive and frequently used word in his theology seems to require no documentation.

The Wrath Of God And The Grace Of God In Lutheran Theology, Wm. F. Arndt

Concordia Theological Monthly

Every Lutheran theologian, at hearing these terms, will admit, I think, that in discussing them we deal with the very heart of theology, and not only of theology, but of religion itself. Wherever religion has not developed into a mere caricature, but is live, spontaneous, heartfelt, real, it occupies itself, among other things, with these concepts. The statements that an individual or whole groups make about them may be entirely erroneous and objectionable or highly unsatisfactory, but, at any rate, occupying one's self with them is unavoidable - the human heart simply has to come to grips with these matters. …

Propositions On Unevangelical Practice, H. C. Schwan

Concordia Theological Monthly

Evangelical practice consists not in this, that we teach and treat nothing except the evangelical message (the Gospel), but in this, that we treat everything in evangelical fashion.

The Right And Wrong Of Private Judgment, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

"Ueber die Lehre zu erkennen and zu richten, kommt allen und jeden Christen zu, und zwar so, dass der verflucht ist, der solches Recht um ein Haerlein kraenkt" (Luther XIX:341). The matter of exercising private judgment is of supreme importance. (1) They commit a monstrous crime who keep God's people from dealing directly with God's Word and judging all doctrine on the basis of it. (2) Blessed is the community where the right of private judgment is recognized and practiced.

Conscience, E. W. Koehler

Concordia Theological Monthly

But what may it mean that I have knowledge together with myself? Let us illustrate. If I know a secret together with my neighbor, then this means not only that we both know the secret, but also that each knows that the other knows it. If, then, I say that I know something together with myself, this means not only that I know something, but that I am cognizant of the fact that I know it.

Luther's Spiritual Martyrdom And Its Appeasement, Theo. Dierks

Concordia Theological Monthly

Luther had entered the monastery in order to merit eternal life and was convinced that the life of a monk was the surest way in which to obtain the grace of God. Now, the way in which Luther sought to gain salvation was according to the Catholic doctrine of justification, with this difference, that as a monk he had taken upon himself the heaviest yoke of Christ and that he had given himself exclusively into the service of God.

The Province Of Human Reason In Religion, M. S. Sommer

Concordia Theological Monthly

At the very outset it is necessary to define what I mean by human reason. By this term I mean the entire sum of natural knowledge and powers of the human mind, including intuition and conscience and the ability to reason correctly. This human reason is a very precious gift of God and is therefore also to be prized very highly. It is a sign of great folly, corruption, aye, of Satanic delusion, to despise and teach others to despise God's gifts in nature. "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received …

What Is Conscience?, A. W. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Luther does not offer a clear-cut theoretical definition of conscience, but he speaks very perspicuously on the functions of conscience, and we shall take occasion to quote him repeatedly. Hauff, in his Real- konkordanz, calls conscience "das deutliche Bewusstsein von der sittlichen Guete unserer Gcsinnungen und Handlungcn, den inneren Richter, den jeder im Busen traegt" Standard Dictionary: "Conscience is the activity or faculty by which distinctions are made between the right and wrong in conduct and character." The Schaff- Herzog Encyclopedia defines conscience as "the moral sense of the individual applied to his own conduct."

Conscience Its Nature And Function, Richard R. Caemmerer

Bachelor of Divinity

The subject as stated in itself excludes the problem of the origin of conscience, a large field especially in phylogenetic theories (theories of remorse, origin of duty, origin of the good); it excludes the practical aspects and applications of the doctrines of conscience (systems of casuistry; social sphere of conscience; freedom of conscience). The subject has been-further limited, a procedure demanded by considerations of time and space, by a particular viewpoint applied to this discussion. The viewpoint permits formulation in the shape of a statement of the problem, namely: To determine the validity of the term "conscience" as an ethical …