Section I: Why worry about morality?
Section II: Some treasured moral systems
Section III: The Morality of Jesus
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. " (John 13:34 )
Contents:
• First four chapters of C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity
• The Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5-7, with commentary
• William O’Malley, S.J.’s “The Moral Practice of Jesus” (from America, April 23, 1994)
• Key new Testament passages about morality. read at the beginning of classes.
• Hopefully the video: Weapons of the Spirit.
Recommended: Listen to the BBC interview with Francis Collins Collins is is the Director of the Human Genome Project. At the end of this interivew he speaks about how he came to believe in God, the influence of C. S. Lewis' Mere Chrisitanity, and how be believes this belief is based upon reason.
We will do most of this in class. Your homework assignment is begin writing your research paper/web site.
You must see me this week if...
...you feel you do not have a solid bibliography
...you want to do a creative project for your project, i.e. want to do a video or a audio
or a some kind of more creative work.
Monday, Feb. 27 The story of the rich young man, Mark 10 or Matthew 19
Review past sections of morality and preview this third section.
Begin reading and marking the first four chapters of C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity.
Web assignment: Outline four chapters then write a reaction to Lewis ideas about The Laws of Nature.
Tuesday, Feb. 28 The judgment of nations, Matthew 25
Finish reading and marking the first four chapters of C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity.
Wednesday, March 1 The greatest commandment, Matthew 22
Outline the first four chapters of C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity. Do your web assignment due by Friday.
Thursday, March 2 The conditions of discipleship, Luke 9
Sermon on the Mount.
Friday, March 3 The parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10
Sermon on the Mount
Monday, March 6 Inner conflict, Romans 7, 14-25
Finish Sermon on the Mount.
Tuesday, March 7 Jesus washes the apostles’ feet, John 13:14,15)
William O’Malley, S.J.’s “The Moral Practice of Jesus”
Wednesday, March 8
Video: Weapons of the Spirit
Thursday, March 9
Journal due. Finish video.
Friday, March 10,
Section III test
Monday, March 13, Tuesday, March 14 March 15-17 Third Quarter Exams
Review for exams. Work on research project.
Web assignment due by Friday, March 3.
Outline the four chapters from C.S. Lewis on one side of a page. Do this in the four chapters. Use the classic outline formula.
Second page write an essay on his ideas. Try to limit it to one good page. Do one of these:
• Write an essay explaining how anyone could believe that they could make statements that apply to everyone everywhere. Aristotle says there is one right plan for happiness. How can he know this without knowing all people everywhere? How can there be a “U.N. Declaration on Human Rights” if all morality is subjective and cultural? What would C.S. Lewis say?
• Write an essay entitled “How C.S. Lewis’s Idea of The Law of Human Nature Applies to Me Here and Now.”
• If there is a better way to think through this article and write about it, see me and propose your own topic.
Journal / Note the differences! #4 and #5.
Journal assignment due by Thursday, March 8.
1) Write a summary of THE KEY idea of this section. State the KEY IDEA clearly in your first sentence. Here is a good opening sentence: The key idea about the Morality of Jesus presented in this section is _________________. Explain the idea and why you say it is the key idea of the section.
2) Give and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week. Cite and explain the idea and tell why you think it is worth remembering. These must come from different parts of the section.
3) One image of that reminds you of the topic. Try to get a good, striking, meaningful image. Attribute, link, your source.
4) What is a Christian? Are you a Christian? What did your pre-sermon survey reveal? Did you show you know what Jesus taught, believed and try to follow His teachings? If so explain how being a Christian really affects your morality, If not, explain the base of your moral system.
5) What can a person do to try to do to make themselves a better Christian? If you are a Christian, please personalize this: What can you do to try to do to make yourself a better Christian?
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Some key teachings about morality from the New Testament
• "But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (1 John 3:17)
• "Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things ; anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! " (Col. 3:5 )
• And he said, "It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (Mark 7:20 )
• Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. (1 John 4:20 )