THEO 266 Exam 1

Humanae Vitae

"Human Life" - An encyclical written by Pope Paul VI issued on 1968. It re-affirms the orthodox teaching of the Catholic Church regarding married love, responsible parenthood, and the continued rejection of most forms of artificial contraception.

'Fall' Narrative

(Genesis 3) Adam and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge. They get tricked by the serpent and disobey God's orders. After they eat from the tree, they realize they are naked. This is when they both see the Good and Bad of the world. Adam and Eve start hiding from God (naked). God kicks them out of the Garden. After this they both get punishments (gender specific). Eve gets a painful childbirth; submit (listen) to Adam. Adam had to work the land. They both suffered from death also. This is a story about growing up. With good and evil comes choice, once you know good and evil, you don't have an excuse... SIN.

Short Answer: 9. Explain the position of the Catholic Church (stated by both Popes Benedict and Francis) with regard to universal healthcare and tie this position to at least two key themes of Catholic Social Teaching.

- Pope Benedict XVI a. "moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens, regardless of social and economic status or their ability to pay." - Pope Francis a. health care as a right, not a privilege b. health care is not a consumer good, but a universal right - Themes of Catholic Social Teaching a. life and dignity of the human person b. option for the poor and vulnerable

Short Answer: 6. Describe the position of the Catholic Church with respect to women's ordination and cite their support for this position (Biblical and Doctrinal). Also know the reasons for Pope Francis' openness to convening a council to address women in the diaconate.

-1 Timothy 3→ In order to be a deacon you must have certain qualities. So if women can possess those qualities, why can't a woman be a deacon? -Woman Leadership in CCC: •Constant practice of choosing men: imitated Christ in choosing only men. •Exclusion of women from priesthood: accordance with God's plan for the church. •Christ choosing his Apostles only from among men. •No historical/social reason: "Christ acted in a completely free and sovereign way." So argument is made that if Christ acted freely in the decision of choosing only men, why now should we allow women to be ordained? If Christ didn't do it, why should we? -Argument can be made that without the financial support of women, Paul would not have been able to succeed. When the men would travel to preach, the women would help preach, but would mainly provide financial support. Ex. -Perhaps God chose only men (12 Apostles) because it wasn't quite safe for women to be traveling alone ? -Is not allowing women into the hierarchy/working for the church discriminating against women? Cause Mary was not a priest/not ordained. And she was regarded as being valuable and played a very important role. So if Mary wasn't even ordained, then why would women be upset by this? -Is being a priest really that big of a deal? If a woman can become a Saint, why would they want to be a priest- as a priest is lower ranked in comparison to a Saint. -People won't question men being only one's allowed because it's the tradition. -Problem w men only in hierarchy: always hearing a man's perspective, lacking a female interpretation and understanding. -Hierarchy means: power, authority, making decisions. This is restricted specifically for men. So how would women see this as an issue? -If people start to make changes (once you open the tradition to change), what if people want to change much more after that ? Scared of change.

Short Answer: 4. Describe attitudes towards women and sexual violence in the Biblical text and explain how these accounts might affect perceptions or treatment of women in contemporary culture.

-Gal. 5:13-21→ "through love, become slaves to one another." If literally interpreting this, a woman is made into a slave. However, Paul intended men and women to be mutually submissive, not women alone. So, this can be interpreted as.. If a woman does not wish to be enslaved by a male figure and she "rebels" against this citation, a male can force himself upon her his desire for which she maintain a slave-like position to him. -Gen. 2→ If a woman is made out of a man's rib, is she seen as lower status than the man. Therefore, treatment of women is made second down the line opposed to equal to man. -Gen. 3→ There are gender specific punishments. •Eve= painful childbirth, listen to Adam more. •Adam= work for his food, get a job. •Both= they are going to die. The above punishments can be interpreted very literally and cause poor treatment to women by the "listen to Adam more" punishment in particular. Can cause submission from the woman, but more importantly a man can literally interpret it as man having dominance over the woman. -Gen. 3:16 "I shall increase your childbearing pangs [...] Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." -Gen. 16:2→ Hagar, slave-girl to Sarah. Sarah tells Abraham to have children with Hagar since Sarah cannot (she is infertile). The concept of implying Hagar will willingly and voluntarily have Abraham's kids without even asking. -Then later on in Gen. 21:8-14→ Hagar and Ishmael are kicked out of Abraham and Sarah's place because Sarah got jealous. God gives permission to "cast away" Hagar and Ishmael. So, if God is saying it's okay to do it--treat Hagar (slave-girl) and her son like this, then that must mean it's okay to do it in a contemporary setting if interpreted literally. -Gen. 34→ Shechem rapes Dinah. Schechem's father (Hamor) then came to speak to Jacob (Dinah's father) asking for Dinah to be given to Shechem for marriage. A woman being "given" in marriage; a woman being treated as an object opposed to a human equal to man. Also, the concept of Dinah's brothers killing all the men in Shechem's town was not to revenge their sister, but to revenge their family name and their pride. Gives lower meaning to a woman. -Deut. 22:23-29→ If a man sleeps w/ a woman who is already in-line to be engaged and married, they both shall be brought to the gates of that town and stones to death. If a man sleeps with the woman in open country, then the woman does not die, the man does. This is because the woman could have been calling for help and no one would be there to help her. "Because he violated her, he shall not be permitted to divorce her as long as he lives." Even though a man violates a woman, he must marry her and stay with her. The woman is not given a decision although. So, unfair/unequal treatment and also alluding at the man having charge over the woman even after violating her. -Judge 19→ Concubine being cut up into pieces by the husband/the male figure she lives with= acts as a symbol of "look what you've done" to the men who had all raped her to death. The male figure speaks friendly and kindly to the concubine to convince her to go back home with him, but then gives her away to the men to rape her. The Old Man denies the Benjamite local's requests of violating the husband, instead the Old Man offers his own daughter. (Also, reference similar story of 2 angels being violated and the men giving up their daughters instead of the angels--Gen. 19) -2 Sam. 11:1-27→ Basheba bathing and David see's her from afar and demands she be brought to his castle.. Sleeps with her, gets her pregnant, etc. -2 Sam. 13→ David's son (Amnon) falls in love with his ½ sister (Tamar). Amnon pretends to be sick so Tamar will bring him soup and they will be alone. Amnon asks to sleep with her, she says no because it's against basic morals and laws of Israel, but that she could prob ask the Kind permission. He forces himself on her anyways. Tamar's brother (Absalom) comforts her after this had happened, Absalom seeks revenge for his sister and kills Amnon while he's drunk. News travels back to David, he's upset not because Tamar had been violated by his son, but that he found out his son had been killed. Also, David yearns for Absalom to come back after he ran away to hide after killing Amnon.

Short Answer: 7. Describe Horrell's argument concerning the Green Bible. Know the difference between and difficulties with pinning down the Biblical concepts of dominion and stewardship.

-Horrell is against the concept of the Green Bible. Horrell does not like this project because by highlighting the biblical texts comes interpreting the text as well. It's all abou the hermeneutics. By highlighting something, doesn't guarantee you will interpret it the way the Green Bible people mean for you to interpret it. Horrell also disapproves the Green Bible project because there is so much variety in evidence and Green Bible project people are ignoring the opposing views and only highlighting what they want people to see. -If you are going to rule over something, don't you have a responsibility to take care of it as well ? -Opposing view→ Earth is God's given Creation to humans as a gift. So if it's a gift, we can do whatever we want to with it. -Evidence against stewardship: Gen. 9 God says he promises not to destroy Earth again with a flood after Noah's Arc incident. If God promises to not destroy Earth, then how is global warming a thing/existing? -Horrell is saying that the concept of 'dominion' was not good; it did not do good things because of the idea that people do what they want with the Earth and then move on because they "own" it. -We can't take the Bible into consideration with what it says on Global Warming and the planet in general because people now in modernity produce a lot more pollution than people did back then. And, we now know so much more about science and ecology that can make accurate and reliable predictions for future ecological trends.

Short Answer: 8. Explain how Pope Francis links the concepts of Imago Dei, Human Dignity, and Theological Ecology in Laudato Si. Trace his thinking from the Biblical text to modern ecological crises.

-There is a hierarchy in creation order of the 6 days in Gen. from the less perfect to the more perfect. -Human beings are the highest of the creations. Creation is a reflection of the Creator. Unity with the rest of creation. -Strong distinction between Creation & Creator. Creation must be in different category from Creator because people worship creations and then we don't want to confused idolatry (idolatry being the biggest sin committable.. 'Cheating on God') -What does it say about our Creator is we are destroying the Earth? -Why is it so important that the creation reflects the Creator? • It can potentially tell us about divine law. • Qualities of the Creator (knowledge about God) is something we want to see. We can see the Earth- the planet- and if we want to continue seeing something God has created himself, why would we want to destroy it ? -Aquinas Natural Law: preserve species. You can't preserve species if the Earth/planet is gone. -Pope Francis thinks humans have the responsibility to take care of the environment/ of the Earth. -Concerns of Pope Francis: water: basic needs of life; not available to you = human rights violated when clean water needs to be accessed. Depletion of natural resources Wastefulness: stealing from those who are less fortunate. Rampant consumerism= borderline idolatry: worshiping material goods instead of God. Pollution: disease, urban areas, poorer areas. Wealthy people are able to move away from pollution. Therefore, poor people are associated with pollution because they cannot afford to move away from the pollution. Climate change- violence goes up as weather gets hotter, violence over disagreement can lead to war/killing which is basically killing what God created. Green spaces Labor Exploitation: not coming from the developed country. Human rights issues. -Growing poverty caused by environmental degradation. -Argument for opposing view: Pope is not an expert on global warming and the environment, so why should we listen to him? Who is he to say what is /isn't right? -Ways that environmental factors affect poor people: •extremes of weather: Ex. hurricane katrina: where exactly people had lived (the location of their homes) affected them differently. •fracking and pipeline

Short Answer: 1. Describe the three main types of Biblical interpretation and explain how each might affect the application of Biblical concepts to issues like sexuality, marriage, ecology, and healthcare.

1. Literal: literally reading and understanding it exactly for what it says. (known for fundamentalists ex. Al Qaeda) 2. Historical: talk about the author, the era in which the author lived; the location the author lived in; how all this can affect our interpretation of the text. 3. Moral/Allegorical: what is the lesson? Apply the morality. (ex. Adam & Eve not necessarily the only 2 people in the garden; they are just a represent of the whole world, humanity) These interpretations allow for readers to think about how we are applying the interpretations to particular situations; perhaps one of the above interpretations is lesser fit than another in a given scenario.

Doctrine

A belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.

Gender Complementarity

A man and women are equals that are created to complement each other. Just because the man is dominant in the relationship does not make him more than the women. From this complementary come gender roles.

Sanctity of Life

A principle of implied protection regarding aspects of conscious life which are said to be holy, sacred, or otherwise of such value that they are not to be violated.

Catechism

A summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians. (A series of fixed questions, answers, or precepts used for instruction.)

Patriarchy

A system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line.

Short Answer: 2. Explain the position of the Catholic Church with regards to gender and homosexuality (as stated in the Catechism and Amoris Laetitia) and cite the Church's support for these views (Biblical and otherwise).

A. Catechism states, •"accepting sexual identity" • equality and dignity of gender • we are creation of life • there are only 2 different genders: both made to complement each other. • Catechism builds off of Aquinas' 3 goods and off the bible. • Homosexual acts are contrary to the natural law • homosexuality does not proceed from a genuine affective + sexual complementarity. • "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered" • "under no circumstances can they be approved" • "they must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided." • Homosexual persons are called to chastity. B. Amoris Laetitia states, • Francis encourages better understanding from all members of the church on the acceptance of gay people, w/o suggesting any specific doctrinal changes however. • Every person needs to be respected regardless of their sexual orientation, and to be free from threats of aggression and violence. Ex. Pulse Nightclub Shooting • He avoids any recognition of unions b/w same sex couples, rather he maintains that same sex unions are not equal to heterosexual unions. C. Biblical text states, • In the story of Sodom, it was not right to sleep with a man, because it makes the man lesser..a man is "more" than a women, so if he sleeps with another man they are each "degrading"/disrespecting each other • Lev 18:22 - "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." (Old Testament - goes off what the catechism states... especially in regards to disapproval) • Galatians 3:28 - " There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." This shows that regardless of your specific race, or in this particular case gender and sexuality, we are all children of God and therefore should care for each other as such. • Galatians 5:14 - "For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment,'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'." This goes with the idea of loving your neighbor as you would love yourself:everyone should be treated with respect regardless of the circumstance.

Gender Annihilation

Absence of representing gender distinction. Pope Francis is opposed to teaching children that "everyone can choose their gender". Pope Francis states that the current culture is experiencing the "annihilation of man as image of God." Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI tells Pope Francis, "We are living in an age of sin against God the creator.". Pope Francis linked gender theory with human exploitation saying root of these issues is a failure to appreciate God's design in humanity. Francis said "the young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created." God does not have a gender. While we say He or His, and call him Father, God is also depicted as a female. He is transcendent.

Divine Law

Any law that comes directly from the "will of God" in contrast to man-made law.

Artificial Contraception

Any product, procedure, or practice that uses artificial/unnatural means to prevent pregnancy.

Ordinatio Sacerdotalis

Apostolic letter of John Paul II to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on reserving priestly ordination to men alone.

Aquinas

Believed in Natural Law theology, human inclination, he argued that everything is created with a purpose, he also believed once God's ideas are in natural world they are lesser. Aquinas wants observable evidence-what is God's intended purpose? Human good? 1. Preservation of self 2. Preservation of offspring, these three things are known to be good by the natural law 3. Gaining knowledge about God, ourselves, and our offspring. A good is something human beings incline to.

Pope Francis

Born in Argentina. Current Pope of Roman Catholic Church. Ex officio as Bishop of rome, Sovereign of the Vatican City. First Jesuit pope. He is known for having a more humble and less formal approach to the papacy in contrast to his predecessors. He maintains his stance on saying the Church should be more welcoming and open. He maintains the traditions views of the church regarding: abortion, euthanasia, contraception, homosexuality, ordination of women, and priestly celibacy. He supports taking action on climate change (ie. Laudato Si). He helped restore full diplomatic relations between Cuba and USA.

John Paul II

Born in Poland. Served between 1978-2005. Widely known to Catholics as Saint John Paul the Great. First non-Italian Pope.

Contraception Ban

CCC states that all sex acts must be both unitive and procreative. Use of birth control is evil, non-procreative sex acts such as mutual masturbation and anal sex are ruled out as ways to avoid pregnancy.

Stewardship

Care for creation: God created it, so we should take care of it (Earth). ex. Genesis 2: "Till it and keep (take care) it, name the animals".

Solidarity

Catholic Church says we cannot live and exist well independent from one another, that we are all interdependent beings. Solidarity looks upon interdependence as something good and positive. St. Paul, "we are all individual parts that together make up the Body of Christ." Solidarity is the demand of fraternity, that we treat each other as brothers and sisters. St. John Paul II, "We are all one family in the world. Building a community that empowers everyone to attain their full potential through each of us respecting each other's dignity, rights and responsibilities makes the world a better place to live."

Creation Narratives

Genesis 1 and 2

Imago Dei

Image of God, a theological term, applied uniquely to humans, which denotes the symbolical relation between God and humanity. The term has its roots in Genesis 1:27, wherein "God created man in his own image..."

Eternal Law

Is identical to the mind of God as seen by God himself.

Human Law

Man-made law is law that is made by human beings. It is a concept that is usually considered in opposition to concepts like natural law or divine law.

3 'Goods'

Natural Law divides Goods into 3 groups: 1. Preservation of self (common good to all beings) 2. Preservation of offspring 3. Rationality (knowing about God and living in society, making good decisions). These three things are known to be good by the natural law, gaining knowledge about God, our offspring, and ourselves.

Laudato Si

On Care for Our Common Home (Laudato Si) is the new appeal from Pope Francis addressed to "every person living on this planet" for an inclusive dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. Pope Francis calls the Church and the world to acknowledge the urgency of our environmental challenges and to join him in embarking on a new path. This encyclical is written with both hope and resolve, looking to our common future with candor and humility. He believes that is our responsibility to take care of the Earth. We are destroying and disproportionately affecting the poor. Environmental issues hurt humans, which goes back to the Natural Law.

Platonic Forms

Purest form of something is the idea of it. Once it is material it is no longer in its purest form, because then it can be broken. Once God's ideas are in natural world they are lesser.

Historical/Contextual Interpretation

Reference short answer response to question 1

Literal Interpretation

Reference short answer response to question 1

Moral/Allegorical Interpretation

Reference short answer response to question 1

Theological Ecology

Relationship between Creator and ecology; Dominion (dominance, ruling over ecology) versus Stewardship (care for creation).

Phoebe

Romans 16:1-16 → a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. Paul entrusted her to deliver his letter to the Romans.

Pope Benedict XVI

Served between 2005-2013. Born in Germany.

Amoris Laetitia

Synodal apostolic exhortation written by Pope Francis. Released in April 2016. "A rich reflection on the mission of the family and on how the Church can equip couples to embrace God's vision for marriage and can offer healing for families who are struggling" - USCCB.

Human Dignity

The Catechism of the Catholic Church insists the "dignity of the human person is rooted in his or her creation in the image and likeness of God." "All human beings," says the Church, "inasmuch as they are created in the image of God, have the dignity of a person. As humans we should be preserving the Earth that we live in, so we are able to live in it. If we are polluting air and water(basic necessities) we are threatening our life and the people after us.

Universal Healthcare

The Catholic Church is committed to universal healthcare coverage. The Vatican supports the measure that would urge countries to plan the transition of their health systems to universal coverage.

Redemption

The action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. Once must admit their wrongdoing and that it is indeed an act of "crime" punishable.

Magisterium

The authority of the Roman Catholic Church (exercised by bishops or the pope) to establish its own authentic teachings.

Common Good

The benefit or interests of all. The complete development of all the people of the world. John XXIII, "the sum total of conditions of social living, whereby persons are enabled more fully and readily to achieve their own perfection." Interdependency→ "Because we are interdependent, the common good is more like a multiplication sum, where if any 1 number is 0 then the total is always 0. If anyone is left out and deprived of what is essential, then the common good has been betrayed." Common good also provides a balance against too strong an individualism by emphasizing the social aspect of the human person. Authentic development is possible only if an individual interacts with and grows within a society.

Idolatry

The biggest sin that anyone can commit. Worshiping other things than God. God is first. Divine worshiping of an idol/physical object as a representation of God (worship given to an image), but not God himself. Therefore, biggest sin committable.

Catholic Social Teaching

The body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of social injustice, involving issues of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state.

Deborah

The only female judge mentioned in the Bible, Deborah led a successful counterattack against the forces of Jabin king of Canaan and his military commander Sisera; the narrative is recounted in chapter 4

Scripture

The sacred writings of Christianity contained in the Bible.

Green Bible

Version of the bible where it's emphasized (in green) how the bible teaches us to take care of the Earth. ("Good Stewards") Theologians highlight in green what specific parts of the Bible promote this notion. Horrell argues against the green bible, He says "why don't we just highlight all of the slave passages". Each passage is very open to interpretation. He doesn't think any of the passages really do promote stewardship and that it is an interpretive jump. What does god do after the flood? -he created a new Earth.

Dominion

We were put on Earth to do whatever we want.

Natural Law

Whatever is a means of preserving human life and of warding off its obstacles.

Short Answer: 5. Describe Martin and Oegler's interpretation of Biblical texts that seem to suggest female submission and male headship. Assess their evidence based on your own reading of those texts.

Who exactly is Martin and Oegler? Are they authors from an article on Sakai? I can't seem to find them anywhere...

Short Answer: 3. Explain how Aquinas' Natural Law Theology follows from his conception of God and how this theology is applied to issues of sexuality.

• So Aquinas has a series of laws. Laws are a kind of percept/mental concept. Human nature is one of those percepts. The Natural Law's theological argument is that everything is created with a purpose. God creates with intention. Aquinas' Natural Law is a reflection of the eternal law. Eternal Law is perfection. Eternal law is less perfect once placed in a realistic society (like ours). -How do we find out how something has purpose ? Observable evidence will demonstrate a purpose. Therefore, God's intended purpose for human beings according to Aquinas: 1. Preservation of self 2. Preservation of species: procreation 3. Gaining knowledge about the truth of God and living harmoniously in society. -you can't preserve your species, if you do not have any since you are homosexual. Goes against the Natural Law. A man and a women are necessary to reproduce, if everyone becomes homosexual, where will the world come to(or end)? -How can there be gender complimentary if there is two genders together?