d+side

NSTP LTS N20 family immersion 27/02/2010 Atulayan Sur 6AM assembly time @ USL field

2010-02-26T01:36:00.000-08:00

LIST OF GROUPINGS:

1.
ana katrina a.
dyesebel j.
carla marie s.
rey anthony c.

2.
divine grace a.
khristine marie j.
sunshine t.
jaylord g.

3.
cristina b.
merlinda l.
cielo karenina t.
john arkhris j.

4.
andrea b.
merryl ann m.
ana mae t.
leo jay l.

5.
globeth b.
ronalyn m.
vanessa v.
james daryll l.

6.
jennylyn b.
hazeleen mae m.
kathleen joy v.
joward l.

7.
eillen joy b.
honey grace m.
maricel v.
tomas jr. m.

8.
je-ann c.
rachel ann o.
alfred b.
jayson arnold n.

9.
kristine joy c.
mylyn p.
arwin b.
raffy allan p.

10.
faith c.
jennifer p.
karlo b.
mark wendell p.

11.
jamille yvet d.
faith marilette r.
ferick b.
marlon v.

12.
madelyn d.
rina r.
kenny jones b.
billy jay a.

13.
kristina g.
kriztyne r.
nicole b.
guian carlo c.

14.
marissa g.
geraldine s.
james john c.

15.
fritz-ann g.
mary angelique s.
randy c.

the paradox of our age

2009-12-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

by Dr Bob Moorehead

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce; fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember to say “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

Theo 2 - Prelims Hand Out II

2009-12-07T02:21:00.000-08:00

THEOLOGY 2
CHRIST AND MAN’S SALVATION

INTRODUCTION
Theology I –

“God” – _____________,_____________ Religion --________________________
-gives everlasting life/happiness __________________________
___________________________

Everlasting Happiness
Everlasting Life
death

Happiness/answer –unlimited / infinite

Answers : Philossophy/Ideology – hedonism, humanism, Marxism. - limited
(Answers / Happiness)- - Limited
Man’s Quest: Life? Meaning / Meaningful?

God : _____________,___________________
- gives Everlasting Life / Happiness / complete meaning of life.

Revelation – Recorded in the ____________
( ex. Torah, etc )

Religion - ___________________________________________________

__________: Man’s Response

Happiness / Life’sMeaning – infinite / unlimited
death
Life’s meaning, Happiness – limited, finite
Man’s Quest : Life? Meaning / Meaningful?

( Since God’s revelation is mostly by mediations, our responses is also through mediations like images or signs and symbols, drama, rituals, etc.)

Religion and Life:

Religion – a social Institution with set of beliefs and practices as a result and expressions of their faith and dependence on the transcendent Being (God).
- You believe in “God” because you are powerless (you can’t control the situation) you look for security, ultimate meaning of life, salvation.

- acknowledge their dependence on the supreme being (God).
- express their beliefs and dependence on the transcendent through cult/rites and witness it in their personal and social life.

ATTITUDES TOWARDS RELIGION
1. Superstitious
Ex. “Magical” – it gives luck
- wishes are granted, etc.
Ex. Image of the Sto. Niño.

2. Guiding
- it helps us find the meaning of life.
- It gives life’s direction, refines attitudes.
- Helps to have better outlook of life.

3. Consoling
- it consoles, gives hope in times of difficulty, crisis, etc.
Ex. “Bahala na si Lord”

4. Conventional
- religion is just part of society, culture.
Ex. For people to maintain peace and order not to do evil.

5. Indifferent
- religion is neither good nor bad
- Good for those who find it useful or who need it.
- Not necessary for success.
- Values can be learned thru’ education.

6. Hostile
- Religion is a “Bad” Influence”, “Harms” people.
- Makes people not think, lazy, too dependent to God which doesn’t exist. Makes people not look at life realistically.

Which of these attitude/s is helpful? _______________

Which of these attitude/s do you possess? ______________,

God Created all things , (world and the human persons). They were in “paradise”

sin

Father : ------------Mission : Salvation

Abraham
Prophets ---------Theology I
Priests ----- O. T.
Kings
God Jesus -----------Mission : Salvation / Kingdom -------- Theology II
(Son)
(way,truth,life)
------ N.T.(Gospels)

____________
____________ : Mission : Salvation / Kingdom. --------- Theology III
(Apostles + Disciples)
------ Acts of the Apostles
And the Letters / Epistles.

Philippines Spain Rome Jerusalem

Theology IV
Living a Christian Life ( Morality )

Creation Story
• Woman/man in Paradise
• They committed sin (Disobedience/Pride)
• (Woman will give birth to Messiah)
• God planned to save man
• Salvation history started in the Old Testament (God made a Covenant with Abraham – fulfillment was the coming of Christ)

God :-------------------Mission : Salvation
Prophets
Priests - O.T.
Kings

Theology II: Jesus : ---------------- Mission : Salvation / Kingdom - N.T.
The Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Jesus Christ: Both Divine and Human(except sin)
• Gave Salvation
• Mediator between God and Man
• Salvation involves Christ and Man
• Bridge the Gap between God and man/humanity

Salvation is a gift of God / a grace – take it or leave it.

• Salvation history is still at work at present through the church with the Holy Spirit.

Salvation – deliberance from sins (old definition/old view).
a. Eternal life with God Eternal Happiness in the form of
b. For the Soul seeing God face to face(beatific vision)
c. In Heaven

 Fullness of Life with God - --destruction of all evils.
(Ressurrection)

Maturity: Difficult process.
• Takes time ( but start or do it now)
• Challenge
• Mission – you have to perfect yourself.

JESUS: The Model of Maturity.
some bases/reasons:
A) He Advanced in age and wisdom
Ex. Sticked to his convictions
• convinced that such is true or correct(do it).
B)He Chose to risk his life but not uselessly
Risk: “Put in danger”
Ex. Tell the Truth – witness
Christ Corrected People in Authority
C) He Develop unlimited concern for others - do good for others.
D) Gave his life a meaning/purpose.
Ex. Do your Mission (to save and he painted the vision of the Kingdom)
E) Helped people find the meaning of their lives.
F) Painted the vision of the Kingdom.
• Building up the Kingdom on Earth.

THE FILIPINO CATHOLICS AND THEIR BASIC ORIENTATIONS IN LIFE

WHO IS THE FILIPINO CATHOLIC?
PCP II – 34
“ We Filipinos are followers of Christ, his disciples, to trace his footsteps in our times, to utter his words to others, to love with his love, to live with his life, to cease following him is to betray our identity.”

(The Problem in the process of evangelization: Jesus Christ or Christianity is always enveloped/colored by the culture and world view (background) of the evangelizer/missionary)

Inculturation:_____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
-Guard and purify our values /culture
-Preserve and strengthen the positive elements of our culture
-Purify the negative elements in the light of the Gospel
-Our Christian faith must be inculturated; must become part of our culture / must become part of our everyday life / life/ life’style (also baptizing our culture).

Doing Filipino Theology

Hypothesis: becoming mature and authentic Filipino is becoming truly (Filipino) Christians.

Comparison Values: Examples

Gospel Filipino
1. love ----
2. justice ----
3. compassion ----
4. peace ----

TRAITS OF FILIPINO CATHOLICS
A. SELF-IDENTITY
1. Family-Oriented / centered
a. immediate family
b. extended family (ninongs, ninangs).
c. Fond of children
a. Jesus: Family of God
God – Father
(Mary- mother)
Us – brothers and sisters
How do we become member of God’s Family? _________________

B. MEANING IN LIFE (HAPPINESS)
2. Meal oriented
Filipino: Gracious hosts and grateful guests
-salu-salu kainan
-“kain tayo”, come and eat with us
- we treat everyone as part of the family.
* Jesus: Eucharist: The Bread of Life
Eucharist: The Center of Life of the Early Christians
1 Cor.11;25-26, John 6:48-58
(The Early Church called it Breaking of the Bread)

C. SUFFERING IN LIFE
3. Kundiman Oriented
Kundiman : Sad Filipino Song about Wounded Love
Filipino: Hero Lovers
:Hero - sacrifice Everything out of love
( we accept suffering for the sake of love)
* Jesus: Hero
Christ sacrificed everything out of love
Savior from sin
Jesus is a suffering servant – He suffered out of love

D. LIFE COMMITMENT
4. Bayani oriented

Hero: fights for justice, peace, true love.
: Savior; Defends, protect the oppressed, weak, and the poor from injustices and oppressions. Even to lay down one’s life. ( movie –“bida” )

Jesus: Hero
: “Conqueror” of the world from sin.
: Won over evil
E. WORLD VIEW
5. Spirit Oriented
Filipinos: naturally psychic
: Believe in supernatural beings
Ex. Spirits. . in a tree, place, person, etc.

* Jesus: Miracle worker
ex.Jesus drove away evil spirits in persons.
-He sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples(Pentecost)

Conclusion: Filipino traits are parallel with that of Christ.
Accepting Christ and becoming mature and authentic
Filipino is becoming truly (Filipino) Christians.

God

JC
(Way,T.L)

______________
Saints,Angels :_____________________

People

* The outstanding trait of Filipino Catholics is people in love with Mary. (Pueblo Amante De Maria)
* Most Filipinos are Marian Devotees
(Devotion: prayers addressed to Saints, Angels)
- you ask the prayer of the Saints.
* Typical Filipino approach to Christ is
with and through Mary

ex: - simbang gabi
-panunuluyan at Christmas
- salubong

Marian piety / devotion is part of being Filipino (most)

1. Family oriented: Mary “Spiritual Mother”.
2. Meal oriented: we have our Feast with Mary
- month of Marian festival: __________.
- pilgrimage to her shrines
3. Kundiman oriented: Mary was sorrowful because of our sins.
-Mater Dolorosa
4. Hero: Mary: She offered her whole life for the fulfillment of God’s salvific plan.
:Queen
5. Spirit oriented: Mary: The Holy Spirit overshadowed her.

Who is Christ to Filipinos?
Filipino 21 images of Christ
1. baby symbol
: Sto. Niño:
2. Hero Symbol: Suffered out of love
: Hesus Nazareno
: Sto. Entiero – “dead Christ”
: Crucified Christ/crucifix
: Sacred Heart
3. Kingdom Symbol
Christ the King: Winner / Victorious

1.Sto. Niño
- Feast: 2nd Sunday of January - 1521 – Magellan’s gift to Queen Juana of Cebu at her baptism.
Legaspi – set Cebu on fire but the image of Sto. Niño was found in one house.
(symbolisms: child: honest, trustworthy, just, innocent,
loving,”malambing”)
Evaluation:
- must be complimented by the adult image of Christ.
-message: respect the rights of children.

2.Hesus Nazareno (Black Nazarene) - in Quiapo Church.
-feast: January 9
- brought to Philippines by the Augustinian Recollects 16th – 17th century
- work of an unknown Mexican artist.

Symbolism: God’s faithfulness to his people.
- God’s love to his sinful people.
- Christ suffered out of love
- Christ – suffering servant
3. Crucified Christ ---consoling to many Filipinos
In their hardships.

cross

cross – sign of victory

veneration / respect – for the saints, also for images. (expression depends on cultural practice)
Adoration, praise and worship – for God.

4. Sto. Entierro (dead Christ)
- Christ is God, is also human(except sin).

Evaluation:( Hesus Nazareno, Crucified Christ, sto. Entiero)
-Must be complemented by the kingly image/resurrected image/ victorious image.

- Religious Experience of devotees - __________________________.

5. Sacred Heart of Jesus

6. Christ the King: Victorious Christ
Feast: Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year(The Sunday before the 1st Sunday of Advent)
What’s the difference between Christ our King with the other kings?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Ex. Chess king

In the Catholic Liturgy, we have three seaons: the season of Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter and ordinary time. Our Liturgy/worship is revolving around the great deeds of Christ.
Who is the person who worshipped God perfectly? __________________

Liturgy - ___________________________

Different colors of the celeb-
bration:1.
2.
3.
4.

Resurrection resurrection

WHO IS JESUS?

Gospel - a contraction of the word godspel (“Good tiding”)
Or good news.

-Good News -________________________________________________.

3 Stages in the writing of the Gospels
( There is only one Gospel but in 4 editions)
a. Historical Jesus
Jesus: came and did His mission like by preaching, healing and other ministries. All His deeds were centered on the Kingdom or salvation of mankind

b. Oral preaching
The disciples preached / witnessed (show/live) about Christ and his Message.
They were inspired by the Holy Spirit(_________________________)
what was the basis of the apostles in preaching during their time?
________________________________________
c. The Writing of the Gospels
The Evangelists wrote the Gospels
They were inspired by the Holy Spirit
Purpose: to preserve the message of Christ.
Gospels
- not biographies of Christ
- not concern on Historical accuracy

- * Faith Accounts on Jesus(Faith Experiences on Jesus)
- to convert others, to let them believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

Yehoshua – YHWH is Salvation, God is Salvation, God saves.

Yehoshua Joshua Jesus = Savior -- Mt.1:21

Mashiah Messiah: Anointed one of Yahweh/God
Ex. In OT.___________, _________,___________.
Jesus = messiah --Mt.16:16

Mashiah Messiah Kristos Christ.

Prophet

Priest

King

Matthew – Mt
Mark – Mk
Luke – Lk.
John – Jn.

Matthew

Mark

Luke
Egg = eng
Agg = ang ex.aggelion
John. – more symbolic, theological
(Matthew’s Gospel in Aramaic in 50 A.D. was lost.)

1.Mark: 64 A.D. (65- 70), 66-70 64-66
Cola, L. Gobrin,A. Felix J. Vermundo
• shortest gospel
Symbol: Lion – begins his gospel with a lion in the desert.
Lion- John De Baptist – crying for repentance. Audience: Persecuted Christians of Rome.

Purpose: strengthen /give courage to the suffering Christians of
Rome
(Stress): to stand for the faith even to the point of dying if necessary.
__________________
Christ is a suffering servant

Focus: Deeds of Christ
1. Marvelous Deeds (Miracles)
2. Stressed the mission of Christ-salvation of mankind, kingdom
- Jesus = Messiah, Savior

Mark – disciple of Peter and Paul, Story teller.
- To present the person of Christ through his actions and
Miracles
- (some Biblical scholars say that this is an anti-miracle gospel
Because the miracles are not the signs that Jesus is the Messiah but His action especially His Suffering and death on the cross.He criticize those who emphasized mainly the miracles of Jesus.)

2. Matthew: 65 A.D. 70-90 ca.85 70’s 0r 80’s
Cola,L. Gobrin,A Felix,J. Vermundo
(Matthew: Jew, tax Collector)
Symbol: Man
Begins with the genealogy of Christ

audience: Jewish Christians
Stress: Jesus is the Messiah, the “new Moses” from the house of David.
: He wanted the Jews to believe that God’s promise in the Old Testament is now fulfilled in Christ
Focus: Jesus’ Word / Jesus’ teachings which is focus on the Kingdom
*Jewish mentality :__________________________________________
__________________________________________
They have a very “high” expectation of the Messiah.
Matthew presupposes Knowledge of the O.T.
Matthew always compare Christ with Moses because of His audience.
Moses gave the Torah – guide, Christ gave the Holy Spirit – guide. Etc.

3. Luke -(Physician) 65 A.D. 70-90 ca 85 late 80’s
Cola,L. Gobrin,A. Felix,J Vermundo
- disciple of Paul
Symbol: calf
- begins with the sacrifice/offering
Jewish bias: Gentiles : pagans
: people who are not Jews
: that Christ and Salvation is only for the Jews
Audience: Greek converts/Gentiles
Stress : salvation is universal/for all. Christ died and suffered for all.

Luke – Educated Greek, Physician, Gentile Christian convert.
-Historian,disciple of _______.
-client of Theophilus ( _______________________)
- To give an orderly historical account of Jesus.
- the most orderly Gospel/ focus on the missionary work of Jesus

4. John: 95 A.D., 90-100 90’s 90’s
Cola,L. Gobrin,A. Felix,J. Vermundo
symbol: Eagle
– started with high and lofty thoughts.
Audience: familiar with the synoptics
: Christian Churches around the Roman Empire.
: All Christians

John – more theological
- presented the mysterious personality of Christ and added with profound insight.
Stress: the Divine Origin of Christ.
: Jesus – is Divine, Messiah, from God.
- He stressed the divinity of Jesus that people should believe that He is the Messiah, that anyone who believes in Him will have Everlasting life In short, belief in Jesus as the messiah will lead to eternal life. ( Thomas the doubter is one of the representatives of John’s audiences, that’s why the episode is there)
- He also stress close personal relationship with Jesus.
- He was a follower of John de Baptist.

John’s message for the Jews who cling so much to the O.T. especially the Torah : Jesus is the WORD of God, the Torah who was made/became flesh. So if you are the True People of God as you claim then accept this new Torah who is Jesus.

Some say that John might have also defended who was really Jesus against some heretics like the Gnostics,etc.
Gnostics: Sect who teaches heresy
Gnosis – knowledge
- “We have a secret Divine knowledge from above – will lead us to salvation.” This secret knowledge is only given to the elect.

- 5 Books of John
1. Gospel
2. John 1,2,3 – Epistles
3. Revelation

Author
Symbol Year Audience Purpose

1.

2.

3.

4.

Author
Audience Problem Solution

1.

2.

3.

4.

Authors
(Gospels) style/personality
(method/strategy) Chapters Discipleship( What kind of
Disciple do they portray/like

1.Mark
Story teller “Action star”- more on doing.
Follow Christ thru suffering
and humiliation even to the point of _____________________

2.Matthew
Teacher/catechist
Learner / Listener / teacher

3.Luke
Historian Go to the mission
- Missionary

4.John
Theologean Close relationship with Christ
Ex. Thru Prayer and Eucharist

Who were apostles among the Evangelists? ___________,______________.
The longest gospel:_______________
The shortest gospel: _____________
What’s the difference between Matthew and Luke in terms of their geneaology? _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

What do their genealogy emphasized?
The most catechetical gospel is Luke, the next is Matthew
For purely Catechetical work, the Gospel of Matthew is recommended.
The Gospel of Luke is good for adult catechism.
Catechism : Instruction or specific form of instruction
: (instruction about our faith)
(The primary focus of Catechism are adults and not children)

Mark is good for children (catechism)
Luke : Orderly account
Matthew and John : for high school and college (catechism)
Sources – Mark and the Q ( qohelet )

Eusebius : a historian(some say he is more of an apologist than a
historian)

Theo 2 - Prelims Hand Out

2009-12-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

JESUS’ MINISTRY
Introduction
• The earthly Jesus is the origin of Christology of the Church if we are to take seriously the Incarnation which is the Word taking on a human history, with consideration to the continuity in the discontinuity between the implicit and the explicit Christology.
• Our knowledge of Jesus' earthly life and work is limited, and there is controversy about many sayings and deeds of Jesus recorded in the Gospels as being the reflections of the early Church, yet multiple attestation of the evangelists do allow us to reconstruct something of the message, activity, claim of Jesus at least during the last few years of his life. Something which biblical scholars commonly agree that we can be certain about are:
 Jesus' preaching of the Kingdom of God
 His self-designation as the Son of man
 His consciousness of God as Abba.

1. The Teaching of His Kingdom
There is hardly anything more certain about the ministry of Jesus than his proclamation of God's Kingdom / reign.
 In the time of Jesus, there were different ways of conceiving the Kingdom of God which is the definitive saving act of God, but Jesus gave it a new meaning:
◘ It is the loving rule of God over the world that began to manifest itself with the mission of Jesus. Jesus himself was inseparably connected with the in breaking of the divine kingdom in both his preaching and his miraculous deeds. Jesus announced the Kingdom of God and made it present in His own Person (JS=Kgdm) “Jesus is the Kingdom of God realized in himself” (Origin).
◘ Unlike John the Baptist who preached the Kingdom was imminent, Jesus taught that it was already present though not yet consummated.
◘ The Kingdom is addressed to the poor (anawin). What counts for Jesus is their trust in God.
Kingdom centered= God centered

2. His Self-designation as Son of man
 This term also appears in Ezk (the prophet is called “Son of Man” to mean being human, limited, weak, not a transcendental figure.
But in Daniel 7, it is a transcendental figure
 Jesus' self-designation: neither his contemporaries nor the succeeding generations use the title of Him. It was Jesus’ characteristic way of referring to Himself. He also gave it an innovative interpretation to sum up much of the thrust of His message.
Jesus used it in 3 senses:
◘ Being in the midst of man, having an earthly life with a human quality and humble condition
Mt 11:19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by her works."
Mk 2:10 “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
Lk 9:58 Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
◘ A mortal being to refer to his coming suffering, death and resurrection
Mk 9:12 “He told them, "Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt?”
◘ As a glorious figure coming at the end like the mysterious redeemer-judge of Dan 7
Jesus was relating himself to a figure who delivers his people and receives kingly dominion. In this context, an appeal to Dn 7 meant that Jesus made a messianic use of the self-designation Son of Man.
Point: Only God can judge; only God can destroy evil; only God can require the sacrifice of self.

Conclusion:
• Thus the use of this term respectively portray this figure as a human being serving others, being rejected and killed and coming in future glory to judge them
Theological Dimension
• Title "Son of Man" unites true God and true man.
 “Son of God made man” (Galot: The divine powers that are his are effective through his humanity, communicated through his flesh and blood. As Son of Man he can represent all men to the Father.
The term suggests that the richness of the divine person lies hidden and is revealed through the human nature.
 The ontological and the functional: Jesus does not identify himself with a function (e.g., "Messiah"); his personal reality as "Son" comes before his mission. Mission follows his identity.
O’Collins remarks
• Jesus used “Son of Man” in such a way as not to bring his own person into prominence, while maintaining his Father’s reign (and not self-witness) at the center of his public proclamation.
• As Jesus went on to speak more directly to the inner group of his disciples about his impending suffering and future vindication, he presented himself as the Son of man who represented the new Israel in obediently suffering and trusting that he would be vindicated beyond death and thus bring God’s judgment and kingdom.

3. His Understanding of God as Father
• ABBA Experience - A term of endearment.
In OT it was used a few time but in Hebrew (=Father), not in Aramaic
 (Mk. 14:36—Jesus in Gethsemane), Gal 4: Rom 8—Holy Spirit cries in us.
 Jesus never called himself Son of God (the term certainly belongs to the Creed of the Church). Yet He did characteristically refer to God as Father, most strikingly in his address to God as Abba.
A distinctive and unusual term expressing simple, deep intimacy with God (this seems to capture the essential self-understanding of Jesus). This is unique or something highly unusual in Palestinian Judaism.
In OT the special relationship to God enjoyed by angels, the king and the Jewish nation allowed them to be called sons of God.
He consistently made a distinction between "my father" and "your father" except in the Pater Noster.
 All these show that he clearly experienced God in a special way and he thought of his sonship as a unique relationship with God the Father
When Jesus was crucified he was already the Son of God, but this divine sonship was confirmed and given clearer definition by resurrection.
 Certainly its use in Gethsemene reveals Jesus consciousness that his filial identity is linked to his redemptive mission.
Theological Consequence
 ABBA experience reveals Jesus as the true Son of God the Father. We, as adopted sons, can call Abba for Christ has extended the intimacy of his unique relationship with the Father to us (without lessening the uniqueness of being God's only begotten).

The Universality of the Mediation of Christ

• NT does not waver in acknowledging Christ as the one Savior for all people, that his redemptive role is universal (w/out exception), unique (one of a kind), complete (convey fullness of salvation) and definitive (cannot be surpassed).
• This redemptive role will also have its impact on the whole of creation.
• Biblical texts on the universal role of Christ: Acts 4:11-12: There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name in the world given to men by which we are to be saved.
• 1Tim 2:5-6 God is one. One also is the Mediator between God and men, the man JC, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.
• Claims about Js as the mediator of salvation for all people emerge from faith in him as the Risen Lord. His resurrection has inaugurated the general resurrection. At the end he will be the saving goal for all men and women --as the universal judge and the light of the heavenly Jerusalem.
• The teleological conviction that Christ is goal of humankind goes hand in hand with a strong sense of his universal salvific role here and now.
• It was Js' humanity that made his dying and rising possible, it was his divinity that gave that dying and rising a cosmic value.
The personal pre-existence of Christ and his Incarnation
According to J.D.G. Dunn (Christology in the Making, 2ed., 1989) such a pre-existence of Christ is found for the first time in the prologue of John.
1 Cor 8:6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
2 Cor 8:9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Phil 2:6-11
6. though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped at, 7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8. he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross. 9. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10. so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11. and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
◘ Paul is more interested in the post-existence than the pre-existence of Christ
◘ Yet pre-existence is important for the Incarnation.

WHO IS THE HISTORICAL JESUS?
The Church encourages us to know Jesus historically.
• Divino Afflante Spiritu (- “Inspired by the Holy Spirit”) – 1943 encyclical of Pope Pius XII, which encouraged biblical research and the use of the historical-critical method.

What do we know about Jesus today?
•Big Boss Papa
•Master and Commander
•Big Brother

The Creed
• I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the creator of Heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died and was buried…

Images/titles of Jesus:
• 3 Filipino favorite images of Christ – Nazareno, Santo Nino, and Crucified Christ.
•Appeal of the Nazareno – always grant petitions, consistent with hero martyr symbol. Also because Easter was only emphasized after Vatican II, so more time spent on focusing on the suffering Christ.
•Sto Nino – miraculous wood. It is told that one day, long before the coming of the Spaniards, a native went out into the sea to fish. He did not catch anything for the better part of the day until finally, he felt a weight at the end of his line. He brought it in only to discover that it was nothing but a piece of wood. This occurred several times until, tired and angry, he decided to keep the stubborn piece of wood in his boat. And viola! Like magic, all the fish swum towards his boat and he went home with a bountiful catch.
The natives of Cebu soon discovered that this piece of wood had other magical powers. They could use it as a scarecrow to keep animals away from their dying crops. In times of drought, they only had to immerse it in the sea and the rains would come. Apparently, this same piece of wood was fashioned into the image of the Santo Niño.

Other images/titles:
• The “Christ”
• “Son of God”
• “Messiah”
• “Savior” and “Lord”
The Cosmic Christ

Jesus Christ: Bio data
• If we are to be like Jesus, then we should know his life – what he said, what he did, and WHY.
• To understand WHY, then we should know his historical background, thus the Historical Jesus.

• Born in Nazareth around 4 BCE.
– Rural area but close to commercial centers in Galilee and Mediterranean.
• Nazareth is in Palestine (now Israel and part of Jordan).
•Nazareth is about 150 kilometers north of Jerusalem

Gospels: our source of information of historical Jesus:
• A record of the disciples’ experience of Jesus
• Historical account (what Jesus said and did remembered)
• Interpreted account (what Jesus said and did interpreted after he died and resurrected)
They were fascinated by this person who had a lot of common sense, who related warmly with people, mingled freely with the poor and the outcast, and spoke openly against the injustices of his time. Being with him was an inspiriting experience of the disciples who, most probably, had been victims themselves of the discrimination and oppression in the Jewish society. They felt this man gave them back their dignity, their confidence in life. In Jesus of Nazareth, the disciples experienced a very free man, caring for the concrete needs of the oppressed poor people because God, his Father, loved them – never mind if they failed to fully love God (Mt 4:23-25; 11:2-6; Luke 4:16-21; 5:29-32).
•Interpreted account – Jesus was crucified but in faith the disciples were convinced that he was alive; he has risen. The conviction that Jesus continued to live and inspire the community added a new meaning to the disciples’ initial understanding of Jesus. They believed that Jesus’ spirit was challenging them to give a new answer to people's search for happiness. Thus they believed in the CHRIST OF FAITH as we Christians of today, followers of Christ, also believe.

BETHANY
A village on the southeastern slopes of the MOUNT OF OLIVES (see Map 6, B-4)
about three kilometers (two miles) east of Jerusalem near the road to Jericho . Bethany was the scene of some of the most important events of Jesus' life. It was the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus and the place where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead . During Jesus' final week, He spent at least one night in Bethany . At Bethany Jesus was anointed by Mary in the home of Simon the leper .

What else do we know about Jesus?

• A carpenter, which makes him lower middle class.
• Probably studied in the synagogue of Nazareth, where he learned to read and write, and studied the Hebrew bible.
• Eventually, became a religious seeker and found John the Baptist.
•Nazareth is about 150 kilometers north of Jerusalem
•Carpenters did not build houses but made wooden products: doors, door frames, roof beams, furniture, yokes and plows.

1. A man of faith
• Had a deep relationship with God, referring to God as “abba.”
2. Jesus as healer and exorcist
• Reasons for healing: To show compassion. To show that God is accessible
• Jesus associated healing with the Kingdom of God.
3. A teacher of transformative wisdom
• Not just a teacher of doctrine and morals, but of a “new way of life.”
• Relationship with God – not based on rules but being God-centered.
• Purpose of life – not fulfilling the requirements of religion, but based on a relationship with God.
4. An initiator of a renewal movement
• Aware of the corruption and deterioration of Jewish society, and wanted to renew it.
• Jesus’ movement: the way of Love
• Everyone is welcome, including sinners, the poor, and women. Everyone is equal
5. Jesus as prophet
– Jesus condemned a social system that was unjust, favored the wealthy, the powerful, and those who based their relationship with God on the law, but which rejected the poor, the powerless and those unable to keep the law.

Summary:
•We sometimes transform Jesus to a magician who fulfils prayers if we are obedient. Others turn him into a masochist whose purpose was to die for our sins, and did not consider well being in this life as important.
Now, we can understand better the titles used for Jesus by his early disciples.

Images/titles of Jesus by his early disciples:

• The “Christ” Greek “christos”
Hebrew “mashiah” which means “the anointed.”

• “Messiah” – as above, but had kingly and militaristic connotations.
The titles give us an insight on how Jesus was perceived by the people around him. A mere historical presentation of Jesus would not give us much insight. He was poor, lived in an obscure village, did miracles which were not totally unknown that time, (there were others who healed the sick), challenged the Romans or criticized the priest (again there were many who did this), was a trouble maker in the temple, was convicted of sedition, and then crucified. Many lived and died this way.
But it is how he was perceived and experienced by the people around Him, especially those close to Him, that give us a deeper insight. What I would like to present to you is that this experience of Jesus can be known through the titles that the Gospel writers assigned to Him.
One of these titles is Christ:
Matt 16:15-16 (15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.")
Christ is not Jesus surname. Mashiah means “the anointed”: Priests, kings, prophets were anointed. The disciples were saying this person belonged to God, or was a man of God. They felt that this was no ordinary person that lived among them, but they could not at that time say “true man and true God.” That was an expression developed much later (around 400 AD) by the Church. So they had to make use of titles that were already there at that time.

• “Son of God” – not yet as second person of Trinity, but as “a man of God.”
-Son of God – not in the sense that we use it in the Creed. Son of God meant:
-For the Jews, that divine sonship meant for the Jews themselves. Israel was considered the
first born (Exodus 4:22)
-A king from the line of David, who is considered as Yahweh’s son. The Lord’s promise to David: “I will be his father, and he will be my son.” (2 Samuel, 7:11-16)
-Powerful persons or rulers
-Angels and heavenly beings.
-A righteous person

• “Savior” and “Lord” – titles used for the Roman emperor, applied to Jesus.
-Savior and Lord – both used to refer to the Roman Emperor.
-Two titles of Roman emperor were Savior and Lord. They brought control and order. They brought
Pax Romana, so indeed the Emperor is Savior, but also Lord since his orders have to be followed, he
knows best. The Romans also brought a system of justice that brought peace.

• “Son of Man” – the representative man, or the ideal man.
The Son of Man appeared to speak and act in these cases as the representative man. If God
had given man dominion over all the works of His hands, then He who was the Son of Man in this special
representative sense was in a position to exercise that dominion.

-Jesus is Christ and Son of God, because He stood apart from everyone, a man of God, he possessed strength and power which came from within. When he spoke people listened.
-Jesus is Messiah, who is just like a Davidic king because the time of David was when there was peace and prosperity, there was no foreign power who oppressed them, they freedom to worship, but without the pomp and circumstance associated with the kingly connotations of the title.
-Jesus is Savior who proclaimed peace, but did so through love and forgiveness, and not through force and oppression of the Emperor. Jesus’ proclamation is God’s love, not God’s unbending justice. Jesus is also Savior from the suffocating demands of the Pharisees in obeying laws.
-Jesus is Lord, but one who gives commands to take care of the people, but not the legalistic and demanding obedience to laws similar to the Pharisees

Summary:
1. To imitate Jesus, then you must know the historical Jesus.
2. The message of the historical Jesus is not only about the next life, but THIS LIFE:
• A relationship with God based on love and compassion and not on rules.
• A society based on justice, equality and well-being, where everyone is welcome and accepted.

“GOSPEL”

• Greek euangelion “good news”
• Refers to:
– Message taught by Jesus
– Message about Jesus
• Transmitted orally at first
– E.g. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23 “I received from
the Lord what I also handed on to you …”

Why not write a Gospel?
• Apocalyptic expectations (Mark 13:30)
• Respect for oral tradition (e.g. Papias)

Why write a Gospel?
• Death of the eyewitnesses
• Delay of Jesus’ parousia “appearance”
• Missionary needs
• Controversies over doctrine

The Synoptic Gospels: Mt. Mk, & Lk
• Very similar, frequently identical in wording;
sometimes:
– All 3 the same
– Any 2 the same
– All 3 different
Who wrote the Gospels?
• All 4 NT Gospels are anonymous
• Original title: Gospel of Jesus Christ
• Church attached “according to…” in 2nd
cent. CE to distinguish one from another

Gospel according to Mark
• Church tradition: John Mark, Jewish
associate of Paul in Acts
– Wrote from Peter’s preaching in Rome
– But inaccurate re. Jewish customs &
local geography
• For gentile Christians, 70 CE?

Gospel according to Matthew
• Church tradition: Matthew, Jewish, one of
the 12 disciples
• For: Matt is expert in Jewish customs and
local geography
• Written for Jewish-Christians, 85-90 CE?

Gospel according to Luke
• Church tradition: Luke, Greek physician
and associate of Paul in Acts (also by Luke)
• Supported by:
– good Greek style
– Pauline influence
– emphasis on healing
• Written for gentile Christians, 70-100 CE

Gospel according to John
• Differs from Synoptics:
– Style & theology
– Contents
– Arrangement
• But similar to 1,2,3 Letters of John and Rev
• Source is “the beloved disciple,” John 21:24
• Church tradition: John, son of Zebedee, one of
12 disciples, Jewish
• Modern historians: who knows?

Date of Composition

Mark: 68-73 AD
Matthew: 70-100 AD
Luke: 80-100 AD
John: 90-110 AD

Gospels were written in Greek, although
Jesus and the disciples spoke Aramaic
There were many gospels written about Jesus,
but only four are considered canonical
Other gospel accounts include the Gospel of
Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of
Mary Magdalene.
These gospels were not accepted into the Bible
because they were not widely used by the early
church or because they presented material that the
early Church Fathers thought were heretical.

Gospel authors were not attempting to write an
historical or biographical account of the birth, life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus
Trying to write their theological understanding of
what Jesus’ birth, life, death & resurrection meant
for the salvation of the world.

We have to remember that the Gospels were written in a series of stages; 1st stage in development of the Gospels was in the life and teachings of Jesus.
Jesus traveled thru out the land preaching, speaking, teaching, & performing miracles. These events became the basis for the historical accounts about the Historical Jesus. 2nd stage is the oral preaching of the followers of Christ, when they spread the good news throughout the land. 3rd stage is the Writing of the Gospels.
The second stage of the Gospels grew out of the
testimony and preaching of the eyewitnesses to
Jesus’ ministry and/or Resurrection and to early
practices in the Church, such as the Lord’s
Supper; these traditions may have been oral or
written & occurred @ 30 years after Jesus’ death.
It’s important to remember the context of this
second stage;
– Gospels ≠ modern newspapers or CNN
Jesus’ words were not transcribed word for word;
– Disciples were more concerned about proclaiming
the significance of what God was doing in human
history thru the life, death and resurrection of Jesus

We have to remember that as they were
sharing the Good News, the disciples were
talking to different people from different cultures.
That’s why in some of the Gospels (e.g.,
Mark 7:3) the writers will stop and explain
Jewish customs because they were talking
about Jewish traditions to Gentiles
As church matures, movement begins to develop
a different THEOLOGICAL understandings of
what the Christ event meant
– Christ event = birth, life, death & resurrection
– Why John talks about Jesus as God Incarnate while
the other three Gospels do not
– Jesus as God incarnate is a later theological
understanding of who Jesus is.

The Synoptic Gospels =Matthew, Mark, & Luke
– Synoptic = seeing together
Called Synoptic Gospels because
– Often recount same stories about Jesus
– Often recount stories in same order
Gospel of John is very different in style,
content & emphasis from Synoptic Gospels

Mark
This Gospel is short and to the point; written for
Gentile audience in Rome
Mark is action packed –focuses more on what
Jesus did, not what Jesus said
Mark’s Jesus is mysterious, Jesus is always
asking the disciples who he is & they never
quite get it.
Mark focuses a lot on the Passion narrative because Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man had to die so we might live –focuses more on the suffering of Jesus.

Matthew
Jesus is the fulfillment of OT Scriptures
Matthew sets out to prove that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the OT
Genealogy links Jesus to David and Abraham thru his adoptive father Joseph
More focus on Jesus coming for the
“House of Israel” first, only goes to Gentiles
when Jews refuse to accept him

Luke
Luke is the longest & most comprehensive Gospel;
covers Jesus’ life from birth to death
He was a Gentile physician and companion of Paul’s
Only Gospel with detailed infant & childhood stories
Luke’s Gospel is Universal: Jesus came to save everyone.
Jesus came to save lost souls, to care for those who are marginalized, including the poor, children, women
There are more stories about women in Luke than in any other Gospel
People are receptive to Jesus but the leaders are not because he came to change the social order.

John
He sets out to prove that Jesus is God incarnate;
Jesus is God revealed to the world
John focuses more on what Jesus says, not what
Jesus does
Focused more on his ministry in Judea and
Jerusalem, not Galilee
John talks about Jesus as the Redeemer and
focuses more on the role of the Holy Spirit than
the other Gospels
Talks more about Love & about himself than any
of the other Gospels

In Synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ public ministry lasts one year; in John, it’s three years

In the Synoptics, Jesus speaks in short parables, in John, he speaks in long discourses.

A view of Christ from the Gospels

Matthew The Messiah is King
Mark The Messiah is Servant
Luke The Messiah is Savior of All
John The Messiah is the Son
of God who Became Man

The Gospel of Matthew
Jesus is the Messiah,
the son of David, the King of the Jews.

" A record of the genealogy of Jesus
Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham…”
Matthew 1:1-18

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord
had said through the prophet: “The virgin
will be with child and will give birth to a
son, and they will call him Emmanuel”—
which means, “God with us.”"
Matthew 1:22-23

" This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
His mother Mary was pledged to be married to
Joseph, but before they came together, she was
found to be with child through the Holy Spirit."
"But after he had considered this, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary home as your wife, because
what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."
Matthew 1:18, 20

The Gospel of Mark
Jesus is the Suffering Servant,

"For even the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many.”"
Mark 10:45

The Gospel of Luke
Jesus as the Son of Man,
rejected by Israel, offered to the Gentiles.

" Many have undertaken to draw up an account of
the things that have been fulfilled among us...
Therefore, since I myself have carefully
investigated everything from the beginning, it
seemed good also to me to write an orderly
account for you…so that you may know the
certainty of the things you have been taught."
Luke 1:1-4

“The birth of Jesus Christ was a birth in normal
human flesh from a normal human mother,
whose conception was not the result of sexual
intercourse with any man, but by the supernatural
activity of the Holy spirit.”

The Gospel of John
Jesus Is the Son of God

" In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning. Through
him all things were made; without him nothing
was made that has been made."
John 1:1-3

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of
the One and Only, who came from the Father, full
of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him.
He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said,
‘He who comes after me has surpassed me
because he was before me.’”
John 1:14-15

The Eternal Son Took on Human Flesh to Reveal God to Men. (John 1:18)

The Word Became Flesh to Reign Over His People.
(Luke 1:33a; Matthew 2:2)

He Came to Redeem. (Mark 10:45)

GOD BLESS YOU
IN YOUR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS!

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Baccalaureate Mass Liturgy

2009-03-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

INTRODUCTORY RITE

LEADER: Good morning dear brothers and sisters! Today is, indeed, one of the most memorable days of our lives. It marks our success after four years of struggle as students of Caliguian National High School, our Alma Mater, and Bacnor National High School Extension. Yet, graduation is not the end of our endeavors. Rather, it is the beginning of a new life—a new life of facing more challenges more responsibilities, a new life with a MISSION. God calls us by our names and we are his children. Thus, we also share the mission of his Son, Jesus Christ: TO MAKE GOD’S KINGDOM A REALITY IN WHATEVER COMMUNITY WE MAY BE. May we live and work to realize this mission wherever we will be in the future. But now, let us join our hearts and minds together as a community of faith, hope, and love to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in thanksgiving for the blessings of the Lord in our life, especially the love, care, and sacrifices of our parents, guardians, teachers, and school administrators for us. May all their efforts in educating us throughout the years bear abundant fruit. Please rise and together we sing the entrance hymn.

Entrance Hymn (Pag-aalala)

GREETINGS

PRIEST: In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

ALL: Amen.

PRIEST: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

ALL: And also with you.

PENITENTIAL RITE

PRIEST: My dear graduates, so that we are worthy as sons and daughters of God to celebrate this Holy Eucharist, let us call to mind our sins and be sorry for them.

ALL: I confess …

PRIEST: May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.

ALL: Amen.

Kyrie (Panginoon Maawa Ka)

OPENING PRAYER

PRIEST: Let us pray that our lives may reflect the light of Christ.

God our Father, you sent your Son among us to unite all by serving all. We pray today that our Graduates may build up to the body of your Son by rendering humble service to the community. May they truly grow as responsible persons, always willing to do what is good and never afraid to stand for what is true. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.

ALL: Amen.

LEADER: Please be seated for the Liturgy of the Word.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

(1) FIRST READING

READER: A Reading from the Book of Isaiah (58: 7-10)

Thus says the Lord: Share your food with the hungry and open your hearts to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your relatives. Then my favor will shine on you like the morning sun and your words will be quickly healed. I will always be with you to save you; my presence will protect you on every side. When you pray, I will answer you, when you call to me, I will respond. If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and every evil word; if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon.

The Word of the Lord.

ALL: Thanks be to God.

(2) RESPONSORIAL PSALM

READER: Let your response be – Give thanks to the Lord, proclaim his greatness; tell the nations what he has done.

Sing praise to the Lord; tell the wonderful things He has done. Be glad that we belong to Him; let all who worship him rejoice. (Response)

Go to the Lord for help; and worship Him continually, you descendants of Abraham, his servant; you descendants of Jacob, the man He chose; remember the miracles that God performed; and the judgments that He gave. (Response)

The Lord is our Lord; His commands are for all the world; He will keep his convenant forever, His promises for a thousand generations. (Response)

LEADER: Please stand for the Gospel Acclamation.

Gospel Acclamation (I Will Listen)

(3) GOSPEL READING

PRIEST: The Lord be with you.

ALL: And also with you.

PRIEST: A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (17:11-19)

As Jesus made His way to Jerusalem, He went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. He was going into a village when 10 men suffering from a dreaded skin disease met him. They stood at a distance and shouted, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” Jesus saw them and said to them, “Go and let the priests examine you.” On the way, they were made clean. When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. Jesus spoke up, “there were ten men who were healed, where are the other nine?” “Why is the foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?” And Jesus said to him, “Get up and go, your faith has made you well.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

ALL: Praise to you, O Lord, Jesus Christ.

(4) HOMILY

Profession of Faith (We Believe)

GENERAL INTERCESSORY PRAYERS

PRIEST: Let us pray to the Father of Light that we may truly become the Salt and Light of the world. Let us say: LORD, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE ON US.

READER: For the church, we the people of God: that our way of Christian life be faithful to the Gospel. Let us pray to the Lord.

READER: For our Pope, Bishops, and Priests: that they may faithfully serve the kingdom God. Let us pray to the Lord.

READER: For our government officials: that they may work for justice and peace and for the good of our community. Let us pray to the Lord.

READER: For our parents, teachers, classmates and friends, and all who have been good to us: that they may continue to touch the lives of young people like us. Let us pray to the Lord.

READER: For us graduates: that God will reveal His wonderful plans for all of us, and that with Christ, we may develop fully and help build Christian communities by loving and serving members of our families and our neighbors. Let us pray to the Lord.

PRIEST: Lord God, hear our petitions and let the light of Christ shine in us through our words and actions. We make this prayer through your Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, forever and ever.

All: Amen.

OFFERTORY

LEADER: Please be seated for the symbolic offering of the gifts.

(The offertory procession of the symbolic offerings is accompanied by an instrumental music).

(1) Candles: We offer to you, Lord, these Candles as symbol of the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding you have created in us. Grant that the gifts we have received may serve as light to those who are in darkness and sin, especially to those who refuse to believe in you. Lord, may this offering we make be acceptable to you.

(2) Flowers: The beauty of creation is symbolized by these flowers which we offer to you, Lord. May they always remind us of the beauty of your kingdom and the sweetness of your everlasting love. Lord, may this offering we make be acceptable to you.

(3) Gifts: These gifts symbolize the abundance of the blessings we received from you, O Lord. We offer them back to you as an expression of our gratitude and love as well as our generosity to give ourselves in the service of others. Lord, may this offering we make be acceptable to you.

(4) Medals, Certificates, Awards, and Ribbons: These tokens of our success symbolize the material blessings you continually shower on us, O Lord. Help us as we strive to live the values of the Gospel by word and deed. Lord, may this offering we make be acceptable to you.

(5) Bread and Wine: Lord, your Son Jesus offered his body that was broken into pieces that the people on would be nourished by his unending love. His blood was poured for all that our sins will be forgiven. We offer this bread and this wine as signs of out remembrance of Pascal Mystery of Jesus. May they remind us to live a fellowship of love and constant service. Lord, may this offering we make be acceptable.

PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS

Offertory Song (Take and Receive)

PRIEST: Pray brothers and sisters that this sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father.

ALL: May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all His Church.

LEADER: Please stand.

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

PRIEST: Lord, our God, may the bread and wine you gave us for our nourishment on earth become the sacrament of our eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

ALL: Amen.

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

PRIEST: The Lord be with you.

ALL: And also with you.

PRIEST: Lift up your hearts and minds to the Lord.

ALL: We lift them up to the Lord.

PRIEST: Let us give thanks up to the Lord our God.

ALL: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

PRIEST: Father, it is our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. He is the Word through whom you made the universe, the Savior you sent to redeem us. By the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary.

For our sake he opened his arms on the cross; he put an end to death and revealed the resurrection. In this he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people. And so we join the angels and the saints in proclaiming your glory as we sing.

Sanctus (Santo, Santo, Santo . . .)

CONSECRATION

LEADER: Please kneel.

DOXOLOGY

PRIEST: Let us proclaim the mystery of our faith.

LEADER: Please stand.

Acclamation (We Remember . . .)

PRIEST: Through Him, with Him, and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, and the glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, forever and ever.

Great Amen (Amen, Amen . . .)

LITURGY OF COMMUNION

PRIEST: Through the powerful commandment and teaching of Jesus who is Lord and God, we have the courage to sing:

Our Father (Ama Namin . . .)

PRIEST: Deliver us, O Lord from every evil and grant us peace is our day. In your mercy, keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Doxology (For the Kingdom . . .)

PRIEST: Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: “I leave you Peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the Faith of your church. Grant us peace and unity of your kingdom where you live forever and ever.

ALL: Amen.

PRIEST: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

ALL: And also with you.

PRIEST: Let us greet one another with sign of peace.

Lamb of God (Kordero ng Diyos . . .)

LEADER: Please kneel.

PRIEST: This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to this celebration.

ALL: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed.

Communion (Walang Hanggang Pasasalamat . . .)

THANKSGIVING PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

GRADUATES: Lord, we thank you for the time you’ve forgiven us. We thank you for the gift of life. We thank you for listening to us, and for keeping us in your love. We thank you, Lord, for everything.

We thank you for our parents, who have enabled us to experience the joys and warmth of family life. We thank you for our beloved teachers who have guided us in the search for genuine truth and wisdom.

We thank you for our classmates and friends with whom we have learned and experienced the happiness and difficulties of life. We thank you for opening

our minds and hearts to recognize you as the true source of light. We thank you, Lord, for everything.

PRIEST: Let us pray.

LEADER: Please stand.

PRIEST: Lord, in this spiritual food, you have given back to us the sacrifice we offered you in thanksgiving, the savings Sacrament of Christ your Son. By these gifts of strength and joy, sustain in your service and bring us to your gift of eternal life. Grant this through Christ our Lord.

ALL: Amen.

PRIEST: The Lord be with you.

ALL: And also with you.

PRIEST: Dear graduates, be a living witness as a true sons and daughters of God. And may the Good Lord bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

ALL: Amen.

PRIEST: CONGRATULATIONS! Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

ALL: Thanks be to God.

Recessional (I Will Sing Forever . . .)

Theo IV - Handout for Finals (incomplete)

2009-03-01T23:05:00.000-08:00

BODILY LIFE AND HEALTH
God : creator
- owner/ giver of life
Wo/Man – steward of creation
- take care of creation and himself

The Christian View of man is Whole

Other views of man: dualistic
Body – flesh (sarx)
Soul – spirit (pneuma)

Some consider the soul as imprisoned in the body and the body is the source of evil
Example: The desire of the flesh opposed to the desire of the pneuma and two are opposed to each other.

Christian View: Body and Soul = man - image of God
Everything God created is good

Incarnation shows that the body and soul are good/sacred
Example: Body/self = temple of the holy spirit

Bodily Life and Health – good, sacred, gift of God

Bodily Life and heath/ health: complete physical, mental, spiritual and social well being

I. Man’s duty to care it; through the following:
1. Nourishment – food
- All foods are good
- needed: temperance – right amount of food for your body and health
2. Housing, shelter, clothing
3. Recreation and Sports
4. Stimulants and drugs – here temperance is greatly emphasize
Do not abuse: ex: marijuana
: cocaine
: barbiturates
: hashis
: morphine
: heroin etc.
Some stimulants: intoxicating drinks
- tobacco
- tea
- coffee
- cola

Smoking: hazardous to health

Amputations or removal of organs like kidney, etc..?

= allowed if it disturbs the health or endanger the whole body and they don’t serve their purpose

Example: They are useless like damaged uterus, etc.

- Physicians have moral duties and responsibilities
- Patients have moral rights and duties. Ex: cooperate

- Transplantation of organs – like kidney etc is allowed- if no change in the identity of the person, not allowed organs of animals to man.

Sterilization, castration – allowed if great danger to health and life.

- Sexual reassignment is not permissible, the reason for the desire for such is psychological
Treatment: a. Psychotheraphy
b. Personal counseling

- Artificial insemination – never allowed(Remedy adoption)

. Suicide
. Murder
. Euthanasia
. Abortion

. Indirect killing
. Indirect Abortion

Rules to follow:- Follow the rule of proportionate reason

Self-defense = allowed on the following conditions:
1. the aggression must be unjust
2. the aggression must be actual
3. the defense must be limited to the means which is needed, follow proportionate reason.
4. use limited/minimum violence

SEXUALITY AND MARRIAGE

Sexuality = whole composition of the body whether male or female
= wholly good/sacred
Sexual Love = is willed by the creator
= human value
= wholly good

Purpose of sexuality:
In the sacred Scriptures
A. Old Testament
1.procreation (Genesis 1:28,29)
2.Companionship (Genesis 2:18, Tob 8:6)
The two flesh become one = suggest Monogamy
3. Education of Children/welfare of family

B. New Testament
1. equality between man and woman/no domination
2. chastity: against fornication
3. virginity – (Mt. 19:11 ff, Cor. 7:8; 25-26)
one reason is for the kingdom
MAN’S SEXUAL CONSTITUTION IN GENERAL
Man: Masculine: active, outgoing, assail
Feminine: receptive, protective
- has the greater fortitude to endure
- Each has its own strengths and weaknesses
- the two are complementary
- no domination of the other
- no unnatural and align imitation of the other sex

sexuality – sexual love, conjugal love (husband and wife), sacred, in the context of a family
- family – sacred
- marriage – sacred covenant

FAMILY PLANNING
Purpose:
1. Maintain the sacredness/welfare of the family
2. birth control

Method:
I. Natural family Planning (church)

1. Calendar rhythm/method
(Abstinence, discipline, respect)

II. Artificial (Contraceptive(abortive) – against morality)
1. Tubal ligation
2. IUD
3. Vasectomy
4. Condom
5. Pills

Against marital sex, against the dignity of the human body, sex and family
Lev. 19:27 lev 18:22
Jer: 5:7 lev 20:13
Sir: 9:6 Rom 1:22-23
Deut: 23:17 I Cor. 6:9-11
Amos: 2:7 I Tim: 1-9-ff
Mt. 15:19 Gen. 19
Mt. 7:21-23

Fornification

Premarital Sex masturbation
Concuvinage phornography
Adultery adultery sexual fantasy
Rape necking
Incest petting- to arouse
Prostitution
Homosexuality
Lesbianism
Bestiality
Anal
oral

Mastery of sexuality = control or master your sexual life, does not mean to suppress it.
- Find the proper channel of sexual energy

A. Modesty = practice the sense of shame in the realm of sex Ex: practice modesty in dressing, Conversation, Mass media etc.

B. Chastity = purity of sexual life (in single, Celibate, Married life)

Violations against Family
1. Incest = sexual intercourse between persons who are closely related by blood or affinity
2. Petty Jealousy= fosters groundless suspicion regarding the partner’s faithfulness and suppresses friendships beyond the family circle.
3. Polygyny = marriage of one man to two or more women at the same time
4. Polyandry = marriage of woman to two or more men at the same time
5. Genocide = killing one’s relative

Violations against Life
1. Suicide = direct taking of one’s life done on one’s own authority
2. artificial Insemination and IVI = impregnation not by means of natural intercourse, but by means of mechanical, artificial aids, e.g. a syringe, used for the transfer of sperm
3. Abortion = removal of the non-viable human being from the mother’s womb by human intervention, whether by killing him before removal from the womb or whether by exposing him to a certain death outside the womb.
4. Euthanasia = also called mercy – killing, commonly means the intentional killing of a tormented, incurable patient by lethal agents or means.
5. Murder = killing of an innocent even if by authorization or order of the state authority

Violations against Sex
1. Homosexuality = is a persistent, predominant erotic attraction to persons of the same sex which is often coupled with sexual activity
2. Prostitution = if sexual intercourse is offered for money
3. Adultery = sexual intercourse between two partners of different sex of whom at one is married
4. rape = sexual intercourse with a woman against her consent
5. bestiality = act of having sex with animals.
6. Paresthesia – using objects.

God’s Grace is always there assisting you to live
A morally upright Life but God still respects your
Freedom.His grace is free but it is take it or leave it.

May we always try our best to follow Jesus Christ the
Perfect model of Christian Morality.

Theo II - Handout for Finals

2009-03-01T23:02:00.000-08:00

Ash Wednesday
- start of the Lenten Season
- Fasting -

- -Abstinence –

- ash -

TEMPLE INCIDENT
- cleansing of the temple by Christ
 Temple was transformed into “market” – gain money.
“This is the house of my father” Christ = son of God

ACCUSATIONS ON CHRIST/JESUS’ CONFRONTATIONS
- Deeply Theological / Religious matter / Religion
Israelites’ view: Christ is contradicting and destroying their faith
to YHWH, their O.T. religion (later called Judaism)

Problem of the Jews: More People were Believing in Christ; their O.T.religion will be destroyed /no belief in Yahweh.
 So they look for ways to put Christ unto death.

MISUNDERSTANDING:
- Jesus is different from Yahweh – because Jesus is a son of Joseph.
-They can’t accept Christ as the Messiah because of their different concept (expectations.)about the Messiah: from the royal family, a mighty military leader, Kingly who will fight the enemies of Israel and establish the Kingdom of Israel – it should be “God” (very powerful one). Like King ___________.

Enemy of Christ – power of evil/sin, slavery of sin,
Human sinfulness, sin.

 Man’s lack of compassion
- one great cause of sin and slavery

JESUS CONFRONTATIONS
- Jesus was tried and sentenced by the “Roman Procurator” from the following charges/accusations.
 (The charges were deeply Theological but they made it political in order to put Christ to death).

1. Incited the people to revolt.(against Romans)
2. Opposed to pay tribute to Caesar (Emperor)-worship-son of god/divine
3. Claimed to be the Christ (Messiah) – King
SANHEDRIN – accused him as “Blasphemous Man”
HERODIANS – accused him of “Dangerous and Subtly subversive revolutionary”
PHARISEES – accused him of “inciting people not to pay taxes”
SCRIBES – accused him of “his ignorance & liberal approach of the law”
Triumphal entry into Jerusalem: Jesus as the King entered Jerusalem.( What were their “pompom” in welcoming Him?)
What’s the difference of Christ with the other human Kings? Ex:the king in a chess game.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

WASHING OF THE FEET
- re-enacted on Holy Thursday Peter’s reaction:_______________
- work of a servant ___________________

Jesus – master – doing the work of a servant
Message: true leadership is shown in humble service.

LAST SUPPER
- where Jesus instituted (established) the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Holy Eucharist (symbolic in the highest sense) / Agape / Breaking of
The bread
-commemorates Christ giving himself for the salvation of people/forgiveness of sins.

COMMEMORATION
- done in memory of the past event so that you let the effect of the past event takes place/ take effect in our present time.

Christ was only tempted 3 times in his life. Yes or no?

What does the cup symbolize? _______________________________________

How much did Judas receive in order to betray Christ? ___________________________

Scenes:1.Triumphal entry 2.washing of the Feet 3.Last supper
“Pompom” “Wewet” -_______ “bading”-______

4.Agony
Place: ___________________
Temptation:__________________________ Cutting of neck to ear surgery
Christ’s experience/ state: “bold star”
___________________________

5. Sanhedrin
High priest: __________________
Caiaphas Words?Principle:___________________________________
_____________________________________
3x denial:who _______ his reminder of his denial: __________

6.P.P_______ 7. King kong _________ 8. P.P
- the 2nd and 3rd
Sorrowful mystery
- Washing(hands)
- “ Amnesty”program
Recipient:______________

9.Carrying of cross 10.Calvary 11. tomb.
__________of cyrene soldier’s faith ________of Arimatea

12. Resurrection /empty tomb
Woman : ____________________________ “noli me tangere”
Apostle: ___________________________

Why was there a need to go to P. Pilate when they have the Sanhedrin? _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

INRI – Iesus Nazarenus
Rex IUDAEORUM
(Jesus the Nazorean King of the Jews)

Another term for Calvary: __________________

What do they give/offer to the thirsty crucified one and why? __________ or ______________ for _________________________________

Purposes of The Roman punishment of Crucifixion: - to put a person to shame, suffering, and death.

What happen in the temple when Christ died? ______________________
_______________________

What will they do to be sure that the one being crucified really died before they leave him?_______________________________________
What did they do to Christ? And why? _____________________________
___________________________________

Who requested the body of Christ to be brought down from the Cross before evening or sunset comes and why? __________________________
__________________________________________________________

How was the tomb of Christ being prepared? _______________________
_________________________________________________________________

CRUCIFIXION
- death penalty for the Roman Empire for Criminals.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS (NEW)
1. Last Supper
2. The Agony in Gethsemani
3. Jesus is condemned to death
4. Jesus is scourged and crown with thorns.
5. Jesus carries the cross
6. Jesus falls
7. Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus carry the cross.
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.
9. Jesus is stripped off his garments.
10. The forgiven thief.
11. Mother Mary and the beloved disciple at the foot of the cross.
12. the death of Jesus.
13. Jesus is laid in the tomb.
14. The resurrection of Jesus.

14 Stations
- to be with (experience) Christ’s suffering and death.

SEVEN LAST WORDS

1. Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing._
2. This day you shall be with me in paradise.____________________
3. Woman behold thy Son, Son behold thy Mother.__________________
4. My God, My God why have you forsaken me.
5. I thirst! __________________
6. It is consummated/finished ____________________________
7. Father into your hands I commend my spirit____________________

 “Eloi, Eloi Lama Sabactani”

7 Last Words
- to contemplate/meditate on Christ’s suffering and death.

What feast of the Jews did Christ die on the Cross? ______________
What is the significance of that feast for the Jews? _____________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
For us Christians, what is the significance of Christ’s dying on that feast of the Jews? __________________________________________
________________________________________________

How can you/we be included in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ when that happened 2002 years ago? Or how can you be included in that salvific/saving act of Christ when you are born after that event/incident? By:___________________________________
Who told you to do such? ______________

0----------------------------Christ---------------------eschaton

FLAGELLATION (PENITENSYA)
- whipping of oneself in public as a form of PENANCE

3 Stages:
a. As a punishment
- 4th century
- scourging: a punishment for delinquent clerics
- feature of monastic discipline
b. Form of voluntary penance
- mid-11th century
- natural development from penal form

MOTIVES:
a. Expiation of personal sins and sins of others
b. Self-conquess (self-fulfillment)
c. Impetration of Divine Graces and favors
d. Conformity with Christ
- martyrs – regarded as closest to Christ

FLAGELLATES
- acting as Christ

COENACULLUM
- room where Christ had his last supper.

SENAKULO – “Drama” operatta Pasyon
- dramatization of the life of Christ especially his passion, death
and resurrection.
- familiarizing (being in) ourselves with the life and Passion and death of Christ.

Senakulo – encourages/moves us to a deeper conversion.

-pabasa : _______________________________________________

Holy Thursday
1. Washing of the feet
2. Holy Eucharist
Visita – Iglesia (visit at least 7 churches)

Cyborium or monstrance

Good Friday
1. Stations of the Cross
2. Flagellation – flagellates
- acting as Christ’s
3. Senakulo (Drama)
4. 7 Last Words

What will you practice on Good Friday( same with ash wed)?
______________ and _____________________
PASYON, STATIONS OF THE CROSS, SENAKULO, FLAGELLATION, VISITA IGLESIA, 7 LAST WORDS
- its purpose:
1. To meditate/reflect on the life, passion and death of Christ (for our sins) (To be with Christ Experience, Christ suffering and death for us.)
2. Will encourage/move us to deeper conversion (change)
3. so that these will lead to a meaningful celebration of Easter (Christ giving us new life)

Black Saturday / Easter vigil
Blessing of Oil and Water
-Water : symbolism – O.T. – cleansing, bring life(Gen 1-2),
Deliverance(exodus), saved Noah’s family
- N.T. Baptism of Jesus – New Israel, new Adam,
New era, messiah.
- Baptism of Christians – new life, new birth

Renewal of Baptismal vows

- Oil : symbolism –for healing, anointing- to anoint heads of guests
- Anointing : anointing of Kings, prophets and priests
: God’s sweet continuous presence

Priest
Prophet - Jesus Christ. These are all taken by Christ
King

So those who are anointed (during baptism)also carries the three responsibilities : Kingly – service, Prophetic – to preach and
Priestly – to offer spiritual sacrifice.

Paschal Candle – symbolizes (Light)-Jesus as the Light of the World.

Paschal Mystery – means the passion, death, and resurrection of
Christ.
- center of our faith

What is being narrated in the Liturgy during Easter vigil?
________________________________.

Easter Sunday
SALUBONG
- done at dawn of Easter Sunday.
- Meeting of the sorrowful mother with his resurrected son.
- Message : _______________________________________________

Who was the woman who first saw the empty tomb of Christ? __________
____________________
Question: Which should be more festive? Christmas or Easter?
What can Easter do to Christmas?
__________________________________________________________

CROSS (MEANING)
Negative: Reminds us of the ugliness/evilness of sin – can cause poverty, suffering and death. Sin is shameful.

Positive: Cross – symbol of God’s saving love, symbol of our salvation, victory, triumph over sin and death

Death of Christ: two Views:
1. Political view
- execution of a non conformist revolutionist by the Romans.
Christ = Criminal.
2. Apostolic Faith/View
- it was an accomplishment of Christ’s mission from the Father. (To save us by dying on the cross as prophesied in the Old Testament.)

O.T. Theology
- Christ saves the world as a sacrificial lamb. (offered sheep for sins, peace offering)

At present, this is no longer “effective” or appreciated view (as if God is a Blood Thirsty God) Theologizing (critique)Christ should have been offered immediately after his birth.

3rd View (Present Theology of Christ’s Death)
- Christ’s death is a consequence of his work as a liberator of men from all sort/kinds of oppression – from outside or inside the human person.

PAUL’S VIEW:
- Christ died as a priest and the victim (offered himself)

RESURRECTION
-confirmed all the words and deeds of Christ that Christ is really the Messiah/son of God, Divine. He renewed the Old covenant and
created a new one.

-Christ’s resurrection is the source and principle of our future
Resurrection. The Ground of our Christian Faith. the source
Of authority of the Christian community leaders.

What happened to the Apostles when Christ was arrested, tried, till his crucifixion?_________________________________________________

What event regrouped the apostles or made them come together again and stay as one? ______________

Christ’s appearances : - to the group without the doubter __________
- to the group with the doubter
- to the two walking
- to peter where he asked peter’s commitment
- he asked them to go and preach, baptize
People, forgive sins, etc.

NO RESURRECTION – no faith in Christ /no Catholics/no church/ no USL/ no Theo 2.

Strictly or theologically, what image should be at the center in front of every Catholic or generally every Christian Church? _______________________________.

Resurrection is a trans-historical event. Beyond the control of time
and space. No one claimed
to have seen how it happened, no one can describe
or explain it. Although they saw the empty tomb.

The Risen Christ is a Glorified Christ; cannot be controlled by time, space; cannot be overcome by death.

The Risen Christ continued to be with his apostles, he commissioned them to teach all people what he had taught them. After his ascension, he continued to be with them through the Holy Spirit.

Christ’s descent to the dead means : in Adam, all will die and
In Christ, all will come to life.
Christ’ Ascension
- meaning : Christ’s exaltation, sovereign authority and power
over all creation and history.
: Jesus’ exaltation into the heavenly realm of his
Father.
: He ascended so the Holy Spirit will descend and
Remained with us(Church) forever.
: gives us hope of one day entering God’s glory with
Him.

The Risen Christ saves us through the following:
- re-imaging God a our Loving Father.
- grounding our inalienable self-worth in God.
- grounding the dignity of every human person.
- Clarifying the authentic hierarchy of values in life.

How does Christ touch our lives today?
- through the Inspired Words (Bible)
- through the Sacraments
- through the Church ( Community of disciples)
- through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us(Our guide and inspires us

Father : Giver of life, creator
Son : gives meaning to life, redeemer
Holy Spirit : moves, inspires us to go to the Father through Christ.

The Cross: some interpretations :
- Vertical part :_________________________________________________

- Horizontal part :_______________________________________________

Historically, what they carry is the horizontal part of the cross.

Didache -

Kerygmatic -

Discipleship
-1. A Faith Response
2. Like the master, runs the risk of being opposed
3. Walks the way of Jesus
-cares for the mother earth, cares for neighbors,
Cares for culture,Live a life of Service and Contemplation.
* see discipleship in the midterm topic.

Mary : the Model of Discipleship

: the name Mary in Hebrew is Miryam, means “the exalted one”.

: She played a great role in God’s plan of saving humanity.
-She gave her total YES to God to be the mother of the savior
: She is the first disciple of Jesus.

: Mary, the first to be evangelized
- She submitted her whole self to God, believing his word,
Trusting his power, and obeying his will.

: Mary, the first evangelizer
- She put into reality her faith response in her proclamation of the MAGNIFICAT.

Magpakatao ( Becoming Human)
- a Call to Christian maturity
- a great responsibility
- a process
- it follows stages like infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood.

In theo. 3, you will learn how God assists us in becoming human through these different stages by giving us his graces through the seven sacraments which follows our stages of growth in our journey to God.

MAY WE LIVE CONSISTENTLY AS DISCIPLES OF JESUS OUR HUMBLE AND LOVING MASTER AND CONTINUESLY NOURISH THIS LIFE THROUGH THE LITURGY WHICH
SUSTAINS OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR TRIUNE GOD, OUR SOURCE OF LIFE.

The Nativity Story

2008-12-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

In Nazareth, a town oppressed by the devastating taxation practices of King Herod, a teenage girl, Mary, is told by her parents that they have arranged for her to marry Joseph. Distraught by the idea of marrying a man she hardly knows, Mary takes refuge in a grove to collect her thoughts. There, she is visited by an angel, who tells her that she has been chosen by God to bear his son. Despite the public scorn from an unwed pregnancy, together, Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem for a census mandated by the King. It is here, with a great celestial event revealing his prophecy, in a history-defining event, that Jesus is born.

Good Will Hunting

2008-11-23T08:09:00.000-08:00

In essence, Good Will Hunting is an ordinary story told well. Taken as a whole, there's little that's special about this tale -- it follows a traditional narrative path, leaves the audience with a warm, fuzzy feeling, and never really challenges or surprises us. But it's intelligently written (with dialogue that is occasionally brilliant), strongly directed, and nicely acted. So, while Good Will Hunting is far from a late-year masterpiece, it's a worthwhile sample of entertainment.

Like Scent of a Woman, which was released around this time of the season five years ago, Good Will Hunting is about the unlikely friendship that develops between a world-weary veteran and a cocky young man. The formula for the two films is similar -- both of the principals learn from each other as they slowly break down their barriers on the way to a better understanding of life and their place in it -- but the characters are different. Al Pacino's Slade was a larger-than-life individual; Robin Williams' Sean McGuire is much more subtle. And Matt Damon's Will Hunting uses pugnaciousness to supplant the blandness of Chris O'Donnell's Charlie.

Will is a troubled individual. As a child, he was the frequent victim of abuse. An orphan, he was in and out of foster homes on a regular basis. Now, not yet 21 years old, he has accumulated an impressive rap sheet. He has a short temper and any little incident can set him off like a spark in a tinder box. But he's a mathematical genius with a photographic memory and the ability to conceive simple solutions to complex problems. While working as a janitor at MIT, he delights in anonymously proving theorems on the math building's hall blackboards. Then, one evening, his anonymity is shattered when Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) catches him at work. Will flees, but Lambeau tracks him down. Unfortunately, by the time the professor finds him, Will is in jail for assaulting a police offer.

The judge agrees to release Will under two conditions: that he spend one day a week meeting with Lambeau and that he spend one day a week meeting with a therapist. Eventually, once several psychologists have rejected the belligerent young man, Sean McGuire, a teacher at Bunker Hill Community College, agrees to take the case. After a rocky start, the two form a rapport and Will begins to explore issues and emotions he had walled up behind impregnable armor. And, as Will advances his self-awareness in sessions with Sean, he also learns about friendship from his buddy, Chuckie (Ben Affleck), and love from a Harvard co-ed named Skylar (Minnie Driver).

The script, by co-stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, is not a groundbreaking piece of literature, and occasionally resorts to shameless manipulation. The characters are well-developed, however, and there are times when the dialogue positively sparkles. At one point, Will comments that a session with Sean is turning into a "Taster's Choice Moment." Later, Will gives a brilliant, breathless diatribe against the NSA that has the rhythm of something written by Kevin Smith. (Note: Since Smith co-executive produced Good Will Hunting, it's not out of the question that he had some input into this scene.)

Director Gus Van Sant (Drugstore Cowboy, To Die For) culls genuine emotion from his actors, and this results in several affecting and powerful scenes. There's an edginess to some of the Sean/Will therapy sessions, and the offscreen chemistry between Matt Damon and Minnie Driver (who became romantically linked while making this film) translates effectively to the movie -- the Will/Skylar relationship is electric. Likewise, the companionability of Damon and Affleck is apparent in the easygoing nature of Will and Chuckie's friendship. Many of the individual scenes are strong enough to earn Good Will Hunting a recommendation, even if the overall story is somewhat generic.

Matt Damon, who recently starred as the idealistic young lawyer in The Rainmaker, is solid (although not spectacular) as Will. Minnie Driver (last seen in Grosse Pointe Blank) adds another strong performance to a growing resume (and it's refreshing that she was allowed to keep her British accent rather than having to attempt an American one). The outstanding performance of the film belongs to Robin Williams, whose Sean is sad and wise, funny and somber. Arguably the best dramatic work in the actor's career (alongside what he did in The Fisher King), Williams' portrayal could earn him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Adequate support is provided by Ben Affleck (Chasing Amy) and Stellan Skarsgard (Breaking the Waves).

Like most of what comes before it, the ending of Good Will Hunting is completely predictable. But meeting expectations and following a familiar path aren't always bad things in a movie, provided the film accomplishes those goals with a modicum of style and an attention to detail. Good Will Hunting does both, and, as a result, earns a rating commensurate with the "good" in the title.

© 1997 James Berardinelli

United States, 1997
U.S. Release Date: 12/25/97 (wide)
Running Length: 2:06
MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, mature themes, violence)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Cast: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgard, Minnie Driver, Casey Affleck, Cole Hauser
Director: Gus Van Sant
Producer: Lawrence Bender
Screenplay: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Cinematography: Jean-Yves Escoffier
Music: Danny Elfman
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films

Social Development: Self (The Prime Mover)

2008-11-22T02:38:00.000-08:00

Who is the center of awareness? Where is the source of intent? Who is observing, perceiving, reflecting, recalling, contemplating, anticipating, thinking, contented, hoping, judging, worrying, feeling, deciding, hurting, and concentrating? Who am I? I am the self.
Definitions

1. The Observer; the seat of perception,
2. The Thinker; the seat of consciousness,
3. The Judge; the seat of evaluation,
4. The Prime Mover; the seat of intent,
5. Your physical and mental being with all its human and unique characteristics.

Related Terms

The words: being, individual, soul, and ego have meanings similar to “self”.
Self Spiral

Self SpiralEverything we do and every perception we have of the world around us accumulates over time and contributes to the ever-changing entity we refer to as our “self”. The first time we smile as an infant we have changed the world by stimulating others to smile back at us. Seeing their smile—and eventually perceiving the acceptance it represents—begins to change us; it is the beginning of our self-concept, self-image, self-confidence, self-doubt, and the autonomy, competence, and relatedness that form the basis of our motivations. How we engage the world changes how the world responds to us. This cycle of: do, see, perceive, assess, learn, and do again continues at a rapid pace countless times throughout our lifetimes and forms an ongoing spiral that begins to converge on the stable and consistent pattern of goals, beliefs, wishes, intent, habits, talents, and behavior we call our “self”.

Events that happen to you, the choices you make, and the influential people you meet throughout your life all contribute to what you learn and believe about the world. These factors, and the meaning you assign to them, merge and blend with your human nature and personality to create your ever evolving self. The moment you first tried to roll over, or crawl, or walk, or talk was either successful and satisfying or it was frustrating for you. Your parents, or anyone who may have been watching might have encouraged your exploration or they may have been critical and discouraging. The childhood games you played, the first time you were left alone, the first day of school, the first time you were betrayed, or lied to, punched in the nose, or abandoned are all important events that you have perceived, interpreted, learned from, and have contributed to revising your self-concept. Perhaps you begin to think of the world as a friendly and accepting place where hard work is rewarded, or you may think of it as angry and hostile. You begin to understand the consequences of actions; the connection between an incident and a result. Your attitude toward the world begins to take shape as that attitude influences how you behave in the world. As you grow older you may have participated in sports, or music, or dancing. Perhaps you were talented, perhaps you were not. Rind

Your competence in each of these activities was assessed by yourself and no-doubt by others. As a result your self-concept expands to include such beliefs as: “I am good at sports, not very good at music and dancing, OK in spelling, and not so good in math.” These ideas are refined as you score your first goal, win your first game, flunk another test, win your first trophy, get badly injured, and get cut from your first team. Believing you are good at sports may cause you to play for more teams, which of course increases your skill in the sport. As a teen you suffer the wrath of your peers; perhaps you are popular and attractive, or alone and plain. You go on your first date, have your first kiss, and agonize over sex. This may go smoothly, but more likely it does not. Learning continues throughout your life as your beliefs are challenged, refined, and revised. Your experiences and beliefs are constantly reinforced, interpreted, evaluated, and inevitably distorted by your self-talk—your ever-present inner dialogue. You may believe the world is a warm and wonderful place, or it may be full of harsh and cruel obstacles. You may be quietly confident, or you may be anxious, afraid, and ashamed.

Although events happen to you, the choices you make are your own responsibility. What education you complete, choices you make about drinking, driving, smoking, and drugs, the friends you keep, what you talk about, where you hang out, choosing to be the conformist or the rebel, deciding whether or not to go to college, career choice, and marriage choices are all shaped by your self-concept as they contribute to your self-concept. You may make these choices confidently and autonomously, based on your own well-considered beliefs, or you may be greatly influenced by peer pressure, parents, or the desire to please others. Critical choice points will reveal your own self and continue to shape your life and your self. Some choices will strengthen your authentic self, and others will contribute to your fictional self.

Certain people will strongly influence you and contribute to your self-concept. These include parents, siblings, peers, teachers, coaches, bullies, heroes, role models, teammates, tormentors, competitors, and your nemesis. You admire some, loath some, and you simply tolerate or ignore others. You learn from them all and they all contribute to who you are today. This self-spiral continues to change you as you change the world.

As your self-spiral grows you will accumulate intrinsic regulations—rules that you have carefully evaluated and decided are congruent with your values and beliefs. These contribute to your authentic self. But you are also likely to accumulate introjected regulations. These are behaviors performed to avoid guilt, humiliation, fear, or anxiety, or to attain a false pride by enhancing your image but not your stature. These move you away from your authentic self and toward your fictional self.

Knowing Yourself

To understand yourself, begin by understanding: human nature, what you can change and what you cannot, your own personality traits, learned behaviors, and your values, beliefs, sense of justice, needs, goals, and motives. Integrate these to form your personal model for human interaction. Understand what guides you throughout your life. Discover your signature strengths, and the basis of your true stature. Examine your self-spiral, purge the introjected regulations, integrate your values, beliefs, and actions, and work to become your authentic self.
Self-Symbol

Your mind is organized with many thousands of symbols for many objects and concepts including: cars, chairs, the future, your hopes, goodness, your dog, your friends, and even yourself. Your mental symbol that represents yourself is your “self-symbol”. Words we use as symbols for ourselves (and others) are often chosen from our list of trait nouns, and trait adjectives. Some of these labels are accurate and some are not accurate representations of our self.
Self-Aware

Humans have the remarkable, and perhaps unique ability to think about our own thoughts. This strange loop allows us to become aware of our self, to plan for the future, reflect and ruminate about the past, think about our selves as separate from others, imagine the thoughts of others, project our experiences into the minds of others, and judge our own actions. Self-awareness provides us the unique ability to control ourselves intentionally by imagining ourselves in the future and talk to ourselves about options for our future.

Self-awareness allows us to imagine the world from a variety of perspectives. Not only can we contemplate what we are perceiving now, but we can reflect on the past and imagine a variety of futures. We can also imagine what others are thinking now, or were thinking in the past, or will be thinking in the future. Self-awareness allows us to travel through time and read minds. But our awareness is less accurate than it may seem.

EarthHumans were earthbound for millions of years. Their only experience of earth was the limited view each of us could gain from our village on the earth's surface. Mountain top vantage points gave a somewhat broader perspective, but even the most expansive view was of only a small portion of the earth. World-wide travel eventually allowed us to experience other regions on earth. Then in December 1968 the Apollo 8 spacecraft broke free from the earth and gave us stunning images of the whole earth, small and alone in the vast blackness of space. For many these images transformed the way they think about our planet. We can achieve a similar perspective when we can detach our consciousness from originating among our thoughts and move our awareness above, or outside of our own thoughts. Just as Apollo 8 peered down on the entire earth, we can adopt an awareness that examines our own thinking and contemplates it as a whole. People sometimes describe this viewpoint transformation as an awakening. This viewpoint can help us detach our egos.

Self-awareness, introspection, and self-consciousness open us up to the emotions of pride, envy, jealousy, guilt, shame, and hope. Our ability to imagine the world from another's perspective allows us to feel empathy, compassion, pity, envy, and jealousy. Self-awareness allows self-appraisal, which is discussed in more detail below.

Introspection

Our conciseness and attention is often split between what we are doing, sensing, and perceiving in the world around us, and the thoughts we may be having about the past or the future. We constantly live in two worlds, one outside our heads and visible to others and one inside our heads known only to us. Because we have only a limited capacity for attention, our self-talk distracts us from the outside world and the outside world distracts us from our self-talk. Our attention does not always strike a useful balance here. It can be dangerous to be distracted by rumination or planning while driving. Self-consciousness can cause us to choke under pressure when we are called on to perform, as we meet others, in conversations, presentations, sports contests, or on stage. Self-talk can prolong insomnia as we worry about not falling asleep.

Self-awareness is often excessive. Ruminating, reliving, and repeatedly blaming yourself for a simple mistake in the past does more harm than good when it becomes prolonged, frustrating, distracting, and induces and prolongs shame. Worrying about events you cannot change produces unhelpful anxiety. When you have heard enough, it may be helpful to quiet this self talk. MeditationExternal Link, either undertaken as either a spiritual or secular activity, can be effective in quieting the self and breaking the cycle of rumination, allowing you to relax, and return your attention to the world present outside your head.

Our self-awareness disappears when we are sufficiently absorbed in an engaging activity and we experience the state of flow.
Bias

Since it is our self that has our attention during self-talk, we are constantly listening to an inherently biased and one-sided point of view. This first-person viewpoint, described in more detail below, is responsible for many distortions in perception, assessment, attribution, and reasoning. We are inherently biased. We invariably overestimate our positive qualities; nearly everyone considers themselves above average in characteristics important to their self-image. We claim more than our share of credit when things go well and we avoid blame when thing go bad. We judge people we identify with more leniently and favorably than we judge people we don't like. We offer advice to others more easily than we accept advice from others. We judge others based on behavior and we judge ourselves based on intent. We each tend to believe that our point of view is the correct one.

Perhaps this unrealistic view of the world helps us compensate for the bias toward safety that triggers fear, the bias toward just action that triggers anger, and the bias toward quickly identifying foe that triggers hate. Thinking well of ourselves provides a respite from anxiety and other negative emotions.

We can begin to counteract our inherent bias by developing a healthy skepticism toward our own ego-directed point of view. We can more accurately assess the world when we learn to compensate for the bias we use to perceive it. Consider a variety of viewpoints and dialogue with people who hold differing views before making important decisions.
Worry

We worry about the future we imagine, we ruminate about the past we recall, and we worry about what others did, thought, or might do. Anxiety results directly from our self-awareness and self-talk; it really is all in our head. We monitor the world with a bias toward identifying actual and potential threats. Although worry is beneficial when it alerts us to problems and urges us to avoid them, it is not helpful when there is nothing further we can do to avoid danger or ensure success.

We also worry about threats to our own thoughts and ideas. We protect the ideas we have of our self-concept, ideas we have about others, and our goals—our ideas about the future. Fear, anger, jealousy, and humiliation can be evoked as easily by threats to our ego, significant others, or goals as they can by physical threats. Many emotions are generated or sustained by how we talk to ourselves.
Conflicting Images

We imagine ourselves as similar to people in some groups and different from others. We invariably demonstrate favoritism toward people in the in-group. This affiliation with the in-group and dissociation from the out-group can be triggered even when only trivial characteristics or differences define the groups. Abstract concepts select the symbols we attach to the “good guys” and the “bad guys”. There is almost always some way for the people in the in-group to construe themselves better than the people in the out-group. This has been dramatically demonstrated by sports fans, social clubs, cliques, the Robbers Cave experimentExternal Links, and in other research. The often misunderstood fact is that you are probably less similar to the members of your group than you assume and you are more similar to members of rival groups that you assume. We all share human nature.

The bias of egotism allows us to interpret events in self-serving ways. We take more credit than we deserve, and accept less blame than is our due. We attribute kind motives to ourselves and evil motives to others. We feel we are unfairly recognized and rewarded for our efforts. We feel we suffer more pain than others understand or appreciate. Although we are egotists ourselves, we dislike others who we see as conceited, vain, arrogant, stuck-up, pompous, snobbish, and boastful.

When our ego is threatened, we feel insulted and suffer humiliation. For some, the greatest fear is to be seen as a wimp.
Self-Control

Our self-awareness provides us the powerful ability control our self intentionally. This requires us to be aware and monitor what we are doing, establish and pursue goals for the future, control our impulses and delay gratification to pursue our long-term goals, and act on the strength of our own decisions.
Detaching our Ego

If we are a two-year old caught up in our own tantrum, it is all consuming. If we are a parent and our two-year old child is having a tantrum, it is disconcerting. If we are walking through the park and see another child having a tantrum, we can simply notice that here is a child who has yet to grow up and gain control of his immature impulses.

We can attain this same detachment, judgment, and self-control over our own destructive egos. We can observe our ego wanting more, clamoring for attention, proving themselves right or better or blameless, distorting facts in frantic attempts at self-justification, seduced by our first-person viewpoint, overcome with arrogance and we can choose to stop it. We can stare back our own thoughts and jump into the space, created by our awareness, between our ego and our values. We can choose to act consistently with our values rather than submit once again to an impulse. We can choose humility over arrogance, stillness over aggression and destruction, cooperation over competition, inclusion over exclusion, needs over wants, generosity over greed, peer over power, candor over deceit, stature over status, dignity over disrespect, and authentic over bogus.

We do not tolerate tantrums from two-year olds. Don't tolerate tantrums from your ego, or anyone else's. Quell ego rants.

Self as our Prototype for Others

Self CenterTo create the mental symbol we use to represent each person we consider to be very similar to ourselves, we begin with our self-symbol and then modify it to create a unique symbol for each of our close friends. For each acquaintance that is more distant from our own self image, we modify the symbol we have for them more from our self-symbol. This is illustrated on the left where our self is in the center, our closest friends each have individual symbols very much like our own, and our more distant acquaintances have similar, but increasingly different symbols.

This is represented here by the differences in the color of the more distant symbols. For strangers, or people we do not want to be associated with, we may not begin with our self-symbol, but instead use the symbol for someone else we also distance ourselves from. The result is that the symbols for close friends are very similar to our own, and the symbols for people we do not identify with are quite different.

Intimacy

The word “intimacy” has several meanings. Here we consider the meaning of “a close association leading to detailed knowledge and understanding of another person”. An intimate friend is someone we trust enough to expose our own vulnerabilities and secrets during many reciprocal and authentic dialogues.

As we get to know more about an acquaintance we develop an increasingly complete and complex mental symbol for that person. However, there is a limit to how well we ever know the other person. There are limits to how much time we will spend together and there are various boundaries limiting what we will ask, what we will tell, and what we are willing to learn about each other. IntimacyBecause these boundaries limit the information exchange, the information we gather is incomplete and the symbol we are able to create for the acquaintance is necessarily incomplete. Because the symbol is incomplete it remains significantly different from your self-symbol. This is illustrated here by the noticeable distance between the self and the symbol for the acquaintance.

We know more about our close friends than we do about acquaintances. The amount of time we spend together, the number and nature of interactions and common experiences we share, the interest we have in learning more about each other, and our willingness to share more information all help us create a more complete symbol for our close friends. The similarity in our self-symbol and the symbol we create for our close friends is illustrated above by the proximity of the two symbols.

Intimacy takes this information sharing to the next level. During an intimate relationship we feel safe enough to expose and discuss our vulnerabilities and secrets. This additional information allows us to create a more complete symbol for an intimate partner. Also, because of the completeness of the symbol and also because the people we choose to become intimate with typically share many of our characteristics, the symbol we create becomes very similar to our self-symbol. This illustrated in the figure by the significant overlap of the two symbols. We feel empathy for people we become intimate with.

The Extent of Compassion

DistanceYou naturally feel closer to people who seem most like yourself. The symbols you create for the people who are most like yourself will be most similar to your own self-symbol. It is easiest to empathize with these people who are most like yourself. You can still feel compassion, if not full empathy, for people who are different, but still something like yourself. But even if you are a caring person, you may feel indifferent toward people who you hardly know, or who are not like yourself. The symbols you have for these people may be very incomplete, or they may include features unlike yourself. In any case their symbols are unlike your self-symbol.

Finally there are people who are not like you. In fact, they are unlike you. If you consider them so distant and foreign that you allow yourself to consider them as not quite human, hate can creep in. They are dislike you and you may choose to dislike them. This general scheme is illustrated here in a schematic diagram derived from the figure above. The people most like yourself are shown close to the self-symbol. Those least like you are farther away. The most compassionate people will have large regions of empathy and compassion with small or non-existent regions of indifference and hate. Less tolerant people will have smaller areas of empathy and compassion and allow the region of hate to close in around themselves as they become a prisoner of hate.

Empathy is other-awareness, symmetrical with self-awareness.
First-Person Viewpoint

Seeing things from your own point of view is always easier, and first-hand experiences seem more real than understanding another's point of view can ever be. Your eyes, nose, taste buds, tactile sensors, and ears connect directly only to your brain. Only you experience first-hand the direct sensory input of the world; you, your self, is the observer. This raw sensory input is interpreted and gains meaning through your unique perceptions and past experiences. Furthermore, contemplation, desire, intent, pain, introspection, consciousness, and reflection are all private and solitary. This unique first-person experience creates a fundamental asymmetry that contributes to many of the other asymmetries that govern social interactions. It also contributes to the asymmetric character of egotism, narcissism, selfishness, greed, and the magnitude gap. We judge others based on behavior and we judge ourselves based on intent. Your own point of view, the way you see things, is unique. The golden rule and our empathy struggle to overcome this fundamental imbalance.

We influence others by changing their point of view.

For the reasons just described, each of us tends to consider our own point of view as more complete, valid, andHumble important than anyone else's point of view. However, each of us differ in the weight we give to our viewpoint when compared to other viewpoints.

A particularly humble, considerate person may understand, appreciate, and evaluate other points of view and grant them an importance similar to their own. They weigh other points of view as heavily as they weigh their own, as in the diagram on the right.

Typical

It is more typical, however, to weigh your own viewpoint more heavily than others. We all have a great need for self-justification.

If one person disagrees with you, perhaps you will discount that contrary viewpoint, but if two or three people express differing views, you will consider and adopt their viewpoints. This is illustrated in the diagram on the left where several other viewpoints balance the first-person viewpoint.

Egotist

Egotists, and others with high self-appraisals dismiss all but overwhelming evidence contrary to their point of view.

It may take tens, hundreds, or in extreme cases thousands of dissenting voices before any other point of view is considered. This extreme imbalance is shown on the right, where the “eye” and the “I” are just too big. Where do you strike the balance?

This phenomenon can create a problem when it comes to choosing leaders. Great leaders make decisions, create a compelling vision, hold tenaciously to that vision, and inspire people to overcome obstacles and move forward toward the leader's expressed vision. This vision is often an expression of the leader's first-person viewpoint. A problem can occur, however, if that viewpoint becomes destructive, the leader rejects alternative viewpoints, and the direction cannot be changed. This can be the making of a tyrant.
Self-Appraisals

Many types of self-appraisal, both accurate and distorted, are important to understand. Self-esteem is an overall evaluation of your self by your self. This assessment can be favorable, neutral, or unfavorable. High self-esteem is a favorable self assessment. An unfavorable self assessment is low-self-esteem. Appropriate high self-esteem is (authentic) “pride”, but excessive or unjustified high self-esteem is called: “egotism”, “arrogance”, “hubris”, “conceitedness”, “narcissism”, or a “sense of superiority”. Low self-esteem is “shame”. “Ego” is a synonym for self or self-image.

Self-esteem includes two largely independent appraisals. One is a sense of confidence and competence, called self-efficacy. This includes confidence in your ability to think, understand, learn, choose, and make decisions. The other is a sense of intrinsic worth, called self-respect. This is your right to appropriately assert your own thoughts, values, needs, and wants.

Narcissism is self-love combined with an artificially inflated ego (self-image). It includes “grandiosity” and dominance, and is correlated with an often hostile disregard for others

A major cause of violence is high self-esteem combined with an ego threat. Violence is most likely to occur when someone who thinks well of themselves receives feedback that contradicts their own favorable view of themselves, and they then decide to “fight the feedback” (quite literally “kill the messenger”) rather than assimilate the new information and revise their self-appraisal. This is more likely to occur with someone who holds an unwarranted, exaggerated, or unfounded positive self-image. This can be called “fragile high-self-esteem” or “wounded pride”. People who are highly sensitive to a loss of self-esteem, e.g. “touchy”, may react to seemingly minor ego threats with considerable hostility. They are easily insulted and quick to anger. They may be boastful and arrogant and always trying to prove they are good enough. The terms: wounded pride, disrespect, verbal abuse, insults, anger manipulations, and status inconsistency all describe ego threats. People with high but stable self-esteem tend not to be angry or hostile.

A reliable indicator of low self-esteem is the need to see other groups as inferior. This is the essence of disrespect and a dangerous first step toward hate and violence.

People with (secure) high self-esteem generously appreciate the achievements of others.

Egotism can directly cause violence because the egotist allows their first-person viewpoint to prevail over other relevant, important, but differing points of view. This lack of consideration reduces the typical inhibitions to violence.
Transcending Your Self

Our self is an essential but often pesky companion. Learn to tame it. When you hear your self talking, recognize it is only one voice among the crowd. Shape your self-symbol. Deliberately quiet your self when it is not being helpful. Enjoy the resulting calm and contentment. Be skeptical of what your self is telling you. Focus on what is real. Seek out alternative viewpoints. Let go of your ego defense mechanisms, and control your self.
Self-Words

We use many words to refer to self-related concepts, including:

* Ego—a synonym for self or self-image.
* Self-absorbed—Focused on your own affairs and concerns.
* Self-admiration—Admiring yourself; pride.
* Self-aggrandizement—Exaggerating your own importance or significance.
* Self-appraisal—Assessing the value of your self.
* Self-awareness—Thinking about our own thoughts
* Self-centered—Yielding to the first-person viewpoint.
* Self-concept—What you believe about who you are.
* Self-concern
* Self-confidence
* Self-conscious
* Self-control—Exercising willful intent and awareness to choose our actions.
* Self-criticism
* Self-despair
* Self-efficacy—Confidence in your own abilities. Recognizing your own power.
* Self-esteem—An overall evaluation of your self by your self.
* Self-image
* Self-justification—Describing events in a way that preserves your pride and reduces cognitive dissonance.
* Selfish—Disregarding other's viewpoints and needs
* Self-loathing—A severe lack of self-respect. Shame.
* Self-occupation
* Self-reflection
* Self-reliant
* Self-respect—Recognizing your own intrinsic worth. Your right to appropriately assert your own thoughts, values, needs, and wants.
* Self-sufficient
* Self-worship

Quotations:

* “Know thyself.” ~ Socrates (470–399 BC)
* “Somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
* “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.” ~ Confucius (551 – 479 BC)
* “One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.” ~ Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 – 1519)
* “First-person viewpoint is the fundamental asymmetry of humanity.” ~ Leland R. Beaumont
* “The strength of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts.” ~ Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
* “Be reasonable, do it my way.” ~ An old joke satirizing the first person viewpoint.
* “We don't see the world as it is. We see it as we are.” ~ Anaïs NinExternal Link

References

I Am a Strange Loop, by Douglas Hofstadter

Self Matters, by Phillip C. McGraw

Prisoners of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence, by Aaron T. Beck

Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, by Nathaniel Branden

The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life, by Mark R. Leary.

Relation of Threatened Egotism to Violence and Aggression: The Dark Side of High Self-Esteem, Psychology Review, 1996, Vol. 103, No. 1, 5-33, by Roy F. Baumeister, Laura Smart, Joseph M. Boden

http://www.emotionalcompetency.com/self.htm

Social Development: Definitions of Various Self Constructs

2008-11-22T02:35:00.000-08:00

Self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-confidence & self-concept

What is "self"?

What constitutes the "self" has been pondered by philosophers, poets, artists, and others for millennia. More recently, psychologists have sought to define and research a range of self constructs.

Definitions of self constructs

Self-esteem: Self-esteem refers to general feelings of self-worth or self-value.

Self-efficacy: Self-efficacy is belief in one's capacity to succeed at tasks. General self-efficacy is belief in one's general capacity to handle tasks. Specific self-efficacy refers to beliefs about one's ability to perform specific tasks (e.g., driving, public speaking, studying, etc.)

Self-confidence: Self-confidence refers to belief in one's personal worth and likelihood of succeeding. Self-confidence is a combination of self-esteem and general self-efficacy.

Self-concept: Self-concept is the nature and organization of beliefs about one's self. Self-concept is theorized to be multi-dimensional. For example, people have separate beliefs about physical, emotional, social, etc. aspects of themselves.

Developmental patterns in the development of self-constructs

Early on in development, children tend to have a vague, general concept of themselves, which gradually diversifies into concepts about themselves as students at school, in relation to peers, in relation to family, emotionally, physically, and so on.

It is unclear whether self-concepts are formed top-down (specific beliefs flow from general beliefs) or bottom-up (general beliefs flow from specific beliefs).
Gender differences in self-constructs

Males tend to report higher levels of self-esteem and self-confidence than do females. More specifically, females rate their Verbal self-concept higher, whereas males tend to rate their Mathematical self-concept higher.

Females tend to report greater increases in self-constructs as a result of interventions. This could be because:

* females tend to start lower (therefore they have more "room for growth") and
* females tend to be more open to verbal processing of experience and expression of feelings.

Historical conceptions of "self"

Character development, personal growth, and development of self-constructs are commonly valued goals in Western society, and are largely taken for granted as desirable. However, this is a relatively recent phenomenon:

Between 700 and 1500, the concept of the "self" referred to only the weak, sinful, crude, "selfish" nature of humans. The evil "self" was contrasted with the divinely perfect nature of a Christian soul. Joseph Campbell believed the concept of an independent, self-directed "self" didn't start to develop until about 800 years ago. So, it is a relatively new idea (somewhat older than the idea that we are not at the center of the universe) which has grown in importance. In medieval times, values and meaning were dictated by the community ("do what you are told to do"). Today, modern "self" theory says each person is expected to decide what is right (almost by magic and without much reliance on the accumulated wisdom of the culture) and to know him/herself well enough to determine what courses of action "feel right." In short, we must know ourselves, so we can set our life goals and self-actualize. The cultures of 1200 and 2000 are two very different worlds.
- Clayton E. Tucker-Ladd, 1996, Changing Your Self-concept and Building Your Self-esteem

"Self" in the 20th Century

Previous to the 20th century, social institutions, including schooling and psychology (which barely existed) did not emphasize the development of positive beliefs about self. There was greater emphasis, for example, on developing relationship to divinities and organized systems of government. With the ousting of religion as the dominant organizational culture in Western society, and the rise of capitalism with its emphasis, particularly in North America, on expression and valuing of personal freedom, a 'cult of the self' has blossomed.

Indeed, self-constructs seem to be positively associated with other desirable qualities, such as better quality of life, higher academic performance, and so on, but there is debate about whether improving self-esteem, self-concept, etc. causes improved performance, or vice-versa. What's more, there is evidence that high self-esteem when combined with prejudice can lead to increased increased aggression.

Education and parenting in North America has been criticized for overemphasizing praise and affirmation of children. Simply boosting self-esteem without boosting personal skill, it has been argued, creates vacuous self-belief which leads to more serious problems arising from the self-deception (see "Can self-esteem be bad for your child?").

This area deserves further research. Among other tasks, attention needs to be paid to distinguishing shallow self-esteem boosting methods from well developed, effective approaches to personal and social development.

Social Development: Self

2008-11-22T02:31:00.000-08:00

The self is a key construct in several schools of psychology, broadly referring to the cognitive representation of one's identity. The earliest formulation of the self in modern psychology stems from the distinction between the self as I, the subjective knower, and the self as Me, the object that is known.[1] Current views of the self in psychology diverge greatly from this early conception, positioning the self as playing an integral part in human motivation, cognition, affect, and social identity.[2]

The Self in Kohut's Formulation

Heinz Kohut[3] initially proposed a bipolar self compromising two systems of narcissistic perfection: 1) a system of ambitions and, 2) a system of ideals. Kohut called the pole of ambitions the narcissistic self (later, the grandiose self[4]), while the pole of ideals was designated the idealized parental imago. According to Kohut, these poles of the self represented natural progressions in the psychic life of infants and toddlers.

Kohut argued that when the child's ambitions and exhibitionistic strivings were chronically frustrated, arrests in the grandiose self led to the preservation of a false, expansive sense of self that could manifest outwardly, in the visible grandiosity of the frank narcissist, or remain hidden from view, unless discovered in a narcissistic therapeutic transference (or selfobject transference) that would expose these primitive grandiose fantasies and strivings. Kohut termed this form of transference a mirror transference. In this transference, the strivings of the grandiose self are mobilized and the patient attempts to use the therapist to gratify these strivings.

Kohut proposed that arrests in the pole of ideals occurred when the child suffered chronic and excessive disappointment over the failings of early idealized figures. Deficits in the pole of ideals were associated with the development of an idealizing transference to the therapist who becomes associated with the patient's primitive fantasies of omnipotent parental perfection.

Kohut believed that narcissistic injuries were inevitable and, in any case, necessary to temper ambitions and ideals with realism through the experience of more manageable frustrations and disappointments. It was the chronicity and lack of recovery from these injuries (arising from a number of possible causes) that he regarded as central to the preservation of primitive self systems untempered by realism.

By 1984,[5] Kohut's observation of patients led him to propose two additional forms of transference associated with self deficits: 1) the twinship and, 2) the merger transference. In his later years, Kohut believed that selfobject needs were both present and quite varied in normal individuals, as well as in narcissistic individuals.

To be clear, selfobjects are not external persons. Kohut and Wolf, 1978[6] explain:

"Selfobjects are objects which we experience as part of our self; the expected control over them is, therefore, closer to the concept of control which a grownup expects to have over his own body and mind than to the concept of control which he expects to have over others. (p.413)"

Kohut's notion of the self can be difficult to grasp because it is experience-distant, although it is posited based upon experience-near observation of the therapeutic transference. Kohut relied heavily on empathy as a method of observation. Specifically, the clinician's observations of his or her own feelings in the transference help the clinician see things from the subjective view of the patient -- to experience the world in ways that are closer to the way the patient experiences it. (note: Kohut did not regard empathy as curative. Empathy is a method of observation).

[edit] Jung self

In Jungian theory, the Self is one of the archetypes. It signifies the coherent whole, unified consciousness and unconscious of a person. The Self, according to Jung, is realised as the product of individuation, which in Jungian view is the process of integrating one's personality. For Jung, the self is symbolised by the circle (especially when divided in four quadrants), the square, or the mandala.

What distinguishes Jungian psychology is the idea that there are two centers of the personality. The ego is the center of consciousness, whereas the Self is the center of the total personality, which includes consciousness, the unconscious, and the ego. The Self is both the whole and the center. While the ego is a self-contained little circle off the center contained within the whole, the Self can be understood as the greater circle.

[edit] Critiques of the concept of selfhood

'Selfhood' or complete autonomy is a common Western approach to psychology and models of self are employed constantly in areas such as psychotherapy and self help. Edward E. Sampson (1989) argues that the preoccupation with independence is harmful in that it creates racial, sexual and national divides and does not allow for observation of the self-in-other and other-in-self.

The very notion of selfhood is an attacked idea because it is seen as necessary for the mechanisms of advanced capitalism to function. In Inventing our selves: Psychology, power, and personhood, Nikolas Rose (1998) proposes that psychology is now employed as a technology that allows humans to buy into an invented and arguably false sense of self. Rose believes that freedom assists governments and exploitation.

It is said by some[weasel words] that for an individual to talk about, explain, understand or judge oneself is linguistically impossible, since it requires the self to understand its self. This is seen as philosophically invalid, being self-referential, or reification, also known as a circular argument. Thus, if actions arise so that the self attempts self-explanation, confusion may well occur within linguistic mental pathways and processes.

[edit] References

1. ^ James,W. (1981). The Principles of Psychology, Vol.1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1890)
2. ^ Sedikides, C. & Spencer, S. J. (Eds.) (2007). The Self. New York: Psychology Press
3. ^ Kohut, H. (1966) Forms and Transformations of Narcissism. In Self Psychology and the Humanities, ed. C. Strozier. New York: Norton, 1985 pp. 97-123
4. ^ Kohut, H. (1971) The Analysis of the Self. New York: International Universities Press
5. ^ How Does Analysis Cure Insert ed. A Golberg and P Stepansky. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
6. ^ Disorders of the Self and Their Treatment. International Journal of Psychoanalysis. 59: 413-425

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_(psychology)

Social Development: Social Development Theory (by Garry Jacobs and Harlan Cleveland)

2008-11-22T02:26:00.000-08:00

Importance of Theory

The formulation of valid theory possesses enormous power to elevate and accelerate the expansion and development of human capabilities in any field, leading to fresh discoveries, improvement of existing activities and capacity for greater results. Science is replete with examples of theoretical formulations that have led to important breakthroughs, such as the discoveries of Neptune and Pluto, electromagnetic waves, subatomic particles, and new elements on the periodic table. Today scientists are discovering new substances on computer by applying the laws of quantum mechanics to predict the properties of materials before they synthesize them. In fact, a broad range of technological achievements in this century has been made possible by the emergence of sound theoretical knowledge in fields such as physics, chemistry and biology.

As management expert Peter Drucker put it, “There is nothing more practical than a good theory.” Valid theory can tell us not only what should be done, but also what can be done and the process by which it can be achieved.

Social development can be summarily described as the process of organizing human energies and activities at higher levels to achieve greater results. Development increases the utilization of human potential.

In the absence of valid theory, social development remains largely a process of trial and error experimentation, with a high failure rate and very uneven progress. The dismal consequences of transition strategies in most Eastern Europe countries, the very halting progress of many African and Asian countries, the increasing income gap between the most and least developed societies, and the distressing linkage between rising incomes, environmental depletion, crime and violence reflect the fact that humanity is vigorously pursuing a process without the full knowledge needed to guide and govern it effectively.

Advances in development theory can enhance our social success rate by the same order of magnitude that advances in theoretical physics have multiplied technological achievements in this century. The emergence of a sound theoretical framework for social development would provide the knowledge needed to address these inadequacies. It would also eventually lead us to the most profound and practical discovery of all – the infinite creative potentials of the human being.
Hierarchy of learning

Social development consists of two interrelated aspects – learning and application. Society discovers better ways to fulfill its aspirations and it develops organizational mechanisms to express that knowledge to achieve its social and economic goals. The process of discovery expands human consciousness. The process of application enhances social organization.

Society develops in response to the contact and interaction between human beings and their material, social and intellectual environment. The incursion of external threats, the pressure of physical and social conditions, the mysteries of physical nature and complexities of human behavior prompt humanity to experiment, create and innovate.

The experience resulting from these contacts leads to learning on three different levels of our existence. At the physical level, it enhances our control over material processes. At the social level, it enhances our capacity for effective interaction between people at greater and greater speeds and distances. At the mental level, it enhances our knowledge.

While the learning process takes place simultaneously on all these planes, there is a natural progression from physical experience to mental understanding. Historically, society has developed by a trial and error process of physical experimentation, not unlike the way children learn through a constant process of physical exploration, testing and even tasting. Physically, this process leads to the acquisition of new physical skills that enable individuals to utilize their energies more efficiently and effectively. Socially, it leads to the learning and mastery of organizational skills, vital attitudes, systems and institutions that enable people to manage their interactions with other people and other societies more effectively. Mentally, it leads to organization of facts as information and interpretation of information as thought.

The outcome of this learning process is the organization of physical skills, social systems, and information, which are then utilized to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of human activities. It is a cyclical process in which people are continuously learning from past experiences and then applying that learning in new activities.

This learning process culminates in a higher level of mental effort to extract the essence and common principles or ideas from society’s organized physical experiences, social interactions and accumulated information and to synthesize them as conceptual knowledge. This abstract conceptual knowledge has the greatest capacity for generalization and application in other fields, times and places. The conceptual mind is the highest, most conscious human faculty. Conceptual knowledge is the organization of ideas by the power of mind. That conceptual knowledge becomes most powerful when it is organized into a system. Theory is a systematic organization of knowledge.

A comprehensive theory of social development would provide a conceptual framework for discovering the underlying principles common to the development process in different fields of activity, countries and periods. It would also provide a framework for understanding the relationships between the accumulated knowledge generated by many different disciplines. If pursued to its logical conclusions, it would lead to not just a theory of social development, but a unifying theory of knowledge—which does not yet exist in any field of science or art.
Search for a social operating system

Rapid advancement in computer technology and application has primarily been the result of dramatic progress in two parallel but interrelated fields – development of the processing capacity of the silicon chip and development of more advanced operating systems that enable users to utilize the chip’s greater computing power. Chip development increases the potential power of the computer. Development of more powerful, intuitive and easier to use operating systems increases the practical power of the technology.

As a parallel, advances in scientific and technical knowledge have vastly increased the potential productivity and developmental achievements of society. But full utilization of this potential requires the capacity to consciously direct and accelerate social development processes. The discovery of methods to genetically engineer improved varieties of food crops or to control population growth through improved medical devices would have little practical value unless we also possessed the know-how to promote dissemination and adoption of these advanced technologies.

Historically, advances in our understanding of material and biological process have far outstripped advances in our understanding of social processes. As a result, vast social potential has been created, but society has not yet acquired the capacity to fully utilize it for its own development. A theory of development should aim at a knowledge that will enable society more consciously and effectively to utilize its development potentials.
Why a framework has not yet emerged

A question naturally arises. If such a framework is possible, why with all the attention focused on development for so many decades has it not yet emerged?

Social development theory has been elusive for several reasons. First, because of the very practical importance of this issue, attention in this field has very largely focused on the material results of development and on those strategies that have proven most effective for achieving those results, rather than on abstract principles or theoretical concepts. Rapid economic progress in North America and Europe after the Second World War, which was followed by even more stunning achievements in Japan and other East Asian nations, imbued governments and the international community with the confidence that development was primarily a question of money, technology, industrialization and political will. Confident that the lessons of early achievers provided all the knowledge necessary for those that were to follow, there was an urge for concerted action and an expectation of results, rather than a quest for theoretical knowledge.

In most discussions, development was conceived in terms of a set of desirable results—higher incomes, longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality, more education. Recently emphasis has shifted from the results to the enabling conditions, strategies and public policies for achieving those results—peace, democracy, social freedoms, equal access, laws, institutions, markets, infrastructure, education and technology. But still little attention has been placed on the underlying social process of development that determines how society formulates, adopts, initiates, and organizes, and few attempts have been made to formulate such a framework.

Second, a very large number of factors and conditions influence the process. In addition to all the variables that influence material and biological processes, social processes involve the interaction of political, social, economic cultural, technological and environmental factors as well. Development theorists have not only to cope with atoms, molecules, material energy and various life forms. They must also cope with the near infinite variety and complexity of human beliefs, opinions, attitudes, values, behaviors, customs, prejudices, laws, social institutions, etc.

Third, the timeframe for social development theory cannot be confined to the modern day or even the past few centuries. Human development has been occurring for millennia. The basic principles of development theory must be as applicable to the development of early tribal societies as they are to the emergence of the post-modern global village. Development theory must be a theory of how human society advances through space and time.
Looking beyond the instruments

Fourth, the instruments of development—science and technology, capital and infrastructure, social policies and institutions—are so compellingly powerful in their action, that they are often mistaken for its cause and source. Most efforts to understand the development process have focused on the central importance of one or a few of these instruments—primarily on money, markets, the organization of production and technological innovation. Some efforts have also been made to describe what has been learned about the contribution of education, skills, laws, public policies, strategies, social systems and institutions. While it is evident that all of these instruments can and do play an important role in social development, it has not been adequately explained what determines the development of these instruments themselves or the extent to which they are utilized by society or the process by which they can be made to generate maximum results.

Obviously, the ultimate determinants of development cannot be the instruments themselves, for none of them exists independently from society. To understand the central principles of development, we must look beyond these instruments to the creator of the instruments. Human beings fashion technology, invent money, erect infrastructures, establish policies, build institutions and adopt values to serve their needs and aspirations. Although humanity exhibits a strong tendency to mistake these instruments for primary determinants rather than created products of its own initiative, the ultimate power of determination must lie with the human beings who create and use these instruments, rather than with the instruments themselves.

Money and technology do have useful power, including a power of organization and efficiency, a power to increase the velocity of production and transactions. But they do not possess an intrinsic living power for growth or development, a source of aspiration or energy that compels their own advancement. Moore’s Law describing advances in the speed of microprocessors is not driven by material forces—the microprocessor does not increase its own speed—it is driven by humanity’s quest for greater productive power. The surge in value of financial markets is not driven by impersonal physical or mathematical laws governing the growth of money, but by the quest of human beings for greater material prosperity. This self-existent power for growth is an endowment of human beings, living organisms compelled to develop by a pressure within themselves, which in turn gives life and energy to the growth of the instruments and systems they create.

What has been lacking is an organized theoretical framework that describes the role of each of these instruments as aspects of a greater whole and shows each in its proper relation to the others or the greater whole of which they are all parts. To arrive at such a framework, we have to shift our focus from the instruments of development to their creator; from the role of money and technology to the role of human beings that invent new forms of money and technology and harness them for productive purposes. The theory has to place human beings at the center and view all other aspects of development from the perspective of and in relation to human motivation and action. This conceptual knowledge of the development process should enable every society to better utilize the available instruments better, in order more fully to tap its developmental potential.
Development as a spherical whole

A theory of social development should generate a framework around which all knowledge of the factors, instruments, conditions, agencies and processes of development can be integrated. Rather than singling out a specific set of determinants or giving primacy to a limited set of instruments, it would reveal the nature of the relationships and processes that govern the interaction of all these elements to generate developmental results. Rather than generate a linear formula or ‘right’ perspective, it would make it possible to view the whole field and phenomenon of development from multiple perspectives that are integrated and unified ways of knowing the whole, rather than divided and separate ways of viewing the parts.

The modern tendency to divide scientific inquiry into an increasing number of specialized fields of study has made the emergence of an integrated perspective very difficult. Philosopher Stephen Toulmin mourns the absence of broader conceptual thinking in physics over the past few centuries and argues the need for grand cosmological visions of the universe to unify and integrate the discoveries of many different disciplines.

Comparatively, the need for synthesis is even greater for the study of human social development than for understanding the physical and chemical evolution of the universe. For in human development, we must not only grapple with four material dimensions in space and time that preoccupy the physicist and chemist, but also integrate the dimensions of life and mind—including physical, genetic and biological determinants; social behaviors, skills, attitudes, customs, traditions, systems, formal organizations, non-formal institutions, and cultural values; and linguistic determinants, data, facts, information, beliefs, opinions, systems of thought, ideas, theories, and spiritual values—all of which interact and influence each other to impact the course of human development.

The quest for theory in social development cannot lead to any linear or logarithmic equation that adequately explains and predicts human progress. The reality we seek to understand is not of that type. It is not linear or uni-dimensional or even a combination of several dimensions. It is a complex, many-dimensional whole that evolves in many interrelated directions simultaneously. The development of society is best represented to our minds as an expansion from a point to a sphere, rather than as movement along a single line or along multiple lines of progress. Social development is the gradual discovery and unfolding of the potential of a complex, integrated whole, a living organization, a living social organism.
From unconscious experience to conscious knowledge

Finally, social development theory remains elusive because the very nature of social learning is a subconscious seeking by the collective that leads ultimately to conscious knowledge. We experience first and understand later. Our mental comprehension perpetually lags behind physical experience and struggles to catch up with it.

Our view is that the very intensive, concentrated global experience of the past five decades provides fertile soil for the formulation of a more synthetic conceptual framework for social development. Such a framework can vastly accelerate the transfer and replication of developmental achievements around the world and make possible more conscious and rapid progress even for the most advanced societies in the world.
Basic premises

These observations suggest a starting point for formulation of a comprehensive conceptual framework:

· Social development theory should focus on underlying processes rather than on surface activities and results, since development activities, policies, strategies, programs and results will always be limited to a specific context and circumstance, whereas social development itself encompasses a potentially infinite field in space and time.

The theory should recognize the inherent creativity of individuals and of societies by which they fashion instruments and direct their energies to achieve greater results. It should view development as a human creative process, rather than as the product of any combination of external factors or objective instruments that are created and utilized as the process unfolds and whose results are limited to the capacity of the instruments. Society will discover its own creative potentials only when it seeks to know the human being as the real source of those potentials.

· The implication of this view is that even though it may be influenced, aided or opposed by external factors, society develops by its own motive power and in pursuit of its own goals. No external force and agency can develop a society. (Paul Hoffman, the Administrator of the Marshall Plan for European Recovery who later became the first head of the United Nations Development Program, said it succinctly: “Technical assistance cannot be exported. It can only be imported.” The aspiration of the collective expressed through the initiative of pioneering individuals is the determinant and driving force for a society’s own development.
Development as self-conception

Material and biological sciences focus on the interaction of physical conditions, materials and forces to generate results. The tendency to view social development in the same way has led to a host of mathematical equations seeking to define and predict the consequences of combining different external variables in different proportions and under different conditions. The underlying assumption of this approach is that social development is determined by external conditions.

The hypothesis on which our attempt at theory is based is that social development is determined by human beings, not external conditions. External conditions certainly can and do influence the process. People may even act and react in predictable ways to a given set of external conditions. But the results of any development equation cannot be reliably predicted on the basis of external factors. Human development is determined by human responses based on choices made by people. To our knowledge, external forces alone have never unleashed a process of social development, but there are countless instances in which external agents have failed to do so.

Human development is a function of human awareness, aspirations, attitudes and values. Like all human creative processes, it is a process of self-conception. As the writer, artist, composer, political visionary and businessman conceive of unrealized possibilities and pour forth their creative energies to give expression to them, the social collective evolves a conception of what it wants to become and by expressing its creative energies through myriad forms of activity seeks to transform its conception into social reality. The only major difference is that while the individual sometimes (but not always) is conscious of the conception he or she is trying to express, the society is usually (not always) unconscious of the idea and the urge that move it to create something more out of its own latent potential.

Society is a subconscious living organism which strives to survive, grow and develop. Individual members of society express conscious intention in their words and acts, but these are only surface expressions of deeper subconscious drives that move the society-at-large. The consciousness of a true collective organism is not merely the sum of its individual parts, but acquires its own identifiable character and personality. This is why the USA has been able to assimilate such large numbers of immigrants, yet retain its distinctive (but constantly changing) national character. Immigrants are moved by the values of the collective to share in the national aspiration for greater individual freedom, practical organization and material progress. In a similar vein, the feverish collective behavior of the stock market, fashions and pop culture are subconscious social collectives that acquire their own distinct personalities.
Role of the Individual

Society has no direct means to give conscious expression to its subconscious collective aspirations and urges. That essential role is played by pioneering conscious individuals–visionary intellectuals, political leaders, entrepreneurs, artists and spiritual seekers who are inspired to express and achieve what the collective subconsciously aspires and is prepared for. Where the aspiration and action of the leader do not reflect the will of the collective, it is ignored or rejected. Where it gives expression to a deeply felt collective urge, it is endorsed, imitated, supported, and systematically propagated. This is most evident at times of war, social revolution or communal conflict.

India’s early freedom fighters consciously advocated the goal of freedom from British rule long before that goal had become a felt aspiration of the masses. The leaders spent decades urging a reluctant population to conceive of itself as a free nation and to aspire to achieve that dream. When finally the collective endorsed this conception, no foreign nation had the power to impose its will on the Indian people.
Process of value creation

During the World Academy of Art & Science’s meeting on development theory in Washington DC in May 1999, there was a broad consensus of participants that the formation of values was a critical aspect of the development process. In this paper, we propose to re-examine the process of development as a process of value formation.

If gross physical actions are the most visible and tangible form of human initiative, the creation of values is the most subtle and intangible. Yet human existence is powerfully determined by the nature of its values. Physical skills, vital attitudes, mental opinions and values represent a gradation of internal organizing principles that direct human energies and determine the course of individual and social development.

All human creative processes release and harness human energy and convert it into results. The process of skill formation involves acquiring mastery over our physical-nervous energies so that we can direct our physical movements in a precisely controlled manner. In the absence of skill, physical movements are clumsy, inefficient and unproductive, like the stumbling efforts of a child learning to walk.

Human beings acquire social behaviors in a similar manner. Here, apart from the physical skills required for communication and interaction with other people, vital attitudes are centrally important. Each social behavior expresses not just a movement, but an attitude and intention of the person. Acquiring social behaviors requires gaining control over our psychological energies and channeling them into acceptable forms of behavior. Change the attitude and the behavior changes. The developmental achievements of modern society are founded upon such intangible social attitudes as confidence in the government, trust in other people, tolerance and cooperation. Without such attitudes, our money would become valueless paper and our institutions would cease to function.

The same process takes place at the mental level. The mind’s energy naturally flows as thought in many different directions without any structure to contain or organize it. The acquisition of knowledge involves construction of a mental structure of understanding that is analogous to the structure of skills and attitudes that govern expression of our physical and vital energy. It forms an organizational framework for learning and application of what is learned.

Human values are formed by a similar process and act in a similar manner. Although the word is commonly used with reference to ethical and cultural principles, values are of many types. They may be physical (cleanliness, punctuality), organizational (communication, coordination), psychological (courage, generosity), mental (objectivity, sincerity), or spiritual (harmony, love, self-giving). Values are central organizing principles or ideas that govern and determine human behavior.

Unlike the skill or attitude that may be specific to a particular physical activity or social context, values tend to be more universal in their application. They express in everything we do. Values can be described as the essence of the knowledge gained by humanity from past experiences distilled from its local circumstances and specific context to extract the fundamental wisdom of life derived from these experiences. Values give direction to our thought processes, sentiments, emotional energies, preferences and actions.

Centuries of experience have been distilled by society into essential principles. Values such as hard work, sense of responsibility, integrity in human relations, tolerance and respect for others are not just noble ideas or ideals. They are pragmatic principles for accomplishment which society has learned and transmitted to successive generations as a psychological foundation for its further advancement. The values of a society are a crucial aspect of its people’s self-conception of what they want to become.

Because values are intangible to our senses and their formation is the result of a very long process, we tend to overlook their central role in development. Social values constitute the cultural infrastructure on which all further social development is based. In this sense, values are the ultimate product of past development and the ultimate determinant of its future course.
Development and value creation in Independent India

In Human Choice: the Genetic Code for Social Development[1], we described the development process as one that releases, organizes and converts human energy into social capacity and material results. In summary, the process consists of pioneering individuals who consciously conceive and initiate new forms of activity which give expression to the subconscious aspirations and preparedness of the society. These pioneers are imitated by others so that the new activity gets replicated and diffused. Gradually, the general population comes to recognize, accept and support the new activity by formally organizing it through laws, policies, programs, systems, organizations and education. Eventually, the activity may become so fully integrated with the society that the need for formal structures gives way to non-formal social institutions and still later becomes assimilated as cultural values of the society.

Although we describe the process as a clean linear progression, its actual occurrence is more complex. Each stage of the process interacts with those that come earlier and later to effect a general movement in a certain direction. And while the underlying process remains the same, the external results and strategies employed to achieve those results may vary significantly from one place and time to another, even within the same society.

Both the stages and the complexity of the process can be observed by examining two remarkable development accomplishments of Independent India—the Green Revolution in Indian agriculture and the high tech revolution that is making India an international software powerhouse.

The starting point for free India was a value base molded by centuries of social stagnation and foreign rule. During the British Raj, the predominant values espoused by the subject Indian population were respect for age and tradition, submission to authority, and acceptance of one’s assigned place and role in society. Fear and insecurity were powerful social motives. Ambition was frowned upon. Security was cherished. Industrial and commercial activities were severely restricted by the foreign rulers. Few had the means or opportunity to acquire education. Those that did invariably sought employment in the British administration or British firms, the twin seats of power and prestige in Indian society.

After Indian Independence in 1947, the values of submissiveness and obedience persisted for several decades, even though they became increasingly inadequate concepts to meet the nation’s needs or respond to its opportunities. In the 1950s and 1960s, educated Indian youth sought the security and prestige of government employment, when what was really needed was entrepreneurial initiative to build the national economy. Having achieved Independence, the leaders of India’s freedom fight turned to the challenge of developing the country, but found the same lack of awareness and responsiveness from the population that the earlier freedom fighters had encountered at the turn of the century. Waging a war on poverty without the active support and participation of the people proved even more challenging than waging a war on foreign rule without an army.

Until the mid 1960s, India’s economic progress was almost completely overshadowed by the explosive growth of its population, the combined effect of a release of national energies from the suppressed condition of foreign domination and the introduction of modern medical technology which drastically reduced mortality rates. Beneath the surface, the spread of democratic voting rights, implementation of legislation to eradicate caste privileges, and rising levels of education were breaking down traditional barriers, generating national pride and releasing fresh social energy, creating awareness of possibilities and preparing the society for the next stages of its collective effort. These new attitudes could be observed primarily among the youth born after Independence, often taking on the appearance of assertiveness and crude self-seeking, rather than of noble values.

This preparedness was called into action by the sudden impact of two successive years of severe drought in the mid 1960s, which threatened the country with famine on an unprecedented scale. The challenge of widespread famine—estimated by the UN to be threatening the lives of 10 million people—led to the launching of India’s Green Revolution. With the support of large food imports, the country averted the immediate threat of famine. Then in response to a concerted government action to implement a comprehensive, integrated development strategy, within a very short period of five years, millions of India’s farmers adopted new cultivation practices, the nation increased its food grain production by 50% and achieved food self-sufficiency. Within ten years grain production had doubled. Within a quarter century it had quadrupled.

The pride and confidence generated by this remarkable achievement helped spur a dramatic change in India’s social values that was reflected in many walks of life. Areas in which agriculture had become prosperous began to industrialize. There was a marked increase in demand for education and for consumer products. Indian society became more active and dynamic.

In the 1970s the preference of educated youth shifted to employment in private companies. Then in the 1980s a generation born after Independence established itself in the nation’s workforce, people who had never known a foreign master or experienced subjection or feared famine. New values began to emerge among the younger generation. Talented youth began starting businesses in increasing numbers. Many sought education and work experience overseas, then returned to India to establish companies of their own. The value of security gave way to an aspiration for accomplishment. The sense of knowing one’s proper place gave way to an urge for higher levels of achievement, status and enjoyment. A fundamental change in social values underpinned a fundamental shift in the direction and expression of India’s national energies from minimum survival to maximum development. This shift has been by no means uniform, universal or entire. It has occurred at different rates and to different extents in different communities, classes and parts of the country, but the change in general direction became increasingly evident.

The development process that led to India’s Green Revolution differed in its external expression from that which has more recently led to India’s extraordinary achievements in the global software industry. The very notion that India could achieve international fame in a high technology industry was inconceivable to the national consciousness 20 years ago. As recently as 1983, India was employing fewer than 10,000 software engineers generating about $10 million a year in software exports. Sixteen years later, India’s software export revenues are approaching $4 billion. Most major US and many other large foreign computer firms have established companies or joint ventures in India to develop software for export. The country’s two largest software training companies educate more than a quarter million programmers annually, roughly five times the total number of computer graduates produced by all US colleges and universities. New software companies and training institutions are sprouting up in every urban area. State governments are competing with each other for dominance in high technology. And Microsoft’s Bill Gates recently christened India as “the Silicon Valley of Asia”.

This phenomenal accomplishment was made possible by and has further contributed to a general shift in social values that is evidenced in the behavior of people at all levels and in all parts of the society, including youth, students, women, farmers, lower castes, minorities and entrepreneurs.

Viewed from the perspective of the traditional values that had characterized India during centuries of foreign occupation, this shift appears to some as a degradation of social values (a decline in respect for age, tradition and authority; a loss of deference, humility, and the spirit of idealistic self-sacrifice) in much the same way that the advent of democratic values in Europe seemed abhorrent to those who embraced the values of the feudal, aristocratic society that was disappearing. Attention has focused on the vulgar self-seeking, greed, crass materialism and corruption associated with India’s economic and social awakening -- so much so, that the positive values that have been responsible for the country’s recent accomplishments and form the infrastructure for its future progress are often overlooked. The essential knowledge India has derived from five decades of development experience has been distilled into a new set of social values based on national self-confidence, self-reliance, boldness, insistence on one’s rights, greater social tolerance and social equality, and aspiration for higher accomplishment.
Same process, different strategies

The challenge for development theorists is to discover in India’s recent experiences fundamental principles and processes that are common to these two distinctly different instances of rapid social advancement, as well as to other instances of development in other countries, periods, and fields of activity.

At first glance, the differences are far more apparent than the similarities. Green Revolution was the result of a conscious, planned initiative by government which passed legislation, established new organizations, widely disseminated information and skills, introduced programs and offered financial incentives to spur India’s agricultural community to action. In contrast, the software revolution was the result of initiatives by individual entrepreneurial pioneers which were not planned by government and were not part of a conscious national strategy. The role of government was largely confined to removing administrative and tax barriers that discouraged import of computer equipment and to investment in the essential telecommunications infrastructure required to support this industry.

Yet on closer inspection, India’s progress in agriculture and software conform to a common process. Both achievements were made possible by a general social readiness and awakening of the population resulting from rising levels of education, public awareness, social freedom and national confidence. Achievement of Independence and self-government prepared the ground for the Green Revolution. The breakthrough in agriculture prepared the ground for industrialization. Advances in engineering and science education, drawing on an historical Indian endowment in mathematics, the exposure of large numbers of Indians seeking higher education in the USA to the latest information technology, and the emergence of a thriving entrepreneurial business culture in India, prepared the ground for the country’s active participation in the Information Revolution.

India’s agricultural achievements were very largely the result of conscious initiatives taken by visionary political leaders with the support of the scientific community. The early pioneers of India’s Green Revolution were public leaders, not private individuals as in the case of software. But in both cases the acceptance and spread of the new activity crucially depended on the willingness of the population to respond to the opportunity.

In the case of Green Revolution, India’s planners faced the seemingly impossible task of persuading millions of illiterate, traditional farmers to adopt new agricultural technology based on new varieties of wheat and rice, which required heavy investments in hybrid seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. The organization of more than 100,000 demonstration plots of the new varieties on farmers’ fields, which proved that the hybrids would not only grow but would also generate many times higher yields and profits, spurred extremely rapid diffusion of the new cultivation methods in progressive agricultural regions of the country.

In the case of software, the demonstration effect was informal and private, but equally dramatic. The spread of information about young Indian engineers who had found high paying jobs as programmers in the USA, and about Indian software export companies that were growing rapidly, generated widespread interest and spurred others to imitate these successful practices. Examples spread by word of mouth from family to family about a son or daughter who had been recruited on campus for a job overseas at ten or twenty times the equivalent Indian salaries. The business press reported the export achievements of every new software startup. State governments announced ambitious plans to promote high tech industry. Politicians vied with each other to appear most in tune with the high tech culture.

In both cases the initiatives of pioneers released an explosion of energy and initiative from the general population. Within less than half a decade in the late 1960s, millions of uneducated traditional farmers rushed to embrace the new production technology for food grains. Within a similar period in the mid-1990s, hundreds of thousands of educated youth throughout the country have been inspired to enlist in computer programming courses and seek employment in the burgeoning software industry.

For the initiative of pioneers to diffuse through society requires the active support of formal organizational mechanisms. Government had a role to play in organizing both India’s agricultural and its software activities, but its role in the two instances differed markedly. In the mid 1960s, India lacked dynamic private initiative capable of responding rapidly to challenges and opportunities. An adult population born under foreign rule and slow to believe in its own greater potentials, moved hesitantly to embrace change. India also lacked the social organization needed to support rapid change. Markets were undeveloped and inefficient, so that surplus food production in one region of the country was not efficiently channeled to meet the needs of markets in food deficit regions. Information flowed slowly. Agricultural education and scientific research, almost exclusively government activities at the time, had to be restructured and upgraded to support the new production technologies. Financial institutions were undeveloped and most wealth was in the form of tangible assets such as land that could not be readily converted into new forms of investment.[2] As a result, the government had to play a very major role in supporting and promoting the Green Revolution through public agencies. Food Corporation of India, Warehousing Corporation, National Seeds Corporation, Fertilizer Corporation, Agricultural Price Commission and countless other agencies were established to provide the social infrastructure for modernization of agriculture.

So prominent was the role of government, that it led many to the conclusion that the government’s administrative efforts were responsible for the Green Revolution and that similar results could be achieved in other fields through administrative mandate. The fallacy in this thinking was a major reason for India’s slow progress in other fields following the success of Green Revolution. The country had achieved, but it had not yet drawn the essential lesson from its achievement.

The real key to the success of Green Revolution was the response of the rural population to the opportunity. India’s leaders astutely recognized that unless the farmer was confident of not only growing more but also selling more grain at a profitable price, there would be no motivation to adopt the new technology. In the absence of established national markets for food grain, bumper harvests in the past resulted in falling prices and little financial benefit to the farmer. To overcome this problem, the Government instituted a guaranteed floor price for food grains and established Food Corporation to market surpluses in food deficit regions.

The importance of these formal institutions has diminished significantly over the past few decades as the new methods have become standard practice among farmers and as private firms, markets, and research organizations have grown in capacity to carry out with greater efficiency the work initially undertaken by government. Development through formal organization has gradually matured into an informal social institution in this field.

In contrast, the principal agencies of the software revolution have been private companies. The role of government in India’s software revolution focused primarily on providing a conducive policy framework to encourage the spread of technology and on investment in upgrading the telecommunications infrastructure to support a global information industry. While government did broaden the availability of computer education in government colleges, the dramatic increase in availability of programmers was primarily the result of private initiative. Software export companies recruited and trained their own staff. Software education and training centers proliferated. Investment in the software industry also came almost exclusively from private sources—banks, public stock offerings, venture capital and some foreign investment—with little government support.

Despite these differences, development in both fields has followed a similar course. The initiative of pioneers led to widespread imitation and adoption. Society accepted the new activity and established formal organizations (in one case public, in the other private) to support the new activity on a wide scale. The knowledge and skills needed for modern agriculture and computer programming have been incorporated in the educational curriculum at higher and lower levels. The social attitudes and expectations of the population have been powerfully influenced by the country’s success. Progressive rural farming families teach their youth the values of modern agricultural production. Educated middle class urban families encourage their offspring to pursue careers in high technology.
Determinants of Development

We have described social development as the release and channeling of social energies through more complex social organization to enhance productive capacity and achieve greater results. This process depends upon mechanisms to direct and channel the collective energies of the society into new and more productive forms of activity. We can identify four distinctly different levels or types of mechanism that serve this function—social aspirations, government authority, social-cultural structure, and social know-how in the form of science, technology and productive skills.
Social aspirations

Economically, development occurs when productivity rises, enabling people to produce more, earn more and consume more. To do so, they have to be motivated to learn new skills, adapt to new work processes, and adopt new technology, changes which in past ages have met with considerable resistance.

The driving force behind the whole movement is psychological. At the deepest level the energies of society are directed by the collective’s subconscious aspirations. Society’s self-conception of what it wants to become releases an aspiration of the collective for accomplishment. That aspiration exerts a powerful influence on the activities of the society. India’s twin revolutions were spurred by a growing aspiration of Indian society for security, prosperity and enjoyment. A similar aspiration spurs middle class Americans today to invest their savings in the stock market.

We have traced the evolution of social aspirations in India from pre-Independence to the present day. The earliest expression was an aspiration for political freedom and self-determination. After Independence this aspiration evolved into an urge for self-sufficiency, a willingness to try new things and take risks. More recently it has matured into a movement of rising expectations permeating all levels of Indian society.

At the turn of the 20th Century, many Americans of humble birth saw or read about neighbors, friends or others of their class who rose rapidly out of poverty into prosperity. Their example raised the aspirations and expectations of a whole generation of Americans and the generations that followed it. So powerful was this budding movement that it prompted Henry Ford to conceive of the then outlandish notion of building a car affordable by the ordinary man. In 1900 only 8000 cars were produced in the entire USA to meet the needs of a small wealthy class. By 1929, Ford Motors alone had built 15 million Model Ts to meet the aspirations of the masses.

The revolution of rising expectations, a term first used to describe Asia’s awakening in the early 1950s, is the single most powerful force yet unleashed for social development. It marks a stage in which individual members of society not only venture to dream or hope or work for higher levels of accomplishment, but in which those aspirations have coalesced into a conviction and expectation that they will achieve, possess and enjoy more than their parents or they themselves have in the past.

Expectations rise when physical security and essential material needs have been met, when fear of punishment or social ostracism is withdrawn, when rights are safeguarded democratically, when information and urbanization expose people mentally and physically to possibilities and achievements they did not previously know even existed, when technology facilitates higher productivity, and when education enlightens attitudes and elevates social awareness.

Without rising aspirations and expectations, society would not make the effort and take the risks to acquire new forms of behavior to achieve greater results. The psychological motive is primary, the mechanical, technological and organizational processes are secondary. Some forms of economic analysis tend to view these secondary levers as the driving force and thereby miss the essential determinant of the process.

In the course of social development, society is moved by a range of different psychological motives--the quest for survival and self-preservation, the urge to possess land, the seeking for social status and power, and the pursuit of wealth. The revolution of rising expectations represents a new and more powerful motive force for development, for by its nature it is not limited, as all the others have been, to a specific class or section of society.
Government authority

Like social aspirations, the authority of government has the capacity to direct the flow of social energies through the instrumentation of law, public policies, administrative procedures, controls, incentives and fear of punishment.

Here too there is a graded hierarchy of stages through which government influences the development process. Monarchy is a highly centralized form of government organization with significant capacity to restrict freedom and prevent unwanted activities, but with very limited power to promote social development, because of its limited power to positively motivate and direct human initiative. Modern authoritarian states have augmented the power of government to compel and control by evolving complex organizational mechanisms to reach out into every field of social activity. Its members submit by necessity to the power of the state, but continuously seek for ways around the strictures and demands it places upon them. As the 20th century experiments in Eastern Europe amply demonstrate, its power as an instrument for development is severely limited. Countries with authoritarian governments that have succeeded in releasing social initiative for economic development, such as China, Taiwan and South Korea, have done so by loosening social control over economic activities, while retaining it over political activities.

Modern forms of democracy greatly enhance the development capabilities of society. They are not only capable of enforcing a rule of law which to a large extent the population willingly accepts as in its own interest. They also promote far greater development of individual aspirations, thought, capacity, skill and initiative. The accountability of a democratically elected government necessitates that it continuously institute measures perceived as beneficial to the electorate. Working through decentralized self-governing structures, it empowers more and more centers of activity in the society, leading to greater creativity and innovation. The basic human rights it endorses elevate aspirations and release human energies for higher accomplishment.

The impact of democracy on development was illustrated by Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen when he observed that no democratic country with a free press and independent judiciary has suffered a famine in this century. India’s Green Revolution is a powerful testament to the power of governmental authority, though in this and every other instance, government’s role cannot substitute for social readiness and social initiative, it can only aid in preparing that readiness, releasing that initiative and organizing the new activities.
Social-cultural authority

Government exercises authority over its citizens through law, administration and enforcement. Society exercises a far more persuasive authority over its members through its ideas, attitudes, customs and values. Different societies may develop at very different rates and in different directions under very similar forms of government, due to differences in social and cultural authority.

Modern societies are far more free and tolerant than those of previous centuries, yet they continue to exert a very powerful force on their members; only, the character of that force has changed. From being predominantly negative in the form of prohibitions and strictures, now the force of social authority acts far more as a spur to initiative, than a bar. The pressure felt by middle and working class families to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ has become pervasive throughout the world. The bold initiative of a poor farmer in rural India to dig a bore well and become prosperous could act as stimulus for the rapid development of ten surrounding villages because the competitive pressure of social authority compelled his neighbors to keep up with his level of accomplishment.

The spread of education tends to enhance this tendency. Apart from the practical knowledge and skills it imparts, modern education also instills a greater sense of individual self-respect and social rights that impels the individual to seek and maintain status in society.
Know-how

Here we include the complete range of capacities that determine the ability of the people to physically direct their energies to achieve productive results. The most important of these are scientific knowledge, technology and productive skills. These may appear very different in nature and action from social aspirations, government and social authority, but the character of their influence on development is quite similar. They provide the direction for the efficient organization of mental, social and material energies. Each of them carries with it an inherent authority and imposes a certain discipline on the expression of social energies. This authority usually takes the form of an impersonal authority of standards, rules and systems, such as the rules for maintaining an orderly flow of air traffic.

Adopting a higher level of technology, whether that involved in the cultivation of hybrid wheat, space travel or electronic commerce requires adherence to more stringent procedures and greater organization, without which it does not work. The Internet is a recent example of a technology that promotes freer and easier commercial and personal transactions, but accomplishes it by imposing rigorous standards of discipline on users in the form of a common computer language for communication.
Motives for development

Societies throughout the world are presently preoccupied with achieving the material results of social development. But it is interesting to note that the process itself does not appear to be driven exclusively or perhaps even primarily by material motives, although these are uppermost in the social consciousness at the present time. Even in instances where material needs and wants have approached saturation, the process shows no signs of abating in speed or intensity. On the contrary, the momentum that has led to such incredible achievements over the past century continues to accelerate. In our search for the fundamental motive that drives the process, we have to look beyond the material preoccupations by which it is currently characterized.

While it is difficult to document at the social level, at the individual level it is readily apparent that physical security and comfort are important but by no means the only or even the most powerful motives for human action. Once these needs are met, there is still the seeking for social prestige and influence, the impulse of curiosity, the thirst for understanding, the drive for accomplishment, the urge for invention and creativity, the attraction of complexity and rich variety of experience—and the irrepressible and inexhaustible quest for enjoyment that all of these activities engender.

The process of development, even the limited sphere of social development, is not driven exclusively by material motives or confined to material achievements. The goals societies and individuals seek are determined by their needs and their values. In the hierarchy of needs, physical survival, security, and comfort are primary. Vital, social and mental needs gain prominence when the basic physical needs are met. As society prospers, the vital urge for intensity, excitement, enjoyment, adventure, changing experience and self-expression become more important determinants. Beyond these lie the mental urge for curiosity, knowledge, creativity and imagination, and the aspiration for spiritual realization.

This concept of development holds very important implications for the future of humanity and the prospects for progress in the next century. Its suggests that there are no inherent limits either to the speed or to the extent of the development process, other than those imposed by the limitations of our thought, knowledge and aspirations. If we change our view, the character of this process can be transformed from the slow, trial and error subconscious process we have known in the past to a swift, sure leaping progress from height to greater height.
Phases of Human Choice

Social development has always involved a tension between two poles of its existence, collective and individual. The collective strives to ensure its preservation, perpetuation and development, preparing and compelling its individual members to abide by its traditions, laws and values, and contribute their energy and effort to defend and support the community. At the same time, individual members strive to ensure their survival, to preserve and, whenever possible, to elevate their material and social positions, personal comfort and enjoyment.

For a very long period of recorded history, the collective compelled the submission and obedience of its members to support the development and free exercise of choice by a very limited number of individuals constituting its ruling elite. This tendency reached its acme in the divine right of kings, a doctrine that effectively made the whole society subservient to the whims and fancies of a single individual as an embodiment of the collective will and collective good. All served so that one person could live fully.

Human progress over the past five centuries has moved very far away from this extreme pole of collective domination. The collective has discovered a new formula for its progress—all individuals should be encouraged to develop so that the collective may develop to the maximum. The translation of this new principle into practice has taken several centuries and is still only partially realized. But the direction is clearly reflected in the continuous move toward democracy, universal education, human rights, and access to social opportunities. Society is discovering that providing the maximum human choice to its individual members is the most effective means of releasing human energy, creativity and initiative for the maximum development of the collective.

The Protestant Reformation was a landmark for Western society in the emergence of individual choice in the field of religion. A parallel shift has been identified by historians as one of the root causes for the decline of feudalism in Western Europe. The aristocracy discovered that a free farmer working for himself generated higher production and more tax revenue than an indentured serf working for mere subsistence. Since then society has experimented boldly with new ways to increase the range and quality of individual choice within a collective social framework. In subsequent centuries the rise of democracy extended human choice to the political field and the market system has institutionalized economic choice for workers and consumers.

But the collective’s decision to empower individual choice can best be viewed as the first rather than the last step in human development. For the decision of the collective to encourage individual human choice is no guarantee that individuals will accept and exercise that choice or, if they do so, that they will do so wisely. The phase of human choice that has characterized this century as the “century of the common man” can also been characterized as one in which most individual members continue to define their opinions, attitudes, values, preferences and aspirations very largely in terms that the collective sanctions and approves. Society may have consented to creative individuals exercising free choice, but for most individuals there remains a strong motivation to conform to the views and expectations of the collective and to depend on the collective as the primary determinant. So strong is this urge for conformity that even in science, a person’s social position and prestige are often more powerful determinants of how the scientific community responds than the objectivity or rationality of the views expressed.

We can conceive of a time in the future when society has evolved to what we may term a second phase of human choice. In this society, not only the collective, but most of its individual members as well would have the realization that the individual human being is the determinant of its own future. This would constitute a true society of individuals, arriving at their own ideals, beliefs and values, discovering and expressing more fully their own innate potentials, rather than continuously looking to the collective as a role model for direction and support. We can imagine that this phase would be marked by an enormously enhanced level of energy, fresh initiative, innovation, invention, creativity and free expression and a far more rapid general advancement of the society as a whole in whatever fields of activity it chooses to develop. It might be a society of pioneers.

Yet such a phase, if achieved, would not in any way lessen the tension between the individual and the collective. Rather it might intensify the conflict to the point of threatening social cohesion and stability, in much the same way as the social and economic liberation of women in Western society may have affected the social institution of marriage. It might even become a society of rebels or revolutionaries with little tolerance for the status quo or the views of the collective.

For an ultimate reconciliation of individuality with collective existence, we must envision a further phase of development in which social stability is achieved through the conscious understanding and consent of its individual members rather than by the force of collective authority or external limits imposed on the power of individual self-assertion. In this phase, the individual would advance beyond the discovery of his own uniqueness and inner capacity to discover the complementary truth that the individual is a portion and expression of the collective society and can achieve maximum fulfillment only by discovering and relating positively with the other aspects and expressions of self which also form part of the larger social organism.

If this comes to pass, we would then have witnessed the transition of society through three phases of emergence from undifferentiated collective existence.

· The undifferentiated phase is one in which the individuality is undeveloped and individual choice is suppressed or restricted to a very small ruling elite. The collective imposes its values on the individual.

· Gradually the collective comes to recognize the necessity and value of actively promoting the development and expression of individual human choice in its members as a means for its own greater development. The collective discovers the value of the individual human being and the power of free human choice. This is the phase which most societies are in different stages of transiting: individuality is nominally encouraged, yet the vast majority of people depend psychologically on the collective as the primary determinant and power for their development and subconsciously act in conformity with its expectations.

· In this phase, individual members of society discover the source of creative energy and unlimited human potential within themselves and draw on that source to achieve far higher levels of development in any fields they pursue. The individual discovers the value and power of individual human choice. Conflict between the collective and its members would still be possible and could even increase.

· A phase could come in which individual members discover that they are only individual expressions of the collective and that their existence is fulfilled in consciously lending their energies for the pursuit and fulfillment of the aspirations of the collective. The developed individual consciously affirms the values of the collective as his or her own. This achievement would mark a further phase in the social development of the collective. It might also prepare the possibility of a truly spiritual development for the human community founded on the twin truths of spiritual freedom and spiritual oneness.
Parallels between social and business development

During a workshop presentation at the November 1998 World Academy Conference on the Global Century held in Vancouver, Canada, businessman Walt Stinson drew some interesting parallels between the principles of development theory outlined in the Human Choice paper and principles of business development set forth in several books by Fred Harmon, Garry Jacobs and Robert Macfarlane. We believe that the parallels he observed arise from the fact that both societies and businesses develop according to the same process, one macro, the other micro. We wish to identify some points of correspondence here as a basis for further exploration during the Madras meeting.

1. In the case of both business and society, development can be defined as an upward directional movement from lesser to greater levels of energy, efficiency, quality, productivity, complexity, comprehension, creativity, mastery, enjoyment and accomplishment.

2. Businesses, like societies, develop as a result of a self-conception that is sometimes conscious, often subconscious. Both the democratic union of the 13 original American colonies and India’s Green Revolution were the result of the conscious self-conception of a few perceptive leaders, while the population-at-large remained only vaguely aware of the process it was participating in. In the case of business, the original self-conception is usually the creation of a founding entrepreneur, but over time many other people contribute to its formulation. A noted instance of conscious self-conception was Fred Smith’s idea for establishing an overnight delivery business to compete with United Parcel Service and the US Postal Service, at a time when both were already multi-billion dollar operations. The company he founded in the early 1970s, Federal Express, became for a time the fastest growing company of all time and now has annual revenues exceeding $12 billion. Smith’s conscious conception may have been partially shared by many of the company’s managers and employees, but many others may have participated in the process as part of their routine employment with only a vague notion of the larger vision that inspired its leaders.

3. The development of a business, like the development of a society, is fueled by the aspiration of its people. In the case of business, the aspiration of the owners and leaders is a critical determinant of how far and how fast the business grows. In the case of the society, the role of leadership is played by entrepreneurial pioneers that initiate new activities and the psychological intensity of their pursuit is a critical determinant of success. But in either case, the greater the aspiration of all the people involved, the more powerful the impetus for accomplishment.

4. We stated in Human Choice that surplus energy is an essential condition for social development. Only in the presence of surplus capacity can new activities be supported. The same is true in business. Companies struggling for survival or to meet the minimum requirements of their customers lack the excess capacity needed to plan and initiate new activities or elevate their functioning to a higher level of organization.

5. New modes of activity are introduced in society by pioneering individual initiatives that are imitated and disseminated by others, diffuse through the society and are eventually accepted and integrated with the normal functioning of the society. New modes of activity are introduced in a company by pioneering individual initiatives that are imitated and disseminated by others, diffuse through the company, and are eventually accepted and integrated with the normal functioning of the company.

6. Authority is a fundamental principle of organization that is essential to the survival and development of both societies and companies. Government, social and cultural authority as expressed through social norms, systems, institutions, laws, customs, and values determine the effectiveness with which surplus energy is converted by society into productive power. Corporate authority is expressed more and more through the discipline of impersonal rules, systems, coordination of activities, policies, corporate culture and values that determine the effectiveness with which surplus energy is converted by a business into productive power, rather than by top down personal exercise of authority by a management hierarchy. But regardless of whether the form is personal or impersonal, this discipline is fundamental to the successful functioning of an organization.

7. Social know-how in the form of technology, practical knowledge and skills determines the conversion of productive power into material results in both society and business.

8. The productivity of social resources is not subject to any inherent limits. It depends on the attitudes, information, knowledge, organization and skills creatively applied – i.e. on powers of mind. The productivity of a company’s resources is not subject to any inherent limits. It depends on the attitudes, information, knowledge, organization and skills creatively applied – i.e. on powers of mind.

9. In research for his upcoming book on business in 2010, Fred Harmon is exploring the relationship between the five essential components of a business—market, technology, people, capital and organization—and the five parallel components of social development—social needs, technology, people, resources and organization. As a microcosm and child of the society, companies develop by attuning themselves to the direction, trends and changing needs of the wider society of which they are a part in each of these five major areas. This relationship is especially apparent in larger national and multinational corporations whose development is often closely tied to parallel developments in the societies in which they function.

10. The utilization of social development potential depends on the society’s level of awareness, aspiration, organization, values, knowledge and skills. The utilization of business development potential depends on the company’s level of awareness, aspiration, organization, values, knowledge and skills.

11. Both companies and societies depend for their development on three levels of organized infrastructure—a physical organization of production, transportation, communication, etc.; a social organization of legal, financial, commercial, and educational systems and institutions; and a mental organization of information, technology and knowledge. All three are needed for the achievement of progressively more complex forms of economic activity.

12. For both businesses and societies, values represent that highest form of organization for directing human energies in constructive and productive activities. The quality and height of the values set the limits on the magnitude of developmental achievements.

Summary of social development principles

1. We define social development in its broadest social terms as an upward directional movement of society from lesser to greater levels of energy, efficiency, quality, productivity, complexity, comprehension, creativity, choice, mastery, enjoyment and accomplishment. Development of individuals and societies results in increasing freedom of choice and increasing capacity to fulfill its choices by its own capacity and initiative.

2. Growth and development usually go together, but they are different phenomena subject to different laws. Growth involves a horizontal or quantitative expansion and multiplication of existing types and forms of activities. Development involves a vertical or qualitative enhancement of the level of organization.

3. Social development is driven by the subconscious aspirations/will of society for advancement. The social will seeks progressive fulfillment of a prioritized hierarchy of needs – security of borders, law and order, self-sufficiency in food and shelter, organization for peace and prosperity, expression of excess energy in entertainment, leisure and enjoyment, knowledge, and artistic creativity.

4. Development of society occurs only in fields where that collective will is sufficiently strong and seeking expression. Development strategies will be most effective when they focus on identifying areas where the social will is mature and provide better means for the awakened social energy to express itself. Only those initiatives that are in concordance with this subconscious urge will gain momentum and multiply.

5. Development of the collective is subconscious. It starts with physical experience which eventually leads to conscious comprehension of the process. Conscious development based on conceptual knowledge of the social process accelerates development and minimizes errors and imbalances.

6. Society is the field of organized relationships and interactions between individuals. Only a small portion of human activity is organized for utilization by society, so only a small portion of development potential (of technology, knowledge, information, skills, systems) is tapped.

7. Every society possesses a huge reservoir of potential human energy that is absorbed and held static in its organized foundations—its cultural values, physical security, social beliefs and political structures. At times of transition, crises and opportunities, those energies are released and expressed in action. Policies, strategies and programs that tap this latent energy and channel it into constructive activities can stir an entire nation to action and rapid advancement.

8. The act is the basic unit of social organization. The evolution of more complex and productive activities woven together by people to form systems, organizations, institutions and cultural values constitute the fabric or web of social organization.

9. The essential nature of the development process is the progressive development of social organizations and institutions that harness and direct the society’s energies for higher levels of accomplishment. Society develops by organizing all the knowledge, human energies and material resources at its disposal to fulfill its aspirations.

10. The process of formation of organization takes place simultaneously at several levels: the organization of peace and physical security in society, the organization of physical activities and infrastructure, the organization of productive processes through the application of skills and technology in agriculture, industry and services, the organization of social processes we call systems, laws, institutions and administrative agencies, the organization of data as useful information, the organization of knowledge through education and science, and the organization of higher social and cultural values that channel human energy into higher forms of expression.

11. Each of these levels of organization admits of unlimited development. Each of these levels of organization depends upon and interacts with the others. Elevating the organization at any of these levels increases the utilization of resources and opportunities and accelerates development.

12. Development requires an enormous investment of energy to break existing patterns of social behavior and form new ones. Development takes place when surplus social energies accumulate beyond the level required for functioning at the present level. The social energy may be released in response to the opening up of a new opportunity or confrontation by a severe challenge. Where different cultures meet and blend, explosive energies for social evolution are released.

13. Expression of surplus energy through existing forms of activity may result in growth—a quantitative expansion of society at the existing level of organization. Channeling the surplus energy into more complex and effective forms of organized activity leads to development—a qualitative enhancement in the capabilities of the society. The fresh initiatives that lead to this qualitative enhancement usually occur first in the unorganized activities of society that are not constrained and encumbered by the inertia of the status quo.

14. The rate and extent of development is determined by prevalent social attitudes which control the flow of social energies. Where attitudes are not conducive, development strategies will not yield results. In this case the emphasis should be placed on strategies to bring about a change in social attitudes—such as public education, demonstration and encouragement of successful pioneers.

15. The social gradient between people at different levels of power and accomplishment in society represents a ‘voltage differential’ that stimulates less accomplished sections of the population to seek what the more accomplished have achieved. The urge to maintain this voltage gap compels those at the top to seek further accomplishments. At the same time, the overall development of society is determined by its ability to make accessible the privileges and benefits achieved by those at the top to the rest of its members.

16. Development proceeds rapidly in those areas where the society becomes aware of opportunities and challenges and has the will to respond to them. Increasing awareness accelerates the process.

17. Social progress is stimulated by pioneering individuals who first become conscious of new opportunities and initiate new behaviors and activities to take advantage of them. Pioneers are the lever or spearhead for collective advancement. Pioneers give conscious expression to the subconscious urges and readiness of the collective.

18. Development occurs when pioneering individual initiatives are imitated by others, multiplied and actively supported by the society. Society then actively organizes the new activity by establishing supportive laws, systems and institutions. At the next stage it integrates the new activity with other fields of activity and assimilates it into its educational system. The activity has become fully assimilated as part of the culture when it is passed on to the next generation as values through the family.

19. Development is a process, not a program. Development is an activity of the society as a whole. It can be stimulated, directed or assisted by government policies, laws and special programs, but it cannot be compelled or carried out by administrative or external agencies on behalf of the population. Development strategy should aim to release people’s initiative, not to substitute for it.

20. All resources are the creation of the human mind. Something becomes a resource when human beings recognize a productive or more productive use for it. Since there are no inherent limits to human inventiveness and resourcefulness, the potential productivity of any resource is unlimited.

21. Human beings are the ultimate resource and ultimate determinant of the development process. It is a process of people becoming more aware of their own creative potentials and taking initiative to realize those potentials. Human awareness, aspiration and attitudes determine society’s response to circumstances. Development occurs only at the points where humanity recognizes its power to determine results.

22. The development of social organization takes place within a larger evolutionary context in which the consciousness of humanity is evolving along a continuum from physical to vital to mental. This evolution expresses as a progressive shift in emphasis from material resources to technological and information resources; from the social importance of land to the importance of money and knowledge; from hereditary rights of the elite to fundamental rights for all human beings; from reliance on physical forms of authority to laws and shared values. As society advances along this continuum, development becomes more conscious and more rapid.

23. Infinity is a practical concept. Human potential is unlimited. Development potential is infinite.

24. The same principles and process govern development in different fields of social life – political, economic, technological, scientific, cultural, etc.

25. The same principles and process govern development at the level of the individual, the organization and the society.

[1] Human Choice: The Genetic Code for Social Development, by Harlan Cleveland and Garry Jacobs, World Academy of Art & Science, 1999.

[2] Tangible assets give security and courage to venture, but liquid assets are essential to generate prosperity. In a service economy, earnings remain largely liquid thereby facilitating economic growth, whereas in agriculture and industry, earnings go to create assets and the money gets blocked.

Social Development: Social Development

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ocial development is a process which results in the transformation of social structures in a manner which improves the capacity of the society to fulfill its aspirations. Society develops by consciousness and social consciousness develops by organization. The process that is subconscious in the society emerges as conscious knowledge in pioneering individuals. Development is a process, not a programme. Its power issues more from its subtle aspects than from material objects.

Not all social change constitutes development. It consists of four well-marked stages -- survival, growth, development and evolution, each of which contains the other three within it. The quantitative expansion of existing activities generates growth or horizontal expansion. Development implies a qualitative change in the way the society carries out its activities, such as through more progressive attitudes and behavior by the population, the adoption of more effective social organizations or more advanced technology which may have been developed elsewhere. The term evolution refers to the original formulation and adoption of qualitative and structural advances in the form of new social attitudes, values, behaviors, or organizations.

While the term is usually applied to changes that are beneficial to society, it may result in negative side-effects or consequences that undermine or eliminate existing ways of life that are considered positive.

Social Development: Social Development Theory

2008-11-22T02:07:00.000-08:00

In sociology, social development theory attempts to explain qualitative changes in the structure and framework of society, that help the society to better realize its aims and objectives. Development can be broadly defined in a manner applicable to all societies at all historical periods as an upward ascending movement featuring greater levels of energy, efficiency, quality, productivity, complexity, comprehension, creativity, mastery, enjoyment and accomplishment.[1] Development is a process of social change, not merely a set of policies and programs instituted for some specific results. This process has been going on since the dawn of history. But during the last five centuries it has picked up in speed and intensity, and during the last five decades has witnessed a marked surge in acceleration.[2]

The basic mechanism driving social change is increasing awareness leading to better organization. Life evolves by consciousness and consciousness in turn progresses by organization. When society senses new and better opportunities for progress it accordingly develops new forms of organization to exploit these new openings successfully. The new forms of organization are better able to harness the available social energies and skills and resources to use the opportunities to get the intended results.

Development is governed by many factors that influence the results of developmental efforts. There must be a motive that drives the social change and essential preconditions for that change to occur. The motive must be powerful enough to overcome obstructions that impede that change from occurring. Development also needs resources such as capital and technology and the availability of supporting infrastructures.

Development is the result of society's capacity to organize human energies and productive resources in order to meet the challenges and opportunities that life presents society with all the times. Society passes through well-defined stages in the course of its development. They are nomadic hunting and gathering, rural agrarian, urban, commercial, industrial and post-industrial societies. Pioneers introduce new ideas, practices and habits etc which are resisted in the beginning by the conservative element in society. At a later stage the innovations are accepted, imitated, organized and made use of by other members of the community. The organizational improvements introduced to support the innovations can take place simultaneously at four different levels—physical, social, mental and psychological. Moreover four different types of resources are involved in promoting development. Of these four, physical resources are the most visible but the least capable of expansion. The productivity of resources increases enormously as the quality of organization and level of knowledge inputs rise.

The pace and scope for development varies according to the stage that society is in during the developmental process. The three main stages are physical, vital (the term vital refers to the dynamic and nervous social energies of humanity that propel individuals to accomplish) and mental and all these three have their own unique characteristics.

Terminology

Though the use of the term "development" is usually confined to economic progress, in reality the term applies to political, social and technological progress as well. All these various sectors of society are so intertwined that it is difficult to neatly separate them. Development in all these sectors is governed by the same principles and laws and therefore the term can be applied uniformly to all these fields.

Economic development and human development need not mean the same thing. Strategies and policies aimed at greater growth may bring greater income to a country without bringing about an improvement in the living standards of the population. This is what happened in the case of oil-producing Middle Eastern countries where a surge in oil prices boosted the national income of these countries without much benefit to the poorer sections of the people living there. Conversely people-oriented programs and policies can bring about an improvement in their health, education, living standards and other quality-of-life measures without any special emphasis on monetary growth. This has been observed in the 30 years of socialist and communist rule in Kerela in India[3].

A distinction needs to be made between four closely related terms and phenomena that form successive steps in a graded series: survival, growth, development and evolution. Survival refers to a subsistence way of life without any marked qualitative changes in living standards. Growth refers to horizontal expansion in the existing plane characterized by quantitative expansion such as a farmer increasing the area under cultivation and a retail businessman opening more retail outlets. Development refers to a vertical shift in the level of operations that brings about a qualitative change such as a retailer turning into a manufacturer and an elementary school turning into a high school. Evolution refers to the introduction of totally new practices such as the initial introduction of credit cards or the invention of the Internet.

[edit] Human development

Development is a human process in the sense that it is human beings and not materials factors that are the driving force for development. The energy and aspiration of people who seek development forms the motive force that drives the development process. People's awareness may decide the direction in which development will take place. Their efficiency, productivity, creativity and organizational capacities determine the level of people’s accomplishment and enjoyment. What is called development is only the outer realization of latent inner potentials. The level of people's education, the intensity of their aspiration and energies, the quality of their attitudes and values, skills and information all decide the extent and pace of development. All these factors come into play whether it is the development of the individual, family, community or nation or even the whole world.[4]

[edit] Process of emergence of new activities in society

[edit] Subconscious vs. conscious development

The normal tendency of human development is to proceed from experience to comprehension. As society develops it accumulates the experience of countless pioneers down the centuries and takes the essence of that experience as the formula for success and accomplishment. The fact that experience precedes knowledge can be taken to mean that development is a subconscious process that gets carried out first while the knowledge becomes conscious later on only. We use the term subconscious to refer to those activities that people do without knowing what the end results will be or where their actions will lead them. That is the acts are carried out without a knowledge of the conditions required for their success.[5]

[edit] Role of pioneering individuals

The gathering subconscious knowledge of the society matures and breaks out on the surface in the form of new ideas espoused by pioneers who also take new initiatives to give expression to those ideas. Those initiatives may call for the formation of new strategies and new organizations which may be resisted by conservative elements in society. If the initiatives of the pioneers succeed, then it encourages imitation and slow propagation among the rest of the community. Later on growing success leads to the assimilation of the new practice by the society and in the course of time it becomes regularized and institutionalized. This process can be viewed in three distinct phases of social preparedness, initiative of pioneers and assimilation by the society.

The pioneer as such plays an important role in the development process since it is through that person that the subconscious knowledge becomes conscious. The awakening comes to the lone receptive individual first and it becomes that person's responsibility to spread the awakening to the rest of the society. Although pioneers appear as lone individuals in reality they act as conscious representatives of the society as a whole, and therefore their role should be viewed in that light.[6]

[edit] Imitation of the pioneer

Though a pioneer comes up with innovative ideas very often the initial response to a pioneer is one of indifference, ridicule or even one of outright hostility. If the pioneer persists and succeeds in an initiative, that person's efforts may eventually get the endorsement of the public. That endorsement tempts others to imitate the pioneer. If they also have success, then news spreads and brings about a wider acceptance. Conscious efforts to lend organizational support to the new initiative help in institutionalizing the new innovation.

[edit] Organization of new activities

Organization is the human capacity to harness all available information, knowledge, resources, technology, infrastructure and human skills to exploit new opportunities and to face challenges and hurdles that come in the way of progress. Development comes through improvements in the human capacity for organization. In other words, development comes through emergence of better organizations that enhance society's capacity to make use of opportunities and face challenges.

The development of organizations may come through the formulation of new laws and regulations or through new systems. Each new progress that society achieves comes with a corresponding new organization that emerges on the scene. The increasing international trade that European countries undertook in the 16th and 17th centuries demanded corresponding development of the banking industry, as well as commercial laws and civil arbitration facilities. New types of business ventures were needed to attract the tremendous amounts of capital needed to finance the expanding trade. As a result a new business entity came into use—the joint-stock company, which limited the liability of investors to the extent of their personal investment without endangering their other properties.

Each new developmental advance that society makes is accompanied by new or more suitable organizations that facilitate that advance. On many occasions the existing inadequate organization is forced to change itself to be in tune with the new development. Many countries have introduced scores of new reforms and procedures such as the release of business directories, franchising, lease purchase, courier service, credit rating, collection agencies, industrial estates, free trade zones and credit cards, etc. On top of all these, a diverse range of Internet services have also been added. Each of these new facilities vastly improves the effective usage of available social energies for productive purposes. The importance of these facilities for speeding up development is clearly illustrated when they are absent. When Eastern European countries wanted to make the transition to market-type economies, they were seriously hampered in their efforts to make that transition due to the absence of these supportive systems and facilities.

[edit] Organization matures into institution

At a particular stage the organization matures into an institution that becomes part and parcel of the society. Beyond this point it does not need laws and agencies to foster its growth or ensure its continued presence. The transformation of an organization into an institution signifies the total acceptance by the society of that new organization. The income tax office is an example of an organization that is actively maintained by the enactment of laws and the formation of an office for procuring taxes. Without the active support of the government this organization will simply disappear in the course of a few years as it does not enjoy active public support. On the other hand, the institution of marriage enjoys universal acceptance and would persist in society even if government regulations demanding registration of marriage and age restrictions were withdrawn. The institution of marriage is sustained by the weight of tradition and not by government agencies and legal enactments.

[edit] Cultural transmission by the family

Families play a major role in the propagation of new activities once they win the support of the society. A family is a miniature version of the larger society and as such the acceptance by the larger entity will find its reflection in the smaller entity also. It is the family that educates the younger generation and transmits to them such social values as self-restraint, responsibility and the skills and occupational training of fathers. Though children do not follow their fathers' footsteps as much as they did in the past, parents do in a big way mould their children's attitudes and thoughts regarding their careers and future occupations. When families take up the propagation of a new activity, it is a sure sign that the new activity has become an integral part of the society.

[edit] Education

One of the most powerful means of propagating and sustaining new developments is the system of education available in a society. Education is the means for organized transmission of society's collective knowledge to each next generation by the previous generation. It equips each new generation to face the opportunities and challenges of the future with the knowledge gathered from the past. It shows the young generation the opportunities that lie ahead for them and thereby raises their aspiration to achieve more. The information imparted by education raises the level of expectations of youth as well as their aspirations for higher income. It also equips them with the mental capacity to devise ways and means to improve productivity and enhance living standards.

Society can be conceived as a complex fabric consisting of interrelated activities, systems and organizations.[7] Development occurs when this complex fabric improves its own organization. That organizational improvement can take place simultaneously in several dimensions.

* Quantitative expansion in the volume of social activities
* Qualitative expansion in the content of all those elements that make up the social fabric.
* Geographic extension of the social fabric to bring more of the population under the cover of that fabric.
* Integration of existing and new organizations so that the social fabric functions more efficiently.

Such organizational innovations occur all the time as a continuous process. New organizations emerge whenever a new developmental stage is reached and old organizations get modified to suit the new developmental requirements. The impact of these new organizations may be so powerful as to lead the people to believe that these new organizations are powerful in their own right. Actually it is society that throws up the new organizations required to achieve its objectives.

The direction that the developmental process takes is very much influenced by the awareness of the population as to what are the opportunities available in the society. Increasing awareness leads to greater aspiration which in turn releases greater energy that helps bring about greater accomplishment.

[edit] Resources

Since the time of the English economist Thomas Malthus, it has been thought that the capacity for development is severely limited due to the inherent limitation in the availability of natural resources. Resources can be divided into four major categories: physical, social, mental and human resources. Land, water, mineral and oil, etc. constitute physical resources. Social resources consist of society's capacity to manage and direct complex systems and activities. Knowledge, information and technology are mental resources. The energy, skill and capacities of people constitute human resources.

The science of economics is very much concerned with scarcity of resources. Though physical resources are limited in their availability, the same cannot be said about social, mental and human resources which arguably are not subject to any inherent limits[8]. Even if these appear to be limited at present, there is no fixity about the limitation and these resources can and will continue to expand over time and that expansion can be accelerated by be expanded if appropriate strategies. In recent decades the rate of growth of has accelerated dramatically.[9]

The role of physical resources tend to diminish as society moves to higher levels in the scale of development. Correspondingly the role of non-material resources keeps increasing as development advances. One of the most important non-material resources is information, which has become a key in-put in modern times. Information is a non-material resource that does not get exhausted by distribution or sharing. Greater access to information helps increase the pace of its development. Ready access to information about economic factors helps investors to immediately transfer capital to those sectors and areas where it will fetch a higher return. The greater input of non-material resources helps explain the rising productivity of societies in spite of a limited physical resource base.

The application of higher non-material inputs also raises the productivity of physical inputs. Modern technology has helped increase the proven sources of oil by 50% in recent years and at the same time reduced the cost of search operations by 75%. Moreover, technology has shown that it is possible to reduce the amount of physical inputs in a wide range of activities. Scientific agricultural methods demonstrated that soil productivity could be raised by application of synthetic fertilizers. Dutch farm scientists have demonstrated that a minimal water consumption of 1.4 liters is enough to raise a kilogram of vegetables compared to the thousand liters that traditional irrigation methods normally require. Henry Ford's assembly line techniques brought down the man-hours of labor required to deliver a car from 783 minutes to 93 minutes. These examples show that the greater input of higher non-material resources can raise the productivity of physical resources and thereby extend their limits.[10]

[edit] Role of technological development

When the mind engages in pure creative thinking it comes up with new thoughts and ideas. When it applies itself to society it can come up with new organizations. When it turns its attention to the study of nature it discovers the laws and mechanisms by which nature operates. When it applies itself to technology it comes up with new discoveries and practical inventions that boost productivity. Technical creativity has had an erratic course through history, with some intense periods of creative output followed by some dull and inactive periods. However the period since 1700 has been marked by an intense burst of technological creativity that is multiplying human capacities exponentially.

Though many reasons can be cited for the accelerating pace of technological inventions, one major cause is the role played by mental creativity in an increasing atmosphere of freedom. Political freedom and liberation from religious dogma had a powerful impact on creative thinking during the period of the Age of Enlightenment. Dogmas and superstitions had an incredibly restrictive effect on the scope for mental creativity. For example, when the astronomer Copernicus proposed a heliocentric view of the world, it was rejected[citation needed] because it did not conform to established religious doctrine. When Galileo perfected a telescope for viewing the planets, his invention was condemned by churchmen as an instrument of the devil as it seemed to be so unusual and hence fit to be deemed heretic. Such obscurantist fetters on freedom of thought were shattered only with the coming of the Enlightenment. From then on the spirit of experimentation began to thrive afterwards.

Though technological inventions have markedly increased the pace of development, the tendency to view developmental accomplishments as mainly powered by technology is a partial view that misses the bigger picture. Technological innovation was spurred by the general advance in the social organization of knowledge. In the Middle Ages efforts at scientific creativity were few and relatively and isolated for one another, mainly because there were no effective arrangements for the preservation and dissemination of knowledge. Since there was no organized protection for patent rights, scientists and inventors were very secretive about their activities and operations. The establishment of scientific associations and the publication of scientific journals spuured the exchange of knowledge among scientists and created a written record that could be examined by posterity.

The development of technology is dependent on the presence of other types of social organizations. Nobel laureate economist Arthur Lewis observed that the mechanization of factory production in England which became known as the Industrial Revolution was a direct result of the reorganization of English agriculture. The enclosure of common lands in England generated surplus income for the farmers. That extra income generated additional raw materials for industrial processing along with greater demand for industrial products which was difficult to meet by traditional manufacturing processes. The opening of sea trade gave an added boost in demand for industrial production for export. Factory production increased many times when production was reorganized using steam energy combined with moving assembly lines, specialization and division of labor. Thus, technological development was both a result of and a contributing factor to the overall development of society.

Individual scientific inventions do not simply spring out of the blue. They build on past accomplishments in an incremental manner and give a conscious form to the subconscious knowledge that society gathers over time. As pioneers are more conscious than the surrounding community, their inventions normally meet with initial resistance, which recedes over time as their inventions gain wider acceptance. If opposition is stronger than the pioneer, then the introduction of an invention gets delayed. In medieval times when guilds exercised tight control over their members, progress in medical invention was slow mainly because physicians were secretive about their remedies. When Denis Papin demonstrated his invention of a steam engine, German naval authorities refused to accept it fearing it would lead to increased unemployment. John Kay, who developed a flying shuttle textile loom, was subject to physical intimidation by English weavers who feared the loss of their jobs. He had to flee to France where his invention was more favorably received. The widespread use of computers and application of biotechnology raises similar resistance among the public today. Whether the public receive an invention readily or resist depends on their awareness and willingness to entertain rapid change. Regardless of the response, technological inventions occurs as part of overall social development and not as an isolated field of activity.

[edit] Limits to development

The concept of inherent limits to development arose mainly because development in the past was determined largely by the availability of physical resources. Humanity itself relied more on muscle-power than thought-power to accomplish work. That is no longer the case. Today mental resources are the primary determinant of development. Where people drove a simple bullock cart, they now design ships and aircraft that carry huge loads across immense distances. Humanity has tamed rivers, cleared jungles and even turned arid desert lands into cultivable lands through irrigation. By using intelligence society has turned sand into powerful silicon chips that carry huge amounts of information and form the basis of computers. Since there is no inherent limit to the expansion of society's mental resources, the notion of limits to growth cannot be ultimately binding.[11]

[edit] Three stages of development

Society's developmental journey is marked by three stages which can be called physical, vital and mental. These are not clear-cut stages but overlapping ones. All the three elements will be present in any society at time. One of them will be predominant while the other two play subordinate roles. The term 'vital' denotes the emotional and nervous energies that empower society's drive towards accomplishment and express most directly in the interactions between human beings. Before the full development of mind, it is these vital energies that predominate in human personality and gradually yield the ground as the mental element becomes stronger. The speed and circumstances of social transition from one stage to another varies.[12]

[edit] Physical stage

The physical stage is characterized by the domination of the physical element of the human personality. During this phase, society is preoccupied with bare survival and subsistence. People follow tradition strictly and there is little innovation and change. Land is the main asset and productive resource during the physical stage and wealth is measured by the size of land holdings. This is the agrarian and feudal phase of society. Inherited wealth and position rule the roost and there is very little upward mobility. Feudal lords and military chiefs function as the leaders of the society. Commerce and money play a relatively minor role. As innovative thinking and experimental approaches are discouraged, people follow tradition unwaveringly and show little inclination to think outside of established guidelines. Occupational skills are passed down from parent to child by a long process of apprenticeship. Guilds restrict the dissemination of trade secrets and technical knowledge. The Church controls the spread of new knowledge and tries to smother new ideas that does not agree with established dogmas. The physical stage comes to an end when the reorganization of agriculture gives scope for commerce and industry to expand. This happened in Europe during the 18th century when political revolutions abolished feudalism and the Industrial Revolution gave a boost to factory production. The shift to the vital and mental stages helps to break the bonds of tradition and inject new dynamism in social life.

[edit] Vital stage

The vital stage of society is infused with dynamism and change. The vital activities of society expand markedly. Society becomes curious, innovative and adventurous. During the vital stage emphasis shifts from interactions with the physical environment to social interactions between people. Trade supplants agriculture as the principal source of wealth.

The dawning of this phase in Europe led to exploratory voyages across the seas leading to the discovery of new lands and an expansion of sea trade. Equally important, society at this time began to more effectively harness the power of money. Commerce took over from agriculture and money replaced land as the most productive resource. The center of life shifted from the countryside to the towns where opportunities for trade and business were in greater abundance. The center of power shifted from the aristocracy to the business class, which employed the growing power of money to gain political influence. During the vital stage, the rule of law becomes more formal and binding, providing a secure and safe environment for business to flourish. Banks, shipping companies and joint-stock companies increase in numbers to make use of the opportunities. Fresh innovative thinking leads to new ways of life which are accepted as they prove to be beneficial. Science and experimental approaches begin to make a headway as the hold of tradition and dogma weaken. Demand for education rises.

As the vital stage matures through the expansion of the commercial and industrial complex, surplus income arises which prompts people to spend more on items so far considered out of reach. People begin to aspire for luxury and leisure which were not possible when life was at a subsistence level.

[edit] Mental stage

This stage has three essential characteristics which can be described as the practical, social and political application of mind. The practical application of mind leads to the generation of a great number of inventions. The social application of mind leads to the invention of new and more effective types of social organization. The political application leads to changes in the political systems, empowering the common man to exercise political and human rights in a free and democratic manner. These changes had their beginning in the Renaissance and Enlightenment and gained a powerful impetus through the Reformation which proclaimed the right of the individual to relate directly to God without the mediation of the priest. The political application of mind led to the American and French Revolutions which first gave written recognition to the rights of the common man and gradually led to the actual enjoyment of these rights.

Organization is a mental invention. Therefore it is not surprising that the mental stage of development is responsible for the formulation of a great number of organizational innovations. Huge business corporations have emerged that make more money than even the total earnings of some small countries. Global networks for transportation and communication now connect the nations of the world within a common unified social fabric for sea and air travel, telecommunications, weather reporting and information exchange.

In addition to spurring technological and organizational innovation, the mental phase is also marked by the increasing power of ideas to change social life. Ethical ideals have been with humanity since the dawn of civilization. But their practical application in daily social life had to wait for the mental stage of development to emerge. The proclamation of human rights and the recognition of the value of the individual have become effective only after the development of mind and spread of education. The 20th century truly emerged as the century of the common man. Political, social, economic and many other rights were extended to more and more sections of humanity with each succeeding decade.

The relative duration of these three stages and the speed of transition from one to another varies from one society to another. However broadly speaking, the essential features of the physical, vital and mental stages of development are strikingly similar and therefore quite recognizable even in societies separated by great distance and having little direct contact with one another. Moreover, societies also learn from the experience of those which have gone through these transitions before and, therefore, may be able to make the transitions faster and in a better manner. When the Netherlands introduced primary education in 1618 it was a pioneering initiative. When Japan did the same thing late in the 19th century, it had the advantage of learning from the experience of the USA and other countries that had already done so. When many Asian countries initiated primary education in the 1950s after winning independence, they could draw on the vast experience of more developed nations . This is one major reason for the quickening pace of progress as the decades advance.

[edit] Natural vs. planned development

A distinction needs to be made between natural development and development brought about by the planned initiatives of government. Natural development is the spontaneous and subconscious process of development that normally occurs. Planned development is the result of deliberate conscious initiatives by the government to speed up development through special programs and policies. Natural development is a subconscious process since it occurs as the result of the behavior of countless individuals acting on their own, rather than being not driven by a conscious intention of the community. It is also subconscious in the sense that society achieves the results without being fully conscious of how it did so. The natural development of democracy in Europe over the past few centuries can be contrasted with the conscious effort to introduce democratic forms of government in former colonial nations after World War II. Planned development is also largely subconscious: the goals may be conscious, but the most effective means for achieving them may remain poorly understood. Planned development can become fully conscious only when the process of development itself is fully understood. While in planned development the government is the initiator in the natural version it is private individuals or groups that are responsible for the initiative. Whoever initiates, the principles and policies are the same and success is assured only when the conditions and right principles are followed.

India's Green Revolution

The Green Revolution in India is a good example of a planned development initiative that brings out all the essential features of the development process. Until 1960 agriculture in India did not differ markedly from what it had been during the colonial period stretching back 200 years ago. The Green Revolution is usually described as the introduction of hybrid varieties of wheat and rice, but the adoption of hybrids alone is not sufficient to explain the phenomenal achievements of the Green Revolution. Success was made possible by a comprehensive and well-coordinated program involving multiple changes in the way society managed the production of food.

Prior to the launch of the Green Revolution, Indian agriculture was largely based on subsistence-level farming which did not generate sufficient production to meet the country's food requirements. In the past this had led to periodic food shortages and famines which were managed by huge imports from abroad. Green Revolution was an attempt to break out of this condition and increase food production to make the country self-sufficient.

The Indian government realized that it needed to do many things to win the cooperation of the Indian farmers in order to make the green revolution successful. First, farmers had to be convinced that acceptance of the hybrid varieties would lead to increased yields. Then an assurance had to be given that increased production would not lead to decreased prices as commonly occurred in the past during years of bumper harvest. The government had to make arrangements to ensure supply of quality seeds, fertilizers and make provision for adequate storage space. It also had to train a huge network of extension agents to impart the necessary training to farmers so that they carry out the cultivation correctly.

The government accomplished all this by setting up many new organizations. It set up the Food Corporation to buy food grains from surplus production areas and distribute it in areas afflicted with shortage. It constituted an Agricultural Pricing Commission to ensure a minimum floor price to farmers so that there was no disincentive for increased production. Seed and fertilizer corporations were formed to ensure supply of good quality seeds and timely supply of fertilizers, etc. Agricultural scientists were motivated to do their work better by the offer of better pay scales and greater infrastructural facilities. On top of all this the government established 100,000 demonstration plots across the country to prove to the farmers that the hybrid varieties were indeed more productive.[13]

The Green Revolution succeeded not only because it was a planned initiative but also because it was a conscious and well-conceived program. It adopted the right approaches and was alive to the needs and aspirations of the farmers. Therefore it was well received. The planning and awareness exhibited in the project helped create a higher level organization that could harness the enthusiasm and energies of the farmers more effectively.

Planned development differs from natural development in the sense that it is a program sponsored by the government in an attempt to accelerate the development process that would otherwise take place slowly or perhaps not occur at all. The success of a planned initiative depends very much on its ability to ensure the terms and conditions that help the natural process succeed. Many planned government initiatives fail because they are begun without the proper understanding of the conditions necessary for their fulfilment. During the 1960s only the Government of India had the resources necessary to launch a massive program of such dimensions. But today, India's private sector is perhaps even better equipped than government to bring about rapid development as illustrated by the dramatic expansion of the country's IT industry.

The Green Revolution was so successful that it enabled India to achieve food self-sufficiency within five years and a doubling of food production within ten years. This was totally unexpected and took even many experts by surprise. More than the increased food production, the elevation of agricultural operation in India to a higher level of organization was a more noteworthy achievement. It was a perfect demonstration of the success that a planned initiative could achieve when implemented with the required knowledge and awareness.

References

* Jacobs, Garry et.al. Kamadhenu: The Prosperity Movement, Southern Publications, India, 1988.
* Asokan. N. History of USA, The Mother's Service Society, 2006.

1. ^ Jacobs, Garry and Asokan N., "Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Social Development". In: Human Choice, World Academy of Art & Science, USA, 1999, p. 152.
2. ^ International Commission on Peace and Food, Uncommon Opportunities: An Agenda for Peace and Equitable Development, Zed Books, UK, 1994, p. 163.
3. ^ Victor Fic (1970), "Kerela: Yenan of India The Rise of Communist Power 1937 -1969" (Nachiketa Publishing Bombay)
4. ^ Jacobs, Garry and Asokan, N., "Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Social Development". In: Human Choice, World Academy of Art & Science, USA, 1999, p. 51.
5. ^ Jacobs, Garry and Asokan, N., "Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Social Development". In: Human Choice, World Academy of Art & Science, USA, 1999, p. 57.
6. ^ Cleveland, Harlan and Jacobs, Garry, "The Genetic Code for Social Development". In: Human Choice, World Academy of Art & Science, USA, 1999, p. 7.
7. ^ International Commission on Peace and Food, Uncommon Opportunities: An Agenda for Peace and Equitable Development, Zed Books , UK, 1994, p. 168.
8. ^ Humans are finite beings and so limits of some kind must be present
9. ^ International Commission on Peace and Food, Uncommon Opportunities: An Agenda for Peace and Equitable Development, Zed Books, UK, 1994, p. 162
10. ^ Macfarlane, Robert and Van Harten, Robert. "Engines of Development". In: Human Choice, World Academy of Art & Science, USA, 1999, p. 47
11. ^ International Commission on Peace and Food, Uncommon Opportunities: An Agenda for Peace and Equitable Development, Zed Books, UK, 1994, p. 158.
12. ^ Cleveland, Harlan and Jacobs, Garry. "Human Choice: The Genetic Code for Social Development". In: Futures Research Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 9–10, November–December 1999, Pergamon, UK, p. 964.
13. ^ International Commission on Peace and Food, Uncommon Opportunities: An Agenda for Peace and Equitable Development, Zed Books, UK, 1994, pp 27, 174.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_development_theory

Theology 4 - We Make Moral Decisions

2008-11-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

Foundation of Christian Morality

• Catholic teaching identifies morality as human actions
coming from a heart that searches for truth and yearns
for freedom.
• One can live in freedom only if one knows the truth.
• To live a good moral life, one must be in constant
acceptance of truth.

Foundation of Christian Morality

• As Christians we look for truth outside of ourselves.
• We look for truth from our Creator who has created us to give glory
to Him and who loves us despite our failing to live up to His original
expectations.
• He has given us the laws we need in order to achieve the freedom

he has created us for.
• He has given us the tools we need to put ourselves on the correct
path when we do stray.
• Thus our moral decisions are meshed with
our life of faith.

Foundation of Christian Morality

• God is transcendent and loves us unconditionally.
• He knows us better than we know ourselves. We are
created in His image. We are created immortal.
• Thus we realize that he has set up for us laws to help us
become fully human and to find our way to Him.
• We respond in freedom and we are responsible for our
actions.
• Thus He has endowed us with tremendous dignity that
needs to be fully respected in all persons.

Basis of Christian Morality- Where
are these moral laws?

Moral Law can be found in Natural Law
This expresses the original moral sense which enables
people to discern by reason the good and the evil, the
truth and the lie. It expresses the dignity of the human
person and forms the basis of fundamental rights and
duties of all persons.

Basis of Christian Morality- Where
are these moral laws?

Moral Law can be found in Revealed Law
The Old Law expressed in the 10 commandments.
These are laws that contain some truths naturally
accessible to reason. They are revealed by God and
they impact our relationship with God and with one
another.
The New Law expressed in the Sermon on the Mount It
surpasses the Old Law without destroying it and brings it
to perfection. It calls the human heart to conversion and
opens the road to greater freedom.
Basis of Christian Morality- Where
are these moral laws?

Moral Law can be found in Teachings of the Church
Throughout the ages the Church looks and listens to the
signs of the times and proceeds to evaluate their
goodness or their evilness.
The principles of Natural Law and Revealed Law are
applied to current issues and thus their goodness or
evilness can be determined.

What makes a moral act good or evil:

• The chosen action itself:
Objective norms of morality determine if an act is good
or evil, whether it is for a person’s ultimate good or not,
whether it conforms to God’s will or goes against it.
Our reason and conscience help us discover the truth of
these norms.
Certain actions are always seriously wrong because they
involve moral evil.
What makes a moral act good or evil:

• The intention of the action
This resides in the acting subject and indicates the
purpose of why an action is done. It is concerned with
the goal of the activity.
An evil intention always results in an evil action, whether
the action of itself is good or evil.
A good intention never makes an evil action become
good.
What makes a moral act good or evil:

• The circumstances, including the
consequences, are secondary elements.
They contribute to increasing or diminishing the moral
goodness or evil of human acts. They can also increase
or diminish the agent’s responsibility.
Circumstances do not change the goodness or the
evilness of an action.

Role of our Conscience

• Its major role is to bear witness to the truth. When one listens to his/her
conscience, the prudent person can hear God speaking. It also judges
particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those
that are evil.
• It is important to be present to one's self in order to hear and follow our
conscience. It requires reflection, self-examination, and introspection.
• Our conscience must be properly informed in order to be upright and
truthful. It formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with
the true good revealed by the wisdom of the Creator. We are assisted by
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and
guided by the authoritative teachings of the Church.
• Our conscience can remain in ignorance or make erroneous judgments.
Such ignorance and errors are not always free of guilt.

An example
Embryonic Stem Cell research.

We need to know what this entails. What sources do we rely on to
get to the real info?
How does Natural Law, Revealed Law, and the Teachings of the
Church apply – this is when our conscience becomes formed.
If the action is deemed evil, we condemn the action, not the people.
If the action is good, then we give glory and praise to God, since all
comes from Him and should return to Him.
Sinfulness in the world
• Mortal sin is serious sin. It includes attitudes, desires, actions, or lack of action that
kill our relationship to God and others.
• To sin mortally, all following 3 items must be true:
• Grave matter: i.e. seriously wrong actions such as murder, adultery, apostasy, etc.
• Sufficient reflection: We know full well that what we are considering doing is
seriously wrong, i.e., is sinful and opposed to God’s law, but we do it anyways.
• Full consent of the will: We do the action with freedom and not under the pressure
or influence of limiting factors like force, blinding passion.
• Sin committed with malice, by deliberately choosing evil, is the worst kind of sin.
Sinfulness in the world
• Venial sin partially rejects God. It is a stumbling block on the path of
following Jesus.
• They are not deadly, they do not destroy sanctifying grace nor friendship
with God.
• Venial sins still need to be eradicated from our lives.
• The danger is that repetitive venial sins can lead to vices, especially what
has been called capital sins – pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and
lust. These can eventually lead us to mortal sin.
• Venial sins weakens love and attaches us to created goods rather than
God.

Sinfulness in the world

• All sin is the result of a personal action.
• Every sin produces social and institutional
moments that are contrary to God’s will.
• Every sin brings about evil in society and
can entice people into committing sins.
Grace in the world
• The gift of the sacrament of reconciliation
Our God is so loving that he continually invites us to
reconcile ourselves to Him and to His plan.
We are called to continuing conversion: moving away
from what weighs us down toward the loving arms of our
God.
Thus we fulfill God’s plan to bring all of creation, starting
with ourselves, back to Him.

Grace in the world

• Living the virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
• Spiritual works of mercy
Counsel the doubtful Instruct the ignorant
Admonish sinners Comfort the afflicted
Forgive offenses Bear wrongs patiently
Pray for the living and the dead
• Corporal works of mercy
Feed the hungry Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked Visit the imprisoned
Shelter the homeless Visit the sick
Bury the dead

Grace in the world
• The call to continuing conversion and building the kingdom of God.
• As our grace-filled actions, guided by the Holy Spirit, become
manifest, others feel motivated to do the same.
Errors to be avoided
• Denying the value of truth and the value of freedom: Truth is
relative, individualistic, changes with the whims of the person.
Freedom is not possible, our decisions stem from the circumstances
of our environment and our upbringing.
• Redefining truth and freedom so that they are no longer meshed
together: Truth = what is right via opinion polls, popular consensus
Freedom = license to do what pleases me
• Elevating the role of conscience to an absolute: My conscience is
the sole authority to determine what is right and what is wrong. I
have no one to answer to except myself. The only law is found in
my inner self. This is individualism at its best.

Sources

• The Splendor of Truth, encyclical written by John Paul II, August 6th, 1993.
• This is our Faith, Michael Francis Pennock – Chapter 17
• The Catechism of the Catholic Church:
Part 3 - Life in Christ
Section 1 - Man's Vocation: Life in the Spirit
Chapter 1 - The Dignity of the Human Person
Article 3 – Man’s Freedom
Article 4 - The morality of Human Acts
Article 6 - Moral Conscience
Chapter 3, - God’s Salvation: Law and Grace
Article 1 - The Moral Law

Theology 4 - On Morality and Ethics

2008-11-19T18:12:00.001-08:00

Morality and Ethics

􀂄 Morality
• L. mores, habit, custom
• “moral” (moralität) the rightness of actions and decision,
“oughtness” and obligation
• Moral and amoral decisions

􀂄 Ethics
• G. eqoj “ethos”, habit, custom (cf. Luke 2:42)
• “ethics” (ziflichkeit), the goodness of behavior,
teleological, the pursuit of the “good”
• Summa bonum

􀂄 Morality is a subset of Ethics
􀂄 Descriptive and Normative Ethics

Levels of Thinking

Worldview: Anthropocentric or Theocentric

What is the nature of God, the world, and man?
What is “good”?
Sources of Authority
Nature, Reason (Philosophy/Science), Revelation,
Community/Tradition
Methods of Moral Reasoning
Deontology (rules), Teleological (outcomes), Existential
(attitudes, virtue)
Principles
Beneficence, Justice, Veracity, Autonomy
Rules
Policies, Laws, Codes
Decisions
Specific Issues

Worldviews & Ethics

􀂄 What is the nature of “God”?
• Theology
• Theistic, Deistic, Atheistic
􀂄 What is the nature of the Universe?
• Metaphysics/ontology
• Created by a Sovereign God, product of chance, naturalistic
􀂄 What is the nature of Man?
• Anthropology
• Image of God, rational animal, product of evolutionary chance
􀂄 How do we know what we know?
• Epistemology
• Revelation, authority, reason, empiricism, feeling
􀂄 What is our destiny?
• Teleology, Eschatology
• Eternal significance, entropic doom and nihilism

Worldview and Ethics
Logical Conclusions

Naturalistic Worldview
• No ultimate basis for meaning and
value
• Man not unique; no basis for
treating man differently from
animals
• No normative moral sanctions;
ethics reduced to individual or
collective sentiment; choices have
no ultimate significance
• Illness and death are part of
natural, meaningless order of
things; death simply a point in
amoral continuum, inimical only
for unfounded emotional reasons

Worldview and Ethics
Logical Conclusions

􀂄 Christian Worldview
• Meaning & value rooted in the
character of God
• Man unique, radically different
from animals, to be treated with
respect
• Ethics has a normative base;
ethical principles are binding;
choices have eternal
consequences
• Illness and death are abnormal
but not the final enemy; they are
used by God to accomplish His
purposes

Theology and Ethics

􀂄 Ethics is not a separate discipline from
theology; ethics is applied theology
The one thing I am here to say to you is this: that
it is worse than useless for Christians to talk about
the importance of Christian morality, unless they
are prepared to take their stand upon the
fundamentals of Christian theology. It is a lie to say
that dogma does not matter; it matters
enormously. It is fatal to let people suppose that
Christianity is only a mode of feeling; it is virtually
necessary to insist that it is first and foremost a
rational explanation of the universe. It is hopeless
to offer Christianity as a vaguely idealistic
aspiration of a simple and consoling kind; it is, on
the contrary, a hard tough, exacting and complex
doctrine, steeped in a drastic and uncompromising
realism.
-Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos (1947)

Theology and Ethics

Any world-view which carries with it
important implications for our
understanding of man and his place in the
universe would yield its own distinctive
insights into the scope, character and
content of morality. To answer the further
question, “What is the distinctive Christian
ethic?”, is inevitable to be involved to
some extent in controversial questions of
Christian doctrine.”
–Basil Mitchell, How to Play Theological
Ping-Pong (1990)

Theology and Ethics

You would hardly find any theologian now who
supposes that Christian ethics can survive for half
a century in detachment from Christian doctrine
and this is the very last moment when the church
itself can come forward with outlines of Christian
ethics in the absence of the theological foundation
which alone makes them really tenable. Our
people have grown up on a generally Christian
atmosphere, and take it for granted that all people
who are not actually perverted hold what are
essentially Christian notions about human
conduct. But this is not true.
–Letter cited in F.A. Iremonger, William
Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury: Life and
Letters (1948)

Theology and Ethics

The “borrowed capital”
of the Christian tradition
in Western Society
-Alasdair MacIntyre,
After Virtue (1981)
Theology and the Nature of “the Good”
􀂄 What is “good” and why do we seek it?
􀂄 Socrates
• Is the “good” good because the gods approve
it, or do the gods approve it because it is
good? (Plato, Euthyphro)
􀂄 Plato
• Good as the highest, all-embracing, dominant
idea or form, that which preserves and
supports (Republic)
􀂄 Aristotle
• The goal of all human relations and actions
(Nichomachean Ethics)
􀂄 Matthew 19:16-18 (The Rich Young Ruler)
• avgaqo.n poih,sw (agathon poieso); good
work
• Ouvdei.j avgaqo,j( eiv mh. ei-j( o` qeo,jÅ
(oudeis agathos, ei me eis ho theos); no
one is good, except God

Theology and the Nature of “the Good”

􀂄 Implications
• All “good” comes from God;
God’s character defines what is
“good”
• One can only be “good” in the
derivative sense as reflecting the
character of God and being in
relation (through faith) with God
• The “good” we seek in “ethics” is
God Himself and His glory
• Autonomy in ethics (seeking the
“good” apart from God) is the
nature of sin and death

Theology and the Nature of “the Good”

􀂄 Onto-Theology 􀂄 Biblical Theology
BEING
Man God
“GOOD”
Man God
YHWH
Independent, Essential, BEING
Man
Dependent, Created, being
YHWH’s character as the
definition of the “GOOD”
Man’s character as “good”
only as it reflects and
is in relation to God
Arthur A. Leff, “Unspeakable Ethics, Unnatural
Law” Duke Law Journal (1979) 6:1229-1249
All I can say is this: it looks as if we are all we
have. Given what we know about ourselves and
each other, this is an extraordinarily unappetizing
prospect; looking around the world, it appears
that if all men are brothers, the ruling model is
Cain and Abel. Neither reason, nor love, nor even
terror, seems to have worked to make us ‘good’.
And worse than that, there is no reason why
anything should. Only if ethics were something
unspeakable by us, could law be unnatural, and
therefore unchallengeable. As things now stand,
everything is up for grabs.
Arthur A. Leff, “Unspeakable Ethics, Unnatural
Law” Duke Law Journal (1979) 6:1229-1249
We are never going to get anywhere
(assuming for the moment that there is
somewhere to get) in ethical or legal
theory unless we finally face the fact that,
in the Psalmist’s words, there is no one
like unto the Lord. If He does not exist,
there is no metaphoric equivalent, no
person, no combination of people, no
document, however hallowed by time, no
process, no premise, nothing is equivalent
to an actual God in this central function as
the un-examinable examiner of good and
evil.

Reflecting the Character of God
The Imago Dei

􀂄 Only three Biblical texts
• Gen 1:26-28 (after the
creation of man)
• Gen 5:1-12 (after man sins)
• Gen 9:6-7 (after the flood)
􀂄 Fundamental importance of
what it means to be human
• cpn “nephesh”; embodied
soul, also of animals
• Defining ourselves in terms of
God, in His image (slx
“tselem”) and likeness (twmd
“demut” )
• Defining ourselves in terms of
ourselves is prideful and sinful

What is the Imago Dei?

􀂄 Physical properties, mind
(nous), rationality, imagination
(image), soul
• Irenaeus: image/likeness;
nature/supernature, reason/faith,
superadditum bonum
• Boethius: rationalis naturae
individua substantia (undivided
substance of a rational nature)
􀂄 Focus on some sort of property
􀂄 This is never addressed in
Scripture. Why?
􀂄 Wrong question
10
What does it mean to be made in
the Imago Dei?
􀂄 Focus on relationship
and role
􀂄 ANE use of sovereign
“image”
􀂄 Our relationship to God
• To reflect His character
• To do His will
• To rule His kingdom
􀂄 Exodus 20:4-5 (Deut
5:8-9)

Theology 4 - On Being Human

2008-11-19T18:02:00.000-08:00

Chapter 1. Created and Evolved

Each and every human being is a
unique person created in the image
of God.

A philosophy of being or existence

􀂄 PHILOSOPHY – absolute, ultimate, foundational
􀂄 Why finite beings exist at all
􀂄 SCIENCE – cosmology, biology, evolution
􀂄 How and why the universe is unfolding as it is
􀂄 Thomas Aquinas: God is “Subsistent Being
itself” – sheer “TO-BE”, the limitless, actual
perfection of all perfections (including the
perfection of Personhood), the creative source
and origin of all that is.

What is it to be a person?

􀂄 Person = “an individual substance of a rational
nature”
􀂄 some-thing - individual
􀂄 some-one – reflective, self-conscious, relational
􀂄 What? “nature” = instance of a kind
􀂄 Who? a particular someone
􀂄 “Person” can be used analogously of individuals
of various kinds – human, angel, God

Modern understanding of person

􀂄 Human personhood understood in isolation
from God
􀂄 Self-sufficient source of meaning and truth
􀂄 John Locke (1632-1704) made a distinction

􀂄 Human living organism of a certain species
􀂄 Person … consciousness which is inseparable
from thinking and essential to it
􀂄 Omits principle of substance

Chapter 2. Bodily and Spiritual

Human persons are at once both material
and spiritual beings: we belong to a
physical universe, and yet we are
destined for relationship with God, now
and for eternity.
We are finite beings with a capacity for
God who is infinite.

The “spirituality” of human intelligence

􀂄 “Spiritual” = non-physical, not explainable
in material or scientific terms
􀂄 We are able to grasp the intelligibility of
the world in a universal non-material way
􀂄 The human intellect is not a material entity
􀂄 Not reducible to the neuro-physiological
activity of the brain

The “spirituality” of the human person

􀂄 Critical activities manifesting our human nature
􀂄 Judging what is true
􀂄 Loving or willing what is good
􀂄 The soul - the secret of human personhood
􀂄 non-material (i.e. spiritual) principle
􀂄 embodied in the actual bodily life and activity of a
human being
􀂄 “spiritual key” to the person I am
􀂄 the key to my continuing to be after I die.

Person and nature

􀂄 Modern view
􀂄 emphasis on subjective experience – consciousness
and rational agency
􀂄 a quality that beings may possess or not, or possess in
varying degrees
􀂄 Catholic view
􀂄 cannot separate personhood and human nature
􀂄 being a fellow human being does not come in degrees
􀂄 human beings are to be respected as persons from the
beginning of their existence
The human destiny
􀂄 Persons created “in the image of God”
􀂄 for his or her own sake
􀂄 to know and love God for all eternity
􀂄 A drive within us towards the infinite
􀂄 prayer, fasting and almsgiving open a person to
relationship with God
􀂄 We are made for relationship, above all with God,
who is relational in the trinity of persons.

Chapter 3. Free and Responsible

We are moral beings commanded to love God
and neighbour, and thereby to acknowledge
and pursue the truth about what is good.
The mystery of sin
􀂄 The being of sin in a world in which God is
the source of all being.
􀂄 Sin can only be an absence of being, a
failure to choose the right good
􀂄 Moral evil is the absence of the good that
ought to be present, or ought to be realised
in our actions

Conscience

􀂄 Each person is responsible for his own moral
decisions, guided by his best judgment,
discerning the good to be done and the evil to
avoided in a particular situation
􀂄 a person’s own conscience judgments do not
create moral truth
􀂄 Obligation to form one’s conscience, to know
what conduct is required in a given situation

Formation of Conscience

􀂄 Involves openness to the truth and a
willingness to embrace the truth
􀂄 For Catholics openness means doing one’s
best to think with the Church and to make
its teachings one’s own.
􀂄 The moral tradition of the Church is more
extensive than our own reasoning capacity
The agent perspective
􀂄 Ethical reasoning should be conducted from the
first-person perspective of the moral agent – what
should I do?
􀂄 Persons become themselves through their free
and deliberate actions (Veritatis Splendour)
􀂄 Our understanding of human dignity and true
human fulfilment is crucial because it provides
the basis for what we understand to be right and
wrong human choices

Chapter 4. Individual and Social

We are social beings called to establish and
maintain just and faithful relationships with
all other members of the human family.
Respect for other persons
􀂄 Justice: to render whatever is rightly due to
others as fellow human beings
􀂄 The proper exercise of my freedom requires
me to respect the freedom of others and,
indeed, to respect the rights of others and
their conscientious judgments even if I
believe them to be mistaken

Individual and society

􀂄 A second duality
􀂄 self-responsible individuals
􀂄 social beings
􀂄 Dependence on one another
􀂄 Dependence on God
􀂄 Highest personal act – gift of oneself to
another – “unless a grain of wheat
dies…does it yield a rich harvest”

The common good

􀂄 Balanced relationship between individual and
society
􀂄 An ideal for the sake of which an individual
should, when appropriate, be willing to
subordinate his or her own particular goods
􀂄 Our society – individualism, consumerism and
“market forces” – tends to exaggerate the
individual and his/her rights

Chapter 5. Male and Female

We are sexual beings whose fulfilment lies in
the gift of oneself to another. Genital sexuality
finds its true expression in the commitment of
marriage and the procreation of new human life.

Concept of gender

􀂄 factual difference of male and female is
embodied in cultural differences
􀂄 western culture – greater fluidity in gender
roles
􀂄 corrective to forms of unjust discrimination
Catholic understanding will address
recent cultural changes
􀂄 polarity between male and female is a key feature
of the way God has ordered both human nature
and much of the natural world
􀂄 we are men and women, not simply persons who
happen to have a male or female body, thus in the
normal course of psychosexual development,
one’s sex shapes one’s personal identity and
becomes essential to who one is

From sexual difference to “the
nuptial meaning” of the human body

􀂄 Longing for wholeness and completion
􀂄 The Man and The Woman, in the very structure
of their bodies and personalities, are destined for
a reciprocal relationship of love and fidelity, a
union of faithful loving that is ordered to the
procreation of new life
􀂄 A communion that is impossible to either alone
From sexual difference to “the nuptial
meaning” of the human body - 2
􀂄 Does not imply that men and women can
only become complete and worthwhile
persons in marriage
􀂄 True completion (i.e. fulfilment) for every
human being fundamentally consists in the
gift of oneself in love to others and to God

Theo 2 - Who IsJesus?

2008-11-17T08:24:00.000-08:00

The Church encourages us to
know Jesus historically.
• Divino Afflante Spiritu – 1943 encyclical
of Pope Pius XII, which encouraged
biblical research and the use of the
historical-critical method.
- “Inspired by the Holy Spirit”

Jesus Christ: Bio data
• If we are to be like Jesus,
then we should know his
life – what he said, what
he did, and WHY.
• To understand WHY,
then we should know his
historical background.

What do we know about
Jesus today?
•Big Boss Papa
•Master and Commander
•Shep or “Abandon Shep”

The Creed
• I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the
creator of Heaven and earth, and in
Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who
was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
• Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died and was buried.

Images/titles of Jesus:
• 3 Filipino favorite images of Christ –
Nazareno, Santo Nino, and Crucified
Christ.
•Appeal of the Nazareno – always grant petitions, consistent with hero
martyr symbol. Also because Easter was only emphasized after Vatican II,
so more time spent on focusing on the suffering Christ.
•Sto Nino – miraculous wood
Miraculous Wood
It is told that one day, long before the coming of the Spaniards, a native went out
into the sea to fish. He did not catch anything for the better part of the day until
finally, he felt a weight at the end of his line. He brought it in only to discover that
it was nothing but a piece of wood. This occurred several times until, tired and
angry, he decided to keep the stubborn piece of wood in his boat. And viola! Like
magic, all the fish swum towards his boat and he went home with a bountiful
catch.
The natives of Cebu soon discovered that this piece of wood had other magical
powers. They could use it as a scarecrow to keep animals away from their dying
crops. In times of drought, they only had to immerse it in the sea and the rains
would come. Apparently, this same piece of wood was fashioned into the image
of the Santo Niño.

Other images/titles:
• The “Christ”
• “Son of God”
• “Messiah”
• “Savior” and “Lord”.

Gospels: our source of
information of historical Jesus:
• A record of the disciples’ experience of
Jesus
• Historical account (what Jesus said and
did remembered)
• Interpreted account (what Jesus said and
did interpreted after he died and
resurrected)
•They were fascinated by this person who had a lot of common sense, who
related warmly with people, mingled freely with the poor and the outcast, and
spoke openly against the injustices of his time. Being with him was an inspiriting
experience of the disciples who, most probably, had been victims themselves of
the discrimination and oppression in the Jewish society. They felt this man gave
them back their dignity, their confidence in life. In Jesus of Nazareth, the
disciples experienced a very free man, caring for the concrete needs of the
oppressed poor people because God, his Father, loved them – never mind if they
failed to fully love God (Mt 4:23-25; 11:2-6; Luke 4:16-21; 5:29-32).
•Interpreted account – Jesus was crucified but in faith the disciples were
convinced that he was alive; he has risen. The conviction that Jesus continued
to live and inspire the community added a new meaning to the disciples’ initial
understanding of Jesus. They believed that Jesus’ spirit was challenging them to
give a new answer to people's search for happiness.

Jesus Christ
• Born in Nazareth around 4 BCE.
– Rural area but close to commercial centers
in Galilee and Mediterranean.
• Nazareth is in Palestine (now Israel and
part of Jordan).
•Nazareth is about 150 kilometers north of Jerusalem

BETHANY
1. A village on the southeastern slopes of the MOUNT OF OLIVES (see Map 6, B-4)
about three kilometers (two miles) east of Jerusalem near the road to Jericho .
Bethany was the scene of some of the most important events of Jesus' life. It was the home of
Martha, Mary, and Lazarus and the place where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead .
During Jesus' final week, He spent at least one night in Bethany . At Bethany Jesus
was anointed by Mary in the home of Simon the leper .
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

POLITICAL SITUATION

1. Roman empire divided into:
– Peaceful, loyal or senatorial provinces
– Turbulent provinces – Had pockets of
revolt. Palestine in this category.

2. Jewish kings – from the Herodian
family. Were despised because they
were Roman puppets.
-Senatorial provinces were under the Senate
-Turbulent provinces: governors were called PREFECT if concern is financial, or PROCURATOR
if military. Pontius Pilate is a Procurator.
-After their dispersal, no Jewish nation until World War II. Politically, the Jewish nation died, but
Judaism did not die.
-A group established an academy in Jamnia to keep the faith and instruction of the law. Priests
and sacrifices in the temple ended, but teachers of the Law persisted. Study of the Law took the
place of sacrifice.
-Declared Birkat Hamminim (ban heretics, literally), referring to the Christians. Thinking was that
we suffered and temple was destroyed because Christians were allowed to mingle. Thus, started
the break of Christians from Judaism. This was around the 80’s.

3. Priests and scribes had lots of power.

4. Widespread discontent and constant
uprising due to heavy taxation.
• Villages who could not pay were
destroyed
• Conflict was Jewish lower class vs
Roman rulers & Jewish upper class
(which included the priests and
Sadducees).
Thus, most of our NT manuscripts are in Greek.
Pilate reported to the emperor. Was technically a Prefect, because Judea was considered a
turbulent province, hence a military concern, because there were many problematic factions:
Zealots, Scarii.
Note the difference between Herod the Great during Jesus birth (who died around 4 BC), and
Herod Antipas, who ruled Galilee (technically, a tetrarch because also ruled one-fourth).
Situation very similar to when Philippines was a colony under Spanish rule.
Optional:
Herod the Great executed two brothers in law. Built the temple, though he himself offered gifts to
pagan cults. He was ruthless, hence his plot to find Jesus by saying “I also want to worship him.”
Maccabean kings also known as Hasmonean kings because grandfather of Mattathias was
named Hasmoneus.

SOCIO ECONOMIC – Social classes

1. Wealthy merchants and traders

2. Artisans and service providers
(tentmakers, like Paul, skilled workers,
barbers, innkeepers, carpentry)

3. Unskilled workers – daily wage earners
(parable of the hired hands),
construction workers, message carriers,
ditch digging, begging.

4. Debt bondsmen – paid debt by working.

5. Slaves – lowest, but could be better off
because usually have rich patrons.
-Senators could not legally marry slaves. Had special places in table, depending on rank.
-Debts were widespread. Slavery is a big institution, and Paul did not make any effort to change
the situation.
-Senators could not legally marry slaves. Had special places in table, depending on rank.
-Debts were widespread.
-Slavery is a big institution, and Paul did not make any effort to change the situation, the reason
being that there was a belief in the imminent parousia, he was a community builder, not social
reformer, and for practical reasons, the Christians were a small minority which would have been
crushed by the Romans.
-Paul’s converts came from the middle class, and mostly from the poor. Christianity promised a
glorious future, and Christ’s suffering made them identify with the religion.
-Paul refers to himself as the BONDSERVANT of Christ (Romans 1:1-2).

SOCIO ECONOMIC
• Very much like the Philippines
under Spanish rule:
– Gap between rich and poor.
– Turbulence and unrest against Romans who
were corrupt and abusive and collected
heavy taxes.
– Revolutionary prophets and messianic
pretenders.
Samaritans only believed in the Torah, or the first five books.
So people longed for the time of David where they had a powerful king and prosperity. Waiting
for a Messiah.

MESSIAH
[meh SIGH uh] (anointed one)-- the one anointed by God and empowered by God's
spirit to deliver His people and establish His kingdom. In Jewish thought, the Messiah would be
the king of the Jews, a political leader who would defeat their enemies and bring in a golden era
of peace and prosperity. In Christian thought, the term Messiah refers to Jesus' role as a spiritual
deliverer, setting His people free from sin and death.
The word Messiah comes from a Hebrew term that means "anointed one." Its Greek
counterpart is Christos, from which the word Christ comes. Messiah was one of the titles used by
early Christians to describe who Jesus was.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Explain that the expectation is that He is the Messiah in military terms. But Jesus did not want
this proclaimed because it was a misconception:
Mark 8:29-30
29 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are
the Christ."
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
(NIV)
There was an incident of some Samaritans infiltrating some Jews and mixing human bones in
their sacrifice, which is a great act of sacrilege.

As a result of abuses and
oppression, there were
protest and renewal
movements.

Protest and Renewal Movements

1. Social bandits – people who lost their land
because of failure to pay taxes; robbed the
rich to give to the poor.

2. Messianic movements – groups who
clamored for revolt because foreign
oppressors were against the kingship of
Yahweh.

3. Essenes – withdrew from society into the
wilderness to avoid corruption.

4. Zealots – armed attacks against the
Romans.

5. Pharisees – oppression was the result of
disobedience, so one must be strictly
faithful to the law, and Yahweh will deliver
Israel.

•Essenes – they lived a disciplined life, holding all things in common. They called
themselves “men of holiness” and required separation from the “unholy society.”
They claimed to be children of light.

Pharisees:
• The largest and most influential
group.
– Believed that ritual purity applied to
priests should include all people.
– Believed in entire Hebrew Bible,
Resurrection, punishment and
reward after death, tithing,
Sabbath, fasting
– Socially exclusive, shunned non-
Pharisees who were deemed
unclean.
– Members were common people,
unlike Sadducees.
Pharisees had a detailed program of life. Often accused of turning religion into a very legalistic
system. Emphasized external instead of internal. So Jesus says, you whitened tombs, inside are
bones.
Matt 23:27
27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like
whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's
bones and everything unclean.
(NIV)
Matt 16:6
6 "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the
Pharisees and Sadducees."
(NIV)
Matt 23:13
13 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the
kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who
are trying to.
(NIV)
Matt 5:20
20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
(NIV)
26

RELIGIOUS
• Sadducees - a Jewish faction
who believed only in Torah
– Not believe in tradition, or
interpretation of the Mosaic
law.
– No Resurrection of the dead.
– The good prosper now. Usually
from aristocratic class.
– Resented social reformers and
renewal movements.
Sadducees - did not believe in oral tradition, unlike the Pharisees who were fond of the various
interpretations.
Torah - the first 5 books: Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Numbers.
Canon in stages- Pentateuch in the 5th BC, entire Hebrew Bible 70 AD, NT in 400 AD.
27

• Scribes - not religious or political,
but a professional class.
– Copied the law, and as a result
became experts and teachers.

• Rabbi - means “my great one”,
used to show respect to the
teacher of the law.

• Sanhedrin - like the Supreme
court.
– Tackled big issues.
– Composed of Pharisees,
Sadducees, priests, and
prominent families.

What else do we know
about Jesus?

Jesus Christ
• A carpenter, which makes him lowermiddle
class.
• Probably studied in the synagogue of
Nazareth, where he learned to read and
write, and studied the Hebrew bible.
• Eventually, became a religious seeker
and found John the Baptist.
•Nazareth is about 150 kilometers north of Jerusalem
•Carpenters did not build houses but made wooden products: doors, door frames,
roof beams, furniture, yokes and plows.

1. A man of faith
• Had a deep relationship with God,
referring to God as “abba.”
• God is not “out there,” but
everything is sacred.
• Moses, Ezekiel, Isaiah and all the
prophets had this kind of
relationship with God, and so can
speak with authority.
-But Prophets would say “thus says the Lord,” but Jesus would say “I tell you…”
-Jesus, just like other spirit persons at that time, saw reality more than just the
physical world.

2. Jesus as healer and exorcist
• Mark 1:32-39 indicates these were
frequent occurrences.
• Conditions treated were: fever, paralysis,
withered hand, hemorrhage, deafness and
dumbness, blindness, coma, and skin
diseases.
• Reasons for healing:
• To show compassion
• Jesus associated healing with the
Kingdom of God.
• To show that God is accessible
Mark 1:32-39 (NABWRNT)
32 When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed
by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door.
34 He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many
demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
35 Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he
prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him
37 and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
38 He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For
this purpose have I come.”
39 So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the
whole of Galilee.
•On God being accessible: priests and scribes felt threatened by this direct
manifestation of God’s spirit and ascribed the healing to the power of Satan.
Mark 3:22-26 (NABWRNT)
22 The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”
and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
23 Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out
Satan?
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the
end of him.

3. A teacher of transformative wisdom
• Not just a teacher of doctrine and morals,
but of a “new way of life.”
• Wealth – not as a reward from God, but
as something that can enslave.
• God – not the source of law to be
followed but one who is gracious and
compassionate
• Relationship with God – not based on
rules but being God-centered.
• Purpose of life – not fulfilling the
requirements of religion, but based on
a relationship with God.
•Wealth that can enslave – You cannot serve both God and mammon. – Luke
16:3
•God – failure to obey meant exclusion from the community of the righteous, thus
there are boundaries and divisions in society between the righteous and the
sinner, the wealthy and the poor, the blessed and the cursed.
•Purpose of life – Jesus led us away from a life of anxiety to a life of peace and
trust.
• Used parables – a short story which
usually reverses a prevailing notion.
• Used stories based on everyday things:
“lilies in the field,” “a good tree bears good
fruit,” “a city on a hill cannot be hidden,”
“you are salt and light.”

4. An initiator of a renewal movement
• Aware of the corruption and deterioration
of Jewish society, and wanted to renew it.
• Jesus’ movement:
• Everyone is welcome, including sinners,
the poor, and women
• Everyone is equal
• A joyful community (Mt 11:18-19)
• A compassionate community: Prodigal
Son, Good Samaritan
•Twelve – symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel, meaning the “new Israel.”
•Women membership was unacceptable in a patriarchal society.
Matthew 11:18-19 (NABWRNT)
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by
a demon.’
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton
and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated
by her works.”
- Judaism emphasized the holiness of God, Jesus the compassion of god
37

5. Jesus as prophet
– What a prophet does:
1. How does God look at the social
situation?
2. What did God do in the past in a similar
situation?
3. They warn of the future. “If you do not
change, God will do this.”
– Jesus condemned a social system that was
unjust, favored the wealthy, the powerful,
and those who based their relationship
with God on the law, but which rejected
the poor, the powerless and those unable
to keep the law.
• Convicted of sedition and crucified,
probably precipitated by the temple
incident.
•Crucifixion is the Roman capital punishment for rebellion and other serious
crimes.

Summary:
1. Jesus as man of faith.
2. Jesus as healer and exorcist.
3. Jesus as teacher of transformative
wisdom
4. Jesus as initiator of a renewal
movement.
5. Jesus as prophet.
•We sometimes transform Jesus to a magician who fulfils prayers if we are
obedient. Others turn him into a masochist whose purpose was to die for our
sins, and did not consider well being in this life as important.

Now, we can understand
better the titles used for
Jesus by his early disciples.

Images/titles of Jesus by his
early disciples:

• The “Christ” Greek “christos”
Hebrew “mashiah” which means “the
anointed.”
• “Messiah” – as above, but had kingly
and militaristic connotations.
The titles give us an insight on how Jesus was perceived by the people around him. A mere historical
presentation of Jesus would not give us much insight. He was poor, lived in an obscure village, did miracles
which were not totally unknown that time, (there were others who healed the sick), challenged the Romans or
criticized the priest (again there were many who did this), was a trouble maker in the temple, was convicted of
sedition, and then crucified. Many lived and died this way.
But it is how he was perceived and experienced by the people around Him, especially those close to Him, that
gives us a deeper insight. What I would like to present to you is that this experience of Jesus can be known
through the titles that the Gospel writers assigned to Him.
One of these titles is Christ:
Matt 16:15-16
15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
(NIV)
-Christ is not Jesus surname. Mashiah means “the anointed”: Priests, kings, prophets were anointed. The
disciples were saying this person belonged to God, or was a man of God. They felt that this was no ordinary
person that lived among them, but they could not at that time say “true man and true God.” That was an
expression developed much later (around 400 AD) by the Church. So they had to make use of titles that were
already there at that time.
To authorize, or set apart, a person for a particular work or service . The anointed
person belonged to God in a special sense. The phrases, "the Lord's anointed," "God's anointed," "My anointed,"
"Your anointed," or "His anointed" are used of Saul <1 Sam. 26:9, 11>, David <2 Sam. 22:51>, and Solomon <2
Chr. 6:42>.
Priests, kings, and prophets were anointed. Oil was poured on the head of the person being
anointed . Kings were set apart through the ritual of anointing, which was performed by a prophet
who acted in God's power and authority <1 Sam. 15:1>. The Old Testament also records two instances of the
anointing of a prophet <1 Kin. 19:16; Is. 61:1>.

• “Son of God” – not yet as second person
of Trinity, but as “a man of God.”
• “Savior” and “Lord” – titles used for the
Roman emperor, applied to Jesus.
-Son of God – not in the sense that we use it in the Creed. Son of God meant:
-For the Jews, that divine sonship meant for the Jews themselves. Israel was considered the
first born (Exodus 4:22)
-A king from the line of David, who is considered as Yahweh’s son. The Lord’s promise to
David: “I will be his father, and he will be my son.” (2 Samuel, 7:11-16)
-Powerful persons or rulers
-Angels and heavenly beings.
-A righteous person
-Savior and Lord – both used to refer to the Roman Emperor.
-Two titles of Roman emperor were Savior and Lord. They brought control and order. They brought
Pax Romana, so indeed the Emperor is Savior, but also Lord since his orders have to be followed, he
knows best. The Romans also brought a system of justice that brought peace.
-Son of Man – the representative man, or the ideal man.
The Son of Man appeared to speak and act in these cases as the representative man. If God
had given man dominion over all the works of His hands, then He who was the Son of Man in this special
representative sense was in a position to exercise that dominion.
-So this gives us a composite of what Jesus was to the persons who were close to him. At the same time, the
disciples did not exactly adapt the titles without modifying them in their minds because their experience of Jesus
did not exactly fit the titles that they used. For example: she’s a diva (which refers to an opera singer) does not
necessarily mean she sings in the opera, but has a fantastic voice. The title only approximates our perception of
that person, but is the closest we can use to express how we feel about that person. For example: When we
say, nagpa-alam ka na ba kay commander (we do not really mean that the wife is from the military). Or when
we call a learned man who teaches well as “professor” or I am sometimes referred to as “monsignor.” Or
“Kabigting” or “champion” as someone really good in something. “champion” sometimes even used to describe
food.

-Just like when these titles were used of Jesus. They were modified from the traditional or usual meaning at
that time.
-Jesus is Christ and Son of God, because He stood apart from everyone, a man of God, he
possessed strength and power which came from within. When he spoke people listened.
-Jesus is Messiah, who is just like a Davidic king because the time of David was when there
was peace and prosperity, there was no foreign power who oppressed them, they freedom to
worship, but without the pomp and circumstance associated with the kingly connotations of the
title.
-Jesus is Savior who proclaimed peace, but did so through love and forgiveness, and not
through force and oppression of the Emperor. Jesus’ proclamation is God’s love, not God’s
unbending justice. Jesus is also Savior from the suffocating demands of the Pharisees in
obeying laws.
-Jesus is Lord, but one who gives commands to take care of the people, but not the legalistic
and demanding obedience to laws similar to the Pharisees

Summary:
1. To imitate Jesus, then you must know
the historical Jesus.
2. The message of the historical Jesus is
not only about the next life, but THIS
LIFE:
• A relationship with God based on love and
compassion and not on rules.
• A society based on justice, equality and
well-being, where everyone is welcome and
accepted

What now?
1. Which aspect of the historical Jesus is
most significant to you and you would
like to imitate?
2. What is your personal title or image of
Jesus?

Matthew 25:34-40
Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me
food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a
stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you
clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison
and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will
answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you
hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you
drink? When did we see you a stranger and
welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When
did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I
say to you, whatever you did for one of these
least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Theo 2 - The Historical Jesus

2008-11-17T08:14:00.000-08:00

Historical Evidence

- Although Jesus is known to have been a great
teacher, he personally left no writings behind
- New Testament writings, especially the gospels,
prove Jesus’ existence while also noting
historical events and people
- Historical evidence of Jesus’ existence from both
Roman and Jewish independent sources include
writings from:
Historical Evidence
• Tacitus
• Suetonius
• Pliny the Younger
• Josephus

The Scriptures and Jesus

- The Primary source material about Jesus and
earliest followers is the New Testament:
• The New Testament contains 27 books
• Most important are the four gospels
• Composed over a period of about 70 years
• Testament means “covenant”
• Jesus Christ represents the new covenant shown
in the New Testament

-The covenant theme is central in the Old Testament:
• 46 books of inspired writings
• Began with the call to Abraham
• Many examples of God’s loving kindness
• Reveals how unfaithful the Chosen People were to the
covenant
• God’s covenant was to be a new testament sealed in the
blood of his Son - Jesus is the “New Testament”
• NT continues and fulfills the Old Testament

- God is the true author of the sacred scriptures
- Inspiration: Holy Spirit teaching truth through the Bible
without destroying the free and personal activity of
the human writer
• Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of the Bible
• Gospel - “Good News”
-Why are there four written versions of one gospel?
• God wanted four different perspectives of Jesus

- Canon of the Bible: official list of books the Church
considers its inspired writings
- 46 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books
In order to be included in the Canon the following
- Canon, criteria had to be met:
• Apostolic Origin
• Widespread Acceptance
• Conformity to the Rule of Faith

Formation of the Gospels

-Three stages involved in the formation of the gospels:
1.) Public life and teaching of Jesus
Formation of the Gospels
2.) Oral tradition and preaching by the apostles
and early disciples of Jesus
3.) Written gospels themselves

Stage 1: Public Life
- Apostles were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life and ministry
that helped to form and preserve the gospel in the
first stage

Stage 2: Oral Tradition
- Oral preaching took three forms:
1.) Kerygma - preaching to nonbelievers
2.) Didache - teachings
3.) Liturgy - worship of the Christians

Oral preaching had to be committed to writing for three
major reasons:
1 ) End of the world was not coming as quickly as the early
1.) Christians thought it would
2.) Distortions were setting in
3.) More instruction was needed

Stage 3: New Testament Writings
- Earliest New Testament writings are letters of St. Paul
- Gospels and various other writings such as Acts of the
Apostles and Revelations followed

Interpreting the New Testament

- The New Testament is the most important
collection of books ever written and
assembled
- Historical research looks to the customs and
ways of thinking at the time the events took
place and were written
-Literary criticism analyzes the writings themselves
-Analysts look to the Magisterium for final authority
in interpreting the scriptures

St. Jerome’s translation of the entire Bible into Latin
is the Vulgate - became the Church’s official
translation of the Bible
Interpreting the New Testament
- Two important Catholic translations of the Bible into
English are:
• The New American Bible
• New Jerusalem Bible

Theo 2 - A View of Christ from The Gospels

2008-11-17T08:01:00.000-08:00

Matthew--The Messiah is King
Mark--The Messiah is Servant
Luke--The Messiah is Savior of All
John--The Messiah is the Son
of God who Became Man

The Gospel of Matthew

Jesus is the Messiah,
the son of David, the King of the Jews.

" A record of the
genealogy of Jesus
Christ the son of David,
the son of Abraham…”
Matthew 1:1-18

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord
had said through the prophet: “The virgin
will be with child and will give birth to a
son, and they will call him Immanuel”—
which means, “God with us.”"
Matthew 1:22-23

" This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His
mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but
before they came together, she was found to be with
child through the Holy Spirit."
"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."
Matthew 1:18, 20

The Gospel of Mark

Jesus is the Suffering Servant,

"For even the Son of Man did
not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many.”"
Mark 10:45

The Gospel of Luke

Jesus as the Son of Man,
rejected by Israel, offered to the Gentiles.

" Many have undertaken to draw up an account of
the things that have been fulfilled among us...
Therefore, since I myself have carefully
investigated everything from the beginning, it
seemed good also to me to write an orderly
account for you…so that you may know the
certainty of the things you have been taught."
Luke 1:1-4

“The birth of Jesus Christ was a birth in normal
human flesh from a normal human mother,
whose conception was not the result of sexual
intercourse with any man, but by the supernatural
activity of the Holy spirit.”

The Gospel of John

Jesus Is the Son of God

" In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning. Through
him all things were made; without him nothing
was made that has been made."
John 1:1-3

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of
the One and Only, who came from the Father, full
of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him.
He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said,
‘He who comes after me has surpassed me
because he was before me.’”
John 1:14-15

􀂉􀂉 The Eternal Son Took on Human Flesh to Reveal God
to Men. (John 1:18)
􀂉􀂉 The Word Became Flesh to Reign Over His People.
(Luke 1:33a; Matthew 2:2)
􀂉􀂉 He Came to Redeem.
(Mark 10:45)

Theo 2 - "Gospel"

2008-11-17T07:33:00.000-08:00

“Gospel”
• Greek euangelion “good news”
• Refers to:
– Message taught by Jesus
– Message about Jesus
• Transmitted orally at first
– E.g. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23 “I received from
the Lord what I also handed on to you …”

Why not write a Gospel?
• Apocalyptic expectations (Mark 13:30)
• Respect for oral tradition (e.g. Papias)

Why write a Gospel?
• Death of the eyewitnesses
• Delay of Jesus’ parousia
“appearance”
• Missionary needs
• Controversies over doctrine

The Synoptic Gospels
• Very similar, frequently identical in wording;
sometimes:
– All 3 the same
– Any 2 the same
– All 3 different

Who wrote the Gospels?
• All 4 NT Gospels are anonymous
• Original title: Gospel of Jesus Christ
• Church attached “according to…” in 2nd
cent. CE to distinguish one from another

Gospel according to Mark
• Church tradition: John Mark, Jewish
associate of Paul in Acts
– Wrote from Peter’s preaching in Rome
– But inaccurate re. Jewish customs &
local geography
• For gentile Christians, 70 CE?
• Structure:
– Galilean ministry (chs. 1-9)
– Conflict in Jerusalem (chs. 10-16)

Gospel according to Matthew
• Church tradition: Matthew, Jewish, one of
the 12 disciples
• For: Matt is expert in Jewish customs and
local geography
• Against: Why copy from Mark?
• Written for Jewish-Christians, 85-90 CE?

Gospel according to Luke
• Church tradition: Luke, Greek
physician and associate of Paul
in Acts (also by Luke)
• Supported by:
– good Greek style
– Pauline influence
– emphasis on healing
• Written for gentile Christians,
70-100 CE

Gospel according to
John
• Differs from Synoptics:
– Style & theology
– Contents
– Arrangement
• But similar to 1,2,3 Letters of John
• Source is “the beloved disciple,” John 21:24
• Church tradition: John, son of Zebedee, one of
12 disciples, Jewish
• Modern historians: who knows?

Theo 2 - Introduction to The Gospels

2008-11-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

􀂋 Mark: @ 68-73 AD
􀂋 Matthew: @ 70-100 AD
􀂋 Luke: @ 80-100 AD
􀂋 John: @ 90-110 AD
􀂋 Gospels were written in Greek, although
Jesus and the disciples spoke Aramaic
– Some believe Matthew may have
originally been written in Aramaic and
later translated into Greek.

􀂋 There were many gospels written about Jesus,
but only four are considered canonical
􀂋 Other gospel accounts include the Gospel of
Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of
Mary
􀂋 These gospels were not accepted into the Bible
because they were not widely used by the early
church or bc they presented material that the
early Church Fathers thought were heretical

􀂋 Gospel authors were not attempting to write an
historical or biographical account of the birth, life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus
􀂋 Trying to write their theological understanding of
what Jesus’ birth, life, death & resurrection meant
for the salvation of the world
– Theology = faith seeking understanding; trying to
understand who God is in the context of our lives

􀂋 Have to remember that the Gospels
were written in a series of stages; 1st
stage in development of the Gospels
was in the life and teachings of Jesus.
􀂋 Jesus traveled thru out the land
preaching, speaking, teaching, &
performing miracles
􀂋 These events became the basis for the
Gospels

􀂋 We have to remember that Jesus was NOT a
Christian, he was a Jew
􀂋 The early Church saw themselves as a new
form of Judaism, didn’t ID as Christians until
later
􀂋 Jesus was God Incarnate but he was also the
“Son of Man”, he was a first century Jew who
spoke Aramaic, could read Hebrew and
probably also knew Greek.
􀂋 He spoke in the language and talked in a
style that 1st century Jews could understand

􀂋 As Jesus traveled, he handpicked men who
followed him, he called them the disciples and
they would later be called the Apostles
􀂋 Soon after Jesus’ death and Resurrection, the
disciples and others began to witness to others
about the Resurrection
􀂋 Second stage of the Gospels grew out of the
testimony and preaching of the eyewitnesses to
Jesus’ ministry and/or Resurrection and to early
practices in the Church, such as the Lord’s
Supper; these traditions may have been oral or
written & occurred @ 30 years after Jesus’
death

􀂋 It’s important to remember the context of this
second stage;
– Gospels ≠ modern newspapers or CNN
􀂋 Jesus’ words were not transcribed word for
word;
– Probably some written recording of some of his
sayings
– Disciples were more concerned about proclaiming
the significance of what God was doing in human
history thru the life, death and resurrection of Jesus

􀂋 Have to remember that as they were
sharing the Good News, the disciples were
talking to different people from different
cultures
􀂋 That’s why in some of the Gospels (e.g.,
Mark 7:3) the writers will stop and explain
Jewish customs because they were talking
about Jewish traditions to Gentiles

􀂋 Cultural differences + rapid growth = tailor
message to audience
􀂋 As church matures, movement begins to develop
a different THEOLOGICAL understandings of
what the Christ event meant
– Christ event = birth, life, death & resurrection
– Why John talks about Jesus as God Incarnate while
the other three Gospels do not
– Jesus as God incarnate is a later theological
understanding of who Jesus is

􀂋 Matthew, Mark, & Luke = Synoptic Gospels
– Synoptic = seeing together
􀂋 Called Synoptic Gospels because
– Often recount same stories about Jesus
– Often recount stories in same order
􀂋 Gospel of John is very different in style,
content & emphasis from Synoptic Gospels

Mark (@60-70)

􀂋 This Gospel is short and to the point; written for
Gentile audience in Rome
􀂋Mark is action packed –focuses more on what
Jesus did, not what Jesus said
􀂋 Mark’s Jesus is mysterious, Jesus is always
asking the disciples who he is & they never
quite get it
􀂋 Mark’s source is Peter
􀂋 Mark focuses a lot on the Passion narrative bc
Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man had to
die so we might live –focuses more on the
suffering of Jesus

Matthew (@70-100)

􀂋 Jesus is the fulfillment of OT Scriptures
􀂋 Matthew sets out to prove that Jesus is the
Messiah prophesied in the OT
􀂋Genealogy links Jesus to David and
Abraham thru his adoptive father Joseph
􀂋 More focus on Jesus coming for the
“House of Israel” first, only goes to Gentiles
when Jews refuse to accept him

Luke (@80-100 AD)

􀂋 Luke is the longest & most
comprehensive Gospel; covers Jesus’ life
from birth to death
􀂋 He was a Gentile physician and a
companion of Paul’s
􀂋 Only Gospel with detailed infant &
childhood stories
􀂋Luke’s Gospel is Universal: Jesus came
to save everyone

􀂋 Jesus came to save lost souls, to care for
those who are marginalized, including the
poor, children, women
􀂋 There are more stories about women in
Luke than in any other Gospel
􀂋 People are receptive to Jesus but the
leaders are not bc he came to change the
social order

John (@90-100 AD)

􀂋 He sets out to prove that Jesus is God incarnate;
Jesus is God revealed to the world
􀂋 John focuses more on what Jesus says, not what
Jesus does
􀂋 Focused more on his ministry in Judea and
Jerusalem, not Galilee
􀂋 John talks about Jesus as the Redeemer and
focuses more on the role of the Holy Spirit than
the other Gospels
􀂋 Talks more about Love & about himself than any
of the other Gospels

In Synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ public ministry
lasts one year; in John, it’s three years
􀂋 In the Synoptics, Jesus speaks in short
parables, in John, he speaks in long
discourses
􀂋 Jesus says a lot less about the
marginalized in John
􀂋 Foot washing replaces the Last Supper

Theo 2 - The Gospels

2008-11-17T04:38:00.000-08:00

Introduction to Sacred Scripture
The New Testament

The Gospel of Mark

This shortest of the New Testament gospels
is likely the first to have been written. It
recounts the ministry of Jesus a clear style,
one incident following another. Mark
stresses Jesus' message about the
kingdom of God now breaking into human
life as good news and Jesus himself as the
gospel of God. Jesus is the Son whom
God has sent to rescue humanity by serving
and by sacrificing his life.

The opening verse about good news in Mark
serves as a title for the entire book. The action
begins with the appearance of John the Baptist,
a messenger of God. But John points to
someone greater, Jesus, at whose baptism God
speaks from heaven, identifying Jesus a Son.
The Spirit comes upon Jesus, who eventually
will baptize "with the holy Spirit." Jesus
proclaims as gospel: fulfillment, the nearness of
the kingdom, and the need for repentance and
for faith.

In Mark, Jesus is portrayed as immensely
popular with the people in Galilee during his
ministry. He appoints twelve disciples to help
preach and drive out demons, just as he
does.
A key moment comes at the mid-point of the
gospel with Peter's confession that Jesus is
the Christ, the Messiah. But Jesus himself
emphasizes his passion, not glory in the
kingdom.

The Gospel of Mark ends in the oldest
manuscripts with an abrupt scene at
Jesus' tomb, which the women find
empty. Other hands have attached
additional endings after Mark 16:8.

Mark's Gospel is oriented toward Jesus as
the Son of God. He is the Messiah, the
anointed king of David’s line (Greek,
Christos.) Jesus is also seen as Son of
Man, a term used in Mark not simply as a
substitute for humanity in general or with
reference to a mighty figure who is to
come, but also in connection with Jesus'
predestined, necessary path of suffering
and triumph.

Mark shares with Paul, as well as with other
parts of the New Testament, an emphasis
on election and discipleship, and upon
the gospel as Christ and his cross. Mark
also emphasizes the humanity of Jesus as
well, his authentic human emotions: pity,
compassion, surprise, sadness, grief and
even anger.

Although by an unknown author (except for the
ancient heading "According to Mark”) it has
traditionally been assigned to John Mark, in
whose home in Jerusalem Christians
assembled. This Mark was a cousin of
Barnabas and accompanied Barnabas and
Paul on a missionary journey. He may have
been a disciple of Peter. The writer has
assembles various oral and possibly written
sources--miracle stories, parables, sayings,
stories of controversies, and the passion.

Probably written before 70 A.D. in Rome, at
a time of coming persecution, before the
destruction of Jerusalem. Probably
written for Gentiles, unfamiliar with Jewish
customs. The book tries to equip
Christians to stand faithful in the face of
persecution, while continuing the
proclamation of the gospel begun in
Galilee.

Gospel of Matthew

Some think the Gospel according to
Matthew was the first to be written, a
view that goes back to the second
century A.D. Today most scholars
believe it was the second written.

Matthew presents his story of Jesus,
the demands of Christian
discipleship, and the breaking-in of
the new and final age through his
ministry, particularly through his
death and resurrection.

The gospel begins with a genealogy of
Jesus starting with Abraham. He is
conceived of a virgin by the power of
the Spirit of God. The first of the
gospel's fulfillment citations, whose
purpose it is to show that he was the
one to whom the prophecies of Israel
were pointing, occurs here: he shall
be named Emmanuel, for in him God
is with us.

Matthew begins his account of the ministry
of Jesus, introducing it by the preaching of
John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus
where God claims him as "beloved Son",
and the temptations which show that true
sonship is obedience to the Father. The
central message of Jesus is the coming
of the kingdom and the need for
repentance, a complete change of heart
on the part of those who are to receive
this great gift of God.

Matthew shows Jesus preparing for the
establishment of his church with its
teaching authority that will replace
the Pharisees. The church of Jesus
will be built on Peter, who will be
given authority to bind and loose on
earth, an authority whose exercise
will be confirmed in heaven.

The concept of binding and loosing has
many meanings, including that of giving
authoritative teaching. This promise is
made to Peter directly after he has
confessed Jesus to be the Messiah, the
Son of the living God, a confession that
he has made as the result of revelation
given to him by the Father.

The passion is absolutely key to
Matthew’s Gospel. In Jesus'
absolute faithfulness to the Father's
will, accepting the cup of suffering,
the perfect model for Christian
obedience is given; in his death "for
the forgiveness of sins", the saving
power of God is revealed as never
before.

In his passion Jesus combines both the
obedient Son who goes in fulfillment of
the scriptures, sure of his vindication by
God, and the fear and abandonment
that he feels in face of death. These
two aspects are expressed by an Old
Testament theme of the suffering
Righteous One who complains to God
in his misery, but is certain of eventual
deliverance from his terrible ordeal.

Attributing this gospel to the disciple
Matthew may have been due to his
having been responsible for some of
the traditions found in it, but that is
far from certain.

Since Mark was written shortly before or
shortly after A.D. 70, Matthew was
composed certainly after that date,
which marks the fall of Jerusalem …
probably ten years later since
Matthew's use of Mark presupposes a
wide diffusion of that gospel. The post-
A.D. 70 date is confirmed within the
text by Matthew 22:7, which refers to
the destruction of Jerusalem.

Place of writing: possibly Antioch, the
capital of the Roman province of Syria.
That large/important city had a mixed
population of Greek-speaking Gentiles
and Jews. His gospel answers the
question how obedience to the will of
God is to be expressed by those who
live after the "turn of the ages," the
death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Gospel of Luke

This is the first of a two-volume work
that continues the history of God's
dealings with humanity found in the
Old Testament, showing that God's
promises to Israel are fulfilled in
Jesus and how the salvation
promised to Israel and accomplished
by Jesus has been extended to the
Gentiles.

The purpose of the two works is to provide
readers/hearers assurance about earlier
instruction they have received. Luke shows
that the preaching/teaching of the
apostles/disciples of the early church is
grounded in the preaching/teaching of
Jesus, who during his historical ministry
prepared his specially chosen followers
and commissioned them to be witnesses to
his resurrection and to all else that he did.

This continuity between the historical
ministry of Jesus and the ministry of
the apostles is Luke's way of
guaranteeing the fidelity of the
Church's teaching to the teaching of
Jesus.

No gospel writer is more concerned with the
role of the Spirit in the life of Jesus and the
Christian disciple, or with Jesus' concern
for women. While Jesus calls all humanity
to repent, he is particularly demanding of
those who would be his disciples. Of them
he demands absolute and total detachment
from family and material possessions. To
all who respond in faith and repentance to
the word Jesus preaches, he brings
salvation and peace and life.

Early Christian tradition identifies the author
of this gospel and Acts as Luke, a Syrian
from Antioch, who is mentioned in the New
Testament in Col 4:14, Philippians 1:24
and 2 Tim 4:11. Luke is not part of the first
generation of Christian disciples but is
dependent upon the traditions he received
from eyewitnesses/ministers of the word.
His two-volume work marks him as highly
literate both in the Old Testament traditions
and in Hellenistic Greek writings.

Among the likely sources for the composition of
this gospel are the Gospel of Mark, the written
Q collection of sayings of Jesus, and other
special traditions that were used only by
Luke. Because of its dependence on the
Gospel of Mark and because details in Luke's
Gospel imply that the author was acquainted
with the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Romans in A.D. 70, the Gospel of Luke is
dated by most scholars propose A.D. 80-90
as the time of composition.

Luke's substitution of Greek names for the
Aramaic/Hebrew names, his omission from
the gospel of specifically Jewish Christian
concerns, his interest in Gentile Christians,
and his poor knowledge of Palestinian
geography, customs, and practices
suggest that Luke was a non-Palestinian
writing to a non-Palestinian audience that
was largely made up of Gentile Christians.

Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles continues Luke's
biblical history, describing how the
salvation promised to Israel, accomplished
by Jesus, and now under the guidance of
the Holy Spirit is extended to the Gentiles.
This was accomplished through the chosen
representatives whom Jesus prepared
during his ministry and sent after his
resurrection as witnesses to all that he
taught. Of all those sent the roles of Peter
and Paul serve Luke's interest.

Peter was the leading member of the Twelve
and the spokesman for the Christian
community, who was responsible for the
growth of the community in the early days.
Paul eventually joined the community at
Antioch, which commissioned him and
Barnabas to take on the spread of the
gospel to Asia Minor. This missionary
venture generally failed to win the Jews but
enjoyed success among the Gentiles.

Paul's refusal to impose the Mosaic law upon
his Gentile converts provoked very strong
objection among the Jewish Christians of
Jerusalem, but both Peter and James
supported his position. Paul's second and
third missionary journeys resulted in the
same pattern of failure among the Jews
generally but of some success among the
Gentiles. Paul, like Peter, is presented as a
miracle worker and the object of divine
care.

In the development of the church from a
Jewish Christian origin in Jerusalem, to a
series of Christian communities among the
Gentiles of the Roman empire, Luke sees
the action of God in history opening the
hearts of all people to God’s message of
salvation.

His history of the apostolic church is the story
of a Spirit-guided community and a Spiritguided
spread of the Word of God. The
travels of Peter and Paul are in reality the
travels of the Word of God as it spreads
from Jerusalem to Rome.

Gospel of John

The Gospel according to John is different
in character from the other three
gospels. It is very literary, even poetic,
and symbolic. It does not follow the
same order or copy the same stories as
the synoptic gospels. It is much more the
product of a developed theology and
comes from different community
traditions. It was probably written in the
90’s.

The gospel contains many details not found
in the other gospels: that Jesus had a
baptizing ministry (John 3:22) before he
changed to one of preaching and signs;
that Jesus' public ministry lasted for
several years (3); that he traveled to
Jerusalem for various festivals and met
serious opposition long before his death;
and that he was put to death on the day
before Passover.

These events are not always in
chronological order because of the
development and editing that took place.
However, the accuracy and detail of John
suggest that John’s tradition rests upon
the testimony of an eyewitness. Although
tradition identified this person as John, the
son of Zebedee, most modern scholars
find that the evidence does not support
this.

The fourth gospel is not simply history; the
narrative has been organized and adapted
to serve the evangelist's theology as well.
Among them are the opposition to the
synagogue leaders, the desire to show
that Jesus was the Messiah, and the
desire to convince Christians that their
religious belief and practice must be
rooted in Jesus.

These ideas have impressed the writer
to emphasize themes and ideas that
were not so clear in the synoptic
account of Jesus' ministry, e.g., the
explicit emphasis on his divinity.

The author of this gospel seems to
take pains to show that women are
not inferior to men in the Christian
community: the woman at the well in
Samaria (John 4) is presented as a
prototype of a missionary, and the
first witness of the resurrection is a
woman.

The final editing of the gospel and
arrangement in its present form
probably dates from between A.D. 90
and 100. Traditionally, Ephesus has
been favored as the place of
composition, though many support a
location in Syria, perhaps the city of
Antioch, while some have suggested
other places, including Alexandria.

Inno

2008-11-16T03:58:00.000-08:00

we had several meetings yesterday and today.
thus i wasn't able to come home.
my mother visited me instead.
we had lunch.
she said:

"don't forget to pray your rosary."
"always remember who you are."
"take care of yourself."
"study harder."
"remember..."

we bought camping tents and other necessities.
i brought her to the terminal.
hugged and kissed her.
bid goodbye.
tears.

Social Development: Develop A Positive Attitude Each Day

2008-11-11T23:03:00.000-08:00

Step 1: DESCRIBE THE SITUATION
What is happening?
Learner claims that he/she begins each day feeling depressed and irritated, lacking energy, and expecting the worst to happen.

Step 2: ANALYZE THE SITUATION
Why is this a problem?
Learner has difficulty showing love and caring, maintaining emotional health, and doing his/her best on the job.
Who does this problem affect?
Family members, co-workers, and friends/acquaintances.
How are people affected by the problem?
Family members may not receive nurturing and affirmation;
Co-workers may experience problems getting along with learner;
Friends/acquaintances may avoid interacting with learner.

Step 3: IDENTIFY THE DESIRED OUTCOME
What is my goal concerning this problem?
To begin each day with a positive attitude.

Step 4: DETERMINE A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM
What are my options to solve this problem?
Learner responses will vary. Options may include intensive therapy, becoming a social recluse, or attempting to change one's attitude through self improvement.
Which option is best to solve this problem?
Learner should use positive self talk to improve attitude.

Step 5: DEVELOP A PLAN TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM
What resources will be needed to implement the plan?
1. Notebook and pen or pencil;
2. 3/5 index cards; and
3. Cassette player. These resources will be used to record positive self talk statements.
What steps are included in the plan?
1. Review differences between positive and negative self esteem;
2. Learn and practice positive self talk guidelines;
3. Develop a plan of action for each day in advance; and
4. Evaluate effectiveness of performance.
What is the time line for my plan?
(Timelines will vary and should be negotiated between learner and tutor.)
How will I know if my plan is successful?
1. Learner follows self talk guidelines;
2. Daily plan of action is developed;
3. Fewer incidents of depression and irritation are reported; and
4. Positive feedback from others.

Step 6: IMPLEMENT THE PLAN

Step 7: EVALUATE THE SUCCESS OF THE PLAN
Is the plan working? Why, or why not.
Learner responses will vary. Does learner believe that he/she is making progress? Is learner more energetic and productive at home and work?
Does the plan need revision? If so, how?
Tutor and learner should jointly decide if plan needs revision and determine necessary changes.
How has this problem and my solution affected my self esteem?
Learner responses will vary. Does learner understand the role of positive attitude in helping one cope with the challenges of daily living? Does learner feel better about him/herself?

Step 8: DECIDE HOW TO CELEBRATE MY SUCCESS
What will I do to reward myself for dealing with this problem?

Theo 4 - Notes (Intermittently revised)

2008-11-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

Theology 4
Christ and His Law of Love

Introduction
Theology I -

“God” – _____________,_____________ Religion -_________________________
-gives everlasting life/happiness __________________________
_____________________________

Everlasting Happiness
Everlasting Life
death

Answer/ Happiness –unlimited/infinite

Answers : Philosophy/Ideology- Hedonism, Humanism, Marxism - limited
(Answers / Happiness) – finite / limited
Man’s Quest: Life? Meaning / Meaningful?

God: _________________, ________________________,
: gives everlasting life/happiness/complete meaning of life.

Revelation - recorded in the ___________
(ex. Torah, etc.)

Religion - ______________________________________________________

_____________: man’s response

Happiness/Life’s Meaning- infinite / unlimited

death

Life’s Meaning, Happiness – finite, limited
Man’s Quest : Life? Meaning/ Meaningful?

God Created all things , (world and the human persons). They were in “paradise”

sin

Father : ------------Mission : Salvation

Abraham
Prophets ---------Theology I
Priests ----- O. T.
Kings
God Jesus -----------Mission : Salvation / Kingdom -------- Theology II
(Son)
(way,truth,life)
------ N.T.(Gospels)

____________
____________ : Mission : Salvation / Kingdom. --------- Theology III
(Apostles + Disciples)
------ Acts of the Apostles
And the Letters / Epistles.

Philippines Spain Rome Jerusalem

Theology IV
Living a Christian Life ( Morality )

Morality – science that deals with the quality of human acts.
- Practical Science (goodness/badness)

Morality and Humanization (What’s the relationship of morality
Who/What is man? With Humanization?
According to Natural Law ( Relationship of morality with human
Freedom?)

Natural Law: Laws within Nature: Nature has its own laws, pattern, order. __________________________________________.
• Not following natural law will lead to destruction (calamity/sickness/death)
Man is:
1. Rational Being
- only animal who knows that he knows
- discovers things by reason
- has mind/intellect / reason
2. has freewill / freedom
- he is free to choose between good and evil
3. Man can love
- loving being
Love – willingly desire the good of others
4. Body Person
- has flesh (physical part)
- has connection to the material world
5. Unique Though Social
- Man is Social Being (live with others) but remains unique (in relation with others)
6. Historical
- Man has continuity with the past / also controlled by time and space
7. Transcendental:-(always aims higher, transcend his achievements. also has metaphysical aspect.___________________________)

B. Man according to Salvation History (OLD TESTAMENT)
1. Man is the masterpiece of God
-Man is the Image and Likeness of God.
Man – mirror of God / “mirrors” God
ex:
God is loving – Man is loving
God is just – Man is just
God is good – Man is good
2. fundamentally good/innately good
• goodness is at the core of man’s being
3. God’s partner / “co – creators” of God(danger:People as God)
How: a.) in pro-creation (go ye & multiply)(Gen: 1:27)
b.) in developing nature (includes himself)
- perfecting nature
- development with ethics
- domination with morality
- development without morality = destruction

4. Weak/wounded/ - has the fallen nature
(can be tempted)
- theologically called _____________________.

5. Brother’s keeper

C. Man Accdg. to New Testament
1. We = sons and daughters of God/children of God
Jesus = is our brother
God = father
We belong to the family of God through ___________.

2. Man – Designed for the Kingdom

D. Man according to PCP II – man is the subject and the
Object of morality.

ACTIVITY: QUESTION: What does your nature has to say /do to your actions?
What are your ultimate goals in life?
How are your going to attain these goals? Ex.

ULTIMATE END/GOALS OF MAN
Accdg. to the following:
1. Oriental view
Hinduism
buddhism
- to submit oneself to the cosmic force
flow of cosmic force = will control you and your destiny

2. Hedonists:
ult. Goal: Happiness
- found in pleasure (sensual)
3. Marxism / Communism
ult. Goal : Classless Society.- to help promote the interest, progress, and development of the state.
danger: you can sacrifice the individual for the state

4. Atheistic Existentialism (by Jean Paul Sartre)
man: radically alone/ separated from society
- Why be concern of society?
- Why be concern of pollution?
Man’s life – is nothing

5. Nihilism:
Man and his life has no ultimate meaning.

6. Bradley
ult. Goal = self-realization
actualization of your potentials

7. Theistic (Anselm and Thomas A. etc.)
ult. Goal: the Highest GOOD The possession of God, or
God is man’s ultimate end
and the highest good – called Christian Ideal.

8. Stoicism (zeno)
ult. Goal: the highest good which is the happiness that
comes from morality.
9. S. Kierkegaard
Ult. Goal : Authentic Existence - to live in the present
not in the past (history)
nor in the hope of the future.
: be yourself- not fall in trends and the crowd.

10. Idealism :(E.Kant)-he based on different ethical systems,
Ult. Goal : Supreme Good – the most perfect world where
Men are happy and desire to be happy.
: Holiness – the most perfect but humanly
unattainable and it basis itself on the belief in the divine aid.
11. S.Freud.
Ult. Goal : “Pleasure principle” – Happiness = Pleasure
Libido is the cornerstone of the problem of happiness. There is no golden rule. Everyone must find out for himself how he can be happiest in this world.
12. Cynicism.
Ult. Goal:The Highest Good – which is the simple enjoyment of happiness.
(renounce worldly comfort and exercise self-control)

13. Christian view:
ult. Goal: Eternal union with God (in the kingdom), (perfection of yourself and the world)

ACTIVITY: QUESTION: How does your view of the ultimate goal of
Life affect your view of morality?

: Does your view of the ultimate goal of life match
Or coincide/fits the nature of man? Yes___or No____?
Why? _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
: Do all the ultimate goals of life/man mentioned above
Fits or suits the wholistic nature of man? Explain.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

MORALITY – a science that deals/concerns with the “quality” of human acts/actions. (goodness/badness)

NORM:Standard/criteria/Basis/Guidelines/Rules/Regulations/Laws

Morality accdg. to various authors:
1. Franz Bockle
Morality: concerns with free human conduct and is guided by revelation (sacred Scriptures, bible)
(that human conduct should be good to attain Destiny)
norm: ______________________

2. Antonio Sertillanges
Morality: Science of what man ought to be by reason of what he is. (ought- a thing that you should become based on your nature, reason of what he is = nature, he is human).
norm: _____________________

3. Michael Pennock:
Morality: Saying “YES” to God
norm: _____________________

4. Karl Marx
Morality: Regulation of the individual’s behavior in relation to society/ common good.
NORM:________________________

5. Utilitarianism
Norm – utility : If one administers to the temporal welfare and happiness of society. If not then one
is bad. One is bad if it hinders or obstruct the
happiness or temporal welfare of society.
= a thing is good if it works, it is useful if it promotes the good of society, if it gives good result.
= a person is immoral if not perform a role for the society.
6. Moral Positivism: (a defective norm of morality)
Norm : Law of the State : is the basis / source of all
moral law. An action is good if
conforms to the law of the state, if not then bad.

7. Pragmatism
Norm : practicality/workability – something is good if it works

8. Subjective Morality : Norm for moralizing the act depends
very much on the subject.

9. Objective Morality : Norm : objective norms

10. Intrinsic Morality : Norm : Nature of the act.

11. Extrinsic Morality : Norm : Outside the person/act.

12. Ethics of Being : Norm :
- your being /nature defines your actions
-presupposed that you know your being.

13. Ethics of Doing : find out and do actions that will lead
you to what you should be/become./destiny/being

Moral: Latin: Mos/moris: means: custom
Moral: good
Immoral: not good/bad/evil
Amoral: neither good nor bad (acts of man)
Ex: anger (passions)
Ethics: Greek: ethos: means custom
* A custom makes our actions right or wrong
Ethical: good
Unethical: not good

Theo 2 - Notes (Intermittently revised)

2008-11-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

Theo 2 - CHRISTOLOGY (The Universality of Christ's Salvation)

2008-11-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

1. The different models of salvation.
• There is a rich variety of biblical, liturgical and traditional language for salvation. The most significant keys to understand salvation are transforming love, victorious conflict and expiation.
Love
• This is the most promising key that sheds light on the other models.
• Pauline and Johannine theolgy converges in pronouncing the divine love to be the major key to redemption. God's initiative love clarifies the story of salvation. The central biblical versions of redemption such as reconciliation, adoption and covenant are to be understood in the context of love.
• The same applies to the biblical images of the human-divine relationship such as father/son, husband /wife, Teacher /disciples.
• Love is always transforming, redemptive and life-giving. Love wants to live and give life. Love conquers all amor vincit omnia That is why the Johannine proposition: God is love represents love as constituting God's being from which flows the economy of redemption.
• It is love that transformed humankind

Victorious Conflict
• Salvation is a victorious conflict with sin and death won by Christ.
• During the earthly ministry of Js, his excorcising activity was presented as a victorious conflict with Satanic power. His death and resurrection took place during the days when Jews celebrated their delivering from slavery to freedom (a victory over Pharoah and his oppressive power).
• Traditional language, especially liturgical languge in the post NT Church cherished the theme of Christ's redemptive victory with its paradoxical nature eg. the Exultet-- this is the night in which Christ, breaking the bonds of death, rose victorious from the tomb. Victime Paschale celebrated the "wonderful duel in which death and life fought".
• Yet, Christ's powerful dealing with sin occurs paradoxically through the "weakness" of the cross. He conquers sin through the powerful "weakness" of love. It is the death of the obedient Son on the cross that resulted in the victory of the resurrection.
• The self-giving love with which Christ accepted his passion prevails over the worst of human malice.

Expiation
• This is a rich biblical concept built around Christ as priest and victim who offers once and for all and as our representative the sacrifice which expiated sin and inaugurated the new Covenant. 1 Jn 2:2 confesses: "He is the expiation for our sins and the sins of the world."
• This model takes up the theme of reparation for / or a disturbed moral order.
• In the middle age, St. Anselm's theory of satisfaction explained how Christ's death restored the divine honour which sin offends. Now it has become conventional to dismiss this theory as legalistic and setting limits to divine love.
• Yet a correct understanding of the nature of sin may help us to appreciate this model. Sin is an offense against God, at the same time, it does harm to others and ourselves. At the human level, situations damaged by sin need to be set right even after sinners have repented and received pardon. Between human beings matters of injustice call for reparation.
• The belief that redemptive value of vicarious suffering (suffering endured on behalf of others could cleanse and renew moral order ) was alive in pre-Christian Judaism and Greco-Roman religious thought (also in other religions).
• Any idea that God needs reparation should be banished as if some kind of moral order is above God. See O'Donnell--God takes human freedom seriously.
• Christ expiates and makes reparation for sin in the sense of definitively dealing with sin and the sinful world for us. As victim of our wrongdoing, he provides us wrongdoers with the means of rising about our sins
• It is not the astrocious suffering Christ underwent that has value in and of itself. However, since it was loving and obedient self-giving that leads to his death, his total innocence and his divine identity gave unique value his self-sacrifice.
• Nor did God directly mandate the violent of Christ. Rather, the passion and crucifixion should be thought of as the inevitable consequences of Js' loving fidelity to his mission which he lived out for us in a cruel and sinful world. (Love is vulnerable).
• Christ represents us --"While we were still sinners Christ died for us (Rm 5:8) He acted on our behalf and to our advantage atone for our sins before we agree to this. Yet redemption entails participation. Expiation is no mere transaction between Father and Son which remains extrinsic to us. It is an event into which we should also ourselves be drawn.
• Apostles and Christians in general can suffer for others. When we accept suffering as an extension of Christ's passion, we can properly believe that this helps to purify and renew a contaminated world.
• All these models are complementary and no models can exhaust the rich meaning of salvation. Yet it is love that explains the reason of all these salvific actions

2. The Universality of the Mediation of Christ
• NT does not waver in acknowledging Christ as the one Saviour for all people, that his redemptive role is universal (w/out exception), unique (without //), complete (convey fullness of salvation) and definitive (cannot be surpassed).
• This redemptive role will also have its impact on the whole of creation.
• Biblical texts on the universal role of Christ : Acts 4:11-12 : There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name in the world given to men by which we are to be saved.
• 1Tim 2:5-6 God is one. One also is the Mediator between God and men, the man JC, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.
• This indispensable and necessary role of Christ can be summarized by a new axiom: Extra Christus nulla salus.
• Claims about Js as the mediator of salvation for all people emerge from faith in him as the Risen Lord. His resurrection has inaugurated the general resurrection. At the end he will be the saving goal for all men and women --as the universl judge and he light of the heavenly Jerusalem.
• The teleological conviction that Christ is goal of humankind goes hand inn hand with a strong sense of his universal salvific role here and now. 5 considerations for such a claim:
 The universal presence of HS relates the whole history of humanity to Cx , it enacts the universal relevance of Christ's redemptive work. Since there is no zone outside grace and HS, there is no universal zone outside Cx.
 The Kingdom of God with its universal dimension is linked with the very person with Cx. Since he is the agent of a divine kingdom that is and will be all-inclusive, he is also the agent of universal salvation.
 Through his Incarnation, Cx is moved into historical solidarity with all human beings. As GS 22 points out: by his Incarnation, the Son of God has in a certain way united himself with every human being. Hence to experience and receive God's grace through other human beings is to experience and receive grace through the incarnate Cx.
 Cx is acknowledged the agent of creation: all things were created through him and for him ..in him all things hold together (Col 1:16-17). So wherever the created world and its inner and outer history mediate God's grace, those who receive this saving grace are in fact receiving it through Cx.
 As divine, Christ is universally present, actively influencing the mediation of redemption to all. In the Resurrection Js is present in a new way in the HS. If Christ is everywhere, he must also be present to everyone. Love constitutes the heart of redemptive Christology, active presence is its mode. Therefore He is also present outside of Christianity.
• It was Js' humanity that made his dying and rising possible, it was his divinity that gave that dying and rising a cosmic value.

E. OTHER THEMES
1) The personal pre-existence of Christ. According to J.D.G. Dunn (Christology in the Making, 2ed., 1989) such a pre-existence of Christ is found for the first time in the prologue of Jn. However 1Cor 8:6; 2Cor 8:9; Gal 4:4; Phil 2:6-8! The necessary help of the philosophers; sees the philosophical lack of K. - J. Kuschel, Geboren vor aller Zeit (1990; vers. ingl., ital.).
 1 Cor 8:6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
 2 Cor 8:9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
 Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
 Phil 2:6-11
◘ Paul is more interested in the post-existence than the pre-existence of Christ
◘ Yet pre-existence is important for the Incarnation
2) The incarnation. Is the incarnation unique or universal according to Hegel? The modern objections:: Jesus doesn't teach about his incarnation; his apostles developed it slowly; a false passage from the poetry of the NT (eg Col 1, Phil 2, Hb 1, Jn 1) to the metaphysical prose of the Council of Nicea etc. The attempt to use a functional language only. Jesus embodied varied values revealing God and the divine plan for us. A person with two natures = a contradiction in terms? How to understand not only two wills (Constantinopoli III) but also the two minds of Christ?
 Jesus never talked about his hypostatic union, but his self-knowledge and his acts had this implications
God (Jn)

man
 Paul recognizes the divine nature of JS: “Lord, Kyrios” ; 1 Cor 8:6
 Hegel: it is a wrong passage from the poems of NT to the metaphysical prose of the Councils
 The use of functional language eg. Ousia, hypostatic are philosophy but not contradictory to the Bible
 Some prefer not to use philosophical terms, but other terms like Js reveals God, Js is truth, grace...etc but a person functions this way only he is ontologically so
Function Ontology
 2 natures: fields of references, cannot demonstrate positively the possibility of Incarnation
 2 wills of Jesus
3) The virginal conception: A revealed truth or biological fact (Schillebeeckx, Küng, Moltmann)?
 In Mt, Lk, as historical truth
 Informative but also brings forth some revealed truth.
4) The Pre-Paschal history of Jesus. “The apostles... who by their oral preaching, by example and by observances handed on what they had received from the lips of Christ, from living with him and from what he did, or what they had learned through the prompting of the Holy Spirit.” (DV, 7). The importance of the Synoptic Gospels (= the importance of the pre-Paschal history of Jesus) for Christology (eg that of the liberation) and the soteriologia; his pretexts and intentions. The attempts to introduce it like a cynical philosopher (Nietzsche).
 DV does not limit Revelation to the life of JC only.
 What is the self-knowledge of Js when he says, “no one know the Father except the Son?”
 His preaching on the Kingdom of God
 Js is a cynical philosopher (Nietzsche)?
◘ There is not really a cynical school in the time of Js
◘ Moreover, one has to take note that Js has an eschatological thrust in his preaching (May your Kingdom Come!)
5) Jesus faced with his death (Hengel, Léon-Dufour, Pesch, Schürmann etc).
 Action can go beyond one’s intention
6) The resurrection. What does the Paschal affirmation want to say primarily? How to reflect on the resurrection for a theology of liberation? In the key of liturgy? Are the Risen Lord and the Holy Spirit identified (2Cor 3:17—“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”)? Can Pneumatology absorb Christology? But “we have” the Spirit; “we are” children and daughters in the Son. The “mission” is an analogical term.
 According to Marxsen, the cause of Js continues
 Resurrection first of all is for Js personally, secondarily, it has many consequences for us, for our justification. Injustice does not have the last word.
 The key of Liturgy: The core of the Liturgy is the Paschal Mystery
 Jesus identified with the Spirit? 2 Cor 3:17
◘ There is close collaboration between Js and HS in the mission
◘ Paul never says that HS is born of the virgin Mary, or crucified or raised from the dead.
◘ There is no clear  doctrine but there is already clear distinction between the persons.∴ no absorption of Christology by Pneumatology
 The “mission” is an analogical term—The Spirit is in the Son, the Spirit is poured into our hearts (Rm). The mission is not identical.

7) Jesus as the only Savior for all. John Hick et others are opposed to the principle “extra Christums nulla salus.” See K. Rahner, J. Dupuis and G. D’costa. The recovery of a Christology and soteriology elaborated in the light of feminism, of the wisdom of cultures and religions, (Fides et Ratio, 31) and of the ecological crisis?
 John Hick : opposed to “extra Christus nulla salus” ∵ there are many saviours for him
 Js reveals Himself as the only Saviour in the future glory (already and not yet)
 Rahner uses the tern Absolute Saviour
 Js as Wisdom: FR 3