The Christian Story • God constantly communicated himself and his plan of loving goodness to us o In creation o Throughout Israel’s history o Most perfectly and fully in Jesus Christ o Through the Holy Spirit o Through the Church • Revelation of God is God’s manifestation of Himself to humankind in such a way that men and women can know and fellowship with Him Understanding the Sources of Christian Morality • The Sources of Christian Morality o Human experience o Scripture o Church teachings • Sacred Scriptures o Revealed to mankind through divine inspiration o Inspired record of the people’s encounter and relationship w/ God o How God revealed himself and related to them o How they responded to God, and how they remembered and interpreted their experiences o “The Book of the People of God” or the Book of the Church o QahalàChurch->assemblyàGod • Analogy in Interpreting the Scriptures o Intention of the author o Literary form and style o Its readers o Overall perspective of life and living • Church Tradition/Teachings o The teachings of the Church Fathers, the life and teachings of the Christian community and the example of saints o “The wisdom of the Christian community” o The faithful interpreter of the Sacred Scripture • Human Experience
o Refers to the wisdom of our experiences as a community or the fruit of careful reflection about the common good. Christian Morality Christian morality asks, “What should I do?” • Indication of hunger to be truly free and truly happy • Deep yearning for something more than ordinary success • There must be more to life than our accomplishments, possessions or reputation • Like that rich young man, we have a yearning to of what is good and to be genuinely happy. Christian morality entails being true to our relationship with God • Jesus is the SOURCE, GROUND, and the ULTIMATE REFERENCE for our understanding of “goodness” • The key aspect of lived morality is not just “doing” the right things and avoiding