Moral Theology – Form IV
Fall 2006

Syllabus

 Textbook/Materials:
*  The Holy Bible
*  R. Kereszty, Basics of Catholic Moral Theology
*  Photocopied reading selections from various sources
*  Newspapers/Magazines

Major Themes:

            General Introduction

             I.     The Nature of Sin:  How Christ Handles Sinners

Exam 1 – Week of Sept. 11-15

II.  The Nature of Forgiveness;  The Sacrament of Reconciliation

Exam 2 – Week of Oct 2-6

III.   The Human Conscience and the Law (Divine, Natural, Human)

Exam 3 – Week of Nov. 6-10

IV. Sharing in the Life of Christ:  Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love

Exam 4 – Week of Nov. 27-30

V.  Humility and the Cardinal Virtues

Exam 5 – Week of Dec. 11-15

            Semester Review

Course Method:   The course seeks to offer a basic understanding of Catholic Moral teaching and to stimulate interest in man’s proper response to God’s generous self-revelation of Infinite Love.  Class discussion will presuppose that each student has read the assigned readings from the textbook/handouts and have answered the accompanying review questions for each class.  To encourage active participation and to ensure comprehension of the material, most every class will begin with a short quiz.  Personal reflection and independent study with classmates and/or family members is a primary aim of the course.

Grading:   The average of quizzes/homework will count for 30%, the average of exams and semester paper as 60%, and class participation will account for 10% of the final grade.  The final exam and semester paper each count as two regular test grades.

Independent Reading:
St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians
To compliment much that will be discussed in moral theology and also to help foster habits of regular spiritual reading, each student will be assigned approx. one chapter of St. Paul's Letter to the Corinthians to read each week.  On the quiz beginning each Friday class, students should expect at least two or three questions about the assigned chapter, in addition to questions pertaining to class discussion or homework.  A semester schedule of assigned chapters will be distributed the first week of classes and will be posted on this website.

Theological Vocabulary
As last year, each student will be asked to familiarize themselves with 15 vocabulary words from the back of their bibles.  At the beginning of each Wednesday class, students should expect a quiz over these terms, in addition to questions pertaining to class discussion or homework.  A semester schedule of assigned words per week will be distributed the first week of classes and will be posted on this website

Lives of the Saints:
To illustrate how the Christian Moral Life can be and has been lived both in ancient and modern times, students will periodically be given packets to read pertaining to the life of various saints/holy persons.  Where possible, the packet will also contain excerpts of the saint's own writing.  Students will be given about a week to read the packet, and will be quizzed over their reading.  .

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