Saint Mary's Press
Chapter 37: The Bible, the Old Law, and the New Law
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God revealed the Old Law, the Ten Commandments, to give the Chosen People
guidelines on how to live in right relationship
with God and one another.
Jesus revealed the New Law, the Law of
Love, with the help of the Holy Spirit, as a
completion and fulfillment of the Old Law.
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The Bible offers advice and guidelines for
making good moral choice
Chapter 38: Living the Moral Life
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Free will is the basis for our moral responsibility, and we look to Sacred Scripture toguide our choices.
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The Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) given to us by Jesus
summarize God’s law for us.
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The natural law is an inborn understanding of what is good. God uses the teachings of the Old Law to prepare us for the Good News of Jesus in the Gospels.
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Virtues are habits we develop to help us
consistently do the right thing. The cardinal virtues (human virtues) and theological virtues help us walk the paths of faith and reason and come closer to God
Chapter 39: Moral Decision Making
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When judging the morality of an action,
we must consider the object, intention, and
circumstances.
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Freedom is the ability to make good and
right choices based on a well-formed conscience. Sins are offenses against God.
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Our relationship with God and our neighbor
should be the focus of our lives.
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The Church offers us guidelines that, help us
grow in our love of God and neighbor.
Chapter 40: Honoring God
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God always comes first in our lives.
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The name of the Lord, our God, is sacred, and we should treat it
with respect.
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Sunday is a day to celebrate our love of God and recreate ourselves by refreshing our minds, bodies, and spirits, all for God’s
glory.
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The students will review the first three commandments and the
earlier three learning outcomes for this chapter
Chapter 41: Honoring Family
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The Fourth Commandment, “Honor your father and your mother,” requires us to honor, respect, and obey our parents and those in
legitimate authority over us.
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Being a family is hard work, and respect between children and parents is a two-way street.
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We take our understanding of honoring our families into the world by living out the Fourth Commandment in the larger society.
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We take our understanding of honoring our families into the world by living out the Fourth Commandment in the larger society.