1heology 131/ Marlles A.

8or[a/2
nd
SemesLer, S? 2013-2014 C-L
Wk 1: 11/4-8 1nL 1nLCLCG kCGkAM

8evlewlng 1he 1heology rogram
A. 1heology and lalLh
1heology - SL. Anselm descrlbed lL as: falLh seeklng undersLandlng or
!"#$% '()$*$+% "+,$--$.,(/
lalLh - def'n: 1he lalLh vs. my falLh (?r of lalLh - 30 yrs afLer vaL. ll,
20 yrs afLer CCC - CcL. 2012-CcL. 2013)
1he lalLh - conLenL - can'L belleve, lL Lakes LCLL Lo belleve
My falLh - whaL l belleve, do and celebraLe, dependenL on 1he lalLh
(noL ln a vacuum)
C: Can you go Lhrough llfe noL bellevlng?
A: nC, need Lo belleve ln someLhlng or someone, may noL be Cod,
buL we are falLh creaLures, need Lo belleve and 18uS1 - LrusL LhaL
your parenLs, or Lhe cook ln a resLauranL or whaLever ls noL ouL Lo
geL you, human falLh
lalLh ln Cod - lf choose noL Lo belleve ln an lnflnlLe, 1ranscendenL
8elng, wlll belleve" ln someLhlng or someone else
C: WhaL ls more lmporLanL?
8elaLlon of Lheology and falLh?
1PL lalLh ls conLenL, ob[ecLlve
M? falLh ls a personal appllcaLlon of 1PL lalLh, sub[ecLlve, nC1 prlvaLe,
nC1 relaLlve buL refers Lo Lhe sub[ecL.

8. ulmenslons of lalLh - uMW/uLL
We were Lalklng abouL whaL falLh ls earller. lalLh ls boLh a glfL from Cod
(?ou can'L belleve wlLhouL Cod havlng glven you Lhe glfL of falLh.) buL also a
Lask, our dolng. (?ou need Lo work ouL your falLh.)
As such, lalLh and falLh has Lhree dlmenslons: docLrlne, morals and
worshlp.

uocLrlne was LradlLlonally LhoughL of as Lhe whole Church message, lncludlng Lhe sacramenLs
and Lhe llLurgy. now, however, we glve a more speclflc deflnlLlon Lo docLrlne. When we Lalk
abouL docLrlne Loday, accordlng Lo Lhe naLlonal CaLecheLlcal ulrecLory for Lhe hlllpplnes (or
nCu), we Lalk abouL baslc creedal LruLhs (Lhe creed). Lxamples of Lhese LruLhs LhaL we belleve
ln are creaLlon, orlglnal sln, redempLlon ln !esus ChrlsL, Lhe 1rlnlLy, grace, Lhe Church, Mary and
eLernal desLlny. Many of Lhem are sLaLed ln Lhe AposLle's Creed, whlch we reclLe afLer Lhe
homlly on Sundays. All of Lhese, as baslc creedal LruLhs, are SAvlnC LruLhs. 1hey heal us,
llberaLe us, and Lransform us lnLo Lrue ChrlsLlans. 1hey have Lhe power Lo lnsplre us Lo do good
and Lhey make us open ourselves Lo Cod ln prayer. 1hey aren'L [usL any klnd of LruLh, buL are
llfe-changlng and llfe-glvlng.

1he moral dlmenslon of our lalLh ls also known as Lhe code. 1hese can elLher be rules or
precepLs (llke Lhe 1en CommandmenLs, Lhe 8eaLlLudes, or Lhe Commands of !esus), values
(respecL for llfe, [usLlce, chasLlLy, LruLh, human dlgnlLy, eLc.), or fundamenLals/baslcs of morallLy
(llke freedom, consclence, and sln).

1he worshlp dlmenslon of lalLh ls also known as culL. 1hls ls prayer. Lxamples of Lhls are
personal or communal prayer, llLurgy and Lhe sacramenLs.

uocLrlne, morals and worshlp dlmenslons are Lhe reallLles of our lalLh. ?ou cannoL Lruly be a
ChrlsLlan wlLhouL all Lhree. And ln reallLy, you cannoL really separaLe Lhese dlmenslons of lalLh.
lf you lack one dlmenslon, Lhen Lhere ls someLhlng wrong. ?ours ls noL an auLhenLlc lalLh. lor
as human persons, lL ls Lhe whole person who responds Lo Cod. lL ls never [usL Lhe mlnd LhaL
responds, or [usL Lhe hearL, or [usL Lhe hands. lL ls Lhe whole person! lf l say l belleve ln Cod
(docLrlne), l wlll Lhen do good (morals), and celebraLe Lhls bellef ln Lhe sacramenLs and ln
prayer (worshlp). 1he moral and worshlp dlmenslons of our lalLh brlng ouL Lhe experlenLlal
dlmenslon because Lhe moral ls Lhe llvlng ouL, whlle Lhe worshlp ls Lhe celebraLlng of Lhe lalLh.

1he charL below may be of some asslsLance Lo furLher undersLand how Lhe Lhree dlmenslons of
our lalLh work LogeLher lnslde us:

ulMLnSlCn !n.
14,6
LC 31,
34-36

Creed uocLrlne Leachlng Word 1ruLh ropheL ConvlcLlon
CommandmenLs
(Code)
Morals 8ules/precepLs WlLness Way klng CommlLmenL
SacramenLs
(CulL)
Worshlp prayer Worshlp Llfe rlesL 1rusL
Source: naLlonal CaLecheLlcal ulrecLory for Lhe hlllpplnes (nCu) a.k.a., MaLurlng ln Lhe lalLh.

abuses of uMW (dogmaLlsm, acLlvlsm, rlLuallsm)
WhaL ls Lhe mosL lmporLanL dlmenslon of lalLh?

C. Sources of lalLh - SS (prlvlleged norm), C1 (drawn from Church 1rad,
grounded by SS and lnLerpreLed by Church's MaglsLerlum), and PL
(emplrlcal and normaLlve), Church uses PL ln deepenlng lLs
undersLandlng of Lhe h person

!usL as our lalLh has Lhree dlmenslons, whlch are dlsLlncL buL lnseparable (lf our lalLh ls Lo be
auLhenLlc), our lalLh also has Lhree sources. lor whaL would we base our bellefs, lovlng acLs
and celebraLlon of whaL we belleve, on? 1he Lhree sources of our lalLh are Sacred ScrlpLure
(SS), Church 1radlLlon (C1) and Puman Lxperlence (PL).

Sacred ScrlpLure or Lhe 8lble ls whaL we call Lhe prlvlleged norm," because lL ls Lhe Word of
Cod. lL ls Lhe prlvlleged norm because only Lhe 8lble ls Lhe Word of Cod." 1haL ls why lL ls
holy. (AnyLhlng LhaL perLalns Lo Cod ls holy.) lLs words are llvlng words (noL dead" or sLaLlc
words) spoken, handed down orally and wrlLLen a long Llme ago. (ln facL, Lhe Word of Cod ls
called a Lwo edged sword!) Pebrews 4,12 says,

01,2$ 34*# 4! 54# "% -"6"+7 )+# $!!$.,"6$8 %2)*9$* ,2)+ )+: ,;4<$#7$# %;4*#8
9$+$,*),"+7 $6$+ =$,;$$+ %4(- )+# %9"*",8 >4"+,% )+# /)**4;8 )+# )=-$ ,4 #"%.$*+
*$!-$.,"4+% )+# ,24(72,% 4! ,2$ 2$)*,?@

We belleve LhaL Lhe Word conLlnues Lo come allve Loday, Lo speak Lo each one of us.

Why ls Sacred ScrlpLure sacred? lL ls because lL ls Cod's Word. lL ls deflned as Lhe wrlLLen,
lnsplred wlLness Lo Lhe self-dlsclosure of Cod Lhrough !esus ChrlsL. 1hls means LhaL Cod
revealed Plmself Lo us, and Lhe !ewlsh communlLy aL LhaL Llme wlLnessed Cod's savlng power
LhroughouL Lhe ages, and wroLe abouL lL. lL ls lnsplred, because lL ls wrlLLen by Lhe power of Lhe
Poly SplrlL. A$" B$*=(/, one of Lhe 16 documenLs of vaLlcan ll apLly descrlbes Lhe 8lble as Lhe
Word of Cod wrlLLen ln Lhe words of men." (uv#13) lL ls Cod's Word expressed ln Lhe way man
would express lL. (Cod dld noL dlcLaLe whaL Lhe wrlLers were Lo say, word for word. 1he
8lbllcal wrlLers used Lhelr own human words, buL were lnsplred by Cod's SplrlL, so LhaL whaL
Lhey wroLe were only whaL Cod wanLed Lhem Lo wrlLe, no more and no less.)

1he enLlre 8lble ls all abouL how Cod saves Pls people. 1he cllmax of Lhe enLlre 8lble ls !esus'
redempLlon of all manklnd, especlally lllusLraLlng Pls passlon, deaLh and resurrecLlon. 1he Cld
1esLamenL speaks of Lhe promlse of Cod Lo Pls people, whereas Lhe new 1esLamenL ls Lhe
fulflllmenL of Lhe promlse, found ln ChrlsL, our Savlor and Messlah.

lL ls Sacred ScrlpLure LhaL grounds Church LradlLlon. lL ls Lhe prlvlleged basls of Church LradlLlon
because lL conLalns Lhe deflnlLlve revelaLlon of !esus ChrlsL. lL ls only ln Lhe 8lble LhaL ChrlsL's
savlng power of all manklnd ls revealed and proclalmed. ?eL some clrcumsLances Loday are
confuslng because ChrlsL never sald a word abouL aborLlon, nuclear arms, Lhe envlronmenL, a
person's rlghL Lo dle, and women's rlghLs. lL ls Lhe role, Lhen, of Lhe ChrlsLlan communlLy Lo
apply Lhe Leachlngs of !esus Lo lssues faclng people ln each age and generaLlon and Lhe
MaglsLerlum (whlch ls Lhe offlclal Leachlng auLhorlLy of Lhe Church) has a speclal role as
Leachers. 1hls ls where Church LradlLlon comes ln.

Church LradlLlon ls Lhe LoLal llfe of Lhe Church ouL of whlch Sacred ScrlpLure has developed.
Church LradlLlon ls Lhe conLexL of whlch Sacred ScrlpLure ls relnLerpreLed accordlng Lo Lhe
needs of Lhe Church. lL ls Lhe Church LhaL lnLerpreLs Lhe Sacred ScrlpLure, conflrmlng, clarlfylng,
deepenlng and conLexLuallzlng lL. Whereas Church LradlLlon conLalns Lhe Word of Cod, Sacred
ScrlpLure lS Lhe Word of Cod. 8uL boLh form a slngle deposlL of falLh (A$" B$*=(/ # 10) and
Lherefore are boLh hlghly esLeemed.

Sacred ScrlpLure ls consLanL ln LhaL we do noL add or subLracL anyLhlng from Lhe Cood 8ook
(whlch ls acLually a llbrary of books). 8uL Church LradlLlon ls vasL and wlde, and lncludes Lhe
experlences of Lhe Church before ScrlpLure and long afLer ScrlpLure. ?eL, Church LradlLlon does
noL llve aparL from ScrlpLure. lL ls always based on ScrlpLure because ScrlpLure, as we have
menLloned lS Lhe prlvlleged norm. WhaL Church LradlLlon does ls lL brlngs ScrlpLure Lo Lhe
presenL momenL, relnLerpreLlng lL Lo Loday. And as was menLloned earller, Lhe role of Lhe
MaglsLerlum as Lhe collecLlve wlsdom of Lhe Church, plays a very large role. lL ls Lhey (Lhe ope
and Lhe college of blshops) who declare Lhe LruLhs abouL our lalLh, grounded on ScrlpLure, Lo
Lhe currenL slLuaLlon of every age. (Cf course, we musL llkewlse Lake noLe LhaL ScrlpLure grew
from Sacred 1radlLlon, noL ln a vacuum. 8uL whlle ScrlpLure ls a book, Church LradlLlon
conLlnues beyond lL.)

Church Leachlngs flow from Church LradlLlon. Lxamples of Church Leachlngs are lnLernaLlonal
sources llke vaLlcan ll, Lhe CaLechlsm of Lhe CaLhollc Church (CCC) and Lhe ope's encycllcals
(papal encycllcals). Lxamples of local sources are Lhe CaLechlsm for llllplno CaLhollcs (ClC), Lhe
naLlonal CaLecheLlcal ulrecLory for Lhe hlllpplnes (nCu), Lhe Second lenary Councll of Lhe
hlllpplnes (C ll) and leLLers by Lhe CaLhollc 8lshops' Conference of Lhe hlllpplnes (C8C).

Church LradlLlon ls Lhe resulL of Lhe dlalogue beLween Sacred ScrlpLure and Lhe changlng and
growlng reallLles of hlsLory. 1hls brlngs us Lo Lhe Lhlrd source of our lalLh: human experlence.

In my desire to help you understand the relationship of the Church and the modern world, here's a quote
from one of the 16 documents of Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, which is the Pastoral Constitution on the
Church in the Modern World. It says:

44. Just as it is in the world's interest to acknowledge the Church as an historical reality, and to recognize her
good influence, so the Church herself knows how richly she has profited by the history and development of
humanity. The experience of past ages, the progress of the sciences, and the treasures hidden in the various
forms of human culture, by all of which the nature of man himself is more clearly revealed and new roads to
truth are opened, these profit the Church, too. For, from the beginning of her history she has learned to express
the message of Christ with the help of the ideas and terminology of various philosophers, and and has tried to
clarify it with their wisdom, too. Her purpose has been to adapt the Gospel to the grasp of all as well as to the
needs of the learned, insofar as such was appropriate. Indeed this accommodated preaching of the revealed
word ought to remain the law of all evangelization. For thus the ability to express Christ's message in its own
way is developed in each nation, and at the same time there is fostered a living exchange between the Church
and' the diverse cultures of people.(22) To promote such exchange, especially in our days, the Church requires
the special help of those who live in the world, are versed in different institutions and specialties, and grasp
their innermost significance in the eyes of both believers and unbelievers. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is
the task of the entire People of God, especially pastors and theologians, to hear, distinguish and interpret the
many voices of our age, and to judge them in the light of the divine word, so that revealed truth can always be
more deeply penetrated, better understood and set forth to greater advantage. Since the Church has a visible
and social structure as a sign of her unity in Christ, she can and ought to be enriched by the development of
human social life, not that there is any lack in the constitution given her by Christ, but that she can understand it
more penetratingly, express it better, and adjust it more successfully to our times. Moreover, she gratefully
understands that in her community life no less than in her individual sons, she receives a variety of helps from
men of every rank and condition, for whoever promotes the human community at the family level, culturally, in
its economic, social and political dimensions, both nationally and internationally, such a one, according to God's
design, is contributing greatly to the Church as well, to the extent that she depends on things outside herself.
Indeed, the Church admits that she has greatly profited and still profits from the antagonism of those who
oppose or who persecute her.(23)

This is from GS 44. Go, Church!

Puman experlence ls Lhe Lerm used Lo descrlbe Lhe daLa Laken from naLural law (called
normaLlve human experlence) and from Lhe emplrlcal sclences (called emplrlcal human
experlence). WhaLever comes from Lhe dlsclpllnes of sclence, psychology, medlclne,
phllosophy, eLc. or from whaL ls consldered Lhe naLural law, ls human experlence.

WhaL ls Lhe naLural law? naLural law (or whaL ls someLlmes called Lhe unlversal law or
unlversal rule) ls a norm LhaL blnds all persons, cuLLlng Lhrough culLural and soclal convenLlons.
lL ls a norm LhaL governs an obllgaLlng drlve Lo full and auLhenLlc personhood. 1hls [usL means
LhaL Lhere are cerLaln unspoken laws (naLural) LhaL blnd all peoples and all culLures, noL
because Lhey all declded on lL, buL some common law was found among all of Lhem. lL's a
unlversal law LhaL ls followed by Lhe Chlnese and Lhe Caucaslan and Lhe Afrlcan, because Lhey
are all human. 1herefore, Lhey reacL ln Lhe same way, where educaLlon had noLhlng Lo do wlLh
lL. 1he naLural moral law we all yearn for ls Lhe [oy of belng allve, frlendshlp, peace and [usLlce.

1he emplrlcal sclences, on Lhe oLher hand, are whaL glve us deeper lnslghL lnLo a person and hls
behavlor ln communlLy. sychology, soclology, and oLher soclal sclences help us Lo undersLand
Lhe human person beLLer. 1he Church musL Lake Lhese reallLles abouL man lnLo conslderaLlon
when lnLerpreLlng ScrlpLure ln Lhe presenL age. 1he realm of knowledge on Lhe person's psyche
and Lhe llke ls Lhe realm of Lhese soclal sclences, noL falLh and so Lhe Church acknowledges Lhe
need Lo Lake Lhese lnLo conslderaLlon due Lo Lhe naLure of Lhese sclences versus Lhe naLure of
falLh. As such, falLh deals wlLh Lhe WP? of humanlLy and brlngs lL meanlng, whlle Lhe sclences
deal wlLh Lhe PCW of Lhlngs usually.

1here ls Lhe need for consLanL dlalogue beLween Church LradlLlon grounded on Sacred ScrlpLure
and Puman Lxperlence ln maLLers of morallLy. MorallLy can be very confuslng and many have
goLLen lnLo serlous debaLes abouL moral lssues. 1herefore, lL ls buL proper Lo have LhaL
consLanL dlalogue.

u. 1he 1heology rogram & 1he lnLerrelaLlon of Lach Course

1. Why does Lhe ALeneo have a Lheology program? WhaL's lLs purpose?
WhaL's lL abouL?
1he 1heology rogram
- composed of 4 courses LhaL a|m Lo fosLer Lhe 1C1AL lC8MA1lCn of
ALeneo sLudenLs vla an expllclL, sysLemaLlc and crlLlcal sLudy of our
CaLhollc lalLh (whollsLlc)
LxpllclL - obvlous, clearly sLaLed
SysLemaLlc - follows an orderly fashlon/form, organlzed sysLem
CrlLlcal sLudy - some measure of sclenLlflc and academlc rlgor
(dlsclpllne) ln order Lo AnAL?ZL, ASSLSS Anu Au1PLn1lCA1L our lalLh

C: Why LoLal formaLlon? Pow? noL [usL Lhe mlnd buL Lhe hearL. (See
uMW.)
WanL you Lo S1Anu Cu1 buL also Lo conLrlbuLe Lo naLlonal dev'L/naLlon
bulldlng: your belng a man/woman/professlonal for oLhers means
SL8vlCL!
Lxcellence, yes, buL excellence for servlce!

CLher courses llke ma[ors provlde Lhe depLh, buL
PumanlLles and esp 1heo provldes Lhe breadLh. (dlsLance or measure
from slde Lo slde, SAn Cl 1PlnklnC) - broadness of LhoughL

C, ls breadLh more lmporLanL Lhan depLh? ls depLh more lmpL Lhan
breadLh?
Ma[ors are abouL maklng a llvlng, humanlLles are abouL llvlng.

PumanlLles ls abouL Lhe hearL:
And now here ls my secreL, a very slmple secreL, lL ls only wlLh Lhe hearL LhaL one
can see rlghLly, whaL ls essenLlal ls lnvlslble Lo Lhe eye.
Anto|ne de Sa|nt-Lxupery (1he LlLLle rlnce)

2. ConnecL Lhe dlfferenL Lheology courses and Lhelr relevance and loglc
of flow/order.

121: lnLroducLlon Lo uolng CaLhollc 1heology
Skllls for Lheologlzlng, ChrlsLology and lalLh (gospels, SS, baslcs)

131: Marrlage, lamlly Llfe and Puman SexuallLy ln A CaLhollc erspecLlve
Self, lnLerpersonal rels.

141: 1heology of CaLhollc Soclal vlslon
CS1: movlng ouL Lo socleLy

131: CaLhollc CommlLmenL of 1oday's llllplno: A SynLhesls
A llLLle of everyLhlng, solldlfy and end your formaLlon ln Lheology

Deepen|ng:
uo you see a progresslon among Lhe courses?
Whlch course ls Lhe mosL lmporLanL course?
Why do some Lake 131 before 141?


1PLSlS 1 (of Cral Comprehenslve Lxam/llnALS):

1he theo|ogy program a|ms to foster the tota| format|on of Ateneo students v|a an exp||c|t,
systemat|c and cr|t|ca| study of our Catho||c Ia|th, |nc|ud|ng |ts d|mens|ons and sources.
1heo|ogy 131, ent|t|ed "Marr|age, Iam||y L|fe and numan Sexua||ty |n A Catho||c erspect|ve,"
fo||ows the 121 course, "An Introduct|on to Do|ng Catho||c 1heo|ogy," w|th sk|||s for
theo|og|z|ng, Chr|sto|ogy and Ia|th. It grounds the 141 course, "1heo|ogy of Catho||c Soc|a|
V|s|on" and the 1S1 course, "Catho||c Comm|tment of 1oday's I|||p|no: A Synthes|s."

CuesLlons for 8eflecLlon:
1. WhaL ls Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween Lheology and falLh?
2. WhaL ls Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween my falLh or Lhe lalLh?
3. WhaL ls Lhe danger of focuslng Loo much on one dlmenslon of falLh over Lhe
oLher? WhaL dlmenslon of falLh do you need Lo work on more?
4. Where do we draw Lhe sources of conLenL on morallLy and on Lhls course?