Questions tagged [morality]
The differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good (or right) and bad (or wrong). Use this tag for questions which focus on the APPLICATION of an ethical standard to particular situations. Use this tag when it's the parameters of the SITUATION rather than the standard itself that prompted the question. Use the "ethics" tag instead for questions on the standard itself, rather than the situation.
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According to Catholicism, is ”damn” a blasphemous expression?
A lot of things in today's culture have names with the word "damn" in them, e.g., the restaurant Hattie B's Hot Chicken has a menu option named "Damn Hot". I'm sure it was a sin ...
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Did G.K. Chesterton ever write specifically about a Christian's moral responsibilities?
As a school assignment I'm supposed to compare two authors on the topic of morality. Specifically the question is: how ought a person to relate to Christianity / how should Christianity affect one's ...
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Does Catholic morality (i.e. Natural Law) reject the idea that different cultures fundamentally think differently?
In the aftermath of the attack on Israel by Hamas, I've been listening to Ben Shapiro saying some things that I would like to know if are in-line with Catholic morality. It doesn't much matter what ...
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Was Solomon fatally misled by his father' example, when King David married many wives and concubines?
Royal Regulations When God reluctantly gave permission for Israel to have kings, He laid down several stipulations: (1) Only a fellow "brother" Israelite could be chosen; no foreigner, (2) ...
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Does voting for a pro-abortion candidate constitute formal cooperation in his crime of promoting child killing?
According to Catholic moral theologians, does voting for a pro-abortion candidate constitute formal cooperation in the politician's crime of promoting child killing?
My question is very similar to &...
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What is the controversy around gamete inter-fallopian transfer within Catholic moral theology?
I was listening to Pints With Aquinas July 29th episode with Trent Horn, he mentioned that a practice of gamete inter-fallopian transfer is an open question in the Catholic Church. What are the ...
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Does the Bible provide an age of consent?
I was debating with my Muslim friend on the immorality of Mohammad marrying Aisesha at an incredibly young age (Sahih al-Bukhari 5134), in which he responded that nowhere in the Bible does it give an ...
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According to Catholic moral theologians, is it more conducive to the unbaptized's possible salvation to marry or remain single?
According to Catholic moral theologians, is it more conducive to the unbaptized's possible salvation to marry (other unbaptized) or remain single?
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What is an overview of moral theories in Christianity?
What is an overview of moral theories in Christianity? From my own research, I know of at least three:
Divine Command Theory. Wikipedia presents the following summary:
Divine command theory (also ...
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What is the definition of Moral Good in God's omni-benevolence
A recent question asked about God's omni-benevolence, free will and God's ability to do evil. My counter to that was to look at Divine Command Theory which defines moral good as God's will, the ...
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What's Christians take on pirating authors books, software, movies etc?
This question may sound like making excuses but please don't down-vote, it's a big issue specially in middle east.
I'm living in Iran and because of the sanctions I'm not able to transfer money using ...
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How is the claim "lust is evil" shown to be true in Christianity without appealing to Divine Command Theory?
In Matthew 5:27-30 Jesus affirms very unambiguously the sinfulness of lust:
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a ...
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According to Christians who believe that God is a utilitarian, why is homosexuality suboptimal? [closed]
I'm addressing this question to Christians who believe that God is a utilitarian, that is, that God has designed His creation and attempts to guide His creatures with the aim of maximizing some divine ...
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Are good and evil in Christianity ultimately based on maximizing wellbeing and minimizing suffering? [closed]
Let me illustrate with a few examples.
Examples of good in Christianity:
Love: it's evident that love feels good and promotes behaviors that make others feel good. Therefore, love ranks very high on ...
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Which of the Ten Commandments becomes a subject of aberration if a Christian evades Income Tax?
In many countries like India, Return of Income Tax due to the Government from the citizens are filed online on the dedicated Tax Portal . Each citizen is required to disclose the income he earned in ...
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How is selling the use of a house not usury but selling the use of wine, separately from the wine, is?
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II q. 78 a. 1 co., says that usury is to sell the use of a consumable good separately from the consumable good itself:
To take usury for money lent is unjust ...
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Why does the author of Hebrews picture Esau as an immoral and godless person?
We read in Hebrews 12:16 :
See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal.
Gen 25:29-34 tells us how Jacob "bought" the ...
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What Early Church Father taught that marriage is between a man and a woman?
It is very obvious that marriage biblically is defined as being between one men and women one (Genesis 2:23-24, Matthew 19:5-6, Mark 10:6-8, 1 Corinthians 7:2, Hebrews 17:4) but what Early Church ...
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How is Tamar Viewed in Judeo-Christian tradition?
Personally I consider Tamar, the wife of Judah, to be one of the great women of Bible -- the Mother of most Jews and the foremother of Jesus. However, her story is a troubling one. She is most famous ...
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Did any Early Church Father believe that being armed/self-defence was justified?
As you know there were many prophets in the Bible who were armed and had swords for self-defence. Jesus himself allowed St. Peter and his apostles to buy a sword for self-defence. But did any of the ...
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How binding are encyclicals on practicing Catholic's beliefs?
I am reading through certain encyclicals from Popes on economics, and I wanted to know how binding they are on my beliefs (if I were to be a Catholic who follows church teaching). Are they binding? Do ...
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According to Catholicism, is tempting another person a sin?
According to Catholic theologians, is tempting another person always a sin?
It would seem to be a sin, because tempting someone is to lead him into sin, which is the sin of scandal.
It would seem not ...
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What is the Biblical basis for prohibiting sex outside marriage?
My friend is a Progressive Christian who says that the bible doesn't condemn or even mention sex outside of marriage in the bible. Is this true?
If not, what is the Biblical basis for condemning sex ...
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Can Christians have a right to defend themselves? [closed]
My friend is a Progressive Christian who argues that as Christians it is immoral for Christians to either defend themselves or their family and must be like Jesus a pacifist, he then goes on to quote ...
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According to the Catholic Church, are sex positions that can’t bear children sinful?
Note that my question is asking about married couples, not just any two people engaging in intercourse.
According to the Catholic Church, would a husband in wife be in sin if they committed any of the ...
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What does the Bible say about gender segregation and free mixing of sexes in public places?
Islamic scholars claim it is against Islamic rules to attend events where there is free mixing of men and women (such as concerts, proms and parties):
There follows a list of haraam things which both ...
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Did the Early Church Fathers condemn polygamy?
Today I was debating with a Christian who believes in polygamy and claimed that the Early Church Fathers allowed for the act of polygamy, is that true and is there any evidence that the Early Church ...
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Was Jesus Christ a refugee?
Yesterday I was debating the topic with my Progressive Christian friend who claimed that the Lord was a refugee.
Was Jesus Christ, by definition, a refugee?
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As Christians can we support immigration control? [closed]
As Christians are we allowed to believe in immigration control or want control as to who enters the country? If yes, then how do you interrupt verses such as these, which seem to support the concept ...
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Doesn't God giving orders to demons contradict the principle of double effect?
Doesn't God giving orders to demons contradict the principle of double effect?
1 Kings 22:19-23, 1 Samuel 16:14 and Judges 9:23 clearly seem to say that God gave orders to demons. Thomas Aquinas also ...
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Is there such a thing as moral neutrality in Catholic thought?
Or in other words, is there any human act that is neither good nor evil?
For example: Eating a bowl of cereal.
I would say it is good, because it is a part of human nature to eat food, and a bowl of ...
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According to Catholicism, why are all sins against the 6th and 9th Commandments grave matter ex toto genere suo?
In my prayer book from 1930, it says, in an examination of conscience, under the 6th and 9th Commandment (emphasis mine):
It is sufficient to remind penitents that each and every act, if deliberate, ...
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According to the Catholic Church, if one, faced with the threat of being burned alive, denied Christ, would his sin be mortal?
If one, faced with the threat of being burned alive, denied Christ, would his sin be mortal? It seems that it was treated as such in history, but how can this be so in light of CCC 1859 which says ...
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What is the Church's traditional understanding of usury and has it changed?
From scripture, it would seem that the taking of interest on any loan is unjust (Leviticus 25:36–37). Most people are also familiar with the fact that usury used to be condemned by Christians. But, it ...
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From a Thomistic perspective, why is there homosexuality among animals?
St. Thomas Aquinas said: "Union of male and female is said to be of natural law, because nature has taught this to animals: yet she has taught this union to various animals in various ways ...
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Is God indirectly responsible for moral evil, according to Catholicism?
I thought it was obvious that God is indirectly responsible for moral evil. For example, God created the Devil, and the Devil freely chose to do evil.
But the Catechism says "God is in no way, ...
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Does the Catholic Church allow scientific experiments that deliberately inflict some degree of pain on a human being?
I want to know if the intention of causing pain in a human being for scientific reasons is immoral.
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Christianity, community, friendship, and relationships
I have an ongoing and repetitive discussion with a Christian about the importance of relationships where they say that everyone dies alone.
Are there good arguments from the Christian perspective ...
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Does the Catholic Church have any teaching on cannibalism?
Does the Catholic Church have any teaching on cannibalism?
I wasn't able to find much about it.
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Should Christians (Protestants) play God of War? [closed]
I was going to play through the God of War series, and as a Christian, violence and even gore doesn't really bother me, nor does magic stuff as long as it doesn't resemble anything real, like from the ...
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According to believers in libertarian free will, do all human beings have a genuine chance to freely choose to live a perfect sinless life?
Premise of this question: first of all, I'm basing this question on my common sense understanding that moral responsibility and judgement presuppose that human beings have the capacity to make free ...
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What is Christianity’s view on moral dilemmas?
Can God create a situation in which a Christian has to face a moral dilemma and go for "the lesser sin"? (I.e. to choose the smaller evil) Or should the Christian look for a third ...
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In Genesis 2:17, is God telling a lie for a greater good?
Please be aware that my knowledge of theology is very limited, and thus can make my question naive
I was under the impression that the end should not justify the means in the spirit of the Bible.
...
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Which medieval theologian said fornication with a more beautiful woman is less sinful?
Many years ago I read that a certain theologian said fornication with a more beautiful woman is less sinful than with an uglier one. Which medieval theologian was this, and how did he argue his ...
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Can Catholics participate in a regime or administration that lies to protect its people?
An article in Slate describe "Noble Lies" as:
When experts or agencies deliver information to the public that they consider possibly or definitively false to further a larger, often well-...
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Is God beholden to the definition of free will?
I have heard repeatedly that the reason God doesn't use His omnipotence to prevent people from doing evil is that He wants people to freely choose not to. This doesn't make sense to me though, ...
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Why did God allow polygamy in the Old Testament?
I’ve been reading a bit into 1 Samuel, and came across something that confused me:
1 Samuel 25:43 NIV
David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his wives.
But, in Genesis, we ...
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Is abortion okay, if the mother's life is at risk, according to Catholicism?
Is it okay to abort a baby when the continuation of the pregnancy may result in the death of his or her mother, according to Catholicism?
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Did God's moral principles change with the change of OT times to NT times?
It is a universal moral concept in the Christian era that the family members of a criminal are not responsible for his crime (unless they participated in that crime), and that the subordinates are not ...
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Mere Christianity Book I Chapters 1 and 2: How would Lewis explain morality being inherently known but also taught?
I recently started reading Mere Christianity, and I am trying to figure out Lewis's view on whether morality is taught or is something that every person knows by nature. He seems to claim both views, ...
