Theological Virtues

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Theological Virtues

• Faith, Hope, and Love
• (Source Morality, J. Stoutzenberger)
• Created by Michael H. Cheney

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Theological Virtues

• Rooted in God
• Reflect Gods presence in our lives.
• Are gifts from God
• Also call for a response on our part.
• Are identifying marks patterns of behavior that
  are found in people over a long period of time.
• That is, by living faithfully, hopefully, and
  lovingly, we are reflecting and cooperating with
  Gods gift of faith, hope, and love.

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Faith Seeking to Do Gods Will

• Faith
• - is a virtue by which we recognize that God
  exists and that Gods very existence holds moral
  implications for us.
• A faithful person seeks to do Gods will.

• Faith often times means we might have to respond
  courageously during times when our faith is on
  the line. (E.g., Oscar Romero)

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• A Test of Faith
• Jana wants desperately to make the soccer team
  this year. Playing around before regular
  practice sessions begin, she knows herself to be
  a strong candidate to make the team and
  contribute. She definitely is becoming part of
  the in group among the best players.
•  However, Jana notices that a number of players,
  ones who undoubtedly will be the mainstay of the
  team, constantly make cutting remarks about a
  girl named Rita who also shows some talent. As
  time goes by the badgering worsens. Jana doesnt
  join in. She keeps quiet and concentrates on her
  game. But even by not participating in the
  jokes, Jana realizes that she is distancing
  herself form the better players and not helping
  Rhea from suffering their taunts. Feeling more
  and more uncomfortable, she wants to yell.

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Activity

• Rewrite Janas story so that her action reflects
  a person of faith.
• Based on your rewrite, make a slogan that could
  serve as a brief description of faith.

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Unpacking the Story

• In the story, Jana is being challenged to be
  faithful both to her God and to who she is.
• Like Jesus, she desperately wants not to be in
  the situation.

• However, the problem doesnt go away.
• If she is to be a person of faith, she will
  search to find the strength of character within
  her to be faithful to what she knows is right.

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Activity

• Think about another person who models the virtue
  of faith.
• Write a story about that person. Illustrate the
  story with an appropriate drawing.

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Hope A Virtue of Responsibility

• Hope does not mean wish.
• Our hopes are those things to which we are
  willing to dedicate ourselves
• Instead of passivity, hope implies activity in
  cooperation with Gods grace.

• Hope is intimately connected with responsibility
• Hope means having the vision to see things
  differently from the way they are and being so
  involved with that vision that we take steps to
  try to bring it about.
• An important motivator for moral behavior.

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Jesus Hope the Reign of God

• Jesus provides hope that, no matter how hopeless
  our current circumstances appear and despite
  trials and setbacks, in the end all will be well.
• This message of hope frees us to act with a
  heroic never give up enthusiasm for life and
  goodness.

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• Case Study
• On a class trip, Sal joins a group of students in
  a crowded restaurant. After the meal, a friend
  suggests that they leave the restaurant without
  paying the bill. Lets take a chance and hope
  that we dont get caught, the friend whispers to
  Sal.
• How would the virtue of HOPE assist Sal to do the
  right thing?

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Sal Model of Hope

• If hope became an active force in Sals life,
• he would choose behaviors that are far-sighted
  and filled with promise.
• As with the virtue of faith, it is through
  actions that people demonstrate their hope.

• hope is not an isolating, individualistic virtue.
• Hope is contagious.
• As such, an important dimension of hope is living
  in ways that give hope to others.

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Activity

• Hope inspires us with a vision of how things can
  be.
• Give one example of each of the following
• How you would like teenagers to be perceived?
• Women?
• Men?

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Love The Cornerstone of Virtues

• Read Chapter 13 of 1 Cor
• Aquinas defines love
• To love is to will the good of another (1766).
• Love is an art.

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Characteristics of Love

• Giving (sharing oneself with another)
• Caring (concerns for the life and the growth of
  another
• Responsibility (the readiness and the ability to
  respond to another)
• Respect (taking time to see another as he or she
  truly is)
• Knowledge (knowing the inner core, not merely the
  outward appearances, of another).

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Applying the art of loving in the concrete
circumstances in which we find ourselves. For
instance

• How do we love the girl who pledges loyalty to us
  over the weekend and then on Monday tells us that
  she still cares for an old boyfriend?
• How do we love when we discover that some people
  from our old crowd are now involved in organized
  shoplifting and invite us to join them on a five
  finger discount-shopping spree?
• What is the best way for us to give at least some
  expression of love to the multitude of hungry
  people whom we hear about in news or in theology
  class?

• What is the best way to show love when another
  student is copying our test answers?
• What specifically does it mean to love a group of
  students who act like snobs and exclude us from
  their actions?
• How can we feel free to love the people we meet
  on a day when a few extra pimples or some added
  weight make us feel anything but lovable?

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Activity Small Groups

• Tough love means challenging or confronting
  another person for his or her own benefit.
• Have you ever attempted tough love or been on
  the receiving end of tough love?
• Describe the experience.