ORAL EXAMINATION IN THEO 141 LAST TWO QUESTIONS TO BE SELECTED BY TEACHER FROM LESSONS IN THEO 141 Teacher: Winifredo

Nierras FROM CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT: 1. Why is commitment not just the satisfaction of personal needs? - Because commitment goes beyond the satisfaction of personal needs. If a man is committed to his wife or family he is not just seeking his own satisfaction or pleasure. He may be attracted to his wife and family, they may satisfy many of his needs: for sex, for security, for comfort, for respect. But his commitment goes beyond these satisfactions and the proof of this is that even when these satisfactions are absent or frustrated the truly committed father remains true to his family. He is answering a call that is more than a personal need. 2. What is the meaning of commitment according to Fr. Galdon? - Commitment is what life is all about. - In a very fundamental sense commitments define us. We are what we are committed to, and without commitments we are nothing. Commitment comes from a Latin word that means to bring, join or to combine into one whole; to join or put together, to connect or to unite. Commitment means we have to find the person or the thing that will make us whole. A large part of any commitment must be the gift of myself. The philosophers call this part of commitment self-donation I am at least half of the definition of commitment, for basically the commitment is what I bring to it. Many people fail in commitments because they dont bring anything to the commitment. They want to take, but they dont want to give. 3. What is meant by a deeper commitment? - A deeper commitment means the donation or the giving of my deeper self - Gabriel Marcel uses French word co-entre (to be with) to describe this deeper state of commitment. In the deepest kind of commitment, I literally dwell in the other, and the other dwells in me. That, too, is what life is all about. Commitment means to bring together, to connect and to unite. Commitment leads to self-donation, and self-donation leads to indwelling and fulfillment. It leads to wholeness and happiness 4. What is the hallmark of Christian Commitment? - Commitment to service is the hallmark of Christian Commitment. Christs being at the service of the Father and of men is portrayed by John most graphically and dramatically in his narrative of the washing of the feet at the Last Supper. (John 13:13-17; 1 John 3:16) 5. What are the two elements that are necessary for Christian Commitment? - Two elements are necessary for a Christian Commitment: Commitment as the irrevocable binding promise to follow Christ and the readiness to serve his fellowmen concretely in the works of salvation. Thus the sign of being committed to Jesus is being at the service of all.

FROM DOING SOCIAL THEOLOGY: 1. What is meant by Social Analysis according to Fr. Gorospe? What is its focus? - Social Analysis is the scientific observation of the economic, social, political, cultural, and religious situation of any given context. Focus: empirical observation through the exploration of historical (Diachronic) and structural (Synchronic) relationships with a focus on the systems which are the roots of poverty and injustice 2. Explain the statement of Gutierrez that theology is not a matter simply of theological methodology but rather implies a lifestyle, a way of being and of becoming a disciple of Jesus. - It means to conduct oneself in a certain manner shown by his/her behavior and lifestyle that would reflect on the mystery of God. This reflection can be undertaken only by following in the footsteps of Jesus. It can therefore be said that our methodology is our spirituality, that is, our way of being Christians 3. Enumerate the 3 concepts of poverty according to Gutierrez. Distinguish the 3 concepts. - Real poverty - material poverty, lack of those goods required to satisfy the most basic need of human beings; Spiritual poverty - an attitude of openness and acceptance towards the will of God, the gospel calls this spiritual childhood of which the renunciation of worldly goods is a consequence; Poverty as a commitment - expresses itself in solidarity with the poor and in protest against poverty 4. Enumerate the 3 dimensions of liberation according to Gutierrez. Distinguish the 3 dimensions. - Political and social liberation - points towards the elimination of the immediate causes of poverty and injustice, especially with regard to socio-economic structures; Human liberation -means liberating human beings of all those things not just in the social sphere that limit their capacity to develop themselves freely and in dignity; liberation from selfishness and sin - the last root of injustice that has to be eliminated, overcoming this leads to re-establishing friendship with God and with other people (cf. Lumen Gentium 1), only the grace of God can overcome sin. 5. What is meant by the Church of the Poor according to PCP II? - It means a Church that embraces and practices the evangelical spirit of poverty; the Church of the Poor is one whose members and leaders have a special love for the poor; This special love is a love of preference for the poor. It is not an exclusive or excluding love; the Church of the Poor is one that will be in solidarity with the poor; The Church of th e Poor means that the Church cannot remain silent; the Church of the Poor will also mean that the Church will not only evangelize the poor, but that the poor in the Church will themselves become evangelizers; it tilts the center of gravity of the entire community in favor of the needy; the Church of the Poo is one that is willing to follow Jesus Christ through poverty and oppression

FROM CATHOLIC CHURCH SOCIAL TEACHING ON SOCIAL ISSUES:

1. What is the essential belief of CST? What are the consequences of its belief? - Every human person possesses a God-given dignity; it is a belief that becomes visible through our actions, it influences how we live and act, and it affects how we relate to other people, other cultural groups and other nations 2. What are the 2 encyclicals that considered human rights as inviolable, universal, and inalienable? Why human rights are considered as such? - Pacem in Terris and Redemptor Hominis; human rights considered as inviolable since the source of human rights is God; universal since God create all human persons; and inalienable since we cannot lose our rights anymore than we can stop being human and being loved by God3. What are the rights of urban poor people according to the CBCP in its January 28, 2007 pastoral letter? - the urban poor people have basic human rights to clean and inexpensive water, decent house, communities free of stagnant disease-ridden water, and uncollected garbage. They have a right to security of tenure, to be free of a constant threat of eviction and fire, and very importantly, they have the right to organize themselves to seek solutions to their problems in a democratic and a non-violent manner - A Statement on the Nations Housing Problems 4. Where does the universal right to use the goods of the earth based on? - it is based on the principle of the universal destination of goods which states that God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity (GS). This principle is based on the fact that the original source of all that is good is the very act of God, who created both the earth and man, and who gave the earth to man so that he might have dominion over it by his work and enjoy its fruits - Gen 1:28-29 5. Is justice enough to realize peace? Why? - No, history testifies that justice alone is not enough to realize peace; to realize or achieve peace, the following are needed: real sacrifice, loving commitment to the common good, to go beyond justice and embrace the much more difficult and higher values of solidarity and love virtues that Christian faith inspires and sustains

FROM CATHOLIC CHURCH SOCIAL TEACHING ON POLITICAL ISSUES:

1. Are the world and the church separate? Why? - No. The Church is in the world, and the world is in the Church. Instead of separation from the world, the Church seeks solidarity with the world. Hence, the most characteristic document of Vatican II is the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, which begins with this ringing affirmation of solidarity: The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts.- G.S , no. 1 2. What will happen when social structures, institutions and systems are infected by the sins of persons? How sinful social structures are created? - They become structures of sin, structures of domination and oppression, unjust social structures - When the habitual patterns of human interaction are infected by sin selfishness, injustice, pride, greed, hatred 3. Where can we see the terrible effects of sin and sinful structures? - In the many uncared for and malnourished children of our unjust society, the wretchedness of the jobless and the homeless, the proliferation of crimes, the pervasiveness of graft and corruption, the lack of peace and order, or the horrors of war. Sin shows itself in suffering, in the myriad suffering faces that demonstrate the degradation of the human person and human society, and in the destruction of our environment that lays bare the evil short-sightedness of human greed 4. What is needed to fight and overcome the structures of sin? - The determined efforts of all men of good will. To this end, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis requires for a start the conversion of man, conversion namely from non-involvement to involvement, from passivity to commitment to the progress of peoples. After conversion, comes solidarity 5. What is the delineation of roles in the Churchs participation in politics? Is th e rule on delineation of roles absolute? That pastors have competence in the moral principles governing politics and that the laity have competence in active, direct, partisan politics is a good rule of thumb to follow. (PCP-II, p. 62). Bishops, priests and religious, commonly identified as the Church, must refrain from partisan politics, avoiding especially the use of the pulpit for partisan purposes, to avoid division among the flock they shepherd. (PCP-II, art. 28, no.2); This is the general rule. It is not however an absolute rule. When moral and gospel values are at stake, the prohibition against clergy involvement in partisan politics may have to yield to the necessity of upholding the rights of the Church, the common good and the cause of human dignity and peace.

6. What was the oath which required Saint Thomas More to take? What was that oath all about? Did Saint Thomas More agreed to take that oath? Why? - An oath called "The Act of Succession"; it was about the acknowledged that King Henry VIII was married to Anne Boleyn, even though he was not; No; Thomas More knew the order of truth and applied a hierarchy of values in both his personal life and his public life. He lived as a faithful Catholic Christian, demonstrating a unity of life and moral coherence. He stayed faithful to the Truth. In 1532, knowing that he could not enforce the declaration of his temporal King to usurp the authority of the Church which had been granted to it by the King of Kings, he resigned his political position. He tried to do so with the kind of integrity that had characterized his entire life