PRELIMINARIES OF ETHICS

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Ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how people make decisions and lead their lives. Ethics
is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as moral philosophy.
Ethics covers the following concerns: good life (end), rights and responsibilities (freedom), right and
wrong (action), and good and bad (decisions).
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Points to ponder on Ethics:
1.Ethics provides good tools for thinking about moral issues.
People argue that if a person realizes that it would be morally good to do something
then it would be irrational for that person not to do it. But human beings often behave
irrationally - they follow their instinct even when their thought suggests a different
course of action.
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2.Ethics provides a moral map.
Most moral issues appeal to emotion in dealing with moral concerns. However, there
Ethical principles that enable those involved to take a cooler view of moral problems.
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3.Ethics can pinpoint a disagreement.
Using the framework of ethics, two people who are arguing a moral issue can often
find that what they disagree about is just one particular part of the issue, and that they
broadly agree on everything else.
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4.Ethics does not give right answers.
Ethics does not always show the right answer to moral problems. Many people seek
for a single right answer to ethical questions. They find moral ambiguity hard to live
with because they genuinely want to do the right thing, and even if they cannot work
out what that right thing is, they like the idea that somewhere and somehow there is
one right answer.
Dear Friends,
 
Caritas Christi urget nos!  (The Love of Christ impels us!)
 
I am tasked to be your learning-facilitator on Ins201 – Pauline Ethics. Our schedule is slated
from July 18, 19, 25, 26, August 01 and 02, 2020. For our class, we will be
using EDMODO as our learning platform. Once you have accessed our learning platform, you
may view our mapped-out schedule of activities or class engagement. We will maximize our
contact days.

We will meet on July 18, 2020 at 9AM via Google Meet.  

Before proceeding to peruse the course, let me point out some things to consider:
 
This is not a Religious Education or a Theology course rather; it is a course that deals with
relevance. (Of course, we all know of St. Paul’s Theological/Religious PRIMACY).  Yet, are his
(St. Paul’s) teachings today relevant? (Aside from the references, we hear at mass
and in homilies?) The same is true few years from now; we will also confront ourselves with the
same question: Are our learnings/teachings/knowledge-gained (still) relevant? Thus, it is always
important for us to contextualize our teachings to be able to respond to our contemporary
landscape.
 
The files attached to each topic are concised summaries for lengthy discussions (especially on
the topics: foundation, characteristics, considerations of Pauline Ethics and St.
Paul's virtue  ethics, Christian gifts and justification by grace), you may refer to the
references in the syllabus (of which these are extracted) and do some literature
research and reading (if these are not sufficient). Just let us know.
 
Moreover, the write-ups on Paulinian Leadership, Witnessing and Stewardship are results of
our reflection and study on St. Paul (thus, you may always encounter a reference from St.
Paul’s writings). As a Paulinian, this is our simple contribution to the knowledge-economy we
have for St. Paul. (We wish to expand these through your submissions later.)
 
Just let us know of your concerns. Thank you very much! May you and your loved ones be
blessed always! Enjoy!
 
Let us keep our class code and meeting link confidential.
Edmodo Class Code: rn5ceg
Google meeting link: https://meet.google.com/xji-uqob-ees
 
If you do not have an Edmodo Student account yet, please create
through: https://www.edmodo.com/student-signup?utm_source=main&utm_campaign=onb-
user-type-page&utm_medium=visitor-site&utm_content=main-cta-btn
 
May you and your family always stay safe, well and blessed! We hope to enjoy learning
together. See you on July 18 (9AM). Thank you. May God bless you.
Dear Paulinians,
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Welcome to our Class on Pauline Ethics! Please watch a brief introduction to our Course. You may also go over the
Syllabus of our study.
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Schedule of Activities:
July 17 - Class Introduction
July 17 - Preliminaries of Ethics
St. Paul: The Man and His Times
July 18 - Virtual Convergence
July 19 - The Foundation of Pauline Ethics
The Theological and Cultural Considerations of Pauline Ethics
Pauline Ethics on Freedom (Christian Ethics)
Pauline Ethics on Justification (Christian Ethics)
July 25 - Virtual Convergence
Examination
July 26 - St. Paul's Leadership Ethics
St. Paul's Virtue Ethics
St. Paul on Christian Gifts
St. Paul on Stewardship
St. Paul on Education
August 01 - Virtual Convergence
August 02 - Final Examination

Thank you very much. May God bless us all.