SIN AND FORGIVENESS

• Sin


  An offence against humans which breaks the law of God
• Crime


  An offence against the law of the land
• Absolutism


  The idea that something is ALWAYS morally right or wrong
• Absolutist moral stance


  • Catholics on issues such as Abortion and Euthanasia
• Relativism


  The idea that whether something is morally right or wrong is 'relative' to the situation or circumstances
• Relativistic approach to moral issues

  • Liberal Christians
• Views on morality


  • Fundamentalist Christians tend to be absolutist
  • Catholic Christians tend to be absolutist
  • Humanists approach morality from a relativist stance
• Punishment


  The consequences of a wrong decision and a penalty imposed by a person in authority on the person who has committed wrongdoing
• Aims of punishment


  • Retribution
  • Reformation/Rehabilitation
  • Reparation
  • Deterrence
  • Protection
  • Vindication
• Forgiveness


  The act of pardoning an offender
• Forgiveness is not the same as 'letting people off the hook
• Christians believe it is a duty to forgive others because we ourselves need forgiveness from God
• Before God, who is perfect, all have sinned, and we all stand in need of forgiveness
• Examples of forgiveness


  • Jesus said 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing'
  • Dee Walker forgave the killers of her son Anthony Walker
  • Darryl Scott forgave those responsible for the Columbine School massacre
  • Jimmy Mizen's parents forgave those who killed their son in a knife attack
• Forgiveness does not mean that the person should not be punished
• Forgiveness is not easy to give
• Capital Punishment


  The state sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for a crime
• In earlier times the Catholic Church did not forbid the death penalty and even used it themselves to punish heretics
• The Catholic Church has, over time, CHANGED its view on Capital Punishment
• Augustine's teaching on Capital Punishment


  • We hate the 'sin' but love the 'sinner'
  • We condemn the action but not the person
  • It is right to punish the person because by that they can reform and be saved
  • We need to save them before they die - because after that there is nothing we can do for them
  • If there is no other way to protect people then extreme measures can be taken, but we should always look to ways which do not involve killing
• Pope John-Paul II's teaching on Capital Punishment

  • We should punish the offender
  • We should take measures to protect society
  • We should help the offender reform
  • We should avoid the extreme of executing someone
  • Only if there is no other choice should execution happen
• As a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, cases where execution is the only option are very rare, if not practically non-existent
• The Catholic Church has CHANGED its position under Pope Francis, who stated that Capital Punishment is "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person" and that there can be no stepping back from this position
• Arguments for Capital Punishment

  • The Bible says 'Do not kill' but also says 'eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'
  • Some criminals are not sorry for their crimes (often murder)
  • It is a deterrent
  • Some life prisoners ask to die rather than being kept in solitary confinement
  • It helps order society and is a legitimate form of punishment (Thomas Aquinas' Natural Law theory)
  • Genesis 9.6 says "Whoever sheds human blood by humans shall their blood be shed'
• Arguments against Capital Punishment

  • Jesus taught us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek
  • It is not a deterrent anymore and does not bring down crime rates
  • Once someone has been executed you cannot bring them back
  • It does not allow an offender to repent, show remorse, or be rehabilitated
  • The executioner becomes a murderer which makes them as bad as the offender
• Salvation


  The belief that through Jesus' death and resurrection humanity has achieved the possibility of life forever with God
• Hypostatic Union


  Jesus possesses both a fully human and fully divine nature
• Grace


  The love and mercy shown by God, a free, generous and undeserved gift
• Types of grace


  • Actual Grace
  • Sanctifying Grace
• Actual Grace


  What God gives to a person to help them move towards God
• Sanctifying Grace


  Received through the sacraments and deeply changes us and makes us grow in holiness
• Paschal Mystery


  Jesus offers salvation to all by dying on the cross and rising again
• Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper - the bread and wine symbolise the body and blood of Jesus and his sacrifice
• Good Friday remembers Jesus' crucifixion and death and the GOOD consequences that his sacrifice ultimately has for us
• The resurrection demonstrates that Jesus is the saviour
• The ascension marks the end of Jesus' time on earth and opens the way for the Holy Spirit to come
• Hell and an Omnibenevolent God

  God in his omnibenevolence, gives us free will - we are free to choose or reject God. God does not want to force us into goodness as this would make him a dictator. God wants everyone to be saved. We essentially send ourselves to hell by rejecting God's love and salvation
• 'Outside the Church there is no salvation'


  This phrase suggests that only Catholics will go to heaven, but the Church takes an inclusive approach which means that all people are saved through Jesus but a person does not have to believe in Jesus to be saved
• Theologian Karl Rahner said that good people who help others and put Jesus' teachings into action, even if they do not believe in Jesus, are 'anonymous Christians' and are saved on the basis of their good actions and lives
• Some Liberal Christians take a pluralist approach and argue that all religions are equally valid