Fundamental Moral Theology Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Moral Theology

Clarifies what moral theology is, its object, and its sources. Grounds the chapter by situating the discipline within theology and human experience.

Lesson 2 • Key Sources and Methods

Examines how Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience function as sources. Introduces inductive and deductive methods used in moral analysis.

Lesson 3 • Historical Development of the Discipline

Traces moral theology from patristic origins through scholasticism to modern renewal. Provides historical context for understanding current methodologies.

Lesson 1 • Theological Anthropology Basics

Presents the human person as created in the image of God with inherent dignity. Establishes the anthropological foundation for all subsequent moral analysis.

Lesson 2 • Human Freedom and Responsibility

Analyzes freedom as the capacity for self-determination oriented toward the good. Links freedom to moral accountability and the possibility of sin.

Lesson 3 • Grace and the Moral Life

Explores how divine grace enables and elevates moral action beyond natural capacity. Integrates the theological dimension of morality into the agent's life.

Lesson 4 • Sin: Nature, Types, and Effects

Defines sin as a free act contrary to right reason and divine law. Examines how sin damages the agent, relationships, and the moral order.

Lesson 1 • Sources of Morality

Analyzes the three fonts of morality: object, intention, and circumstances. Provides the evaluative structure used throughout applied moral theology.

Lesson 2 • Natural Law and Human Rights

Connects natural law reasoning to the grounding of universal human rights. Shows how moral norms translate into rights claims and social obligations.

Lesson 3 • Moral Norms: Absolute and Relative

Distinguishes absolute moral norms from those admitting exceptions and examines the basis for each. Prepares students to assess the binding force of specific moral rules.

Lesson 4 • Contemporary Natural Law Approaches

Surveys new natural law theory and revisionist critiques of the classical account. Equips students to engage current debates about natural law's scope and limits.

Lesson 1 • Character Formation and Moral Education

Explores how virtues are cultivated through practice, community, and habituation. Applies virtue theory to the practical task of moral formation.

Lesson 2 • Virtue Ethics in Applied Contexts

Applies virtue theory to professional, relational, and civic life. Bridges abstract virtue theory to the applied moral theology chapters that follow.

Lesson 3 • The Theological Virtues

Presents faith, hope, and charity as divinely infused virtues orienting the person toward God. Connects theological virtues to the graced moral life discussed in Chapter 2.

Lesson 4 • Foundations of Virtue Theory

Introduces Aristotelian and Thomistic accounts of virtue as habitual excellence. Situates virtue ethics within the broader moral theology framework already established.

Lesson 1 • Cooperation in Evil

Distinguishes formal from material cooperation and evaluates degrees of moral proximity. Provides a framework for assessing complicity in institutional and professional contexts.

Lesson 2 • Probabilism and Moral Doubt

Surveys the major systems for resolving doubtful conscience, including probabilism and equiprobabilism. Builds on the conscience section of Chapter 2 with practical resolution tools.

Lesson 3 • Epikeia and Moral Equity

Examines the legitimate interpretation of law in cases the legislator did not foresee. Connects this principle to the natural law and norms framework from Chapter 3.

Lesson 4 • Integrating Principles in Case Analysis

Synthesizes double effect, cooperation, epikeia, and probabilism into a unified case-analysis method. Prepares students for the applied chapters that follow.

Lesson 1 • Peace, War, and Nonviolence

Examines just war criteria and the moral case for nonviolence and peacebuilding. Applies double effect and cooperation principles from Chapter 5 to armed conflict.

Lesson 2 • Structural Sin and Social Transformation

Analyzes how unjust social structures perpetuate sin beyond individual acts. Builds on the sin typology of Chapter 2 to address collective moral responsibility.

Lesson 3 • Foundations of Social Ethics

Grounds social ethics in human dignity, solidarity, and subsidiarity. Extends the anthropological foundation of Chapter 2 into the social and political sphere.

Lesson 4 • Justice: Types and Demands

Distinguishes commutative, distributive, and social justice and their respective obligations. Connects justice theory to the virtue of justice examined in Chapter 4.

Lesson 1 • Foundations of Bioethical Reasoning

Introduces the principles of bioethics—autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice—alongside theological norms. Situates bioethics within the moral theology framework.

Lesson 2 • Ecology and Environmental Ethics

Extends the sanctity-of-life framework to the natural environment and ecological responsibility. Integrates social ethics and stewardship into the bioethics chapter.

Lesson 3 • End-of-Life Ethics

Analyzes euthanasia, assisted dying, and the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means. Applies the principle of double effect and sanctity-of-life norms.

Lesson 4 • Beginning-of-Life Issues

Examines the moral status of the embryo, abortion, and reproductive technologies. Applies natural law, double effect, and human dignity principles to these cases.

Lesson 1 • Sexual Disorders and Moral Evaluation

Evaluates premarital sex, adultery, pornography, and same-sex acts using established moral principles. Maintains pastoral sensitivity while applying rigorous theological analysis.

Lesson 2 • Family, Domestic Church, and Society

Explores the family as the foundational social unit and domestic church. Connects relational ethics to the social ethics and common good themes of Chapter 6.

Lesson 3 • Theology of the Body and Sexuality

Presents the theological meaning of embodiment, gender, and sexual complementarity. Grounds sexual ethics in the anthropology and dignity framework of Chapter 2.

Lesson 4 • Responsible Parenthood and Fertility

Analyzes the moral theology of family planning, contraception, and natural family planning. Applies natural law and the sources of morality to reproductive decisions.