Theo131 Midterms

Ateneo de Manila University Theology Department

Theology 131 Midterm Oral Examination

THESIS STATEMENTS

Thesis One A proper and holistic theological anthropology views the person as imago Dei and as a person adequately considered.

Thesis Two God calls humankind. The meaning of human existence can therefore be seen as a response to that call. I respond in an active, self-determined response to a general call.

Thesis Three Love is “the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth” (M. Scott Peck). Love and will can block and complement each other; our task is “to unite love and will” (Rollo May).

Thesis Four According to M. Scott Peck, there are several misconceptions about love. Love is an activity that demands attention. It takes the form of work or courage. It is a committed and thoughtful decision.

Thesis Five Freedom and responsibility are interrelated. My actions define who I am, but at the same time, I am not defined solely by what I do or do not do. The direction of my actions point to the kind of person that I am. One profound question that it raises: in what direction am I pointing my life?

Thesis Six The radicality of evil is a mystery. We speak of evil symbolically. One of the symbolisms of evil is sin. In the context of human life as a vocation, sin is infidelity to the covenant. In the context of our relationship to God and other people, it is a violated relation. In the context of morality, it is a fact, an act, and a direction.

Thesis Seven A sacrament is “an efficacious sign instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church as a means by which life is dispensed to us.” Like any sign, it has an inherent structure; yet unlike most signs, it is efficacious. Catholicism’s principles of sacramentality, mediation, and communion encapsulates the importance and value of the sacraments.

Thesis Eight The very sacramentality of marriage implies considering marriage as a human reality. This entails knowledge of its intrinsic values and its historicity. This human reality becomes a sacrament through baptism. As a sacrament, this human reality is an act of the Church, a source of redemption, and revelatory of God’s grace working in our lives.

Thesis Nine The sacrament of marriage is a witnessing. As a human reality, it witnesses to the conjugal love between man and woman which expresses itself in intimate union, fidelity, commitment, and fecundity. As a sacrament, it witnesses to the indissoluble union of Christ and the Church, and to the self-giving and faithful love that characterizes divine love. A Christian marriage, if it is to be a sacrament, must in its conduct give evidence that God’s spirit is present and active in the relationship (Mackin).

Thesis Ten “Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter - appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility” (1643, CCC) Be at the venue at least 10 minutes before your schedule.