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Christian Ethics

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By DanielSwagner
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Essay 1 Pope Paul VI said in “Humanae Vitae” regarding human life that “the problem is to be considered in the light of an integral vision of man and of his vocation, not only his natural and earthly, but also his supernatural and eternal vocation. I agree with the Pope in that a human life is defined by the things that it does and consists of. I have aspirations to seek the pastorate vocationally. I feel that the Lord has equipped me to be a teacher of the Gospel and of His Word. It is not much of a stretch or second-thought to state that my understanding of the good life is simple. The good life is knowing and loving God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Niebuhr states in “The Relevance of an Impossible Ethical Idea” that in terms of the way we relate with God “the Christian faith is a type of optimism which places its ultimate confidence in the love of God and not the love of man.” Through this I find that the good life is trusting in the sacrifice that Jesus has made and knowing that the things he has intended for my life are good. We look at passages such as Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28 and take heart that our God is a God who seeks to see His children live abundantly. Aristotle concludes in the “Nicomachean Ethics” “Happiness seems to be found in leisure, since we accept trouble so that we can be at leisure, and fight wars so that we can be at peace.” I agree very much with this point. Something inside of humanity longs for homeostasis. People long for peace. The good life is this, that God has given us

peace on the cross through the blood of Jesus Christ. We were once far but now we have been brought near. The sacrifice of Jesus has allowed our souls to be satisfied, not with the things and the ways of the Earth, but with the ways of His kingdom. The good life is a life lived in

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