10.1 Christian Life
Each religious tradition encourages its followers to live their lives according to the beliefs, traditions, rituals and customs of the tradition. Catholic Christianity encourages people to have faith and belief but it also encourages people to demonstrate by their lives and actions that the message of God is central to their lives.
The Curriculum strand ‘Christian Life’ encompasses three areas:
- moral formation
- mission and justice
- prayer and spirituality.
Chapter 10 explores moral formation (how people live out belief in God in their ordinary everyday lives); Chapter 11 mission and justice (what they do to care for others and to ensure that all elements of society treat people justly); and Chapter 12 prayer and spirituality (the ways believers nurture and develop their spiritual selves in order to live a good Christian life).
Responsibility
Christian moral life can be summed up in one word: ‘responsibility’. Responsibility consists of two components: response and the ability to respond. Christian people respond to the love of God, which is freely given. They exercise their response using their God-given talents and free will. The core of the Christian moral life is exemplified in this story from the Gospel of Matthew (22:34–40):
34When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind”. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself ”. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’
In saying that people should love God with all their heart, soul and mind, Jesus was quoting a well-known passage from the Jewish scriptures, namely, Deuteronomy 6:4–6: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.’ When reminding the people of the second law Jesus quotes from the Book of Leviticus saying: ‘You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord’ (Lev 19:18). In quoting this passage Jesus demonstrates the deep bond that Christianity has with Judaism.
As human beings, people are created in the image and likeness of God from which flows basic human dignity. People think and love in relation to others, so they do not act as isolated people: all actions impact on others whether we know it or not. As human beings, we are created fundamentally good but sometimes we make choices which can be considered bad or evil. Our conscience helps us to direct the decisions we make in life and it is important that we shape or train our conscience to assist us in the best way possible. Doing good and living a good life require knowledge and understanding, patience, perseverance and practice.
In order to assist people to live good Christian lives, the Church has provided some guidelines for how people should think and behave. One of these sets of guidelines is called the cardinal virtues. The word ‘cardinal’, from the Latin word cardo, means hinge, so naming these as the cardinal virtues means that all other virtues are connected to these four key virtues and flow out from these virtues. A virtue is a habit or way of behaving. The four cardinal virtues then are four habits which need to be developed so that people can shape their lives in a positive manner.
The cardinal virtues have existed for thousands of years. In fact Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, discussed the cardinal virtues in his book The Republic in approximately 360 BCE. The idea of the cardinal virtues was then expanded by Aristotle and from his writings they entered Christian teaching. The four cardinal virtues can be practised by anyone and so they become the foundation of natural morality.
Four Cardinal Virtues
The four cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.
Prudence
Thomas Aquinas regarded prudence to be the first cardinal virtue because it concerns the intellect: the ability to think and reason and then to practise it. It is the virtue that enables people to judge correctly what is right and what is wrong. If we make a mistake we are not exercising prudence – in fact, we are showing a lack of prudence. Prudence or wise judgement also requires people to seek the advice of wise people, particularly those who demonstrate strong moral character. Prudence is also having the ability to know and judge whether to say something or do nothing at all.
Justice
The second cardinal virtue, justice, demands that people are treated fairly and with respect. Even small children know the meaning of justice when they want their friends to play fairly. Justice is the virtue which enables people to assume their responsibilities and to give others their due. There are four forms of justice: communicative justice, distributive justice, legal justice and social justice:
- Communicative justice – relates to contractual obligation between individuals involving rights and the obligation of restitution. For instance, one person loans another person some money; the second person is obliged, in conscience, to return the money according to the agreement.
- Distributive justice – relates to the obligation of a government towards its citizens whereby the government regulates the burdens and benefits of societal life. For example, a government taxes its citizens fairly and according to their ability to pay, and then distributes the tax money according to need especially in areas of housing, food, health care and education.
- Legal justice – relates to a citizen’s obligation toward the government or society. Citizens should pay their fair share of taxes: the greater the wealth, the greater the burden.
- Social justice – relates to the obligation of all parties to apply the Gospel to the structures, systems and institutions of society within which all human relationships take place. For example, the individual and the group must take an active interest in necessary social and economic reform.
Fortitude
Fortitude, one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, is the ability to persevere in times of trouble and hardship. It is the courage to do the right thing, no matter how hard that might be. Fortitude is the virtue which enables people to overcome fear, to decide what needs to be done, and to do it. Fortitude is not foolhardiness, nor is it about being reckless. Fortitude enables people to cope and to rise above challenges and troubles. Within the Christian tradition, many of the saints exhibit fortitude and therefore provide good examples and are role models for people.
Temperance
Temperance is about balance and moderation. It is the good habit which allows people to enjoy life without ‘going over the line’. Temperance is practiced when people refrain from over-eating (gluttony) or drinking an inordinate quantity of alcohol (drunkenness). Temperance is about self-control and balancing the good against the desire for over-indulgence. Outwardly, it refers to the pleasures of the senses but, inwardly, temperance serves to calm and nurture a balanced life.
Interactive 10.1
Symbolism of Cardinal Virtues
In many churches, the cardinal virtues are depicted visually using a variety of symbols. These symbols include:
- prudence – book, scroll, mirror, sometimes with a snake
- justice – balance and scales, crown and a sword
- fortitude – armour, club, with a lion, palm, tower, yoke, broken column
- temperance – wheel, bridle and reins, vegetable and fish, cup, water and wine in two jugs.
Activity 10.1 |
Using a Venn diagram for each virtue, compare and contrast the various images in Figure 10.1 and how they represent the virtues. Consider if and how the various symbols are represented in the images. You may wish to include other images.
Using your understanding of the four cardinal virtues, create modern symbols that could be used on digital applications such as an icon added to a text message.
Table 10.1
| Virtue | Prudence | Justice | Fortitude | Temperance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional symbols | ||||
| Symbol | ||||
| Justification |
Identify four modern characters, either from fiction or film, which represent the four cardinal virtues. Combining your understanding of the characters in the context of their narratives with the traditional symbols of each virtue, create a hand-held item each character could carry to represent their virtue.
Moviemakers have decided to use the four cardinal virtues as the basis of the super-hero Batman’s character, in the soon-to-be released movie. You and your team have been assigned with the task of developing the marketing campaign, including the posters and movie trailer. Your task is to launch the marketing campaign and explain the links between Batman’s character and the cardinal virtues and the reasons they work successfully in the film.
You can do this by creating either a poster or a movie trailer using Voki (do a search for Voki on the internet).
Imagine your home city is hosting the next Commonwealth Games and your school has won the opportunity to participate in the opening ceremony.
The Organising Committee has decided that the cardinal virtues will be the theme for the Games.
- Write the opening speech that clearly links the cardinal virtues with the aspirations of great sportspeople.
- Create an emblem or logo that incorporates sporting endeavours with the cardinal virtues.
In chapter 7 of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the Sorting Hat sings a song that depicts the virtues of each house. Read the lyrics to the song:
There’s nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can’t see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
– J. K. Rowling (1997),
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone, p. 88
Try to match the cardinal virtues to each house. Is there a house that does not match a virtue in the song? If not, how and why not?
Activity 10.2 | The Four Virtues in Action
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Above are four scenarios that depict the four cardinal virtues. Copy the table below and describe what appears in each scenario, and write down which virtue each one relates to.
| A | B |
| C | D |
Write down some other scenarios that you think would apply to each of the virtues.
| Prudence | Justice |
| Fortitude | Temperance |
Theological Virtues
Unlike the cardinal virtues, which can be practised by everyone and improved by human effort, the three theological virtues are considered as gifts from God. The three theological virtues are Faith, Hope and Love (or charity). In Christian philosophy, the three theological virtues are qualities associated with salvation.
Faith means being strong and committed in belief. Hope means focusing on God and never giving up in despair. Love means about giving love rather looking to receive love yourself. The three theological virtues are specifically addressed in 1 Corinthians–13.
1If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
In Art, the theological virtues are often depicted as young women and the symbols most often associate with them are:
- Faith – cross pointing upward, staff and chalice, lamp and candle
- Hope – anchor, harp, flaming brand palm
- Love (charity) – flaming heart, with children, gathering fruit.
The four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues assist the believer to live in a close relationship with God. The virtues are habits that believers need to develop and persist with; if a virtue is not practised or it is neglected, it can be lost. Its absence can lead to serious harm. Theological virtues are considered gifts from God; the four cardinal virtues can be practised and developed over time.
Activity 10.3 | Faith, Hope and Charity
The theological virtues are believed to be gifts from God whereas the cardinal virtues are characteristics or traits that human beings can strive to achieve in their everyday lives. Compile a checklist that would exemplify the three theological virtues at work in modern society.
| Images | Identify symbols used. Explain how they are incorporated into the artwork. |
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