NOTE: The material on this review sheet may appear in different forms and in different sections of the exam.  

I.  Matching.  Be prepared to identify the meaning or significance of the following terms. 

biologism

ET

formal sin

material sin

IVF

heterologous

homologous

naturalism

physicalism

II.  True or False.  The wording of the following may be changed on the exam. 

1.  The goal of law is to make people virtuous. 

2. All the baptized are called to chastity.  

3. The homosexual inclination is disordered.  

4. The homosexual inclination is culpa.  

5. The homosexual inclination is malum.  

6. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is always unjust.

7. According to St. Thomas, the habit of vice is worse than a vicious act.  

8. The gravity of sins varies according to their objects.  

9. The gravity of sins depends upon their cause.

10. Offenses which are in themselves grave, such as adultery, can be venial sins if they are committed by a person who is confused about what he is doing.

11. The object of an act is specified by what the acting person freely chooses to do, and so cannot be described independently of the will of the acting person.

12. Killing someone in self-defense is an exception to the prohibition of murder. 

III.  Short Essays.  Be prepared to answer the following questions in one sentence or one paragraph each.  The amount of points each question will be worth on the exam depends upon the amount of information necessary to fully answer that question.

1. What is the relationship of conscience to the moral law? 

2. Does an erroneous conscience excuse one from culpability?  Explain. 

3. Why is Divine Law necessary? 

4. Explain the naturalistic position against Catholic moral teachings as it is articulated in Veritatis splendor. 

5. What is the “sacred interplay," and how does Lowery use it to illustrate the difference between recourse to infertile periods and various methods of contraception? 

6. Briefly describe the four types of law and their relationships, as set forth by St Thomas. 

7. Name and briefly describe the “four witnesses" discussed by Budziszewski.

8. List the characteristics of conjugal love, the aspects of the conjugal act, impermissible methods of regulating birth, and permissible methods of regulating birth, as set forth in Humanae vitae.

9. Name and describe the “Fonts" of the moral act.

10. Indicate the important distinctions that must be made in order to properly understand the following sentence:  “Homosexuality is evil." 

11. Describe scrupulosity.

12. List the offenses against chastity named in the Catechism.

13. Provide and explain the Catechism’s definition of chastity.

14. Explain what is wrong with the following statement:  “Homosexual persons do not choose their orientation, and therefore are not responsible for their lifestyle." 

15. List the Beatitudes and explain their significance in the Christian moral life.

16. Explain the difference between a doctrine infallibly taught and a doctrine infallibly defined, and why it is important in moral theology. Do any doctrines that fall into either of these categories appear in Evangelium vitae? 

17. Provide the exact wording of St. Augustine’s definition of sin, which St Thomas follows, and explain the two parts of that definition.

18. What, according to St Thomas, are the two causes of sin?

19. Name and briefly explain the three criteria that must be met for a sin to be labeled “mortal."

20. Summarize the features of radical fundamental option theory, and indicate why the theory is problematic.

21. What is the difference between malum and culpa, and why is it important? 

22. What is the “Majority Report," what did it teach, and why is it important today? 

23. What is the basis of the Catechism’s exposition of the fifth commandment, and what sins are specifically forbidden under that heading? 

24. List the natural or cardinal virtues. 

in te domine speravi non confundar in aeternum

© 2007 Daniel G. Van Slyke