The Catholic Church Religious Studies: Discuss the Idea of Common Good as Practiced by the Catholic Believers (Essay Sample)

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Students Name
Class
Date
Background Information
The Catholic Church teaches us that we should always aim at working towards the common interest. This statement contains two principal definitions which the doctrines insist that should be taken into consideration by everybody. The term "good" as used in this context refers to the values which ensure that individuals can attain their respective fulfillments more efficiently. Such qualities may always be considered as the desired social conditions in the society. The second keyword is "common" which refers to the need for a collective pursuit of good by all humanity. The teachings of this religion remain adamant that those who chase after the rewarding aspects of life at individual levels are not "practicing the common good." Such kinds of activities are considered as selfishness and benefit more of the person than the society. When a person intends to become the only beneficiary of the valuable social conditions, then such ambitions become meaningless. The Catholic Church is known for its firm stands on various issues. Most of the principles used by this church are deduced from different verses in the Bible. Therefore, it is a common tradition that most of the values taught by the Catholic doctrines are hybrids of various commandments.[John, Cobb, Sustaining the common good: a Christian perspective on the global economy (Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 1994), 86.]
Biblical Context
The book of Jeremiah reveals a lot of information and guidance regarding the idea of common good. There is a clear indication that God intended human beings to live together and work for a universal benefit. It was very selfish of the people of Judah for failing to appreciate the individuals who were considered not to be in a position to make financial contributions to the economy (Jer. 5:28) as well as the widows and foreigners (Jer. 7:6). The idea of having to include everyone for a given practice to be considered as a "common good" is clearly evident from these two sections of the Bible. The prophet was very emphatic on the fact that the failure by these people to share all the resources with everyone was none other than selfishness. This claim was fully resonant with the teachings of the Catholic Church. The book of First Corinthians also states that "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good," (1st Cor. 12:7). This verse implies that the human beings have already been shown the way of the good. Therefore, it is upon them to practice these values and ensure that they use them to benefit all. These biblical quotes reveal that God created "common good" to help everyone. He also commands humanity to appreciate and respect this value.
Question Formulation
The commandments that are given by God are the most important values in the life of a person. It is, therefore, a necessity that these ideas are highly respected. God is all knowing and understands all that happens in the world. The modern society is also characterized by various ideas that have been put in place to ensure that things run smoothly. The most controversial of the contemporary societal values is the field of ethics. Constitutional legislations are currently in place to ensure that everyone lives in accordance with the required laws. It is also a common knowledge that some of the rules used to control the behavioral aspects of the society today are contradicting with the doctrines of the Catholic Church. How then do we balance the modern legislations with the biblical teachings? While the lawmakers of the contemporary generation help in ensuring that ethics prevails in our community, some of their methods of achieving these goals contradict religion. It is also obvious that whoever violates the societal values is bound to face the consequences. Which of these two contradicting alternatives should we use? Are we supposed to have two lives in which one respects religion while the other conforms to the ethical demands of the society? Is it not obvious that double consciousness would be a threat to our faith in religious practices?[John, Cobb, Sustaining the common good: a Christian perspective on the global economy (Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 1994), 92-94.]
Theologians’ Views
Apart from the general Catholic interpretation of this concept, some theologians also had their opinions about this matter. The first scholar who focused on the interpretation of the concept was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. This person approached the issue from the societal functionality perspective. He describes the society as a group of people who have a common interest. This definition gives rise for the need to work together if the collective objectives are to be effectively achieved. The first argument that comes out clearly from this rationale is that there can never be such thing as a "common good" in a locality where individuals do not appreciate the value of working as a single unit. He gives an example of the case whereby the members of a given population can only achieve a universal benefit if they are willing to comply with the factors such as the laws and political aspects of the community. By this statement, Rousseau implies that it takes the intervention of a unifying factor to ensure that the people are encouraged to work towards achieving common desires.[John, Cobb, Sustaining the common good: a Christian perspective on the global economy (Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 1994), 106-109.]
Technically, the Catholic Church doctrine is a typical example of the weapon used to create the togetherness amongst the believers. Even though the various elements of these values are discussed in the Bible, the denomination tries to emphasize on making this argument one of the principal requirements of its members. In general, this person's view is that the quality of universal good is a weapon for survival amongst given groups in the society. The other scholars who focused on this issue are Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who are also the pioneers of the theory of utilitarianism. These individuals argue that ethics is all about doing the maximum possible good to the largest number of people. This definition implies that the theory allows for individuals to intentionally harm others if their intentions are to benefit or save the largest number of people. These theorists went as far as referring to this hypothesis as the theory of the maximum good. Through this argument, the society is allowed to exclude a given minority groups if this action would cause maximum good to the remain...