Sunday, 9 February 2014
Right and Good Part One
I had a great discussion with a friend of mine this morning as to what is "right" and what is "good". Another discussion followed with another person, (both of these friends being men), concerning the same topic. Both are in their mid-forties and both completely disagreed at to what could be determined as "right" and what could be determined as "good".
This question of definitions is important as these words determine our journey to perfection. In fact, if we do not understand definitions, Catholics can be talking about the same words and mean something completely different.
Let me start with a simplified version of Aquinas' definition of the good.
"....corporeal good is whatever contributes to the perfection of the purely animal nature ;
spiritual good is that which perfects the spiritual faculty-knowledge, truth ;
useful good is that which is desired merely as a means to something else;
the delectable or pleasurable good is any good regarded merely in the light of the pleasure it produces."
Westerners have for centuries used Plato, Aristotle and the Doctors of the Church for definitions of the good. And, of course, the Jews had a definition of good, as we see in the Book of Genesis.
So God created the world "good" as a reflection of Himself, as He is Good.
But, the goodness was marred by Original Sin. So all the goods listed above were interrupted by sin.
How do we know what is good? The first way we know is from the teachings of the Catholic Church on natural and revealed law. The Hebrew word for good is tobh. The Greek idea of good was much more complicated. But, the idea of righteousness in the Old Testament, tseh'-dek, is first and foremost, an attribute of God, as some of the Greeks thought "goodness" was as well, particularly the Platonists.
Now, righteousness is connected in the Old Testament with being upright, just, straight, innocent, true, sincere. Also, righteousness meant being in the Will of God. Abraham and Job are described as righteous because they had faith in God despite everything. Faith made gave them all the virtues described above.
Of course, as one sees in St. Paul, in Romans (my favorite epistle),
Romans 1:17
Douay-Rheims 1899
17 For the justice of God is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: The just man liveth by faith.
This translation uses the word "just" for righteous. To be "just" and again, God is Just, which means He always does and is what is "right". Therefore, one sees an overlap of the idea of right and the idea o good.
When we
use our intellect to determine what is good, we also use the cardinal
virtue of justice, choosing that which is good for the other, following
prudence, which is the virtue which determines that which is approriate
and good.
In both instances, the intellect must be used to determine what is good,
that which is truthful and that which is appropriate. The more one
conforms one's mind to the mind of Christ, the more one is able to
develop the virtues necessary to determine the good and the right.
To be continued....