Moral theology

Moral \Mor"al\, a. [F., fr. It. moralis, fr. mos, moris, manner,
   custom, habit, way of life, conduct.]
   1. Relating to duty or obligation; pertaining to those
      intentions and actions of which right and wrong, virtue
      and vice, are predicated, or to the rules by which such
      intentions and actions ought to be directed; relating to
      the practice, manners, or conduct of men as social beings
      in relation to each other, as respects right and wrong, so
      far as they are properly subject to rules.
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            Keep at the least within the compass of moral
            actions, which have in them vice or virtue.
                                                  --Hooker.
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            Mankind is broken loose from moral bands. --Dryden.
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            She had wandered without rule or guidance in a moral
            wilderness.                           --Hawthorne.
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   2. Conformed to accepted rules of right; acting in conformity
      with such rules; virtuous; just; as, a moral man. Used
      sometimes in distinction from religious; as, a moral
      rather than a religious life.
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            The wiser and more moral part of mankind. --Sir M.
                                                  Hale.
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   3. Capable of right and wrong action or of being governed by
      a sense of right; subject to the law of duty.
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            A moral agent is a being capable of those actions
            that have a moral quality, and which can properly be
            denominated good or evil in a moral sense. --J.
                                                  Edwards.
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   4. Acting upon or through one's moral nature or sense of
      right, or suited to act in such a manner; as, a moral
      arguments; moral considerations. Sometimes opposed to
      {material} and {physical}; as, moral pressure or support.
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   5. Supported by reason or probability; practically
      sufficient; -- opposed to {legal} or {demonstrable}; as, a
      moral evidence; a moral certainty.
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   6. Serving to teach or convey a moral; as, a moral lesson;
      moral tales.
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   {Moral agent}, a being who is capable of acting with
      reference to right and wrong.

   {Moral certainty}, a very high degree or probability,
      although not demonstrable as a certainty; a probability of
      so high a degree that it can be confidently acted upon in
      the affairs of life; as, there is a moral certainty of his
      guilt.

   {Moral insanity}, insanity, so called, of the moral system;
      badness alleged to be irresponsible.

   {Moral philosophy}, the science of duty; the science which
      treats of the nature and condition of man as a moral
      being, of the duties which result from his moral
      relations, and the reasons on which they are founded.

   {Moral play}, an allegorical play; a morality. [Obs.]

   {Moral sense}, the power of moral judgment and feeling; the
      capacity to perceive what is right or wrong in moral
      conduct, and to approve or disapprove, independently of
      education or the knowledge of any positive rule or law.

   {Moral theology}, theology applied to morals; practical
      theology; casuistry.
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Theology \The*ol"o*gy\, n.; pl. {Theologies}. [L. theologia, Gr.
   ?; ? God + ? discourse: cf. F. th['e]ologie. See {Theism},
   and {Logic}.]
   The science of God or of religion; the science which treats
   of the existence, character, and attributes of God, his laws
   and government, the doctrines we are to believe, and the
   duties we are to practice; divinity; (as more commonly
   understood) "the knowledge derivable from the Scriptures, the
   systematic exhibition of revealed truth, the science of
   Christian faith and life."
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         Many speak of theology as a science of religion
         [instead of "science of God"] because they disbelieve
         that there is any knowledge of God to be attained.
                                                  --Prof. R.
                                                  Flint (Enc.
                                                  Brit.).
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         Theology is ordered knowledge; representing in the
         region of the intellect what religion represents in the
         heart and life of man.                   --Gladstone.
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   {Ascetic theology}, {Natural theology}. See {Ascetic},
      {Natural}.

   {Moral theology}, that phase of theology which is concerned
      with moral character and conduct.

   {Revealed theology}, theology which is to be learned only
      from revelation.

   {Scholastic theology}, theology as taught by the scholastics,
      or as prosecuted after their principles and methods.

   {Speculative theology}, theology as founded upon, or
      influenced by, speculation or metaphysical philosophy.

   {Systematic theology}, that branch of theology of which the
      aim is to reduce all revealed truth to a series of
      statements that together shall constitute an organized
      whole. --E. G. Robinson (Johnson's Cyc.).
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