Obedience Obedience (Lat. obêdire, “to hearken to”, hence “to obey”) is complying with a command or precept. It is here regarded not as a transitory and isolated act but rather as a virtue or principle of righteous conduct. It is then said to be the moral habit by which one...
What Is Obedience? Obedience, to the secular mind and more so than any other virtue seems to be a vice. By the same token, there is no more certain route to personal disaster than obeying only oneself. We are not so wise or self-sufficient that we can afford to shut...
Obedience (Human Behavior) Obedience (human behavior) is a form of “social influence in which a person yields to explicit instructions or orders from an authority figure”. Obedience is generally distinguished from compliance, which is behavior influenced by peers, and from conformity, which is behavior intended to match that of the majority. Depending on context,...
The Virtue Of Obedience The virtue of obedience presumes that rightful authority exists. And it leads us to respect and comply with those who properly exercise it. Obedience has been central to my life. We live in a turbulent time; a time that’s similar, in some ways, to the various...
Evangelical Counsels The three evangelical counsels or counsels of perfection in Christianity are chastity, poverty (or perfect charity), and obedience. As Jesus of Nazareth stated in the Canonical gospels, they are counsels for those who desire to become “perfect”. The Catholic Church interprets this to mean that they are not binding upon all and hence...
Obedience To God’s Commandments In The Old Testament This article covers Obedience To God’s Commandments In The Old Testament. So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord...
Are We “Born To Be Free”? (Freewill) Each of the prophets, including Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, taught that what people chose to do with respect to belief in God and obedience to His will made a very great difference to the final outcome of their affairs. Humans have a...
Justice, Fortitude, Temperance Last week, Straight Answers addressed the topic of the cardinal virtues — those “hinge” virtues that are the foundation of all virtues. Having examined the virtue of prudence, we now turn to justice, fortitude and temperance. St. Thomas Aquinas defined justice as “a habit whereby a man...