About this episode

This episode explores the concept of evil in Catholic moral theology, emphasizing its clarity and the moral disorder of human actions.

In a world of loud moral arguments and social-media slogans, real precision often gets lost. In this three-part series, Greg unpacks one of the most attractive features of Catholic moral theology: its remarkable clarity around evil as a privation (not a substance), intrinsically evil acts, prudential judgment, and authentic development of doctrine. Episode 1, “The Anatomy of Evil,” explores how human actions are good in their being yet can be morally disordered in their object—drawing on Aquinas, C.S. Lewis’s “bent” imagery, and concrete examples like homosexual activity and direct abortion. Episode 2 lays out the practical schematics the Church has refined for two thousand years: universal principles, absolute norms, positive obligations, prudence, and Newman-style development (including the language of “inadmissible”). Episode 3 applies those tools to four relatable everyday cases—money lending and usury, lying versus legitimate deception, disciplining children (spanking), and gambling—showing exactly how Catholics can reason faithfully through complex situations with both intellectual honesty and pastoral charity. SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100%…

People in this episode

Host: Greg Smith

Topics covered

• moral theology
• evil
• Catholic doctrine
• human actions
• moral disorder
• prudential judgment

Keywords

• moral theology
• evil
• Catholic Church
• Aquinas
• C.S. Lewis
• homosexual activity
• direct abortion
• moral arguments

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