Theological Anthropology

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Theological Anthropology
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What Is It?

• Theo comes from word for God.
• Theology is the study of God and religion.
• Anthropology is the study of man (humans).
• So Theological Anthropology is the study of man
  in the light of God and His Revelation.

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Man

• Why are we here?
• What is something that we all want and are
  looking for?
• A human being is the only creature who searches.
• What are we searching for?
• Everlasting Happiness!

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Where We Search

• Money
• 2. Other People
• 3. Physical Beauty
• 4. Popularity/Fame
• 5. Pleasure
• 6. Power

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Problem

• None of these are everlasting. They will not help
  us obtain everlasting happiness.
• What sets the time limit for our search for
  happiness?
• DEATH
• Death invites us to ask, What is the meaning of
  my life? What is my purpose? Why am I here?

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• Each one of us seeks to know the purpose of our
  life.
• God sees us searching and He comes to meet us.
• Everlasting happiness is found in friendship with
  God. (union with God)
• Everlasting happiness is found in God alone.

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Our Search for God

• In order for us to find God, what has to happen?
• God has to show us himself.
• Definition of Revelation is God showing us
  Himself.
• Re means remove and vela/vellum means
  veil.
• The veil is removed and we can see God
  clearly.

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We Look to God

• To understand ourselves, we look to God.
• Gen. 127God created man in His own image and
  likeness.
• Because of this, we are like mirrors of God and
  we are meant to be friends of God.

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We are made in the Image of Love

• Love self-giving (giving yourself)
• God is a Trinity of Persons who give themselves
  to each other.
• Therefore, God is Love.
• We are made in the image
• of God, therefore we are
• made in the image of Love.

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What is Love?

• Love self-giving
• True love is to want what is best for the other
  person.
• The focus is on the other person, not on me and
  how I feel.
• Love says I am so happy you exist!

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Love vs. Selfishness

• We are only happy when we do what we are made to
  do.
• We are made in Gods image, and God is love
  (total self-giving).
• Therefore, we are only happy when we are
  unselfish, when we truly love others for their
  sake and not for ourselves.
• Selfishness is the opposite of self-giving (love).

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• We are only as miserable as we are selfish.
  Blessed Mother Teresa
• What does this quote mean? Why is it true?

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• If I love God, then I love love, therefore, I
  love loving.
• I love God only as much as I love the person I
  like the least.

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To Love and Be Loved

• We come from GodGod creates us out of love.
• We are meant to return to Godwe do this by
  loving.
• God creates us for self-giving to love Him,
  others and ourselves.
• We are meant to love and be loved.
• We should love God and others, but we should also
  allow ourselves to be loved by God and others.

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Love Requires Freedom

• Because God creates us to love, He must give us
  freedom.
• Love must be free, otherwise it is not love. If
  it is forced, then it is not love.

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Freedom

• God gives us
• 1. Intellect (to know the truth)
• 2. Will (to choose the good)
• Freedom is the ability to know the truth and to
  choose the good.
• That is why To give truth is the greatest
  charity because when we give someone the truth,
  we are helping them to be truly free.

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Freedom Continued

• Freedom is the ability to know the truth and to
  choose the good.
• Freedom is the ability to give ourselves for the
  true and the good.
• Freedom gives us the ability to love.
• The freer we are, the more we can love.

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State of Original Justice

• As a sign of His love, God created man in the
  state of original justice.
• state condition
• original at the beginning
• justice uprightness, or holiness
• The state of original justice is the condition
  of holiness we had at the beginning.

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State of Original Justice Continued

• This state was intended for all human persons.
• This was the state of Adam and Eve in the Garden
  of Eden.
• They were in fourfold communion with God, each
  other, the created world, and themselves.
• No suffering or death.
• No internal suffering (mind, soul, emotions)
• No external suffering (pain, sickness,
  discomfort)

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Fourfold Communion

• FourfoldFour part
• Communion loving relationship or union with
  others
• 1. Man was in communion with God.
• Adam and Eve were best friends with God, they
  shared in Gods inner life, and they understood
  God.
• 2. Man was in communion with each other.
• Adam and Eve were best friends, never hurt or
  used each other, accepted and understood each
  other.

• 3. Man was in communion with the created world.
• The created world recognized man as master,
  (never too hot or too cold, animals never hurt
  them, no allergies, no clothing or shelter
  needed), work was not a burden, all creation
  reminded them of God.
• 4. Man was in communion with themselves.
• Perfect control of their bodies and emotions and
  had no negative self-consciousness about their
  bodies.
• Were at peace with themselves and who they were.

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The Fall

• Before the Fall (disobeying God for the first
  time)
• Bodies were governed by reason and will
• Passions and emotions were directed toward the
  good
• No suffering
• No death

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The Fall

• The Fall
• Adam and Eve knew what they were doing was wrong
• They used their intellect, their power to think
• They chose to do it
• They used their will, their power to choose
• The thing they did was wrong
• Eating the fruit of tree of knowledge of good and
  evilthey sinned
• Sin wrong thingknowledgewill

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• Adam and Eve hurt themselves they did not
  reflect God
• Their mind, will, and bodies were thrown into
  confusion
• Result of Original sin
• Mind is darkenedhard to know the truth
• Will is weakenedhard to love
• Body is rebellious against the mind and willhard
  to do what we know is right
• Suffering and death
• Relationship with Godseveredwe lost sanctifying
  grace

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Original Sin

• Original sinborn without sanctifying grace
• Heaven is closed to us
• Effects of Original Sin
• Minds are darkened
• Wills are weakened
• Bodies are rebellious
• We suffer and die

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Back to Freedom

• Freedom gives us the ability to know the truth
  and to choose the good and to give ourselves for
  it.
• We are made for love and we reach perfection
  through loving, giving of ourselves.
• The greatest good is to love.
• God is love. He is the greatest good.
• Therefore, only He will make us truly happy.

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• Freedom gives us the ability to know the truth,
  therefore freedom should be used to respect
  reality.
• Freedom gives us the ability to choose the good,
  and God is the greatest good, therefore we must
  accept Gods love and His will for us.

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Freedom Continued

• To respect reality is to accept Gods love
• God, our Father, has given us the entire created
  world, so we must respect everything in it.
• Just as a little girl knows how to respect the
  gift of her doll house, we know through
  conscience how to respect the order of reality.
• If I decide for myself the order of reality, I am
  trying to make myself like a god. And if I am
  like God, then I am not allowing God to be God
  because I am trying to put myself above Him.
  Therefore, I am rejecting God, and that will hurt
  me.
• We can pretend that we can say what will be good
  for us, but if it goes against reality, then it
  will hurt or destroy us. (gasoline example)

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True Freedom

• Is not doing whatever I want whenever I want.
• Is respecting the order of reality recognizing
  God as God and following His will.
• God leaves us guidelines to help us be free.
• Jesus established the Church to provide us with a
  road map for our freedom. The Church helps us in
  our journey through life so that we can be truly
  free, and the Holy Spirit guides the Church.

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Holiness

• When we are truly free, then we can follow Gods
  will more easily.
• When we follow Gods will, we are striving for
  holiness.
• We are all called to holiness.
• We are all called to be saints!
• Holiness is the perfection of charity, (the
  perfection of love), and we are made to love and
  be lovedtherefore we are made to be holy, to be
  saints.

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Sin

• Of course, being holy is not always easywe are
  all tempted to sin.
• We are all born with original sin and the effects
  of original sin because of the sin of Adam and
  Eve.
• Adam and Eve were tempted by the Devil, the Evil
  One, but why were they tempted?
• Where did evil come from?

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Evil

• Evil is the absence of a good that should be
  there (just like black is not a color, but the
  absence of colorthe absence of light).
• It is the absence of good!
• For example Deafness is a physical evil because
  it is the absence of the good of hearing that
  should be there.
• Another example Selfishness is the absence of
  the love that should be there.

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Where Did Evil Come From?

• The fall of the angels was the beginning of evil
  in the universe.
• In the beginning, all the angels were good.
• But some chose to reject God and His reign and to
  serve only themselves. This is called the Fall of
  the angels.
• By this one choice, they separated themselves
  from God forever.
• The ones who made the choice to reject God are
  called devils.

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What are Angels?

• Angels are pure spirits without bodies (they are
  not in time)
• They have an intellect and will, but it is
  different from ours.
• Angels understand things in an instantnot like
  we do over time.
• They have freedom and had to choose either to
  accept or reject Gods love.
• Because of their intelligence (knowing things
  instantly), angels make one choice and that one
  choice lasts forever.

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Devils

• God does not create devils, the angels made
  themselves devils.
• Lucifer was the leader of the angels who chose
  to reject God. He came to be called Satan.
• Lucifer means carrier of light. He was the
  highest angel, therefore he is the most evil.
  Why?
• Because evil is the lack of the good that should
  be there, and with Satan, there is the greatest
  distance between where he should be and where he
  is.
• Satan is powerful and real, but remember that he
  is still a creaturehe can only do what God
  allows him to do, so Satans power is limited.

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Our Journey to Holiness

• Through Gods grace we can reject Satan and the
  temptation to sin.
• Through Gods grace we can become the saints that
  we are meant to be.
• We must remember that God loves us infinitely
  (without limits) and he will always be there to
  help us.
• We must grow in our relationship with God by
  getting to know Himand we get to know Him by
  spending time with Him in prayer.