Theology of the Body

1
Theology of the Body

• biblical foundations
• philosophical unity
• human reality
• the acting person
• the personalistic norm

2
Biblical Foundations

• GENESIS 1
• dignity of human being is created
• not deserved
• not achieved
• not changeable

• GENESIS 2-3
• human freedom
• dependent upon truth
• realized in action
• human fallibility
• concupiscence

3
Philosophical Unity

• humans created body and soul
• humans live as body (finite) and spirit (free)
• freedom is not mere choice (focus on spirit)
• freedom is not determined (focus on body)
• freedom choice
• liberty free from interference (having choice)
• freedom exercise of truth (making choice)

4
Theology of the Body

• 129 talks over 5 years
• based on Incarnation Jesus reveals man to
  himself and makes our calling clear

5
Human as Embodied Spirit

• historical realism human choice is not free
  from reality
• divine mystery humans are called to communion,
  with each other and with God
• body spirit co-exist
• a personality exists only in a person
• a person is more than the body he/she inhabits

6
The Acting Person

• what we are and what we do are distinct, but
  not separable
• who we are influences our actions
• our choices must be enacted
• what we do influences our persons
• our actions reveal affect our choices

7
The personalistic norm

• negatively never treat another human as a means
  to an end (an object that we use), but only and
  always as an end in him/herself
• positively the only proper and adequate
  attitude towards other is that of love