Review: Man and Woman - He Created Them
(Reviewed by Matthew Coffin)
In this new translation of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, respected biblical scholar Michael Waldstein presents the Holy Father’ vision of the human person with meticulous scholarship and insight.
Pope John Paul II restores man firmly at the center of reality, making moral absolutes essential. Like Augustine and Aquinas before him, he confirms the fundamental harmony between faith and reason. Using phenomenology and Sacred Scripture, the pontiff affirmed objective moral truth and the dignity of persons, who are shaped by and responsible for their actions.
The fruit of this synthesis, John Paul’s Theology of the Body, is a reflection on our nature and life as persons made in the image and likeness of God, conjugal love, the meaning of celibacy, and the beatitude to which every human being is called. This is the Holy Father’s catechesis for a culture where sex is an obsession, marriage and families are endangered, and the dignity of persons is denied. Teaching about human sexuality using language subjective, inductive, experimental minds can understand, the Theology of the Body is a light in darkness guiding us toward an authentic vision of the person as divine gift.
I highly recommend this translation. The preface and introductory essays are themselves illuminating. This is not summer reading, however, or for the theologically faint of heart. For those unfamiliar with it, I recommend reading and reflecting on one or two catecheses a day to get the most out of this book.
Pope John Paul II restores man firmly at the center of reality, making moral absolutes essential. Like Augustine and Aquinas before him, he confirms the fundamental harmony between faith and reason. Using phenomenology and Sacred Scripture, the pontiff affirmed objective moral truth and the dignity of persons, who are shaped by and responsible for their actions.
The fruit of this synthesis, John Paul’s Theology of the Body, is a reflection on our nature and life as persons made in the image and likeness of God, conjugal love, the meaning of celibacy, and the beatitude to which every human being is called. This is the Holy Father’s catechesis for a culture where sex is an obsession, marriage and families are endangered, and the dignity of persons is denied. Teaching about human sexuality using language subjective, inductive, experimental minds can understand, the Theology of the Body is a light in darkness guiding us toward an authentic vision of the person as divine gift.
I highly recommend this translation. The preface and introductory essays are themselves illuminating. This is not summer reading, however, or for the theologically faint of heart. For those unfamiliar with it, I recommend reading and reflecting on one or two catecheses a day to get the most out of this book.
To purchase this book click here or visit the Catholic Company for similar items.
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