What is Theology of the Body?

To give people a quick insight as to what will be coming, I will give you a quick overview.

Pope John Paul II, as a young Karol Wojtyla, began discussing and answering the question of "what does it mean to be human?" His answer is one that is profound and one that will change the world.

His answer is the Theology of the Body. The Theology of the Body is based on 129 Wednesday Audiences the Pope gave to the pilgrims in Rome. It is through these audiences that JP II reveals the basis for his pontificate by answering the question "what does it mean to be a human person?". The talks are quite complex, but the words contain a beauty and truth that, if one searches the depths of their heart, could recognize this truth.
So why is the body a theology?

The best answer is Christ. Christ, through the Incarnation, took on human flesh, he took on human nature! Because God entered the world through a body, the body enters into theology. Moreover, the body, in its masculinity and femininity, reveals the inner life of the Trinity. The human person, both body and soul, not separable, but always together, expresses in the most profound way what God is like. This is not to say that we imitate it in a very close way, the difference is very great, however, the body does reveal in the most perfect way then any other created thing what God is like. This will be discussed in greater detail later on in my posts.

There are 6 cycles to study which are split into 2 parts. Establishing an adequate anthropology (Part I) and applying an adequate anthropology (Part II). Anthropology is the study of man, theology is the study of God. Thus, by studying Man through his body we are able to come to a deeper understanding about the mysteries of God, especially God's love. It is important that when I speak of "Man", I am speaking about all of humanity, both male and female.

Part I is divided into 3 parts: Original Man, Historical Man, and Eschatological Man.

Part II is divided also into 3 parts: Celibacy for the Kingdom, The Sacramentality of Marriage, and Love and Fruitfulness.

Over the next few weeks (perhaps longer) I will discuss these. Depending on how much depth I go into each subject will decide the length of time. I'm pretty open to it all, or I may just do one cycle and stop for a bit. We will see. It is through the Theology of the Body that we come to discover who we are, what we are destine for, why we are the way we are. It speaks to each individual's experience and shows how that experience points to the universal truth about human sexuality.

To define a couple of terms, when I speak of subjective experience, I am speaking of personal experiencs, experiences that are unique to each individual person. When I speak of the objective, I am talking about universal truths which exist outside our personal experiences, but which can be experienced by each individual human person.

I hope you all enjoy this over the next few weeks. If I make mistakes, please correct me, for I am but a mere human being who can make mistakes, I pray I'm not for the sake of God though.

-Harrison