In Roman Catholicism, the theology of the body is based on the premise that the human body has its origin in God. It will be, like the body of Jesus, resurrected, transformed and taken into heavenly glory. Theological anthropology is based on this premise. The 1950 dogma of the bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the latest dogmatic manifestation of the Catholic theology of the body. It states that Mary, who is in Christian theology Mother of God but also a human being, "was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Anyone, who should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt, has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith.
The theology of the body has a long history and tradition within the Catholic Church. Early Church fathers wrote on the role of the body and its relation to the soul, often elevating soul over body. But like the soul, it is also created by God in his image. This is important even today, as the existence of a soul is the basis for much Church teachings on the human body, in areas such as abortion. Ambrose of Milan and Augustine of Hippo applied these views in their teachings on the human body, virginity and celibacy. Thomas Aquinas developed a systematic view, which dominated Church teachings and ecumenical councils including Vatican II. All recent Popes contributed from different angles to the theology of the body. Current issues include the dignity of the body in light of its divine origin and destination, its eventual resurrection; virginity, the Christian sacrament of marriage, and derived issues such as faithfulness and contraception. The latest official Church teaching on the subject was the encyclical Deus Caritas Est (On Christian Love) from Pope Benedict XVI, promulgated on Christmas, December 25, 2005.
Augustine is the father of many contemporary theological views on the body. He dwelled at length on the condition of the human body before and after the fall. He was convinced that the heavenly state consisted in complete control of mind over body, especially in the area of sexuality. To illustrate this point, he notes, that some people can wiggle with their ears, nose or even hair, completely at their will. This condition of complete freedom and absence of lust existed for human sexuality too before the fall. The body must be controlled, and therefore Augustine like his teacher Ambrose considered virginity of the human body the superior way of Christ. He considered matrimony a triple blessing in light of its offspring, conjugal faith and being a sacrament: "In conjugal faith it is provided that there should be no carnal intercourse outside the marriage bond with another man or woman; with regard to offspring, that children should be begotten of love, tenderly cared for and educated in a religious atmosphere; finally, in its sacramental aspect that the marriage bond should not be broken and that a husband or wife, if separated, should not be joined to another even for the sake of offspring. This we regard as the law of marriage by which the fruitfulness of nature is adorned and the evil of incontinence is restrained.
He quoted St Paul saying that young girls should marry, arguing that they should bear children to be mothers of families'." Augustine was one of the first and most important Church fathers who wrote, that contraception is wrong: "Intercourse even with one's legitimate wife is unlawful and wicked where the conception of the offspring is prevented. Onan, the son of Juda, did this and the Lord killed him for it."
T. Michael Claude is Editor-in-Chief of ConfessionGoers.com, an online Catholic Magazine dealing specifically with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The site can be enjoyed by following this link:
http://www.confessiongoers.com
History
The theology of the body has a long history and tradition within the Catholic Church. Early Church fathers wrote on the role of the body and its relation to the soul, often elevating soul over body. But like the soul, it is also created by God in his image. This is important even today, as the existence of a soul is the basis for much Church teachings on the human body, in areas such as abortion. Ambrose of Milan and Augustine of Hippo applied these views in their teachings on the human body, virginity and celibacy. Thomas Aquinas developed a systematic view, which dominated Church teachings and ecumenical councils including Vatican II. All recent Popes contributed from different angles to the theology of the body. Current issues include the dignity of the body in light of its divine origin and destination, its eventual resurrection; virginity, the Christian sacrament of marriage, and derived issues such as faithfulness and contraception. The latest official Church teaching on the subject was the encyclical Deus Caritas Est (On Christian Love) from Pope Benedict XVI, promulgated on Christmas, December 25, 2005.
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine is the father of many contemporary theological views on the body. He dwelled at length on the condition of the human body before and after the fall. He was convinced that the heavenly state consisted in complete control of mind over body, especially in the area of sexuality. To illustrate this point, he notes, that some people can wiggle with their ears, nose or even hair, completely at their will. This condition of complete freedom and absence of lust existed for human sexuality too before the fall. The body must be controlled, and therefore Augustine like his teacher Ambrose considered virginity of the human body the superior way of Christ. He considered matrimony a triple blessing in light of its offspring, conjugal faith and being a sacrament: "In conjugal faith it is provided that there should be no carnal intercourse outside the marriage bond with another man or woman; with regard to offspring, that children should be begotten of love, tenderly cared for and educated in a religious atmosphere; finally, in its sacramental aspect that the marriage bond should not be broken and that a husband or wife, if separated, should not be joined to another even for the sake of offspring. This we regard as the law of marriage by which the fruitfulness of nature is adorned and the evil of incontinence is restrained.
He quoted St Paul saying that young girls should marry, arguing that they should bear children to be mothers of families'." Augustine was one of the first and most important Church fathers who wrote, that contraception is wrong: "Intercourse even with one's legitimate wife is unlawful and wicked where the conception of the offspring is prevented. Onan, the son of Juda, did this and the Lord killed him for it."
T. Michael Claude is Editor-in-Chief of ConfessionGoers.com, an online Catholic Magazine dealing specifically with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The site can be enjoyed by following this link:
http://www.confessiongoers.com