The Attraction to the Theology of the Body

Image from tobinstitute.org

I was recently asked what my attraction was to John Paul II's Theology of the Body. The following is my very simple attempt to answer that question.

Since I write mostly Catholic-themed novels and romances, I would like my fiction to be consistent with Catholic doctrine. It was while writing Sprainter, my art-themed, young adult, dystopean, Catholic novella that I was drawn to the Theology of the Body (TOB).

The TOB is JP II's series of Wednesday audience catecheses spanning five years, from 1979 - 1985. The presentations were referred to informally as the Theology of the Body, and it looks like the name will stick, although I believe JP II had titled his work Human Love in the Divine Plan. The TOB is JP II's systematic plan to validate and expound upon Pope Paul VI's controversial 1969 encyclical Humana Vitae - the Catholic Church's official general response to contraception, and The Pill, in particular. JP II, as Cardinal Wojtyla, helped to formulate Humana Vitae.

It is important to note that, as JP II frequently asserted, this is not really a "new" theology. Everything that he states in TOB is found in the Bible and is consistent with Catholic dogma and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, along with the Canon Code of Law. JP II merely presents another way for Catholics to implement the Church's fundamental beliefs into our everyday lives.

The TOB also forms the basis, I believe, of the call to the New Evangelization.

So What is the TOB?

The basic idea of TOB is to show, through a particular type of philosophical analysis (phenomenological analysis - JP II, Teilhard de Chardin, and Edith Stein were all Catholic phenomenologists), what it means for us to truly take seriously the fact that our God (qua Spirit) became incarnate for our redemption. JPII wants us to seriously/theologically understand the physicality of Jesus, as God and as man, and what the implications of the Incarnation mean for Catholics.

[Philosophical side note:

I have a couple of degrees in Philosophy, in the field of Phenomenology as it happens, so that greatly helped to understand the philosophical framework of Blessed John Paul II's analysis. The reason JP II uses Phenomenology as the philosophical framework to support his catecheses is, simply put, because Phenomenology is a philosophy which asserts that there is a real physical world out there, and that we can learn what conceptual reality that these physical objects (such as our bodies, for example) point to by analyzing these physical realities. I realize that this point seems seems trivially obvious to everyone, but it is somewhat revolutionary to philosophers who are not existential phenomenologists.]

In the TOB JP II aims to show how far persons have strayed from the ideal persons found in Genesis, when God first created Adam and Eve "And it was good" to where we are now, with our prevalent culture of death. Through the use of the Phenomenological Method, JP II explores the state of conjugal love before the fall, as he follows Jesus' directive to the Pharisees that to truly understand marriage we must return to Genesis, to the first and authentic mutual self-giving between husband and wife.

Through this analysis, JP II reclaims the human body in all of its original sacramentality, and in particular he shows how marriage is the most fundamental sacrament, from which all other sacraments flow. He also explains how priests and other celibate religious persons partake of this sacramental, nuptual marriage. The argument, quickly sketched out is as follows: since Jesus Christ is understood as the Bridegroom, he married the Church (us) when he performed the sacrifice of the Cross, shedding His Blood for our salvation. So this TOB isn't just for couples, although JP II is more concerned to apply his views to marriage. There are echoes of marriages throughout JP II's analysis of the Church, Christ, and couple's nuptual unions.

The fruits of JP II's study of the sanctity of personhood are only beginning to be understood by Catholic theologians. As scholarship and schools continue to spread the message, our priests will become better acquainted with this new and exciting interpretation of the Bible.

I have heard people beginning to refer to JP II as The Great JP II. I can understand why when I read the TOB. It is a very exciting theology, the result of pious and humble reasoning from a great mind.

Although the issue of elevating the body to such a high level of sacramentality leaves some believers uneasy, and it must be stressed that the TOB is sanctioned by the Vatican. Our local parish teaches the TOB to the middle school and high school kids, in conjunction with sex ed. I believe Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is quoted as saying that we must all learn from JP II how to apply this new way of seeing ourselves, our spouses, and the Church.

Why Should I Have to Study the Theology of the Body?

No one has to study the TOB, but the Catholic Church will most certainly be developing doctrine based on the TOB for years (millenia?) to come. If you value the concept of personhood, of same-sex marriage, of the sacredness of marriage, of the importance of God in a couple's conjugal life, then the TOB is necessary reading. If you have fallen into the Manachean heresy of believing that the human body or sex is "bad" or "evil" and corrupts the soul, you need to read the TOB, if only to rediscover what the Catholic Church truly believes.

If you have not read Humana Vitae, I would strongly recommend reading it before beginning your studies on the TOB. A little bit of Husserl and Edith Stein wouldn't hurt either, but you can pick up the Phenomenology basics as you go along. Humana Vitae is third on my Catholic must read list, behind The Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

You can find much more information on the TOB at the Theology of the Body website: tobinstitute.org

PS: I take full responsibility for any fundamentally/doctrinally wrong statements in this simplified account of the TOB. So, please do not simply take my word for it, read the TOB for yourselves!

It's a wonderful and amazing time to be Catholic!

PSS: Having re-read my post, I realize that I didn't fully answer the question of why I am attracted to the TOB. Look for Part II soon!

~ JT ~