The Human Person: According to John Paul II
Overview
What does it mean to be human?
In his theology of the body, John Paul II made an important contribution to answering this question. Here Brian Bransfield provides a systematic approach to his teaching, using it as a basis for an integrated moral theology/Christian anthropology that gives practical support in living the Christian life.
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- Analyzes John Paul II’s theology of the body
- Applies moral theology to the Christian life
- Reveals a deeper understanding of spiritual life
- Two Cultures Clash
- The Experiences of Wojtyla/The Experiences of the Twentieth Century
- The Perfect Storm
- The Theology of the Body, Original Innocence, and Original Shame
- The Beginning
- The Theology of the Body and the Two Creation Accounts
- Sin and the Effects of Sin
- The Theology of the Body, Life according to the Spirit
- Renewing the Image
- The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Beatitudes, and the Virtues
Top Highlights
“Rather, myth in the classical sense tells a truth about the human person through an event that is so true it cannot fit under a microscope.” (Page 54)
“But there is a richer form of evangelization. In a more original form, evangelization takes on the character of a sign. This sign shows that the believer lives from a source that informs his being and direction in the world.” (Page 45)
“John Paul has introduced to theologians a new consideration of the meaning of the body: ‘The body expresses the person.’ Donald Asci notes, ‘As a constitutive element of the person, the structure or design of the body tells us something about the nature of personhood.’80 Asci explains, ‘The human body differs from other bodies because, rather than being something entirely exterior, ‘the human body is the exteriorization of something that is essentially interior.’ ’” (Page 88)
“But God is faithful to his love. God does not leave man to his own devices. God does not grow angry when man sins. God does not say, ‘I told you so.’ Instead, the first thing God says when man sins is, ‘I have a plan.’ John Paul notes that even Cain’s punishment does not destroy his dignity: ‘Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity.’3 The punishment is healing, not vindictive. It is not some arbitrary temperamental act of a frustrated God. Rather, ‘the punishment of sin … principally occurs in the process of the righting of the imbalance within the creature.’4 The punishment/plan is not a deprivation, but a restoration.” (Pages 163–164)
“Corbon declares, ‘[A] relationship with another human being is a new experience of creation.’116 Balthasar notes, ‘The highest point, therefore, that an eye is able to attain is to look into another eye that sees. Two clarities, two separatenesses sink into one another and coincide without being blended together.’” (Page 94)
Bransfield’s book is ‘required reading’ for those interested in the writings of Pope John Paul II on the theology of the body. The author gives valuable insights which will help the reader grow in a personal relationship with God and come to a deeper understanding of self. It is solid theology rooted in spirituality.
—Gregory M. Aymond, archbishop of New Orleans
Bransfield motivates me as a reader. Bransfield’s obviously a natural teacher, because he taps into so many different stories and experiences throughout this book, and he also uses other people’s wisdom. He references the entire body of John Paul II’s work as well as many of the others who have written about it. This book becomes, then, a sort of ‘best of,’ written by someone who has a gift for sharing it and making you want to hunt down the source material for more. I found myself wanting to ditch my reading pile and just pick up Theology of the Body (both the shiny new one and the old, dog-eared copy) for myself. He made me want to revisit Love and Responsibility and a couple of the encyclicals I’ve been meaning to reread. He made me want to keep learning, keep digging, keep immersing myself. He made me want to WAKE UP, and maybe that’s the biggest nod I can give any author, especially one writing about such an important and life-changing topic.
—Sarah A. Reinhard, author
What life-opening pages! Bransfield illuminates John Paul II’s vision of the human person brilliantly, fleshing out spiritual insights with an eye to the practical—a combination which opens for us the vocation to love, from the inside out.
—Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight, Knights of Columbus
- Title: The Human Person: According to John Paul II
- Author: J. Brian Bransfield
- Publisher: Pauline Books & Media
- Publication Date: 2010
- Pages: 288
- Christian Group: Catholic
- Resource Type: Monographs
- Topic: Theology