Soter Nr. 26 - Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas

ŽMOGAUS KŪNO VERTĖ
APAŠTALO PAULIAUS MOKYME PAGAL JONO PAULIAUS II VEIKALĄ „KŪNO TEOLOGIJA“
Vida DAUGIRDIENĖ
VALUE OF PERSON’S BODY IN TEACHING OF APOSTLE ST. PAUL ACCORDING TO JOHN
PAUL’S II STUDY “THEOLOGY OF THE BODY”
Summary
According to the conception of modern person his (persons) body is considered having a value only for him:
he uses his body as a source of pleasure (occasional sexual relations), body becomes “goods” (prostitution,
pornography, creation and destruction of embryos having a purpose to take a stem cells), body’s parts being
changed with a psychological urge to belong to the opposite sex (transsexualism), body’s damaging by violence
nowadays becomes an ordinary event. Because of mentioned problems there is a danger that such attitude to a
person as an object of use may be transmitted from one generation to another - person’s body will lose its value
coming from a Creator himself. Such attitude to person’s body is a consumer’s attitude.
However a person is a unity of a body and a soul. Without one of them a person is not able to exist. Body
possesses dignity of God’s image; body is a person’s body because it is vivified by a spiritual soul, while a whole
personality is devoted to be a temple of a Holy Spirit. That’s why to depreciate body means to depreciate a person
created according to God’s picture.
Study’s object: value of person’s body.
Study’s purpose: to present understanding of person’s body in teaching of Apostle Saint Paul.
Goals:
1. To explain meanings of Saint Paul anthropological terms,
2. To analyze understanding of body redemption and resurrection in works of Saint Paul,
3. To present analogy of “Head – body unity” in Epistle to the Ephesians,
4. To bring to light person’s body as a Temple of Saint Spirit.
First of all we have to give commentaries about anthropological terms used by Saint Paul. Words sarks and
soma we meet in Epistles Saint Paul are translated as body, nevertheless their meanings are different. Greek
word soma in Saint Paul epistles means not a separate part of body but a whole person. However St. Paul
presents soma as well and from negative side - when a person is under influence of sarks i.e. when kindness
does not live in him. There is only one possibility to overcome oneself and it is a gift of God’s Spirit.
Sarks is to be understood as human nature. Sarks expresses man’s estrangement from God, his frailty and
scantiness, his solidarity with other creatures (they as well are distant from God).
Greek word pneuma means moving air, spirit. St. Paul understands spirit as everywhere penetrating God’s
might. That’s why person’s spirit unites his personality with God and encourages living together with him.
According with Apostle person’s nature entices and seduces him to reject God’s will but God’s Spirit acting
in person prompts him to be virtuous towards others and avoid bad behaviour as well as gives him will power
“to follow the ways of the Spirit” (Rom 8, 4).
In St. Paul’s anthropology soma, sarks and pneuma are connected with psyche. Psyche means body’s vitality,
but it is not resistant to death.
We see that Apostle St. Paul characterizes a person as unity of body, soul and spirit (1 Tes 23).
The purpose of Jesus Christ was to unify earth and heaven, spirit and matter, establish peace between
person and God.
While reading St. Paul’s letters some aspects about value of human body are to be seen.
According to St. Paul’s opinion - hope is an object of body’s redemption. Hope reveals a genuine origin
of a man and body’s redemption has an anthropological dimension – God redeemed a person. Consequently,
body’s redemption is already accomplished in Christ and a hope was in him.
Body’s resurrection – another aspect of body’s value is to be seen in apostle St. Paul’s works. We may affirm
that human body after resurrection will be noble and honourable as it was when God created a man. A body
after resurrection will be endowed to be incorruptible, to be in glory and in power (1 Kor 15, 42–43). Sensual
body is put to a coffin, while body after resurrection will be spiritual and eternal. This is one of the most important
aspects of body’s value.
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