- Man a. "Of all visible creatures, only man is 'able to know and love his creator.' â¦[H]e alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life. It was for this end that he was crated, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity" (CCC 356). a. Man's dignity, or importance, is dependent on his destiny. a. The rest of creation derives its importance from that of Man. The book uses the analogy of a cathedral to the worshipers in the cathedral. a. Our call to be the Body of Christ, along with our dignity as having been created in God's image requires us to act with solidarity with all other people. a. When the Bible says we are created in God's image, it is looking forward to the coming of Christ. The incarnation of God as man makes all human persons have great dignity, and in fact holy. a. We are not a soul inhabiting a body, as if the body is a robot that our soul drives or steers. We do not become angels. a. Our soul is immortal, no animal has an immortal soul. This is a second way in which we are created in God's image, in that we were created for immortality. a. Human sexuality is holy because in it we participate in God's creation. a. Human sexuality is created and intended to be used within the context of marriage. a. Male and female are complimentary, that is different in nature but equal in value, designed to complete each other.
The Fall a. The fall is a real historical event. a. In class we discussed the nature of this temptation in some detail. a. Sin is the reason that there is any evil in the world, in a First Cause sense. a. The doctrine of sin is necessary to understand Man. - We were created good - We are no longer able to be good without supernatural grace - Human theories that discount the fall miss one or the other of these.
a\. Effects of Original Sin on us: - the control of the soul over the body is shattered, we are subject to temptation from our physical desires. - the union of male and female is subject to tensions and their relations marked by lust and domination. - harmony with creation is broken. - death
