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12. According to the almost unanimous opinion of believers and
unbelievers alike, all things on earth should be related to man as
their center and crown.
But what is man? About himself he has expressed, and continues to
express, many divergent and even contradictory opinions. In these he
often exalts himself as the absolute measure of all things or debases
himself to the point of despair. The result is doubt and anxiety.
The Church certainly understands these problems. Endowed with light
from God, she can offer solutions to them, so that man's true
situation can be portrayed and his defects explained, while at the same
time his dignity and destiny are justly acknowledged.
For Sacred Scripture teaches that man was created "to the image of
God," is capable of knowing and loving his Creator, and was
appointed by Him as master of all earthly creatures[8] that he might
subdue them and use them to God's glory.[9] "What is man that
you should care for him? You have made him little less than the
angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule
over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet"
(Ps. 8:5-7).
But God did not create man as a solitary, for from the beginning
"male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:27). Their
companionship produces the primary form of interpersonal communion.
For by his innermost nature man is a social being, and unless he
relates himself to others he can neither live nor develop his
potential.
Therefore, as we read elsewhere in Holy Scripture God saw "all
that he had made, and it was very good" (Gen. 1:31).
13. Although he was made by God in a state of holiness, from the
very onset of his history man abused his liberty, at the urging of the
Evil One. Man set himself against God and sought to attain his goal
apart from God. Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him
as God, but their senseless minds were darkened and they served the
creature rather than the Creator.[10] What divine revelation makes
known to us agrees with experience. Examining his heart, man finds
that he has inclinations toward evil too, and is engulfed by manifold
ills which cannot come from his good Creator. Often refusing to
acknowledge God as his beginning, man has disrupted also his proper
relationship to his own ultimate goal as well as his whole relationship
toward himself and others and all created things.
Therefore man is split within himself. As a result, all of human
life, whether individual or collective, shows itseLf to be a dramatic
struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness. Indeed,
man finds that by himself he is incapable of battling the assaults of
evil successfully, so that everyone feels as though he is bound by
chains. But the Lord Himself came to free and strengthen man,
renewing him inwardly and casting out that "prince of this world"
(John 12:31) who held him in the bondage of sin.[11] For sin
has diminished man, blocking his path to fulfillment.
The call to grandeur and the depths of misery, both of which are a
part of human experience, find their ultimate and simultaneous
explanation in the light of this revelation.
14. Though made of body and soul, man is one. Through his bodily
composition he gathers to himself the elements of the material world;
thus they reach their crown through him, and through him raise their
voice in free praise of the Creator.[12] For this reason man is not
allowed to despise his bodily life, rather he is obliged to regard his
body as good and honorable since God has created it and will raise it
up on the last day. Nevertheless, wounded by sin, man experiences
rebellious stirrings in his body. But the very dignity of man
postulates that man glorify God in his body and forbid it to serve the
evil inclinations of his heart [13].
Now, man is not wrong when he regards himself as superior to bodily
concerns, and as more than a speck of nature or a nameless constituent
of the city of man. For by his interior qualities he outstrips the
whole sum of mere things. He plunges into the depths of reality
whenever he enters into his own heart; God, Who probes the
heart,[14] awaits him there; there he discerns his proper destiny
beneath tho eyes of God. Thus, when he recognizes in himself a
spiritual and immortal soul, he is not being mocked by a fantasy born
only of physical or social influences, but is rather laying hold of the
proper truth of the matter.
15. Man judges rightly that by his intellect he surpasses the
material universe, for he shares in the light of the divine mind. By
relentlessly employing his talents through the ages he has indeed made
progress in the practical sciences and in technology and the liberal
arts. In our times he has won superlative victories, especially in
his probing of the material world and in subjecting it to himself.
Still he has always searched for more penetrating truths, and finds
them. For his intelligence is not confined to observable data alone,
but can with genuine certitude attain to reality itself as knowable,
though in consequence of sin that certitude is partly obscured and
weakened.
The intellectual nature of the human person is perfected by wisdom and
needs to be, for wisdom gently attracts the mind of man to a quest and
a love for what is true and good. Steeped in wisdom. man passes
through visible realities to those which are unseen.
Our era needs such wisdom more than bygone ages if the discoveries made
by man are to be further humanized. For the future of the world stands
in peril unless wiser men are forthcoming. It should also be pointed
out that many nations, poorer in economic goods, are quite rich in
wisdom and can offer noteworthy advantages to others.
It is, finally, through the gift of the Holy Spirit that man comes
by faith to the contemplation and appreciation of the divine
plan.[15]
16. In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he
does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to obedience.
Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of
conscience when necessary speaks to his heart: do this, shun that.
For man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very
dignity of man; according to it he will be judged.[16] Conscience
is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with
God, Whose voice echoes in his depths.[17] In a wonderful
manner conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love of God
and neighbor.[18] In fidelity to conscience, Christians are
joined with the rest of men in the search for truth, and for the
genuine solution to the numerous problems which arise in the life of
individuals from social relationships. Hence the more right conscience
holds sway, the more persons and groups turn aside from blind choice
and strive to be guided by the objective norms of morality. Conscience
frequently errs from invincible ignorance without losing its dignity.
The same cannot be said for a man who cares but little for truth and
goodness, or for a conscience which by degrees grows practically
sightless as a result of habitual sin.
17. Only in freedom can man direct himself toward goodness. Our
contemporaries make much of this freedom and pursue it eagerly; and
rightly to be sure. Often however they foster it perversely as a
license for doing whatever pleases them, even if it is evil. For its
part, authentic freedom is an exceptional sign of the divine image
within man. For God has willed that man remain "under the control of
his own decisions,"[19] so that he can seek his Creator
spontaneously, and come freely to utter and blissful perfection through
loyalty to Him. Hence man's dignity demands that he act according to
a knowing and free choice that is personally motivated and prompted from
within, not under blind internal impulse nor by mere external
pressure. Man achieves such dignity when, emancipating himself from
all captivity to passion, he pursues his goal in a spontaneous choice
of what is good, and procures for himself through effective and skilful
action, apt helps to that end. Since man's freedom has been damaged
by sin, only by the aid of God's grace can he bring such a
relationship with God into full flower. Before the judgement seat of
God each man must render an account of his own life, whether he has
done good or evil.[20]
18. It is in the face of death that the riddle a human existence
grows most acute. Not only is man tormented by pain and by the
advancing deterioration of his body, but even more so by a dread of
perpetual extinction. He rightly follows the intuition of his heart
when he abhors and repudiates the utter ruin and total disappearance of
his own person. He rebels against death because he bears in himself an
eternal seed which cannot be reduced to sheer matter. All the
endeavors of technology, though useful in the extreme, cannot calm his
anxiety; for prolongation of biological life is unable to satisfy that
desire for higher life which is inescapably lodged in his breast.
Although the mystery of death utterly beggars the imagination, the
Church has been taught by divine revelation and firmly teaches that man
has been created by God for a blissful purpose beyond the reach of
earthly misery. In addition, that bodily death from which man would
have been immune had he not sinned[21] will be vanquished,
according to the Christian faith, when man who was ruined by his own
doing is restored to wholeness by an almighty and merciful Saviour.
For God has called man and still calls him so that with his entire
being he might be joined to Him in an endless sharing of a divine life
beyond all corruption. Christ won this victory when He rose to life,
for by His death He freed man from death[22]. Hence to every thoughtful
man a solidly established faith provides the answer to his anxiety about
what the future holds for him. At the same time faith gives him the
power to be united in Christ with his loved ones who have already been
snatched away by death; faith arouses the hope that they have found
true life with God.
19. The root reason for human dignity lies in man's call to
communion with God. From the very circumstance of his origin man is
already invited to converse with God. For man would not exist were he
not created by Gods love and constantly preserved by it; and he cannot
live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love
and devotes himself to His Creator. Still, many of our
contemporaries have never recognized this intimate and vital link with
God, or have explicitly rejected it. Thus atheism must be accounted
among the most serious problems of this age, and is deserving of closer
examination.
The word atheism is applied to phenomena which are quite distinct from
one another. For while God is expressly denied by some, others
believe that man can assert absolutely nothing about Him. Still
others use such a method to scrutinize the question of God as to make
it seem devoid of meaning. Many, unduly transgressing the limits of
the positive sciences, contend that everything can be explained by this
kind of scientific reasoning alone, or by contrast, they altogether
disallow that there is any absolute truth. Some laud man so
extravagantly that their faith in God lapses into a kind of anemia,
though they seem more inclined to affirm man than to deny God. Again
some form for themselves such a fallacious idea of God that when they
repudiate this figment they are by no means rejecting the God of the
Gospel. Some never get to the point of raising questions about God,
since they seem to experience no religious stirrings nor do they see why
they should trouble themselves about religion. Moreover, atheism
results not rarely from a violent protest against the evil in this
world, or from the absolute character with which certain human values
are unduly invested, and which thereby already accords them the stature
of God. Modern civilization itself often complicates the approach to
God not for any essential reason but because it is so heavily engrossed
in earthly affairs.
Undeniably, those who willfully shut out God from their hearts and
try to dodge religious questions are not following the dictates of their
consciences, and hence are not free of blame; yet believers themselves
frequently bear some responsibility for this situation. For, taken as
a whole, atheism is not a spontaneous development but stems from a
variety of causes, including a critical reaction against religious
beliefs, and in some places against the Christian religion in
particular. Hence believers can have more than a little to do with the
birth of atheism. To the extent that they neglect their own training
in the faith, or teach erroneous doctrine, or are deficient in their
religious, moral or social life, they must be said to conceal rather
than reveal the authentic face of God and religion.
20. Modern atheism often takes on a systematic expression which, in
addition to other causes, stretches the desires for human independence
to such a point that it poses difficulties against any kind of
dependence on God. Those who profess atheism of this sort maintain
that it gives man freedom to be an end unto himself, the sole artisan
and creator of his own history. They claim that this freedom cannot be
reconciled with the affirmation of a Lord Who is author and purpose of
all things, or at least that this freedom makes such an affirmation
altogether superfluous. Favoring this doctrine can be the sense of
power which modern technical progress generates in man.
Not to be overlooked among the forms of modern atheism is that which
anticipates the liberation of man especially through his economic and
social emancipation. This form argues that by its nature religion
thwarts this liberation by arousing man's hope for a deceptive future
life, thereby diverting him from the constructing of the earthly city.
Consequently when the proponents of this doctrine gain governmental
rower they vigorously fight against religion, and promote atheism by
using, especially in the education of youth, those means of pressure
which public power has at its disposal.
21. In her loyal devotion to God and men, the Church has already
repudiated[23] and cannot cease repudiating, sorrowfully but as
firmly as possible, those poisonous doctrines and actions which
contradict reason and the common experience of humanity, and dethrone
man from his native excellence.
Still, she strives to detect in the atheistic mind the hidden causes
for the denial of God; conscious of how weighty are the questions
which atheism raises, and motivated by love for all men, she believes
these questions ought to be examined seriously and more profoundly.
The Church holds that the recognition of God is in no way hostile to
man's dignity, since this dignity is rooted and perfected in God.
For man was made an intelligent and free member of society by God Who
created him, but even more important, he is called as a son to commune
with God and share in His happiness. She further teaches that a hope
related to the end of time does not diminish the importance of
intervening duties but rather undergirds the acquittal of them with
fresh incentives. By contrast, when a divine instruction and the hope
of life eternal are wanting, man's dignity is most grievously
lacerated, as current events often attest; riddles of life and death,
of guilt and of grief go unsolved with the frequent result that men
succumb to despair.
Meanwhile every man remains to himself an unsolved puzzle, however
obscurely he may perceive it. For on certain occasions no one can
entirely escape the kind of self-questioning mentioned earlier,
especially when life's major events take place. To this questioning
only God fully and most certainly provides an answer as He summons man
to higher knowledge and humbler probing.
The remedy which must be applied to atheism, however, is to be sought
in a proper presentation of the Church's teaching as well as in the
integral life of the Church and her members. For it is the function
of the Church, led by the Holy Spirit Who renews and purifies her
ceaselessly,[24] to make God the Father and His Incarnate Son
present and in a sense visible. This result is achieved chiefly by the
witness of a living and mature faith, namely, one trained to see
difficulties clearly and to master them. Many martyrs have given
luminous witness to this faith and continue to do so. This faith needs
to prove its fruitfulness by penetrating the believer's entire life,
including its worldly dimensions, and by activating him toward justice
and love, especially regarding the needy. What does the most reveal
God's presence, however, is the brotherly charity of the faithful
who are united in spirit as they work together for the faith of the
Gospel[25] and who prove themselves a sign of unity.
While rejecting atheism, root and branch, the Church sincerely
professes that all men, believers and unbelievers alike, ought to work
for the rightful betterment of this world in which all alike live; such
an ideal cannot be realized, however, apart from sincere and prudent
dialogue. Hence the Church protests against the distinction which
some state authorities make between believers and unbelievers, with
prejudice to the fundamental rights of the human person. The Church
calls for the active liberty of believers to build up in this world
God's temple too. She courteously invites atheists to examine the
Gospel of Christ with an open mind.
Above all the Church known that her message is in harmony with the
most secret desires of the human heart when she champions the dignity of
the human vocation, restoring hope to those who have already despaired
of anything higher than their present lot. Far from diminishing man,
her message brings to his development light, life and freedom. Apart
from this message nothing will avail to fill up the heart of man:
"Thou hast made us for Thyself," O Lord, "and our hearts are
restless till they rest in Thee."[26]
22. The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word
does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was
a figure of Him Who was to come,[27] namely Christ the Lord.
Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the
Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his
supreme calling clear. It is not surprising, then, that in Him all
the aforementioned truths find their root and attain their crown.
He Who is "the image of the invisible God" (Col.
1:15),[28] is Himself the perfect man. To the sons of Adam
He restores the divine likeness which had been disfigured from the
first sin onward. Since human nature as He assumed it was not
annulled,[29] by that very fact it has been raised up to a divine
dignity in our respect too. For by His incarnation the Son of God
has united Himself in some fashion with every man. He worked with
human hands, He thought with a human mind, acted by human
choice[30] and loved with a human heart. Born of the Virgin
Mary, He has truly been made one of us, like us in all things except
sin.[31]
As an innocent lamb He merited for us life by the free shedding of
His own blood. In Him God reconciled us[32] to Himself and
among ourselves; from bondage to the devil and sin He delivered us,
so that each one of us can say with the Apostle: The Son of God
"loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20). By
suffering for us He not only provided us with an example for our
imitation,[33] He blazed a trail, and if we follow it, life and
death are made holy and take on a new meaning.
The Christian man, conformed to the likeness of that Son Who is the
firstborn of many brothers,[34] received "the first-fruits of the
Spirit" (Rom. 8:23) by which he becomes capable of discharging
the new law of love.[35] Through this Spirit, who is "the
pledge of our inheritance" (Eph. 1:14), the whole man is
renewed from within, even to the achievement of "the redemption of the
body" (Rom. 8:23): "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus
from the death dwells in you, then he who raised Jesus Christ from
the dead will also bring to life your mortal bodies because of his
Spirit who dwells in you" (Rom. 8:11).[36] Pressing upon
the Christian to be sure, are the need and the duty to battle against
evil through manifold tribulations and even to suffer death. But,
linked with the paschal mystery and patterned on the dying Christ, he
will hasten forward to resurrection in the strength which comes from
hope.[37]
All this holds true not only for Christians, but for all men of good
will in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way.[38] For, since
Christ died for all men,[39] and since the ultimate vocation of
man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy
Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man the
possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery.
Such is the mystery of man, and it is a great one, as seen by
believers in the light of Christian revelation. Through Christ and
in Christ, the riddles of sorrow and death grow meaningful. Apart
from His Gospel, they overwhelm us. Christ has risen, destroying
death by His death; He has lavished life upon us[40] so that, as
sons in the Son, we can cry out in the Spirit; Abba,
Father[41]
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