Lecture and abstract of the conference entitled:
Demography and the Culture of Relationship between Couples
27-29 May 2021, Hungary
Organized by Family Science Alliance, Batthyány Society of Professors and European Family Science Society
|
The attack of modern gnosticism on the dignity of the person |
Abstract
There is a fundamental difference between the Christian and the gnostic view of God, the world and man. According to biblical revelation God has created the world and crowned it with the creation of man as male and female in his own image. This is the source of the inviolable dignity of man. The triune God is love He makes ethical demands on his creatures.
According to gnostic speculation God is pure light and totally transcendent. Man is thrown into the world and experiences it as a prison, just like his body is seen as a prison for his soul. The only way of liberation is by gnosis – the Greek word for knowledge. Man is not seen as a sinner, but as a victim of higher powers. Gnosticism is an utterly dualistic view of man and the world.
For modern gnosticism the will is the master of the body and can exploit it according to his desires. The schism between mind and body becomes apparent in (1) the idolization of sex, (2) the denial of binary sexual identity by gender-ideology, (3) the rejection of natural law as the foundation of human rights, (4) dis-embodiment by electronic communication. The debasement of the body leads into a de-humanized culture of death.
As an answer to these nihilistic ideologies John Paul II. presented the world with The Theology of the Body. Through contemplation of the biblical revelation, he unfolds God’s plan of love for the salvation of the human being in a vast threefold analysis: Man and woman in paradise before the fall, man and woman in history redeemed by Jesus Christ, and the final resurrection of body and soul to eternal life in communio with God. The primal sacrament of creation is the union of man and woman becoming one flesh, thus being a visible reflection of the love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
 |
When referring to this lecture, please use the author’s name, the lecture’s and the event’s title: © All videos and content are property of the Family Science Association. All rights reserved. |
