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Responding to TL Johnson's Critique of JP II's Theology of the Body |
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Written by Christopher West
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Page 1 of 5 I discovered John Paul II's theology of the body (TB) in the early 1990's. As a Catholic
who had rejected what I perceived to be the Church's antiquated teaching
on sexuality, the Pope's TB was a revolution for me. It opened my eyes
to the beauty and grandeur of an authentic Catholic understanding of
sex. I knew it had the potential to change the Church and the world
- if people were only able (and willing) to "take in" what
the Pope was saying...
I discovered
John Paul II's theology of the body (TB) in the early 1990's. As a Catholic
who had rejected what I perceived to be the Church's antiquated teaching
on sexuality, the Pope's TB was a revolution for me. It opened my eyes
to the beauty and grandeur of an authentic Catholic understanding of
sex. I knew it had the potential to change the Church and the world
- if people were only able (and willing) to "take in" what
the Pope was saying.
I also knew I would spend the rest of my life studying the TB and sharing
it with the world. I now travel nationally and internationally lecturing
on John Paul II's TB. Everywhere I speak I see lives transformed by
this message. When the Pope's teaching is proclaimed as the good news
that it is, the blind regain their sight and captives are set free.
Yes, the TB has already begun what's being called the counter-sexual
revolution. But, unfortunately, judging by his article "A Disembodied
'Theology of the Body'" (Commonweal, January 26, 2001, pp. 11-17)
it's a revolution that Luke Timothy Johnson doesn't understand, isn't
ready for, or doesn't desire.
Get ready Luke Timothy Johnson. It's spreading. And it can't be stopped.
It's like the revolution that brought the fall of Communism. It starts
slowly, quietly, behind the scenes in human hearts - hearts that are
open to hearing the truth that this Polish Pope proclaims about the
human person. Then it grows and it spreads from heart to heart gathering
a great multitude who glimpse their true dignity and will not rest until
the shackles of dehumanizing ideologies (political, sexual, or otherwise)
are broken.
Johnson divides his critique of the TB under three headings: Preliminary
Observations; What the Pope Leaves Out; and Revisiting Humanae Vitae.
I'm going to follow Johnson's lead and divide my response to his article
under the same main headings, with some additional subheadings.
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