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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 5 of 5
IN CONCLUSION
John Paul's TB makes some bold claims about
the meaning of life, the meaning of sex, and the meaning of contraception.
Bold is an understatement. These claims break the needle on the Richter
scale. It's unnerving - downright frightening - to see how casually
Johnson tosses them aside in favor of condoms and diaphragms. He simply
knows not what he does.
If John Paul is right, contraception can never be the solution to
our problems, but only the beginning of a terrible setback for humanity.
Whether we're talking about a woman who's stressed out with the six
kids she already has, or the spread of AIDS in Africa, a return to
the "great mystery" of God's plan for life and love that's
stamped in and revealed through our bodies is the only real solution
to the problems we face.
Johnson is right to recognize that millions of Africans are enslaved
by a sexual pandemic. So are millions of people in other parts of
the world, including right here in good ol' USA. But AIDS isn't the
slavedriver. The tyrant here comes in the form of a sexual ideology
that is bent on divorcing men and women from the "great mystery"
of God's plan to grant us a share in his own Life and Love.
Gee, exactly who is it that is bent on keeping us from God's Life
and Love? Who's the slavedriver here? As the Church Lady might ask,
"Could it be... Satan?" If John Paul is right, those who
dissent from HV are (unwittingly, but no less effectively) playing
right into the devil's age-old plan to divorce us from God's nuptial
love.
Give people condoms, and you keep them in their chains. Give them
the "great mystery" of God's plan for life and love as proclaimed
in John Paul's TB and you set captives free. You give them the path
for fulfilling the deepest desires of the human heart. You change
the world.
This is why George Weigel describes John Paul's TB as "a kind
of theological time bomb set to go off with dramatic consequences,
sometime in the third millennium of the Church." (Witness to
Hope p. 343). Johnson asks, "Is Weigel right? Have the rest of
us missed out on a theological advance of singular importance?"
Uh, yea, you have. But why? Johnson is a bright guy, respected by
many. But, like so many, when it comes to sexuality, he's embraced
the wisdom of this age which is doomed to pass away.
John Paul II imparts a secret wisdom, hidden in God from all eternity
and destined for our glorification before time began. He imparts it
in words not taught by men, but taught by the Spirit. The unspiritual
man does not understand the Pope's message. It is folly to him because
his mind is not enlightened by the Spirit.
I paraphrase St. Paul not to be clever. It's fitting (see I Co 2).
John Paul's TB brings us into the heart of the "great mystery"
of God's love affair with humanity. Only the Spirit of Truth searches
the depths of this "great mystery." And, according to John
Paul, this "'great mystery,' which is the Church and humanity
in Christ, does not exist apart from the 'great mystery' expressed
in [man and woman becoming] 'one flesh'" (Letter to Families
n. 19).
As it is the Holy Spirit who has spoken through the prophets, it's
the same Holy Spirit who speaks through husband and wife in the prophetism
of the body. Every time a husband and wife become "one flesh"
they are called to open themselves to the Spirit of Truth who knows
and proclaims this "great mystery"- the Holy Spirit who
is the Lord and Giver of Life.
Those who close their union to the Lord and Giver of Life close themselves
to knowledge of the "great mystery." No wonder Johnson doesn't
"get it." Those bent on justifying contraception can't "get
it." By their very actions they close themselves to the "great
mystery."
Does Johnson really understand what his determination to justify contraception
amounts to? If John Paul is right, it demonstrates a preference for
the momentary pleasure of sterilized orgasm over the opportunity to
participate in the inner life of the Trinity. Bad choice.
Who gives a flyin' hoot about the sacrifice required? I'll take the
Trinity. And if Johnson really understood John Paul's theology of
the body, I think he would too.
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