Theology of the Body Presentation

I know when growing up that the way I interpreted human sexuality was that it was simply an animal instinct of our creation, but separate from the spiritual part of our lives. The two could not coexist easily. As a matter of fact, the more you could avoid your sexual nature the more holy you became. This left me scratching my head. Why would the Lord create such an incredibly strong instinct within us for the purpose of ignoring it or suppressing it? I never could make that work out in my head.

After attending an amazing presentation on Pope John Paul II's work The Theology of the Body this weekend, I was surprised to find out that those assumptions are not only wrong but in contradiction to Catholic teaching.

Huh?

It appears that I had fallen into the trap of confusing a puritan view on sexuality and lumping that in and replacing it as the Christian view on sexuality. This is simply not true.

Now, a title like The Theology of the Body sounds like a contradiction in terms, but what JP2 offers us is a connection between the martial sexual union and its purpose from the Creator. He delves into great detail how the sexual union between married couples is not simply a procreation animal instinct, but instead a small insight into the greater "infinite explosion of love" that awaits us when we enter heaven.

The material was presented by Christopher West, the foremost authority on "translating" JP2's scholarly work into something more digestible to the average person. The Theology of the Body is a complete paradigm shift in thought and takes a little while to really get your head around. Once it starts to settle in, however, you soon realize just how much it makes sense. How so many previously odd bible phrases suddenly come into sharp focus.

It is a teaching that everyone, especially Catholics, should understand. You treat your sexuality differently when you realize it's divine purpose. You show a much greater respect for the natural drive within you.

And you also get a much clearer understanding as to how and why Satan is attacking sexuality in today's aggressively pornographic society. As Mr. West said, "we are now treating fertility as a disease. You take a pill when your sick. Now we take a pill to avoid our own fertility as if it is something from which we should be cured."

From the first book in the Bible Satan has been at war with the womb of women and that attack continues unrelenting since then. As Mr. West so accurately stated, "The Devil has turned the womb into a tomb."

The presentation also more clearly explains why the Catholic Church is so adamant, and must remain so, in keeping the marital union defined as between a man and a woman. After all, when you understand how the marital union was created to reflect the marriage between Jesus and the Church, you quickly realize why such a redefinition could disrupt the divine intention of our Creator and confuse future generations as to the entire Christian foundation.

After 10 hours of information my head was swimming. It was a LOT to take in. And, as Mr. West stated, his presentation is only scratching the surface as to what JP2 revealed in his 136 letters regarding the subject.

For more information on Christopher West's schedule on current and future presentations, please check out his website at HERE. Mr. West layers in so many current cultural references, humor and wit that the 10 hours fly by.

The Theology of the Body should be mandatory for every Christian in the world.

It is that important. It is that powerful. It is that necessary.