Human Nature

Why Christian Anthropology is the Key to Modern Identity Crisis

/ chicoinematt

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In a world where identity has become increasingly fragmented and fluid, what if the most profound answers about who we truly are have been waiting for us since the beginning of creation? The modern man has an identity crisis and the solution is Christian anthropology. This might sound like advanced terminology, leaving you wondering: what does this actually mean?

In simplest terms, Christian anthropology is understanding human persons as God created them. Ultimately what is at stake is human identity. As our culture moves farther away from the true understanding of the nature and purpose of the human person, the need for education in Christian anthropology is more necessary than ever before in our experience.

The Christian understanding of the human person was once taken for granted in our culture as the standard by which all understood themselves and others. Today this is not the case. We see evidence of identity confusion all around us or even within ourselves. Just do a Google search of “define identity” and one can see the confusion that surrounds the idea.

The Fundamental Questions of Human Existence

Christian anthropology seeks to answer the deepest and most universal questions every person must wrestle with in some seasons of our lives: Who/what am I? What is my purpose? What is the point of my existence? Why are humans embodied? Are humans really created only male and female? What is the relationship between the body and soul?

Saint John Paul II begins his meditation on the Christian understanding of the human person by referring to the beginning. From this perspective he paints an amazing picture of what God intended for humans when He created them.

In his fifth speech of Theology of the Body, which he subtitled, “Man in Search of His Essence,”1 Saint John Paul II, regarding the creation of man, says, “…man is the object of the creative action of God-Yahweh, who at the same time, as Legislator, sets the conditions for the first covenant with man.”

Three Foundational Truths About Human Nature

In this one half-sentence Saint John Paul II articulates three foundational truths about the nature of the human person from the Christian perspective. Imagine it, God breathes His Spirit into the nostrils of the creature, which scripture says is the moment, “the man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7) and as he comes into consciousness for the first time, he finds himself in relationship with his Creator. This is the first foundational and most important aspect Christian anthropology teaches us about human nature. To be the “object of the creative action of God,” is to say God created the human person. God is the creator. We are creatures. We do not create ourselves. Our nature, our humanity, our existence is a gift from a Creator who gave His own breath to give us life. This is the foundation of our humanity.

In this same sentence, Saint John Paul II uses a capital “L” for the word “Legislator.” Why? Or, a better question is, “who”? Obviously, he is referring to the Father – but, why “Legislator”? Identifying the Father in this way introduces the second foundational truth about the nature of the human person namely, God is the one who makes the rules. Humans do not decide for themselves what is good or evil. That’s the Creator’s job.

The Covenant Relationship with God

The third foundational truth of human nature as God reveals it and Saint John Paul II articulates it, is revealed by the word, “covenant.” The human person enters a unique relationship with God the Father and Creator. This relationship differs from a common contract that either party can dissolve at any time. A covenant is meant to be permanent. It is entering into a relationship, a communion of persons. Contracts are about things or services the parties will exchange. Covenant is about persons, contracts are about things. What does this tell us about the nature of the human person? We are not things to God. We are persons who are set into a relationship of communion with God.

These three foundational characteristics of human nature or identity is just the beginning of what the Christian anthropology Saint John Paul II articulates in Theology of the Body. Imagine how much more there is to say about human nature if we can understand all that in just one half-sentence from Theology of the Body!

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Missing Pieces or Finding Peace: How the Puzzling Brokenness of Human Nature Leads to God

/ chicoinematt

Editor’s Note: Post originally published on July 19, 2018.

Saint Augustine’s simple and ageless maxim, “Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him” resonates with mankind regardless of history and time. No amount of material possessions, health, or control over finances will provide lasting and authentic happiness and peace. Humanity is naturally a broken species—greed, pride, anger, lust, gluttony, sloth, envy abound. This truth is evident simply by noticing daily interaction with yourself and others. Perfectibility in the human race—eugenics—was tried and failed many times, arguably most notoriously during the Nazi regime in the mid-20th century. True perfection does not occur through purely human willpower and scientific advancement. Rather authentic perfection—or holiness is achieved through cooperating with the Divine Will.

Understanding the God-Shaped Void in Human Hearts

Possessing all the catechetical knowledge in the world will not ensure that a person has the puzzle of life solved. A relationship with Jesus Christ is absolutely essential to fill that “God-shaped” hole in my soul/complete the puzzle of life. As a perfectionist, I struggle mightily with falling into the heresy of Pelagianism. St. Augustine, himself, battled the false teaching of the monk Pelagius. Heresies rise and fall.

The Dangers of Pelagianism

Pope Francis warned of the dangers of this heresy in his encyclical letter Gaudete Et Exsultate. He declared,

Those who yield to this pelagian or semi-pelagian mindset, even though they speak warmly of God’s grace, “ultimately trust only in their own powers and feel superior to others because they observe certain rules or remain intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style”.[46] When some of them tell the weak that all things can be accomplished with God’s grace, deep down they tend to give the idea that all things are possible by the human will, as if it were something pure, perfect, all-powerful, to which grace is then added. (no. 49).

A will lacking humility cannot fix the human condition no matter one’s tenacity and intellectual prowess. As I mentioned before I struggle with relying on my willpower over cooperation with my Creator’s gift of grace, He bestowed on me. After a frustrating situation at work, I expressed concerns to my manager, “I did everything right. I provided accurate information, willingness, to help, and empathy to customer situations. Normally, I am able to control/steer nearly all my customer interactions to a positive outcome. I wish I could have this influence for all situations.”

Finding Peace and Perfection: Embracing Divine Grace

Listening intently to my concerns, my manager acknowledged my frustrations yet added this profoundly simple, but very applicable analogy—that of a jigsaw puzzle. “Imagine you are working on a 500- or 1000-piece puzzle, and you completed everything perfectly. When you get to the end you discover there is a piece missing. No matter how perfectly you worked with that piece missing the puzzle is still incomplete. Some customer conversations are like that. You may do everything perfect on your end, but still a piece is missing to prevent your perfect result.”

Now I am not aware of my manager’s theological leanings. His analogy originally meant to be for a practical workplace example, after further reflection I learned that this example of a puzzle missing a piece applies to my faith life as well. Willing myself toward perfection and completion cannot happen because a piece of missing in the puzzle of my life—a God-shaped hole!

C.S. Lewis stated “We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. But mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of a sin.” Humanity cannot evolve out of the original brokenness of human nature ushered in through the Fall of Adam and Eve. Time and time again my hubris leads to the danger relying solely on my will. However, God’s merciful gift of confession allows me to exercise my free will to cooperate with Divine grace to complete the puzzle of my life and overcome my inclinations for self-centeredness. True peace only happens when we have a relationship with God.

Trying to fill the God-sized hole in our hearts with things other than God is like trying to fill the Grand Canyon with marbles. —Peter Kreeft

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