Book Review: Theology of the Body for Beginners
We have dissected a book that John Paul II supports. Theology of the Body is a must read for everyone who thinks that religion represses sexuality.
Eve is seduced by a serpent, Adam by Eve and the wrath of God is upon us. (Photoxpress)
Why the theology of the body?
The lay conception of believers is that the spirit is trapped in a sinful body. But the deceased pope says exactly the opposite. We are the body, which is not the ark of the spirit but is the spirit. The body reflects God’s image and makes visible what can’t be made visible, just like with the sacrament. The body reflects God’s beauty and the body has needs, including sexual. The attitude of Christianity towrds sexuality is relaxing very slowly. The main differences between Christianity and most of the modern society happened in the 1960s, when the society decided on contraception unanimously. The Catholic Church never accepted contraception methods because they are against the principles of Christ’s teachings.
Contraception problems
Why didn’t even the “modern” pope accepted contraception, why did he stubbornly hold the belief that contraception is a sin and unacceptable for Christians? The matter is simple. If they accept contraception, the foundations of this religion would be lost and it would lose all meaning. There is only one form of contraception acceptable for a Christian. That is 
sexual abstinence. The reason for this is that they view sexual intercourse as giving, offering one person to another one. It is the highest instance of love. It’s not about the rules being too strict, but religion, if it is alive and powerful enough, makes us believe that “rules” are natural, they don’t limit us, but only describe religion. Love has four basic components – freedom, perfection, faithfulness and fertility! These are four key characteristics of Christian love, based on the figure of Jesus from Nazareth. All Christians aspire for these goals, no matter if they decide upon celibacy or a relationship.
Love and sexuality
The sacrament of marriage is a union and promise between two partners on one side and a sacrament on the other. Christ (the groom) and the church (the bride) are symbols for all newlyweds. The four basic components of love come from Christ and a couple can live in the perfection of the marriage sacrament by believing in him and with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. What does this mean for intercourse? This means that we don’t view the partner’s body as a body, but as a spirit which is revealed through the body. If we desire the body, we degrade our partners into objects and diminish our and their dignity. This moves us away from perfection and we lose some of our freedom because we are guided by our impulses. We should, naturally, not repress our impulses, but we have to choose freely, so that we won’t allow them to control us. And that’s the point of contraception. Contraception enables people to enjoy sexuality without love. Perhaps the point of contraception isn’t like that, but the effect on human sexuality is. This is clearly exhibited by our children. Most parents aren’t interested who their children are doing it with and why, as long as they don’t get pregnant. We’re not teaching our children to be responsible in their sexuality, but we are protecting them from the consequences of irresponsible sexuality and introducing them to a world where sexuality is merely entertainment. As soon as we use contraception, we create a carnival for our desires from the other person’s body, which is intolerable for a Christian in matters of love and marriage. Sexuality is a physical expression of love and its most important part is fertility, to become one body so that we can taste the fruit and enjoy love in all its fullness.
The source of shame and celibacy
John Paul II got his inspiration in the old and new testaments of The Bible, mostly from the story about Adam and Eve and from Paul’s letters. He tackles the interpretation of the original sin and its influence on sexuality in an interesting way. Eve was made out of Adam’s rib when Adam tells God how lonely he is. Because he can’t find a mate in the animal kingdom, Jehovah gives him a mate from his own flesh. The couple is happy, presumably sexually as well. They are both naked, but they don’t feel constant desire, nor shame. Their sexuality is perfect. Then Eve is seduced by a serpent, Adam by Eve and the wrath of God is upon us. But what is the consequence of not following God’s commandment, which made them happy? The consequence is shame. They both notice they are naked. Because they lose God’s love, they lose the genuine meaning of love and they are full of fear and desire. Sexuality becomes about domination, which feeds on desire. That is the prevailing opinion of most people. They think that desire is the key factor in sexuality, while Catholics say just the opposite. The most important thing in sexuality is love. It was brought into the world again by Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his body so that he could save ours. So, by believing in Christ we can relive the love and sexuality of Adam and Eve in Paradise, not driven by our impulses but by genuine love. So, all the “limitations” of love become inner commandments and a basic direction in life, which feeds from living religion. It is similar with celibacy. Priests aren’t forbidden to have intercourse. This isn’t about prohibition but about an inner decision that feels right, like the only right thing. Celibacy is like marriage, except with a different bride. The love for a partner is replaced by love for God and contains the same basic elements we have named, including fertility.
Introduction to the Theology of the Body
The author of the book, Christopher West, admits himself that the book is only an introduction and a beginning into delving deeper into the complex thoughts of the deceased pope. He brings a new definition of sexuality, which is slowly becoming part of the church’s everyday teachings and this book is helping him on this journey. Because Christians have a wrong understanding of sexuality, they often don’t know it and have a negative attitude towards their bodies, which would be impossible if they saw their body as the image of God and the height of creation. One of the chapters is rightly named “Introduction to Pope John Paul II's Sexual Revolution.“ Even though the book is pretty difficult and basically meant for Catholics, everyone can find something of interest in it, even if you are not familiar with the world of theology. You can buy the book fairly cheaply from many retailers. And for the end, some wise advice of this very humane pope: “You have to insist on not treating intercourse as a means for a man to reach a climax. (…) The man must consider the difference between male and female reactions (…), so that they can both reach the climax (…) and if it is possible, both at the same time. (...) If we consider the shorter and more intense curve of male arousal, (such) tenderness on his behalf becomes an act of chastity in the context of marriage."
