Self-knowledge in Religion Essay Example

any other animals. This would include the love and clemency of God for the human individual, which despite its original wickedness through the abuse of freedom, God still wills to salvation through His lone begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and sanctification by the Holy Spirit. The love and clemency of God is genuinely a self-denying love. This has been shown through the decease and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus offered his life through the cross in order to salvage the human individual from the darkness of wickedness. This love revealed by Christ mirrors the Trinitarian love. The Trinitarian God in His godly life exists in mutual self-denying love or agapeic love. This love of God shown in the cross of Jesus is extended in the Church. The Church is the seeable mark of God’s self-denying love – the sacrament of Christ. Every twenty-four hours the self-denying love of God is experienced by each individual in the Church. The Church emulates the Trinitarian self-giving love through widening it to each individual in the sacraments and in supporting the self-respect and rights of the human individual.

The enigma of the individual is besides revealed by Christ. The individual was created in the image and similitude of God. ThisImago Deiin the individual constitutes the alone self-respect of the human individual. Though there are many elements that conflict with each other in adult male 's interior struggle” [ 1 ] these do non extinguish the worth of the individual, which is the ground why he/she can non be reduced to an object. Man does non merely mirror the goodness of God for he was created good in God’s image

and similitude, but besides adult male and adult female mirror the Communion and love of God.

Furthermore, the embodiment, decease and Resurrection of Christ reveals the supreme naming of the human individual. The human individual now understands that his/her being and being does non repose in this universe but instead he/she is called to a most high naming – to be perfect and holy, to emulate Christ through self-denying love. This supreme naming the individual will climax in God for he/she was created from the beginning to be in Communion with God.

In the 3rd chapter we outlined the idea that the individual can achieve self-knowledge through the personal and lived experience of Christ. It explains that the orientation to God and attractive force to Christ is engraved in the human bosom. It is so built-in and natural in the individual. The built-in orientation of the individual towards the absolute truth and the cosmopolitan good – God – is coupled with the person’s religion. It is through religion that the individual is able to achieve the cognition of God. Faith and ground in this mode are like paddling a row boat. A individual can non make his/her finish without oaring or paddling on both sides.

The experience of the disclosure of Christ makes the individual cognizant of his/her being ; that he/she is a soul-body complex. The person’s psyche is endowed with ground and will ; while the person’s organic structure is endowed with centripetal module – both cognitive and affectional. The psyche and organic structure complement each other, and specify the nature and kernel of the individual.

This chapter points out that self-knowledge can be attained through Christ-experience

or lived experience of Christ. As the individual is confronted with the being or subjectiveness of Christ he/she is besides compelled to cognize himself or herself. This cognition of ego in the individual can be attained through looking into his/her subjectiveness and through sing Christ. The experience of the individual with Christ here besides refers to psycho-somatic experience. The passion and decease of Christ were besides psycho-somatic experiences. Christ was cognizant of the strivings and emotions attached to his agony. The personal experience of Christ besides implies psycho-somatic experience, both bodily and emotionally. This was really true when the adherents and people during the clip of Christ experienced him through healing, miracles and instructions – this includes the love, compassion and forgiveness. Christ touched the being of those who experienced him. The psycho-somatic experience of Christ is besides existent today through the Church where people likewise experienced the clemency and compassion of Christ through the sacraments.

The lived experience with Christ allows the individual to recognize the original worth of his/her being as anImago Deimirroring the Godhead goodness. This realisation leads the individual to repossess the image and similitude of God in him/her that was lost because of original wickedness. The capableness to repossess is possible due to the natural modules of the individual. Through his/her freedom ( self-determination and self-mastery ) the individual can pull himself/herself to Christ to emulate Christ and turn in the image of God. The individual thereby can repossess his/her true image over and above through his/her cooperation with the godly grace. Likewise, through the person’s transcendency he/she can besides turn in virtuousnesss and go a virtuous individual. The aptitude to

get the hang himself/herself makes the individual to subordinate his/her emotions and passions to his/her freedom. Virtuous Acts of the Apostless so are instilled by God through His existent grace coupled with the person’s cooperation with this grace, and his/her capacity of self-mastery, self-government and self-transcendence.

The 4th chapter explains that the experience of Christ’s Revelation and the attainment of self-knowledge impel and travel the individual to move in conformity with the truth and good toward his/her fulfillment. The natural belongingss of the individual direct the individual to his/her fulfillment through consciously and volitionally take the moral good. The individual is maestro of himself/herself. The person’s authority – mind and will – empowers the individual to find and exceed himself/herself towards his/her terminal. The witting and voluntary act of the individual leads him/her to acknowledge his/her power to possess, to regulate, and to find himself/herself to morally good actions that reflect the kernel or nature of his/her being which is destined to flawlessness in God.

The cognition of the person’s subjectiveness –through his/her experience of Christ, so, impels him/her to consciously, responsibly and volitionally move to take Christ and obey the commandments and the jurisprudence. The individual does non merely move consciously but besides his/her act is efficacious because it is proper to him/her as a individual. The individual is cognizant that he/she Acts of the Apostless and at the same clip the individual knows that he/she is the topic of the act. In moving the individual follows his/her practical judgement, the jurisprudence which is inscribed in his/her bosom. This jurisprudence that participates in the ageless jurisprudence is called scruples. Conscience enables the individual to take the

good, and execute a morally good action.

The motion of the individual is non inward but instead it is outward. The experience of Christ’s disclosure and self-knowledge besides move the individual towards others – to be with others. The human individual can non carry through his/her terminal through life in purdah. The person’s being and playing are both fulfilled in the context of a community. The individual is a societal being. He/she was created as mirroring the Godhead Communion and love. To move with others is inscribed in the person’s nature and kernel.

To be with others in the community means fostering and esteeming the self-respect of other individuals, and understanding the other as a topic and a human individual. The interpersonal relationship which calls for love and regard of the other as a human being is aimed towards greater unity – ofWerelationship – where each one who exercises regard and love contributes to the common good ; directing each member in the community of individuals to the fulfillment of their existences.

In the context of the his/her bing and moving with others as a community of individuals the person’s actions should be a morally good act with the aim of advancing the good of others. The fulfillment of the individual is attained through the sincere giving of oneself copying the self-giving of God. This self-giving is a call of the individual as a member of the community of individuals. The supreme call of self-giving is a pre-requisite for the individual to happen himself/herself. In the context of the community of individuals mutual self-giving is required. This mutual self-giving is exercised by assisting one another in the attainment

of his/her fulfillment. The fulfillment of the individual so is non achieved by executing inactive and non-volitional actions but instead through making morally good actions in the context of being with others in the community.

The fulfillment through morally good actions is equated with the person’s felicitousness ( felicity ) . The individual is destined to happiness. The felicity and fulfillment that he/she attained through morally good actions with the community of individuals, and the felicity that the individual is destined to, that is, to be in Communion with the Godhead community of individuals, in the ageless blessedness.

The Christ-centered anthropology of John Paul II that we have presented in this paper is a matrimony of Aristotelian-Thomistic divinity and Schelerian Phenomenology. The creativeness of John Paul II is shown here as he synthesized these two great traditions, and employed them for a deeper apprehension of the individual and action. The creativeness of John Paul II is more seeable in his ability to incorporate other ideas, both traditional and modern, into his ain system of thought.

The construction of the moral anthropology of John Paul II is teleological and is clearly influenced by the Aristotelian-Thomistic Anthropology. We can acknowledge that the motion of this thesis is besides teleological, nevertheless, without excepting other moral-theological theoretical accounts such as the deontological and relational-responsibility. It is worth-noting that the three theoretical accounts of moral divinity are well-incorporated in the moral thought of John Paul II who employed the three theoretical accounts reciprocally and synchronically. The motion of the being and being of the individual is that he/she comes from God and returns to God. Every action of the individual has moral good

as its terminal and/or a move towards the truth and the good. But every move of an action towards its terminal requires duty and committedness of the jurisprudence inscribed in his/heart. The relational-responsibility is required in every individual when following and carry throughing his/her responsibilities and duties of the commandments and the jurisprudence.

The usage of the term “lived experience” is apparently confusing and improper, associating it to the experience of Jesus Christ or to the experience of disclosure. However, the research worker believes that every experience of the disclosure of Christ is a lived experience because it is ever a moral and an ethical experience every bit good as a faith experience, and greatly involves the individual and action. In lived experience of the disclosure of Christ the individual knows that he/she is the one sing it and at the same clip he/she is the agent, writer and topic of that said experience.

Every motion of the individual requires a human action. The motion of a human individual ( mentioning to what-happens-in-the-person ) could merely take visible radiation when the individual acts ( man-acts ) . It is through human action expressed through the organic structure that we can understand and grok the human individual. This human action excessively determines what sort of individual is the one executing the action. The lived experience of the individual with the disclosure of Christ, and the mode he/she performs the actions in relation to his/her credence and relation with Christ will decidedly find what sort of individual he/she is. The human action influenced by Christ makes the individual to be identified with Christ. The good actions performed as a

consequence of his/her relation with Christ make the individual good. The being of the individual will thereby be similar to Christ, and do him/her anImago Christi.

In this paper the word moved is frequently used. The term motion as used in the paper is influenced by Aristotelian-Thomistic doctrine. This motion means actioNor it can besides intend motive of the action which influences the individual to make the action. Establishing onVeritatis Splendor10 the individual is motivated and influenced by the disclosure of Christ ( which brings him/her to the find and cognition of Christ ) in order to cognize himself/herself. It is the same ground that the individual is besides motivated to move harmonizing to his/her nature or kernel to make a morally good act towards his/her fulfilment. Once once more the research worker wants to stress that being moved towards fulfilment besides signifies being constrained, compelled or impelled. However, this does non decrease human freedom for being moved to fulfillment is the fulfilment of the human freedom.

The research worker intends to asseverate that it is so the lived experience of the disclosure of Christ that motivates the individual to cognize his/her kernel and being, and moves him/her to accomplish his/her terminal and fulfilment. It is the lived experience of Christ that motivates the individual to offer his/her life to others and to God. However. It is besides good to indicate out here that there are other factors that move the individuals towards fulfilment: foremost, God wills to travel the individual and of course draws the individual to Himself ; 2nd, from the get downing a certain jurisprudence is inscribed in the nature or kernel of the

individual which moves him/her towards fulfilment ; 3rd, the aboriginal aptitude of the individual – ground and will – moves the individual towards the good and the truth ; 4th, the godly grace of God – existent and consecrating grace – moves the individual to move harmonizing to his/her nature ; and fifth, the personal experience of the individual – which involves the psyche and the organic structure – moves the individual to God. The function of the lived experience here is to rouse the individual every bit good as to pull the individual to himself/herself and to Christ. For it is merely through pulling himself/herself to Christ that he/she knows his/being and kernel, and hence knows what action he/she must or ought to make.

A peculiar attending must besides be given to the significance or relevancy of John Paul II’s Christ-centered anthropology for today particularly in the Philippines. First, in today’s modern-day universe there is an occultation of the vision about the individual. The influences of relativism, philistinism, and consumerism are evident whereby the individual and human relationship are frequently threatened and undervalued. The self-respect of the individual has been reduced to usefulness and measured through stuff ownerships. The inflow of the civilization of migration and abroad workers among Filipinos, aside from being caused by poorness, is driven by life style and upward societal mobility. Having a beautiful house to populate in, a branded apparels to have on, a good repast to eat and a nice auto to drive determine one’s position in the community and society at big. The value of the individual so is ascertained when 1 has money, power and popularity. Second,

the Philippines is a preponderantly Catholic state and statistically ( more than 90 per centum ) the most Christian state in Asia. However, despite the about five centuries of Christianization, dating back to 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan came with the first Catholic missionaries to the archipelago, it is still considered among the developing states in the universe non merely socio-economically but besides spiritually in footings of the impact of the Christian religion in the building of the moral cloth of the state. Indeed, despite the prevailing Christian presence, offenses against the individual and the environment are widespread, and corruptness remains a serious obstruction to prosperity and to attempts to distribute the wealth and eradicate poorness.

Consistency between religion and workss, in this instance, must be called for. The Christ-centered anthropology of John Paull II envisions a Christian life that enables one’s lived experience of the treble disclosure of Christ to act upon one’s moral actions. The individuality of a Filipino Christian must be rooted in his/her relation with Christ and in his/her morally good actions. One’s religion in Christ must be crystal clear in his/her individual and action. Third, in John Paul II’s treatment on individual and community the motion of the individual is seen as traveling outward, that is, to be with others and to take part actively in the life of the community. In the community good dealingss and the common good must be fostered. In relation to the Filipino civilization an accent should be given to advance the common good. Many Filipinos do non hold a sense of common good. The common good is the household good. In economic, societal and political facets

the Filipinos’ sense of household good is noticeable. The household good even embraces the drawn-out household, i.e. , nepotism in political relations. Though there is nil incorrect with household good, possibly, there is a demand for the Filipinos to travel beyond the household good, and advance the common good in the larger society.