Doctrines

The Theology of the Body According to John Paul II- Human Love in the Divine Plan Parish Resources

4 stars (Theology of the Body - ) - Theology of the Body (T.O.B) gives a dynamic vision of the human person. Pope John Paul discusses human sexuality, vocation (marriage, religious life,etc) through the lense of biblical revelation. PJ II quotes Vatican II in saying that we are the only creatures on earth "that were willed for their own sake" (Lumen Gentium 26). All the other creatures were created for mankind. Humans were commanded to rule the other creatures. I found T.O.B to be the best exegesis of Genesis. Truly brilliant and amazing. I was so inspired that I am devoting part of my next book on this very topic. PJ II tells us that Adam and Eve didn't merely want to be equal with God but they sought to usurp their Creator. They were sharing in the love of God and so they weren't inferior to God. However they believed in the word of a creature over that of the Creator and thought they could take God's throne and take His power! Yes it is a correlation between human sexuality and God. But it is even more than that. It is about the dignity of the Human Person and Psychosomatic Unity of the Human Person. In giving of ourselves so totally we discover who we are. This is what happened with Adam. He was alone and could not identify with the animals until Eve came from His rib (or as the late Pope puts it, his heart - wow!) Pope John Paull II does not use the word "SEX" as contemporary society does. He uses it to refer to male or female. Personally I think the word "sex" depersonalises a sacred act. Let me explain. The Catholic Church uses the word Conjugal Union. This refers to a union of body and soul and open to the gift or trasmission of life. Ok, so it may be a mouthful, "Conjugal Union" and take a bit to get used to. Let me challenge you to learn it and use it in discussions. Another word used is "Conjugal Love" Doesn't this sound better than making love. Through Conjugal love the husband gives himself totally body and soul to his wife and his wife gives...
Pauline Books - Media :: Religious aspects :: Religion - Roman Catholic :: Religion :: Doctrines :: Christianity - Theology - General :: Christianity - Theology - Anthropology :: Christia :: The Theology of the Body According to John Paul II- Human Love in the Divine Plan (Parish Resources)

St Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province 5 Volu

5 stars (Better than the Oxford Blackfriars) - Of course, the Oxford Blackfriar's 60-volume edition would bankrupt most of us by it's sheer expense. But if one wants an English translation opposite the Latin original, it's certainly the reference work that many scholars prefer. For the rest of us, the English Dominican Fathers' translation of the early 20thC. is very, very good indeed. It's single virtue is that the same translation of words is used consistently throughout, even if the particular choice of words might not strike 21stC. readers in quite the same way. Some of the language is beginning to show its wear and tear, but once one is in the mindset, the reading is exceptionally clear. For those new to Aquinas, his methodology may strike some readers as odd. It's really a simple, yet elegant, system. First, Aquinas poses a question to be answered. Then he gives a variety of answers from others in the past. When you see, "but I reply," then you know you're getting to nugget of Aquinas' gems. After his reply, he responds to each of the previous author's opinions, stating why or how they are in any way deficient. Several features become instantly obvious. Aquinas had an encyclopedic mind and a good knowledge of Patristic and Aristotlean thought. Whenever possible, his answers are an a priori synthesis of the best Patristics and the best of Aristotle. These five, dense volumes in this edition illustrate the majestic scope of his enterprise. (His Summa Contra Gentiles is very similar.) There isn't really a subject or vantage that Aquinas doesn't cover. All his Summas are really magisterial (in the non-ecclesiastical sense). Lastly, Aquinas' command of the syllogism is unparalleled in human history. This is at once both its strength and its weakness. Strength in the sense of deductive logic, weakness in the sense of inductive logic. I'm convinced one can use the syllogism to argue just about anything, and if Aquinas is an example, he's an example of this mastery...
Christian Classics :: Theology :: Doctrinal :: Spirituality - General :: Religion - Roman Catholic :: Religion :: Early works to 1800 :: Doctrines :: Christianity - Theology - Catholic :: :: St Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica (translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province) (5 Volu

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying- The Spiritual Classic - International Bestseller- Revised and

4 stars (Skilled Overview Of Tibetan Principles But Doesn't Make Death Any Less A Thing Of Horror To My Western Mind) - This is a well-researched book that covers its topic with a professional thoroughness. I admire the author's devotion to a subject that makes most of us, especially in the twenty-first century United States, cringe. I have nothing negative to say about his Buddhist slant here and think he describes the Book of the Dead and its passages well. "In the Occident, where death is much feared, the art of dying is little practiced." How very true. All that said, despite Gaffney's seeming love of death (not just acceptance, but real embracing love) the state of biological conclusion seems horrific to me. Were I a believer in an afterlife, if I could just have faith, or better yet, proof, then I might subscribe to his "death is an opportunity to evolve" view, but all I can see in death is an ending filled with pain, the cause of grief, the separation of loved ones. I tried to wrap my mind around the views herein and I do find interest in contemplating another cosmology's take on the ending of a physical (chapter in) life, but to me, death remains a concept steeped in horror no matter how deeply I have tried to grasp for a way to hope that we might be reborn, either on this earth or in another plane, the bardo, Heaven...anyplace. This book ought to become the edition of choice for those who seek an accomodating starting point for one of religion's greatest texts. My lack of feeling for its tenets in no way means I do not regard this as a fine book that might help many people study Tibetan viewpoints or find peace in the inescapable fact that is death. Pace. 4 stars (Sogal is a fine teacher) - the mayor problems with the "unenlighned" is, that there mind is not clear. They mix "moral" with "neurotic thoughts" , actually the mix evertything and the unenlighned females are mixing it more. That is one of the mayor messages of Sogal. Finally the "great spiri...
HarperSanFrancisco :: Self-Help & Death :: Grief :: Bereavement :: Tibet :: Self-Help :: Religious life :: Religious aspects :: Religion - World Religions :: Philosophy :: Doctrines :: Death :: :: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying- The Spiritual Classic - International Bestseller- Revised and