One of the central issues of our time is that of our understanding of the nature of the human person and the meaning of human life. This has become evident in the debate around gender when those supporting gender fluidity cannot answer the question: what is a woman?

 

Ideological commitment has clouded their minds so that they are unable to see obvious biological reality. In many respects we are finding in societies like ours that ideology has replaced the traditional view of the nature of the human person which has been shaped by Christianity.

The Christian faith provides a clear and sound understanding of the nature of the human person and the meaning to human life. It is now necessary to articulate this understanding as debates are raging in our society. Many are being influenced by views which are fundamentally at odds with a stable tradition that has spanned millennia and have proved in the best interests of both the individual and society as a whole.

The key to understanding the nature of the human person is to resist the temptation to view the human person outside of a transcendental perspective. The person of faith identifies this transcendental perspective in understanding that humanity is a product of God’s creative intention.

In reflecting upon the texts of Sacred Scripture that speak about God’s creative acts what is evident is firstly that human beings are the product of God’s choice to give rise to created reality. This decision is, in the end, an act of love on the part of God. It is love that gives life. In creating human beings as the highpoint of His creative work, God endowed human beings with some remarkable gifts. Human beings were given the gift of free will. They have the capacity to love. Human beings have the gift of a spiritual and moral dimension to their nature.

The human being has, thus, been accorded remarkable dignity and is a mirror of the nature of God Himself.

The Book of Genesis states simply but profoundly that human beings were created in the ‘image and likeness’ of God Himself.

One critical aspect to this dignity is that the human person is a composite of body and soul. The soul opens us to the realm of the spiritual and it constitutes the eternal dimension to every human person. We do not cease to exist upon our physical death. God has created every single person with eternity in mind.

Thus, each person has a spiritual dimension to their life. Many in our society no longer not accept this understanding and tend to base their life and decision-making on their emotions (‘what feels right’) and on the desire for personal wellbeing rather than seeking higher spiritual and moral ideals.

Today many who claim to have no religion also declare that they are ‘spiritual but not religious’. This acceding to the idea of some form of transcendence is often vague and self-serving. It does not recognise that there is a Transcend Being, God, to whom they should orient their lives.

When we believe that God is real then our lives should be shaped in response to this truth.

Recognising the existence of God leads us to the question of our eternal destiny.

From this we realise that human life is teleological, that is, it has an end, a purpose. This, in turn, gives value and meaning to being human.

It is this consciousness that inspires us to live life in accord with a moral code. Morality is teleological. It is not just a stoicism or high-minded idealism. Recognizing that we are to live by a moral code reminds us that we are accountable for our moral choices.

The clear teaching of Sacred Scripture is that there is a final judgement on our life choices, a final determination on how we have lived.

The English Catholic convert historian, Christopher Dawson, argues that all great societies are grounded on a spiritual base and that this finds expression in a moral code. The Old Testament is a clear example of this. Belief in the one God (the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) lead the people to recognise the centrality of the Ten Commandments as the basis for moral living.

If a person does not have faith – and so many in our society are in this situation – then there is no true orientation for their moral decision-making. In fact, they often feel that a moral code is a restriction on their freedom.

The confusion now in the minds of so many who no longer have God as their reference point is one reason for the rise of ideology. Ideology turns a person in on themselves. When recognition of the reality of God is accepted then human life is teleological. It has purpose and a goal and we look beyond ourselves. Accepting living by a moral code then becomes the foundation for meaning and direction, and the source for true human flourishing.