/r/TOB

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A place for all things Theology of the Body. This includes articles, videos, books, and commentaries on TOB.

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  • A place for all things Theology of the Body.

Welcome to the Theology of the Body Subreddit!

"Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam… And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva… So tweasure your wuv." - The Impressive Clergyman, The Princess Bride (1987)

The term Theology of the Body here is used to describe the all-encompassing theology, not just the series of talks given by Pope Saint John Paul II (although those certainly contribute massively to the theology itself).

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4

Brother André Marie on “Vocations” • r/VideoSancto

0 Comments
2017/05/18
04:56 UTC

4

Retreat on Courtship • /r/VideoSancto

0 Comments
2016/12/11
14:12 UTC

3

Four Stages of Courtship ~ Fr Ripperger

0 Comments
2016/11/14
20:17 UTC

1

Theology of The Body - Dating Couple

0 Comments
2016/09/09
13:45 UTC

5

TOB and exceptional cases of indeterminate sex

Having done some reading on the Theology of the Body, I am curious about how persons who may not fit binary notions about male or female bodies are understood within its context. There are various but rare cases of individuals whose sex is ambiguous. I'm not talking about transgenderism, but rather the instances of intersex individuals and human chimera. The very existence of these individuals seems to challenge the interpretation of Genesis 1:27 that when God created us exclusively male or female.

I'm wondering if I'm mistaken in my understanding that the "original solitude" described in TOB relates to these exceptional cases in some way. Understanding Adam to have been sexless prior to the creation of Eve, that is, having had no compliment, no reference of an "other," can it be said that the very gifts of masculinity and femininity aren't necessarily bestowed by God to every human person? Matthew 19:12 would seem to corroborate this, no?

I point to the following excerpt from p. 97 of Christopher West's "Theology of the Body Explained"

In other words, the "first" human experience is one of simply "being a body," not of being as a body male or female. Experience of sexuality, of being male or female, is in some sense "secondary" to this primary experience. The essential point is that, although sexual difference is fundamental to the meaning of our humanity, each human being (each body-person) stands with his own dignity as a subject prior to his call to live in communion with an "other" person via the gift of sexual difference. If one is to give himself away in an incarnate communion with an "other," he must first be the kind of creature capable of doing so; he must first be a "body-person." This is the essential significance and "priority" of original solitude.

As West points out, our creation as a "partner of the Absolute," as a personal subject called to covenant and communion with God, does not require masculinity or femininity. He quotes the excerpt from Gaudiem et Spes 19 that is included as part of no. 27 of the Catechism: "The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God."

Beyond this, what does TOB and other Catholic doctrine have to say about people who, though no doing of their own, appear to be neither exclusively male or exclusively female? Are they, by their very nature, excluded from the vocation of marriage as suggested in Matthew 19? Do they possess "sexuality" as is understood in the context of TOB? What does the nature of their bodies suggest about how they are to exist in communion with other human persons?

1 Comment
2016/08/02
03:35 UTC

3

The Vortex—The Body

0 Comments
2016/07/20
18:36 UTC

3

A treasure trove of TOB videos from Sister Jane Dominic Laurel

1 Comment
2014/05/17
17:10 UTC

6

Father Mike Schmitz talk on Theology of the Body

0 Comments
2014/05/14
21:40 UTC

9

An interesting lecture on Theology of the Body and St. Thomas Aquinas

https://vimeo.com/19313842

I thought this was an interesting lecture, and maybe you will too. It might be a bit dense, but I think it is understandable and clear, and this subreddit could use some nice material to get started up.

1 Comment
2014/05/13
21:54 UTC

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